AlwaySane Is In Da House

I'm Shocked

A peculiar encounter happened to the un-Siao One today.

Day: Sunday July 10th, 2005
Time: Approximately 3:30pm
Location: Tape Counter of Xin Zhao Jiao Hui Yin Wen Bu aka ROCK
Subject: An Encounter

Sane's father brought the entire SIA clan to Hokkien service and they were so fired up they wanted to buy CDs. So, Sane's father the Tour Guide brought them to Rock. I met them and found out one of my aunties wanted the Lin Yi Zhong CD which was not on sale in the bookstore. Being a generally kind, initiated, peace-loving and generous personality, Sane volunteered to order it for her at the tape counter.

After talking to a lady at the counter for a while and placing my order, the lady suddenly asked me: Are you A----'s friend?

I said: Yes.

She said: I met you at -------------.

I said: Oh right! Haha.... Can't believe you recognize me.

She said: I read your blog.

.........

SHE SAID: I READ YOUR BLOG.

(The above conversation is based on memory-mining. At the point of conversation I didn't bring along a tape recorder to record the conversation, and I didn't write it in my notebook. Doing this will be extremely rude. So the actual conversation may be slightly different, but the gist is there.)

This stunned me big time. I mean people actually read my "Full Of Crap" blogs! First it was Pastor JTB, then Jer, then this great lady I met. No offense but my blog! Full of rubbish, crappy riddles, logs of my dancing relapses, my not-so-magnanimous life.... I will like to take this golden opportunity to thank everyone who religiously or randomly reads my blog. It really means something to me. I'm actually crying with gratitude. It means that what I write is somehow making its way to the rest of the human race. I hope my words influence you in a positive way.

(It's ok if you don't know how to answer the riddles. Really. Even smarty pants kasumi can't.)

So, I tell myself, maybe, just maybe, I'll start writing something substantial once in a while. Meaning if my readers find their IQs falling, it's not ENTIRELY my fault. I'm actually contributing knowledge.

Ahem.

Today, I will touch on the topic of...... Bunions.

I got to know this wonderful word when I bought my beautiful pair of dancing shoes (gold glitter, 1.5 inch heels, front wrap strap, back support, mesh front cover, open toe latin) around half a year ago. While buying plasters for fear of blisters, I came across a special plaster for "bunions". I didn't know how bunions developed so I decided to find out.

Bunions are painful swelling developed at the inside of the foot close to the base of the big toe. It happens when one wears shoes that are too small or too tight at the toes. The condition may aggravate when the ill-fit shoes have heels attached.

Slowly, the big toe will be forced by the cut of the shoes to "slant" inwards, towards the second toe. Then, the bone will jut out at the base of the big toe, causing a lump or swelling. This will make wearing any shoes painful and agonizing for the person. Bunions can be corrected through surgery. Not surprisingly, 94% of bunions-corrective surgery are done on women. This is due to the tendency of most women to succumb to the trends of shoe designers and vanity. (Men's shoes usually have wide front covers and more often than not no heels right?)

Sometimes, bunions can be so severe that the entire big toe is directly UNDERNEATH the second toe. I cannot imagine the grief of the sufferer. I saw this lady once with both her big toes under the second toes and I felt so sorry for her. It must be traumatizing. How does she even walk?

It is important, especially women, to wear shoes that have good support in the form of wide front covering, wide or multiple straps for good support, and low heels. This prevention will save you lots of aches and pains in time to come.

Let's take this opportunity to ponder:

How many pair of pointed-toe shoes do you own and how often do you wear them?
Do you wear shoes that are too small?
Do you wear heels with thin front straps?
Is your company advocating heels-only court shoes dress code?
Do you change into comfortable slip-ons when in the office?
Does your job require you to stand for more than 1 hour in one "standing"?

It is time to think how you are putting unneccesary stress on your two feeties. You may neglect to care for them (you may do facials once a week but how often do you soak your feet?) but do you know the feeties have to support your entire body weight?

I used to subject my feet to ill-fitted shoes and tiny straps that do little to support, and what's more I've got big and wide feet (size 8 or 9, which makes my feet effectively a men's feet), the stress has been great. Just recently, I noticed a little teensy red swell at the base of my left big toe. I was at a loss for words. That day, I threw away all the pointed-toe shoes and my heels with thin straps. From that day on, I only wear and buy shoes that have wide front covers and good, steady strap supports.

Therefore I challenge you to do the same, for the benefit of a longer, comfortable walking life:

1. Stop wearing pointed-toe shoes.
2. Shoe designers: Stop designing pointed-toe shoes or shoes with little or no front support.
3. Buy shoes with wide front coverings or wide front straps (for open toe shoes).
4. Do not wear heels all the time.
5. If you need to wear heels at work, change into slippers when working in the backroom, or wear sneakers or slippers to the office and then change into heels.
6. Mothers: Do not let your children wear shoes that are too tight. As children grow very fast, their feet do too and they need "room" to grow. You don't restrict their height by enclosing them in a cage right? Why stop the growth by subjecting their precious feeties to tight shoes?
7. Schools: Initiate a program to help poor families who may not be able to afford regular buying of shoes for their children.
8. Employers: Give your staff the option of wearing flats to work or allow them to change into slippers in the backroom. Alternatively, you can start by initiating a "No Heels Day" once per week. Who knows? You may just start a new trend!
9. For those (e.g. customer service, sales staff) who are required to stand for long hours at work, remember to take regular breaks (alternate with other colleagues), sit down and rest your feeties.

This list is not exhaustive but I'm glad it's started.

May the Lord bless you with good health and a strong, youthful body.

=====
The un-Siao One Speaks

Sane reflects @ this location permanently