Johnston & Murphy Cardell Saddle shoes

So recently I decided to buy a new pair of shoes. The pair of loafers that I had bought at Ross several years ago finally wore out. I decided it was time that I made another serious investment in my shoes. I had owned a pair of black loafers from Johnston & Murphy before and was impressed with the durability. The shoe lasted me a very long time and I would still be wearing them today if the cobbler I took the shoe to get repaired at didn't botch the job up. I also recently bought a pair of black oxfords from Johnston & Murphy that I needed for a wedding and was really happy with them as well.

I decided I wanted to go with a darker brown color shoe and something that I could dress up with a suit but that I could also ware at work with jeans. I decided on getting a Brogue or maybe this is really considered a semi Brogue since the toe is left fairly plain. I also decided to go with the Oak brown instead of the other choices because they were more of a 2 tone look and I wanted to be able to ware this fairly dressed up.

The inserts for the shoe are fairly unique. I normally need a 10.5 Wide for my feet but because of the insert system for these shoes I ended up going down to a 9.5. The reason for this was that in order to get the width in the shoe you remove an insert. This gave me the width I needed but also had the side effect of causing the heal to get a little loose. Dropping down a full size seemed to be the cure for that and the shoe fits snug without any pinching.

I was also quite happy with the service at my local Johnston & Murphy store. The sales associate was quite knowledgeable on the shoes and very helpful in getting the proper fit. After only owning them for about 3 weeks now they have quickly become one of my favorite shoes to ware. At the $165 price point they also don't break the bank. With proper shoe care and maintenance I expect these shoes to have a really long life. I also will likely go back to Johnston & Murphy in the future to get another pair of shoes as I enjoy all 3 pairs I have owned from them so far.

https://www.johnstonmurphy.com/cardell-saddle/7874.html?dwvar_7874_width=M&dwvar_7874_color=Oak%20Waterproof%20Full%20Grain#prefn1=collection&pmin=150&prefv1=XC4%C3%82%C2%AE&pmax=200&start=9

Why I Drink

So recently I was at a bar which was a little bit on the dive side of the spectrum. It did however have karaoke and it was close to some friends I was hanging out with. I was dressed fairly dapper and ordered a scotch with just a couple of rocks. The bartender was this short blonde girl and when she realized she would have to reach up to the top shelf she looked a little annoyed. She made my drink and I tipped her well.

Maybe 45 minutes go by and I am ready to order another drink. This time she gives me a bunch of attitude. Never before have I received so much attitude because I was ordering a Scotch. It is top shelf alcohol and easy to pour. This time instead of putting just a couple cubes in the drink she fills the glass with ice and pours the scotch. I immediately remove a bulk of the ice so as to not water down the delicious scotch too much. When she proceeds to tell me "Why don't I order something from a lower shelf next time!". Needless to say I did not tip her much for this drink.

Another 45 minutes go by and I am ready for my 3rd drink. I look at what they have available on the lower shelves and low and behold Grey Goose is on the bottom shelf. So I decide to have a little fun. The conversation went a little something like this.

Me: "Can I get a Dirty, Grey Goose Martini, Up, 3 Olives, with twist, shaken not stirred"

Her: "Really? I don't want to make a Martini!"

Me: "What? You asked me to order something on a lower shelf and your Grey Goose is just sitting on the back bar not even on a shelf."

Her: "Why can't you be like a normal dude and order a whiskey and coke."

Me: "Because I am not in college anymore!"

She did finally make the drink and it was actually pretty good. Never have I ever been given so much grief about ordering more expensive drinks though. Later that evening though I got to thinking about what exactly did I mean with the "Because I am not in college anymore" remark. It occurred to me that the reasons I drink now are entirely different then when I was younger.

When I was younger I would drink so I didn't feel socially awkward. I would drink to actually get drunk. I would drink simply because I had nothing better to do. Now that I am further along in my adult life I don't use alcohol in the same way. Somewhere along the way the social awkwardness went away and recovering from a hangover is now a much longer process. Now when I drink it is because I want to actually enjoy the taste of the beverage. Diluting your whiskey with a bunch of sweet coke only serves one purpose. To help you drink your drink faster and get drunk.

It is interesting how something like receiving bad service can make you evaluate why you like things the way you like them. Also if you are still drinking your alcohol with coke in it and are past your twenties you may want to try graduating to a different drink. Everyone has different tastes so I can't help you with what your signature drink should be. However you may find that you enjoy your drinking experience more once you get away from the coke.

A new blog...

It has been several years since I have done any major blogging. Previously I tended to blog about a specific set of topics. I have had a blog about technology, one about backpacking, and probably my favorite and most successful blog was on creating terrain for table top gaming. While all of those were fun to do, as I lost interest in the hobby so to did I lose interest in the blog.

With this new blog I intend to talk about a variety of topics. Some of them may be hobby related, others may be political related. In the end though as my interest change so too may the focus of this blog. I will however strive to continue to provide regular content for people to enjoy!