Belated, but Answered

So, those shoes I was rambling on about -- yes, a year ago. I did arrive at a solution that worked pretty well. I travelled with only 3 pair of shoes for the 19 trip which included beaches, boats, mountains, city streets, and salsa clubs.

This was the key addition to the quiver: Simple Gumshoe. It's a vegan slip-on, stronger than a slipper, casual yet cool. The basic shoe has no arch support, but after putting in an old pair of orthotics, they really shined. I danced across the equator, chalked up miles in Quito and Lima, and salsa'ed over the floorboards of Cusco. Best of all, the Gumshoe packed almost completely flat, sliding lengthwise into my backpack like they weren't even there.

In the end, I traveled with these Gumshoes, my Keen sandals (boats and beaches), and my heavy Vasque Sundowner hiking boots (mountain trails). When I flew, I wore the hiking boots, which were a pain in security lines, but saved the space and weight in my backpack. All in all, the array worked very well, and I will happily travel with this configuration, should the diversity of conditions call for it, again.

If I end up needing ice skates or skies, it'll be back to the drawing board.

Time Rhumbas

And the seasons, they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captured on the carousel of time.
--Joni Mitchell

A year has passed and another blog post. Trying to write. Trying to be. Now, 2012. Thinking as I grow older what currency has been accumulated and what good anything has come to. Experience is both the reward and the baggage I haul. Yet here I am in downtown Los Angeles at another Starbucks. Waiting for something to happen.

I hope that something does.

Success surrounds me, but I feel like the boy in the bubble, watching and wondering. I can record the symptoms and bear witness to the rotations, but like the painted pony, a clown of sorts, I'm stuck in the middle. I hope the oxygen lasts and will allow me to burn, and burn bright.