Boots and Walking

Practical Training -- a time and place where I finally understood the true meaning of boredom, so much that even now my brain has yet to fully recover from the resulting blankness. There would be no need to mention blogging as I couldn't even start to think of anything to blog about.

One memory does come back to me somewhat clearly -- my daily morning rounds around the construction site. I could almost see it now; the skeletal structures of the unfinished buildings, the monstrous machinery, and the wide expanse of mud that I had to squelch and clomp through every morning. In my mind, I already am back there. Odd though it was, I felt a tiny sense of satisfaction at achieving both squelching and clomping as I walked -- a paradox if I ever knew one.

First of all, I was squelching because my foot would sink under the viscous mud as soon as I shifted weight on it. Secondly, I was clomping because I was wearing safety boots that were too big for my Cinderella feet. I've never cared much for glass slippers and high heels, but those clod-hoppers were too much in another kind of extreme. Size 5 or 6 safety boots -- women's sizes -- are rare to begin with. When I finally managed to find a pair that was size 5, imagine my frustration at finding that they were still too big! I have to wear two pairs of very thick socks just to keep me feet from slipping out of the boots as I walk let alone squelch-clomp.

Maybe I'll launch my own label for women's apparel on a construction site, I often thought half-heartedly. It's a good idea even if I do say so myself, but I don't have the zeal to pursue a venture into the fashion arena. Even though construction apparel is mainly about safety, somehow the same for women just screamed 'FASHION' and I know I could never make it work. Not even close. Now if I had Pepper to help….

For a while, I entertained myself with visions of myself squelch-clomping very fashionably amidst brawny, sweaty, sexy Timberlake models wearing safety helmets and overalls (with no shirt) while holding hammers.

A particularly loud squelch-clomp brought me crashing -- well, squelching -- back to reality. I looked down and saw my jeans splattered with mud up to the knees. Normally I wouldn't care at all, but after that particular trip into fantasy land, mud finally got to me like to got to all normal girls.

Well, at least now I have something to blog about, I thought as I squelch-clomped moodily back on my way.