Oh, the things my Burberrys have seen

"Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world."-Marilyn Monroe
Maybe. I got that off the internet. 

I have these rain boots: 

I got them in 2009. It was spring break spent visiting my sister in LA for the first time. We took a weekend and drove to Vegas, also my first time there. I had been saving up to do some major shopping: Rodeo Drive, Caesar's Palace, and one of my latest obsessions at the time: Burberry. We went there in Vegas and it's still one of the best shopping experiences I've ever had. I walked away with those beauts. 

When we headed back to North Dakota, we got an extended spring break. On account of the Red River's worst flood ever. So my new footwear got broken in quickly. I lived about a block or two from the dike and did some exploring on it to see the water rising and the park disappearing. Fun Fact: the day after I did my exploring, they started arresting people for being on the dike. 

Needless to say, it was very wet for quite a while. So my boots got a lot of use. 

They've joined me in the slush and wet of many a fall and spring. They've been the envy of many people who weren't rushing to spend $200 on rain boots (shocking!). (They're also much more expensive now...sooo...yay me.) 

They've gone with me from North Dakota back to Michigan and up to Alaska. 

At first, I was hesitant to use my boots very much up here...which is kind of dumb because it rains 94% of the time. I mostly threw them on for a quick run to the store but not a whole lot else. 

Then I got married. Dun dun duuuuuuuuun!

All hail the dramatic transition! Since we were getting married outside I was either going to wear my Uggs or Burberrys, and the rain boots just looked better. 

But this meant they had to be broken in on the mile walk to the waterfall. And they did just fine. So I started to wear them hiking a little more, mostly on days that were wetter than I wanted to test my hiking boots on. Then I started wearing them more and more when I felt like just slipping something on. 

Yesterday Soldier and I went out hiking and ended up on some trails that were much more rustic than we'd anticipated. We were trudging through mud, small rocky streams, over fallen trees, (nervously) on the edges of small cliffs, and finally ended up on a helipad looking out over Juneau and the ocean. I was looking down, trying to avoid tripping over something, and was suddenly absorbed by the journey these boots have taken. I can't imagine this is how most people use their designer boots. 

I looked at my lovelies today, and there's dirt all over them. It put kind of an affectionate smile on my face to think of all their travels, instead of being sad that they're all muddy. They've been with me for a lot...like stylish, classy friends...that keep my feet dry. 

Maybe I'll bring them home for the big wedding and get some pictures, just for fun. And maybe I'll start taking more pictures of them, and start documenting their adventures.   That'd be fun for you guys, right? Psh, who am I kidding. Of course it would. And I'm very concerned about your entertainment so it would be for that and not AT ALL because I'm floundering to come up with good posts in boring Alaska. 

And now it's time for the punny post-ending: These (chich) boots were made for walking, y'all.

A Night Out

With bells and whistles

We've taken to having people over for game nights on Saturdays. I always complain about it a little bit but usually end up having a lot of fun. 

Last night we had 5 people over by the end. We started off playing Settlers of Catan, and for some reason it took an absurd amount of time, and I was pretty buzzed by the end of it. We then played Avalon, which we just got and knew nothing about. This was when my interest in the whole thing started to dwindle. My legs have been acting up a bit, I was tired, and I think my meds aren't making me feel great lately. Then we played Cards Against Humanity, which is always a good time. But really I was just ready for everyone to leave so I could cuddle up with Soldier.

About midnight, people started going outside, I think to smoke. Soldier put on his coat and I asked him not to go, knowing someone would talk him into going to the bar. And then I was left all alone, which made me sad. 
So of course he came back up and asked if I would mind him going to the bar. And of course I didn't want him to. Soldier has a weakness sometimes of drinking way more than he should, which makes me very worried, and I could tell he was already feeling pretty good. Then he put the guilt trip on me that he really hasn't done much without me since we've been up here.  
TR, the friend who wanted to go out, came up about that time and sweetly asked if Soldier could go out, then said that I should go too. Well, fine. If you can't beat em, join em. Unless you're cranky me. 

So we went out to this, I don't want to say dive bar, but it's definitely not overly classy. It started out fine, we started playing pool (badly in my case). A couple of TR's roommates arrived, and TR and Soldier decided they needed to go get cigars. I was okay at first, but then the time started to drag on and I started to get uncomfortable. By the time Soldier got back, he was in a "debating" mood. (His debating, to me, is just arguing. There's not a ton of back and forth)
For some reason we started discussing the issue of some bakeries refusing to make gay wedding cakes and whether or not they could choose to do that. (BTW, I was right. HAHA, I WAS RIGHT.) But each time I tried to make my points, he interrupted me...which eventually just pisses me off and makes me end the conversation. 

So I got mad, Soldier went up to the bar, and I sat there for a minute. Then I went over to where my purse and our coats were and messed around on my phone for a while. I thought once Soldier finished his drink he'd come back, but he evidently forgot about me. As I was sitting there stewing, more people came into the pool area. I was alone and it was obvious that they were rowdy, so I got even more upset that Soldier was ignoring me (despite my pouting). 

I huffed over to him with his coat and told him that he could leave me alone if he wanted but he could at least take his shit. I then sat next to TR who profusely apologized for "making" us go out, even though I kept insisting that we're adults and we made the choice. And then I told him that I just needed to be mad for a minute but that I was fine. 
There were two gentlemen sitting on my other side who started talking to me, and they were nice. Soldier decided it was safe to leave me chatting with them while he went to play another game of pool, but he at least told me this time. Again, it eventually got old. 

This bar obnoxiously stayed open till 3 so I was more than ready to go by then. Soldier called a cab and we moved to the parking lot with everyone else. He was off doing...I don't know what, and I was chatting with TR and some other people that were in the area. Then some guy came up and put his arm on my back and (I thought) said "I want to take her home." But TR answered, which made me question what he'd actually said. I was a little taken aback, but whatever. 
A few minutes later, the same guy came back and asked where I was going or something similar. I stressed that I'm married and would be going home with my husband, and he wanted to know who my husband was. He seemed to not believe me or not care or something, and I reiterated my sentiment more than once. Our cab came and I about sprinted to get in. As we were leaving, I thought I heard that guy expressing surprise about it. 

I was a little shaken. It's not like I've never been hit on at the bar before, but this was a different level. When he initially said something about taking me home, it wasn't a question. In fact, it wasn't even directed at me. It was like I was something for him to take and that's just what was going to happen. 

I still feel creepy-crawly about it. I don't know if there's much for gang activity out here, but that was the feeling I got from these guys. Lesson learned: closing time at the dive-ish bar is not meant for a classy broad. 

169 Books: Albania

The Palace of Dreams Ismail Kadare

For those that are a little rusty on their geography, Albania is here:

• I'll also assume that fewer people have read this book than the last one I did, so here's the synopsis: The mysterious Palace of Dreams stands at the heart of a vast but fragile Balkan empire. Inside, workers assiduously sift, sort, classify, and ultimately interpret the dreams of the empire's citizens. The workers search out Master-Dreams that will provide clues to the destiny of the empire and its Sultan.
  Mark-Alem, scion of a noble family that has provided viziers to the Sultan from time immemorial, and whose power the Sultan distrusts, is recruited into the Palace of Dreams at the humblest level. He immediately feels the terrible pressure that drives his coworkers, the dread of overlooking a crucial dream whose capture and interpretation might avert political disaster.
  But he rapidly rises through the hierarchy--only barely finding his bearings in one section of the Palace's labyrinthine passages that represent the entire empire's consciousness before he is promoted to another. And the pressure only increases as he becomes familiar with the fates of subversive dreamers and personally responsible for the sort of dreams that might ruin an entire family. A family like his own. 
  • Kind of a slow start. We'll see.
  • The guy just shows up out of nowhere to this super secret government agency and they're all like "yeah you work here now." Must be nice.  
  • Interesting idea: that all thought, good or bad, begins in dreams. Discuss.
  • I'm getting a pretty big sense of Big Brother a la 1984.
  • The word "shan't" should make a comeback.
  • I'm still as confused as the main character is.
  • Hmm...apparently this isn't actually set in Albania, but I can't figure out where it is set. Apparently some made up empire. Wait, no, it's the Balkan area...but I can't decide if they still recognize the separate countries. I'm also not entirely sure when this is. 
  • OH. I'm dumb. I think you're supposed to be that confused so it ties you to the main character.
  • Shit just got real. It's going down, Mark-Alem is yelling timber.
  Okay, I tried not to give away as much as I did with the last book, because I think many people have already read that one. 
  Anyway, I liked this book overall. It started out a bit slowly; as I already mentioned, though, I think you were supposed to feel the confusion and that did help to transfer you into the book. Actually, because of the descriptions, I kind of imagined the Palace as the Ministry of Magic from Harry Potter. 
  Anyway the excitement did pick up toward the end, although the confusion stayed there. And, despite the slowness to the beginning, I did like it. I very much felt the sense of an oppressive society where even your subconscious thoughts aren't safe. It was a little eerie. Admittedly, I haven't read 1984 since high school, but I was reminded of it, minus all the techy stuff that I think I remember from that one. But I might be making that up. Anyway, this was a good one. 
  
  
  Next up is Algeria, but I'm going to take a break for a couple weeks. I'm going to LA next week and I don't feel like taking any physical books. Wah, wah, I know.