Gearing Up

I've got to get my head around the fact that the summer months fly by and before I know it I'll be loading up my pack with things other than weights. Some of those things I've been collecting for a while, others still need to be purchased.  Like clothes.  So off I toodled to Walk the Coast, my favourite store in town.  Their tag line is From Hikers to High Heels.  I bought my hiking boots there and they carry a fantastic shoe line.  Plus lots of great clothing brands like ExOfficio and chlorophylle.  So how did I make out...

I knew I wanted an ExOfficio shirt (to go with my ExOfficio travel underwear) because the ExOfficio shirt has it all -- ventilation, wicking, lightweight, quick drying, sun guard 30+ and a security pocket.  As luck would have it they had a new shipment in.  Hmmm....what colour do I chose?  Clean white?  Cool blue?  Fiery orange? Who says there shouldn't be a little colour on the Camino?  Orange it is.  That it was the only colour in my size didn't influence my decision at all.

My biggest dilemma has been what to take as my second pair of shoes.  The ones that go on when the boots come off to give the old feet a breather.  I'd been contemplating some Old Navy flip flops, or my old Sanuks.  But here's the thing -- I have flat feet.  They injure easily.  I've had plantar faceitis and it's no fun.  I wear custom made orthotics in my runners and boots.  So I really felt I needed something with support.  And VOILA!  The Vionic orthaheel flip.  Support, cool, and comfy all in one.  Plus they can go in the shower so as to avoid slimy crawly things that would like to make their home between my toes.  And yup, those are little sequins on the straps.

Who says there shouldn't be a little bling on the Camino?


Book Review:  Not really sure why I read Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull.  At least I'm not really sure why I kept reading this book, given that it's subtitle is Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. Ed Catmull is the president of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Being a big movie fan, a big Pixar fan, (I mean the Toy Story trilogy is epic film making in every single way) I found the parts about the birth of Pixar and the making of some of the movies very interesting.  The stuff about how to manage creative people not so much, but it was never a dry boring read.  My feeling when I finished the book was, "damn, I wished I worked for Pixar."  It's no wonder they get tens of thousands of applications to fill 100 positions.

I don't usually reread books.  There are some I would like to -- like the whole Harry Potter series from beginning to end in one go.  Or some early Stephen King.  My fear in rereading a book I loved is that it won't live up to my memory of it.  That happened with The Catcher in the Rye.  But the real reason I don't reread books is that there are too many new ones to discover. So when my book club was given The Art of Racing in the Rain I figured I would just skim through it to refresh my memory on names and such.  But I started reading and in no time had finished it again.  Some in my book club hated it.  Others liked it.  Me?  I love it.  Without giving anything away if you haven't read it, for me, as a dog owner, I found great comfort in those pages.