#285 My Clarks

In Post No. 180 I made a comparison between shoes and men.  I will elaborate a bit more here. 

I have many shoes and one thing I've learned is that the flashiest, most fashionable shoes are not the best shoes in the long run.  Like I said in the earlier post, I chose the flashy shoes and I ended up regretting it. 

Similar to these shoes, the flashiest, most stylish and charming men are not always the best in the long run.  Yes, they're fun and exciting for a while, but then you realize they're not the best fit.  You wish you had someone more comfortable and dependable.  Someone who was a better fit. 

Due to the uncomfortableness of some of my recent shoe purchases, I decided that from now on, I would only buy shoes from Clarks of England.  I already have several and have never regretted buying any of them.  I was at an outlet mall last week and came across a pair of silver flats.  Not the most stylish shoes, but still nice looking and definitely comfortable.  And they were on clearance.  I bought them. 

Now I just need to find a man that fits just as well.  Maybe his name will also be Clark!

#284 World Next Door

My friend Jen is heading to South Africa for a summer internship to write for an online magazine called World Next Door.  She will be travelling with a team of four other writers, learning alongside South Africans working to alleviate the suffering AIDS has inflicted on the region, while also writing about some of the incredible stores of courage and hope they hear along the way.  If you want to follow their journeys this summer, you can add the above link to your favorites and visit when you get curious or you can subscribe (top right corner of the web page) for updates when new stories are posted.  It will take a couple weeks after their June 6 departure for stories to start appearing, but after about mid-June new stories should be going up almost every day.

I am so proud of Jen for going on this adventure!  She quit her job to do this and has no idea what she will do when the internship is over, but she is a woman of faith and knows that God will continue to show her the path He wants her to take. 

Please pray that Jen and her group have a safe and productive trip!   

#283 Never Been KISSed

Last Saturday my friend Heidi and I attended a KISS Expo at a local hotel.  I am a music fan in general but have to admit that I'm not necessarily a KISS "fan."  I like their songs (the four or so that I've heard on the radio) but don't have any of their CDs. Two KISS members were at the expo - Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer.  Heidi had met Eric before and I have a friend who knows Tommy.  It sounded fun and would be great people-watching. 

We got there around 1:30 p.m..  At 5 Eric and Tommy took a break for Q&A.  They went back to the autograph area around 6 and by 6:30 we decided to call it a day.  We were a little more than halfway to the autograph area.  All I will say about the organization of the event is that there was none. 

Even though it was a long and technically unfruitful day, we did have fun and the people watching did not disappoint.  Tommy walked by the autograph line a couple times for bathroom breaks and he was very nice, shaking people's hands and taking a picture here or there.  I also heard from people who had made it to the autograph table that Eric and Tommy spent a lot of time with each fan.  I do appreciate that they take time to interact with the fans.  But that means a long-ass time in line.  :-)  

I got one picture of some kids in front of us in line.  I felt bad for the dad - he was obviously a real fan and even had a KISS book and other items to sign.  They ended up leaving around 5 p.m. 

All is not lost.  I plan to borrow Heidi's KISS CDs and I might even go to their concert with Motley Crue in September.  And who knows, I might even join the KISS Army...