Celebrating earth day with conspicuous consumerism.

I bought these new Birkenstocks with the birthday check my mother sent to me even though I'm a 47 year old adult.

My very first pair of Birkenstocks were purchased around this same time, with a birthday check, in 1992 when I was in college.

I remember it vividly because I desperately wanted these sandals that my crush at the time and all of her friends wore around campus.

I had never spent that kind of money on shoes before. I don't think I had ever noticed shoe brands before.

But I just had to have them.

I remember leaving campus and walking down to the strip of shops in Shadyside (Pittsburgh) and buying the sandals in a little shop off of one of the side streets.

I put them on immediately. I think I even threw the shoes I had worn there away.

I was in love with these sandals.

We did ride free. We did see the city. But we were also very stupid about how transit worked and at one point, after dark, the bus driver made us exit the bus at his last stop.

We had no idea where we were or if there would be other busses to get us back to campus.

We walked to a quickie mart and asked where we were.

Wilkinsburg.

We asked for directions back to our campus.

The counter person was unhelpful.

We called campus security and they laughed at us. They gave us directions to walk home.

It was over two miles from where we were back to our campus.

Which isn't terrible.

But I was wearing brand new sandals that were not at all broken in.

By the time we go back to campus, my feet were raw and bloody.

But I loved those damned sandals and I did end up winning my crush, though I think it was probably the way I told her the tale of the sandals more than the actual sandals that pitched the actual woo.

I won't be going anywhere in these new sandals for awhile.

I have to share this memory on Twitter because I am friends with the old girlfriend on Facebook and she can never know that I bought those shoes because of her.