THERE’S this pair of sneakers that I’m now breaking in. Lesson learned. How many times do I have to remind myself never to buy shoes that are not perfectly comfy when I’m trying them on at the store? The same happened to two ballet flats which I still bought because they’re sugar, spice, and everything nice—sweet 16 ang peg. Haha

Breaking into new shoes obviously doesn’t take only a week. I’ve been wearing these sneakers for several days already but they’re still not as comfy as the old pairs. So, will the breaking in require a month? A year? Forevermore? Juice colored.

You’re probably wondering by now—non-comfy sneakers? Aren’t they supposed to be naturally comfy? I thought so, too. They were comfy at the store. But once I wore them while malling, my right foot seemed to have expanded all of a sudden. So, the one for the right foot is a virgin, and the left one is like a virgin?

I had been looking for a second pair of beige sneakers to save the first one from overthinking, er, overfatigue. Finally found the new ones, tried them on, and immediately wore them to break them in as I continued malling. And then, the right foot began to warn me of blisters. Upon arriving at the hotel, there they were—reddish but at least not a blister yet. Band-Aid to the rescue for the next walk but this time using the old sneakers.

There’s another pair of beige sneakers that I saw months ago, but it was the wrong size. I’ve not seen it again and that’s after dropping by all of the brand’s branches and its department-store displays from Aparri to Jolo, er, in Manila, Cebu, and here in Cagayan de Oro.

Yeah, big deal about beige, which can be a boring color.

But why beige? Because most of my clothes are in neutral colors. Even though I don’t like neutral people, Desmond Tutu had the perfect line for that: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

Anyway, I finally decided to let go of that preferred brand and bought another, and I’m now the one adjusting to it. Whew.

I now find myself often adjusting to whatever. Yeah, ako na lang ang mag-adjust.

And to make it easier to adjust, I rely on columnizing as a coping mechanism. Not prayers, not novenas, not reading books, not spring cleaning, not even Julia Cameron’s advice on writing the Morning Pages daily. Since those pages may turn too personal, they may still result in stress.

Columnizing, on the other hand, helps me consider several POVs—points of view, not point of views, hehe—so it helps me to let go and let God.

There are days when I could write and send four columns to the editor-in-chief, but there are days when the Morning Pages could be my coping mechanism, which is seldom, though. Columnizing is still the best way for me to relax when I’m staying home.

The world outside can provide more: nature, travel, movies, restos, cafes, bookstores, and window-shopping.

Or you may try staring at the color beige since it’s calm and relaxing.