Where did you go barefoot today?

Today I went barefoot to the grocery store, post office, and coffee shop. As sometimes happens, I've got stories.

The weather forecast for today was a high of 54 deg F (~12 deg C). When I checked the temperature this morning, it was already 53 - great!! I figured that during the day the temperature would continue to climb and it would be a comfortable December day.

A couple of hours later I hopped in my car wearing a sweatshirt, shorts, and barefoot. The thermometer in my car was reading about 48 deg F when I backed out of the garage, so I figured as soon as I got moving it would climb. Wrong!! Instead it started to drop - down to 39 deg F (~4 deg C). That's chillier than I normally would go barefoot, but I was already in the car, no shoes, and on my way. I guess a weather front had come through.

I got to Safeway (grocery), gathered my items, and went to the checkout. A young woman, ~20, was standing at the front of the aisle and said she could check me out. As she started, she questioned, "I hope you don't mind, but what's with the shoes? Isn't it cold?" I replied that it had been warmer earlier and that I went out without shoes and the temperature had dropped. She said, "Okay that makes sense." I then added that I work from home and often go out barefoot during the day. She replied, "That's good, I'd do the same thing," and she smiled. About that time, an older woman (50-55?) came over and asked "Where are your shoes? It's winter." The cashier jumped in. "Oh, it's okay." As I grabbed my items I heard the cashier explaining my barefoot practice to the other woman. It was pretty cool (no pun intended) and I think I won over the cashier!

From there I went to the post office. That was uneventful. With the high counters, I don't know if anyone noticed my feet. From there it was off to the coffee shop. I love this place! It's a local store, and they're always happy and cheery no matter who comes in. Today was no exception. There were several customers scattered around, but no one made any comments to me. In other words, it was no big deal to them that I wasn't wearing shoes! The coffee shop has free Wi-Fi, and on occasion when it's warm I'll take my laptop and set up shop for a few hours (barefoot of course!), drink coffee, and enjoy being around others versus the seclusion of my home office.

I wanted to get at least one barefoot outing in December. I had one a couple of weeks ago in Houston, but it was just to check into a hotel. Today was better - it was on my "home turf," I had a pleasant exchange with the cashier, and perhaps sold her on the barefoot practice as well!

 

In the car. Too much snow on the ground.

 

Converses in the car - even!! I always drive barefoot but there was alot of snow inside the car - the blizzard of 2009!

 

Alas, winter time with frost, snow and slush - and, of course, all of that mixed with grit and salt, which has been strewn liberally all over the sidewalks, has limited my barefooting to indoors, i.e. at home... However, there's hope - winter solstice has passed, and the wheel of the year now swings around towards spring, that being the return of happy barefoot times.

Wiggling toes at home,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Well, at least somewhat milder temperatures (2° C) allowed for a quick dash outdoors to take out the trash and to a nearby kiosk to replenish my drinks and tobacco supplies... and the snow and ice on the sidewalks was almost gone... grit and salt were not too much of a nuisance, but it wasn't inviting enough to be out barefoot for more than the five minutes it took...

wiggling toes glowing pink and yearning for the warmer seasons,

~*Ganesha*~
(oh, yes, and a merry barefoot Yule, too, of course. )

 

This time of year, a quick dash into the post office is all I can handle.

 

Everywhere, I am in Florida after all.

 

I went to the hardware store today and as I approached the counter, the cashier was listening to a conversation between two of her co-workers and was therefore unaware of my silent barefoot approach. I waited in complete silence to see how long it took her to notice me and when she turned around, she just about jumped out of her skin, as she did not expect anyone to be there.

Barefoot stealth sure has its amusing moments...

 

To the bottom of the drive to fetch the paper.....in the snow. Happily leaving barefoot prints all over. The mailman should find that interesting.

 

Barefoot snow or mud prints by your door seems to be an effective way of scaring off solicitors!

 

The other day I tried something different. I ran a mile barefoot on treadmill. Now my calves are killing me. >.< I guess it's true that you REALLY DO work muscles you don't use with shoes on!

 

Since it's 20 here... just around the house, but I was barefoot all day!

 

During 2009 I kept track of all the places I went barefoot. In all, I recorded 430 different businesses, etc. The total number of visits (includes repeat visits to the same location) was ~600. The breakdown for the year was as follows.

7-Eleven (Convenience Store) 10
Misc. Convenience Stores 25
Starbucks Coffee 32
King Soopers (grocery) 23
Safeway (grocery) 16
Whole Foods (Grocery) 4
Misc Groceries 10
Post Office 20
Subway Restaurants 15
Wendy's 5
McDonald's 3
Walgreen's 18
Misc Fast Food 27
Gasoline 32
Target (Retail Store) 8
Misc Coffee Shops 17
Airports 12
Liquor Stores 7
Hotels 12
Jewelry Stores 1
Financial Institutions 9
Restaurants (Table Service) 4
Misc. Pharmacies 4
Hardware (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.) 10
Walmart (anti-barefoot according to the forum) 2
Misc. Retail 19
Office Supplies (Office Max, Office Depot, Staples) 8
Misc. Personal Services (includes medical) 13
Automobile Tire Stores 2
FedEx Locations 9
Car Rental Locations 8
ATMs - Walk-up/Public Locations 16

For me to count a visit, my criterion is that I must enter barefoot, transact all business, etc. barefoot, and leave barefoot without any issues. Just slipping my shoes off once I’m inside doesn’t count.

The list above totals ~401 of the 430 locations. The remainder were miscellaneous locations such as parks, government buildings, neighborhood functions, etc. Realistically, there are probably some locations I overlooked. I did this on a plane while flying home after awakening very early. In other words, the numbers are approximate, but pretty darn close. In all, I believe there was only one confrontation I had that wasn’t resolved in favor of my being allowed to go barefoot in a business. That was with a cranky old guy at a coffee shop.

Okay, now it’s 2010!! It’s been pretty cold, but today it was in the upper 40’s (~9 deg C). That’s a bit colder than I’d normally go out without shoes, but I’ve been anxious to “expose the toes.” With the sun out, the pavement actually felt really good although my soles have lost their toughness. So I went to the Post Office, a coffee shop, Office Max, Subway, and a walk-up credit union ATM. Yay!! I’m up to five places. Then again, it is January and more snow and sub zero (deg F) temperatures are sure to come.

 

tweet, tweet, tweet.......

 

tweet tweet tweet..don't get it.

 

Tweet is the name of a short message on the web-based short news portal Twitter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter) and according to some market analysts, a large part of such tweets consist of "pointless babble"...

quote:

"The firm found that "pointless babble" was the largest category of Twitter content, making up 811 tweets or 40.55 percent of the total number of messages sampled." (sample: 2,000 messages).

So, I guess, "tweet, tweet, tweet" is a short way to mark someone's post as pointless babble - or this whole thread, even.

Wiggling toes of a Twitter non-user,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Danke.

 

yeah, I kinda agree

 

It hit 53 degrees here today so I went to the library, getting into my inner hippy thing, and.......... they were closed.

 

So far, I went barefoot to and from the office where I work (a short stay at the office), to the mall for some grocery shopping afterwards, and then home again with my shopping bags. To make other people look ridiculous it takes nothing more like a crisp day with temperatures around 32F and someone bundled up against the cold walking barefoot - "The Look"TM by onlookers is even more hilarious in winter.

Another barefoot walk will be in about half an hour, when I set out to meet pals at our role-playing group - that involves a ten-minute walk from the tram stop to their place. Since the forecast speaks of possible snow and freezing rain in the late evening/night, I'll be packing some emergency shoes.

Pics of today's trip to the office will appear in the pictures of your feet thread.

Wiggling pink toes, glowing in cold air,

~*Ganesha*~