80% Off & 1 in 30 Odds

"Hey, sexy boots/ Get on your boots, yeah
Here's what we gotta be/ Love and Community
Laughter is eternity/ If joy is real

You don't know how beautiful/

You don't know how beautiful you are
You don't know, and you don't get it, do you?/

You don't know how beautiful you are

That's someone's stuff they're blowing up/

We're into growing up
Women of the future/ Hold the big revelations
Hey sexy boots.../ Get on your boots, yeah"
-U2, Get on Your Boots

If anyone needs boots (...or shoes...or clothes...) check out your local Macy's for their annual SUPER sale going on RIGHT NOW...I just found out what it's like to buy over $400 worth of shoes for 85 bucks!

A year ago, Kinsy and I were in Seattle for St. Patty's day and as luck would have it, she came across an amazing shoe sale at the Seattle Macy's. Once again this past weekend, Kinsy just happened upon the New York Macy's sale-- we're talking nine floors and an entire city block of savings, and talking to my dad in Idaho, this sale made national news! Kinsy came home with four bags and nine pairs of shoes...

Now, my roomate is not just an inspiration in world travels and adventure, she also knows her shoes and a good deal when she sees one. As my shopping guru here in NYC, Kinsy took one look at my own shoe collection and sent me down to the Macy's sale. Not counting my running shoes, biking shoes, soccer cleats, and Adidas Samba's for breaking, i have two pairs of shoes! One of them being a pair of maroon high-heeled boots for nights out on the town, and the other being my trusty old Dansko's that have busted at the seams FOUR times in the past year, and since moving to NYC, have not had them repaired.
I don't necessarily have an aversion to shopping, I just rarely get around to buying shoes or clothes for myself. More often than not, I am completely content with hand me downs from my friends when they decide to revamp their collections. ANyway, I ended up at the Macy's sale and six hours later, I barely managed to make it home alive on the crowded subway with four large bags of shoes! I felt so self-conscious!!!! Fortunately, an 82-year old Honduran man, who ONLY spoke Spanish, happened to sit next to me on the bus, keeping my mind distracted with a lively conversation in broken spanish :). Happiness IS. (Turns out I've been to his hometown of San Pedro Sula)

As for the shoes, I remarkably found everything that had been on my "wish-list": lined rainboots (with a slight heel), furry winter boots (YES, I now own furry boots, but I'm holding out on the skinny jeans!!!), J-41s, brown shoes and comfortable black shoes to replace my broken Dansko's. Over $400 worth for 85 bucks. As a non-shopper and die-hard bargain hunter, I find this rather remarkable, not to mention I doubled my shoe selection and won't have to repeat this event for a few years. Thanks to my fabulous roomie!!
Speaking of fabulous, tomorrow morning on GOOD MORNING AMERICA, Fordham University will be featured!! The band U2 will be playing on campus BRIGHT and EARLY. As I was walking on campus today, I saw the stage being set up outside, in the SNOW. So if you watch the show, you'll see Kinsy's University and may catch a glimpse of their stadium/gymnasium where I've been doing the majority of my Ironman training thus far. We live two blocks from campus, so it'll also be a glimpse of our new 'hood in da Bronx!! ;) It's not so bad. You may catch a glimpse of Kinsy in the crowd, but I'll be headed down into Manhattan for a JOB interview...

That's right, it hasn't been all dancing and shopping here thus far! I've actually been busy applying for employment. There's a saying here in New York, that "for every 30 applications submitted, you get 1 interview." Technically, I beat the odds-- I got 5 interviews!! Tomorrow will be my third interview with the same company, the New York Restoration Project. It's a non-profit founded by Bette Midler to revitalize the urban green spaces throughout the five NYC boroughs (counties). I also have an interview with 24 hour Fitness on Monday. I can tell you that my cover letter has improved ONE HUNDRED FOLD since October-- it's been a process of rejection and refinement and I'm actually proud of the progress I've made. After 6 months of applications, it feels INCREDIBLE to be getting call backs in general, not to mention on jobs that I'm actually interested in. ;) Happiness IS.

One LOVE,
Hana T.