commuting casualty

“Give a woman a great pair of shoes and she can conquer the world” (Bette Midler) Unfortunately, not even Carrie and the rest of the SATC girls can account for the fact that walking in heels on concrete is a version of hell on earth. I may have to go back to basics, and I don’t think I’ve ever been a basics kind of girl. Wearing clothes my own way, I didn’t need to previously consider the logistical considerations of outfits. (Yeah, so socially relevant.) I’ve never had to commute this far and if I did, I was always able to get rides. Getting on the MRT was a once in a while treat; almost five years in my stay in Manila, it’s still somewhat of a novelty. Not anymore. In my previous post, I mentioned about tugging hemlines and lowered necklines. I’ve never been one to wear something so attention-grabbing, but I do love to have my own way of dressing up. After years of having school uniforms, fashion was something that I relish. Aside from clothes considerations, my promising love affair with shoes is getting nipped in the bud. I still love my stilettos, but I have also recently learned to be friends with flats, something that I have never imagined doing. I’m sure girls can relate to the power of wearing high heels and I need not go over again the high (literally and figuratively) that women get when in heels. Sure, we walk differently, hips consciously swaying in tune with the staccato beats our walking creates. Try that for, oh, let’s say three blocks, and you’ll be crying for your mommy. Someone, please invent heels we can actually commute in comfortably. Is a confidence-boosting device in the guise of footwear too much to ask of Santa this Christmas? Conquer the world in flats and the height you were destined, in my case, puny? So much for world domination. Forget it. (Oh wait…a certain lady president who stays firmly in place? Sheldon Plankton in SpongeBob? Hmm. There might be hope yet.) Thankfully, the weather has been great. It’s actually cold out, and the MRT’s air-condition is even sometimes freezing. Come summer, it’s going to be another story.