A Lot About Nothing

I knew activating my credit card was going to get me into trouble. I ended up spending $150 at Athletes World today in downtown Toronto. To some people it may not seem like much, especially since most athletic shoes are around that price range. I got 8 articles of clothing for that price and I’m glad that I stopped by the shopping mall on the way home from work.

The Athletes World location in Eaton Centre is having a 50% off the lowest ticketed price promotion, due to a lease expiry. If you’re going to head down there for bargains, make sure you go to the location at the Queen subway stop (near the food court with the Druxy’s, Harvey’s and KFC), because the other Athletes World location on the north end of the mall isn’t having the same sale.

As for my purchases, I picked up two pairs of New Balance shoes (one for me and one for my sis). The regular price of these shoes were $139.99 each… They were marked for $79.99 and I got them for $39.99 after the discount! Also picked up a nice pair of green Adidas cuffed cargo pants (reg. price was $69.99) for $20, which was actually cheaper than the lowest ticketed price of $49.99 after the 50% off. I got some cool gold-stripe Reebok sweat pants for $20 (reg. $54.99), three sport tanks and a T-shirt for $5 each (reg. 14.99), and a small bottle of sport cleaner for $4 to keep my shoes and gym bag fresh-looking! According to my receipt I saved a whopping $335!

I also picked up a pair of sandals, but when I got home I noticed that they weren’t in the bag. I would’ve been pissed had I not looked at the receipt–the cashier forgot to add it to my purchase. I don’t blame her though… the place was a mess and crowded with people (the line-up at the cash wasn’t bad though). But the counters near the cash were full of merchandise, so it could’ve easily got misplaced. I guess that’s the good thing about having big feet sometimes: not a lot of people wear your size. I’ll probably head back there tomorrow, since there was quite a few number of those particular sandals left. I might also pick up a hoodie.

Note that all purchases are final sale, so no exchanges or refunds. Great deals if you look for them, but try to get there early to avoid the mess and the crowds. I heard that locations in Scarborough Town Centre and Markville might be having similar sales, so call your local to verify.

Just when I got back some money that was owed to me, and swore to myself that I would save it, I spent it! But it’s wasn’t really an unnecessary purchase: I got shoes!

If you don’t know already, I’ve got really big feet. It’s a curse I’m afraid, because I’m not the expected height that a person with my foot-size should be.

I wear a womens 12 (yes, I said twelve), and it can be fairly depressing at times. Too frequently, I see cute, sexy, or stylish shoes at the local shoe store, but alas, whenever I ask the store clerk what the largest size they carry for women I get, “We go up to size 10″ followed by a look of shock when I tell them what size I take. I can’t help it… I was born with big hands and feet, long arms and legs. It has it’s advantages though… I can palm a basketball, and jump really high, am undefeated at thumb-wrestling and I can reach those Pringles that are at the bottom of the can without tipping the container over.

But finding nice women’s shoes is the biggest disadvantage. I found some cute, black pumps at Winners in a 12 last year (my face lit up when I saw the green circular sticker with 12 stamped on it). I usually wear mens runners when I need athletic shoes, and thank God Payless came to Canada when my growth spurt hit, or I wouldn’t have any women’s shoes to wear. Mind you, that it’s not very often that I find nice shoes at Payless in my size, because there’s usually a column or two of shoes left once you pass the size 11 mark.

I can squeeze into a size 11, but if I actually want to walk properly I need a 12 (or at least an 11 wide… size 11 sandals usually fit).

Now… on to the cute shoes I bought today: Black flats that I’ve been looking for for months! On “sale” for $29.99 (and I put “sale” in quotation marks because the American Payless Shoesource site is selling them for $14.99US… that’s almost 1/2 price when you take into consideration that the Canadian dollar is about 0.95 cents US!) Oh, well… if the shoe fits… buy it (at least in my predicament)!

Oh, did I mention that I found out that Zappos finally offers shipping to Canada now, and that I bought 3 pairs of shoes (in MY size) off of their site last week? It only cost me $80. I can’t wait ’til I get them!