In the first picture, you’ll see my go-to sneakers for the past year: a pair of Penguins that I found at DSW. They were one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I ever had. I wore them when I trekked around Israel, when I walked around Disneyland (or anywhere, for that matter), when it rained, when it snowed. Now they look like this.

Ratty ratty ratty. I blame myself. Which is why I plan on taking some goddamn good care of the second photo: My new pair of shoes! They are cordovan Pro-Keds 69ers. And the price was pretty great, JackTrends was having a shoe sale today, and with another discount added at the last minute, I only had to pay shipping (eight bucks!). I’m a little worried they might come in big, since my shoe size tends to change every time I buy a new pair, but I’m excited in any case.

The choice of color I’ll get into in a later post.