fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #4019 ]

I usually have some money left over right before I get paid, and I want to get a zoo pass for the year because I want to exercise more. A circuit of my local zoo is 5+ miles and there’s always something to see.

But I end up freezing my ass off at work; I’m a California wimp, but our AC is cranked up all the way all the time, even in the mornings when it’s 40 degrees out. We can’t do anything about the temperature since it’s not set by staff. Everyone avoids the front desk where the big AC vents are, but that’s where my workstation is. It was a slow, cold, miserable day at work yesterday and I ended up looking at boots, and found these.

https://m.zappos.com/p/frye-valerie-otk-dark-brown-antique-soft-vintage-shearling/product/9067701/color/431218

They look warm and I’ve heard this brand is very sturdy and will last for years. I usually get by in leather sandals because my feet get fucked up easily in cheap close-toed shoes, but the few times I’ve found higher end shoes for less than $100 I don’t end up bleeding or limping for weeks. I feel guilty at the thought of spending $300 on boots, though, even good quality ones. A zoo pass for the whole year is $180ish and I can bring another person with me.

Which should I buy?

(I have savings and would rather have warm feet or a fun way to exercise than add to my bank account right now)

Ooh. Those are nice. I'd go for the boots, 'cause you can always get the zoo pass later, and then you'll have awesome boots to walk in. Plus - plenty of free places to walk!

Would boots be the most effective way of staying warm in your situation? And would you be able to wear these boots all year round?

I probably wouldn’t wear them year round, but September to April-ish. Maybe I could just keep them in my locker. As for staying warm, if I got a space heater I’d have to hang plastic sheeting or something from the front desk to stop the hot air escaping from by our feet. I was discussing possible fixes with coworkers yesterday—my boss has a space heater and electric blanket in her office, lucky sod, but blankets aren’t an option at our desks and space heaters wouldn’t work unless we trapped the air by our feet.

I have other boots, but they’re not warm or practical or comfy enough to wear for an eight hour shift where I rarely sit down; I mostly bought them used for cosplay.

I wear sweaters and long skirts, but I’m used to wearing one pair of comfy work sandals until they literally start falling off, then buying another pair. I’ve dyed canvas sneakers red with my blood before, so I mostly stick with sandals. I used to have a similar pair of boots that I loved, but they were a cheaper brand (Bearpaw, I think?) and I walked them down to the uppers and wore away half the platform heel.

The main difference I’ve noticed between cheap and middling vs. expensive shoes, aside from expensive ones causing fewer blood blisters, is that even if I walk the soles off, a cobbler can salvage expensive ones. I have one pair of good boots I wear to interviews and ushering that retailed for $598, I bought them for $80 and have since spent $25 to get them polished and re-soled. They’re ten years old, and I think they’ll be wearable another 30 years. But they’ve a 3 inch skinny louis heel and I can’t stand up all day in them without wanting to die.

I'd go for the zoo pass. But I love the zoo. Animals in general are necessary for my sanity. And the exercise would be a great bonus.

I'm kind of leaning towards the boots being a good investment, since it sounds like something that will have long-term benefits. And the chances of being able to save up for a zoo pass later are higher, I think, since it's less expensive.

Are you sure that this brand won't cause problems, though? Because it sounds like that's a real issue for you, and that really sucks.

On a completely different angle, if cold feet are a problem, could you look into those little chemical heat pads you stick on socks? They last for hours, and I used to use them in very cold weather when my shoes just weren't enough.
If people can't see your feet, could you just keep a pair of fluffy slippers on for when you're at your workstation, or is that not a possibility?

Oh man, I wish slippers were an option, but I leave my desk to help the public all the time. I'll definitely look into those heating pads, though, they sound awesome. I used to have a chemical hand warmer and I'm thinking I should get some more; my hands and feet are always cold at work even when the rest of me is fine, because I can't wear gloves and type. We don't even have hot water in the break room; I got an electric kettle and fill a basin to thaw out my hands on breaks. Almost did my feet, too, but decided I didn't want to gross anyone out by soaking my feet at work.

I'm not super worried about the boots being painful, although I've never spent full price on them, I have bought expensive shoes before, and not had near as many problems breaking them in as with midrange and cheap ones, plus one of my coworkers said Zappos does free returns. I'll decide whether to get the boots or zoo pass when I get paid next week.

Maybe get shoes you can slip off easily, and put a space heater under your desk?
ngl, your work place sounds a little rough on the coldness :/
Whichever you choose, I hope you get full satisfaction from it!

ETA: read your other comments about why space heaters won't work. Jeez, it's like they're *trying* to emulate Siberia!

Edited 2018-01-05 04:55 (UTC)

You should get or make (knit/crochet) some fingerless mitts to wear at your desk. They will keep your hands warm but leave your fingers free to type. I made some to wear at my old job, although I haven't needed them since I went to work at a place that is more toasty warm.

Like so:

https://www.thespruce.com/fingerless-gloves-and-wrist-warmer-patterns-978775

Honestly? I'd keep shopping around for either:

* warm boots that cost way less than $300 because that's insane
* fleece lined slippers that you could wear while at the desk (I recommend fleece lined Dearfoam's for men regardless of your gender, something that resembles a shoe rather than a slip on for maximum warmth)
* in thick wool blend socks
* a small space heater that can be discreetly tucked under the desk, like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Vornado-VH202-Personal-Space-Heater/dp/B00VXEJ6PC

... and then get the zoo pass with the money I saved from not buying $300 dollar boots.

well said. I got great boots from zappos for only $60.
(out of curiosity, where in Calif do you live?)

OP--I'm in San Diego. *waves at spreadsheet anon*

awesome, I've always wanted to visit the SD zoo! (I live in Oakland)

OP--The SD Zoo is definitely worth a visit or three, but the Wild Animal Park doesn't seem as cool as it used to, although it's still worth seeing, just not when it's hot. The only time I ever regretted going to the zoo was on Cesar Chavez Day; I had the day off, and had forgotten that it wasn't just government employees that had a holiday, but also school children. I like kids fine, but I had never seen it so crowded.

If you ever go, try to go when they have extended hours (in December and all summer) so you can see the animals that wake up at twilight. Most of the big cats just lie around all day, and the flying foxes hang around like old burritos, but when it starts to get dark, they wake up. It's awesome.

The pandas never seemed worth it to me unless you've never seen one in person, they're cute, but the line is insane. The maned wolf is cool, if shy and stinky (they smell like skunks and look like foxes on stilts.) The last time I went the big old komodo dragon had been replaced by a youngster; I don't know if the big guy died or what, but the reptile house is fun anyway. And it's been a couple years, maybe she's grown.

The snow leopard exhibit is really cool, but people occasionally get sprayed with big cat urine because the leopards have walkways over the pathway through it. And the lion exhibit has a sign warning people that the male lion will spray, but I've luckily never seen it happen.

There are California condors by the elephants, which was really amazing to see when the exhibit first opened, there were as many California condors in that one enclosure as existed in the whole world when I was a kid, although there's fewer now because I think they were releasing them into the wild, There's a combined monkey and otter exhibit where between the two species there's always something funny going on; I used to stop and eat lunch there and watch them. And they redid the tiger exhibit so it's easier to see the tigers. I used to bring a book and read in the walk-through avaries, just wear a hat or watch out for poop, especially if you're under a tree.

I went to the SD zoo as a kid, and would love to go again!

All I remember was touching an echidna, though.

AYRT--I wish I could get away with slippers, but they're not an option because of our dress code, and we have to help the public a lot away from our desks, so changing from shoes to slippers and back won't work either.

I've never found cheap boots or shoes that weren't torture devices; I mostly buy midrange leather sandals from Clarks and similar brands on sale to avoid limping and blood blisters, and wear them until they disintegrate. I wish I could get away with thick wooly socks with sandals, but I think that might be pushing it, dress code wise.

I tried getting my midrange Bear Paw boots fixed once, but apparently it would be cheaper to buy a new pair, and they retailed for $120ish and I paid half that. I'm really, really hard on my shoes since I walk a lot. My Bear Paw boots had clunky 4 inch heels with heavy duty tread, and not only did I walk the tread off, I walked half the heels off. That's my benchmark for replacing shoes--if something snaps, or if I walk the heels down more than an inch or until I can see inside the heels if they're hollow. Breaking in new shoes tends to break me--and my skin--so I avoid it as long as possible.

My boss has a spece heater in her office, which works because it's a small room and the AC vent in there doesn't pull air from the frigid depths of interstellar space like the one behind our front desk, which faces our huge, high ceilinged lobby and opens out onto the rest of the building. The heating vents are in the public area, but the AC vents for the public area are directly behind the front staff desk and blow frigid air directly down on my workstation.

Apparently a former employee once taped cardboard over the AC vents with the boss's blessing, but the higher ups made her stop. Space heaters have also been tried, but without something to trap the hot air under the desk, it's like lighting a tea candle in an arctic windstorm. One of my coworkers has been making noise about contacting OSHA.

I don't get paid for another week, if no expensive emergencies spring up between now and then, I'll decide then. If I do buy the boots, I can wait two weeks and get the zoo pass, or vice versa. At least I could wear the boots to walk at the zoo, unlike, say, Uggs, which are just as expensive while being useless for walking any place more demanding than from the bedroom to the bathroom.

Honestly sounds to me like you just found these nice pricy boots you really want and are trying to justify the price tag, because if it's solely for the purpose of staying warm at work there must be quite a few other less expensive options (like the commenter above me has listed). I can't imagine getting such pretty boots and then hiding them under the desk the whole time. Those are for wearing out.

On the other hand are you REALLY going to use that zoo pass to its potential? Things bought with "this will make me healthier!" intentions around the New Year do have a tendency to get forgotten along the wayside as the year progresses. Be realistic with yourself. If this is going to be the case, you might as well splurge on the boots. They are really cool.

AYRT--honestly, unless the AC at work gets mysteriously sabotaged by totally not the staff, I'll most likely buy both, it's more a question of which I'll buy first. I've never had any luck with cheap shoes, though; I'd rather a pair I can get fixed than one that'll end up in the landfill, with the bonus of not limping and bleeding for weeks while I break them in. I'm more likely to give cheap boots to Goodwill than wear them long, because they hurt so much.

I will definitely get my money's worth out of good boots; I walk cheaper shoes to death when I manage to break them in, and the cobbler who's fixed a couple pairs of more expensive shoes for me was shocked when I told him I put that much wear on my boots in two months. Even going to work is two miles a day, and five is more usual. I can easily hit ten, if I have someplace fun to go like the zoo, or a ton of errands to run. I don't have a car. And I don't go out, I'm not really social, I just walk everywhere, and need to keep my feet and legs happy.

I used to go to the zoo at least once a week, it's only been the last couple years of work, school, and caring for my sick mom that I haven't had the time. I graduated this past May, my mom shuffled off this mortal coil in July, and I need to get off my ass more, since I got promoted and my new job is more stationary than my old one. I used to walk five miles a day while I was at work, now I'm lucky to walk one, plus a mile there and a mile back, and then I go for a walk when I get home. I still walk a lot more on my days off, running errands, and then walking along the beach to try and make up for my desk job, but it's not fun.

I'd rather go to the zoo on my days off than force myself to walk after work like I do now. I fucking love our local zoo. I used to pack a lunch and spend my whole day off there. There's a big new African habitat exhibit that just opened, and apparently there are cheetah cubs. Now, if I was gung-ho for a gym membership as part of a New Year's resolution fitness regime, or bought designer ripped jeans, that would be wasted money.

Even going to work is two miles a day, and five is more usual. I can easily hit ten, if I have someplace fun to go like the zoo, or a ton of errands to run. I don't have a car. And I don't go out, I'm not really social, I just walk everywhere, and need to keep my feet and legs happy.

There's your problem, anon - boots are NOT meant for that amount of walking, even boots like that. You'd do better to invest in a good pair of cross-training sneakers to wear for walking because that's what they're designed for. I was wondering why you had so many issues with shoes messing up your feet but that explains everything. I too walk at least 2-3 miles a day and I would never dream of doing it in boots, even my most comfortable ones. It has nothing to do with cheap vs. expensive, it's about wearing the right type of shoe for the activity and boots are definitely not it.

I should rephrase, boots that aren't hiking boots aren't meant for that amount of walking, and even then I wouldn't wear hiking boots for walking on concrete sidewalks because they're really designed for dirt hiking trails and don't have the same level of cushioning that sneakers do.

^This. OP, if you want to buy those boots, then buy the boots. Personally I find the price to be too much - especially if you're relying upon them to be practical. To me, they look more ornamental than warm and you're better off investing in woolen leggings or a space heater or something. I get your concern about cheap shoes, but... there's a big gap between getting some crappy shoes and paying $300 for a pair of boots. IME, women's shoes are usually either dressy or practical, rarely both. You're gambling $300 on that pair being both, so ask yourself - would you be okay spending that money if it turns out they're ONLY stylish and don't actually keep your feet very warm?

What's the return policy on the boots?

I tend to wear fluffy sucks when it's a cold day. You know, the kind that are actually made to wear around the house.

You could also get electric socks. I tend to associate them with hunting, but they can apparently be pretty good at keeping your feet warm during other activities. They tend to come with rechargeable batteries. Just a thought.

[ SECRET POST #4019 ]

Should I buy a zoo pass or new boots?

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