Yearly Archives: 2006

Even if the shoe fits

Friday June 2nd 2006

One thing that’s always bugged me about going to buy a new pair of training shoes is the level of customer service you get from the sports outlets. Maybe I’m just going to the wrong stores, but in Britain I’m usually served by monkeys who are paid peanuts and have absolutely no desire to be helpful to the customer.

The other day I went into JJB Sports in the retail park nearby with the intention of buying a new pair of trainers. I want to use the new shoes for general wear and also to play tennis, plus whatever other running around I choose to do. Immediately upon entering the shop I’m confronted by a wall of what can only be described as fashion accessories. The shoes were so flimsy that there was no way I could justify spending upwards of ?50–?60 on a pair that would be coming apart after a few games of tennis (like the Nike’s I have at the moment). So that makes the choice of shoe that much more difficult – I don’t want a flimsy pair, nor do I want a particularly garish pair.

However, even if I could live with flimsy, avoiding garish is near impossible – it’s like they’re trying to fucking outdo each other in some warped vulgarity competition. My current Nike’s are bordering on garish, but I thought they seemed robust enough to cope with some running and tennis. I thought wrong, as they’re coming apart in less than six months.

After browsing the shoe shaped fashion disasters before me in JJB Sports, I finally narrowed my choice down to a white and blue pair of Nike Air Pegasus. They weren’t the most sturdy pair of shoes on offer, but they had a nice colour scheme and were on sale at ?49.99. I fetched a nearby sales “assistant” and asked if I could try a pair of size nines on.

Over a squealing and squelching walkie talkie he mumbled a vague description of the “blue and silver Nike’s” to the equally disinterested individual on the receiving end. In my mind alarm bells were ringing straight away, as not once did he mention the words Air or Pegasus, descriptive terms that I thought would help identify these shoes from all the others, being as they were the only Nike Air Pegasus shoes on the shelf.

Economy Drive

Thursday May 25th 2006

By careful driving and not going anywhere at the weekends this month, I managed to string a tank of petrol out for nearly four weeks. That’s a whole 27 days of journeys to and from work, with the lunchtime trips to the tennis centre a couple of times weekly thrown in for good measure. I reckon I could have gotten another day out of it, too, but I’ve yet to endure the embarrassment of running out of fuel and it’s a streak I’d like to perpetuate.

After watching an episode of Top Gear where Clarkson managed to drive an Audi from London to Edinburgh and back on one tank of fuel, I thought I’d see if I could apply the same techniques and improve my mpg. Smooth acceleration and minimal use of the brakes are key, along with keeping the revs nice and low.

Our Honda Jazz has a ridiculously low first gear, which I imagine was designed for when the car is fully laiden. When there’s just me in it that low first gear gets you off from a standing start like a shot. I’ve burned RX 8’s, Porshe’s, you name it, off the line. Granted they usually fly past me once I go for second gear unless I let it rev pretty high in first, but it’s fun while it lasts!

Due to that, it’s quite hard to resist the temptation to blast away from the lights, squandering untold mpg in the process. A month or so ago I discovered that pushing the little knob on the speedometer cycles through the trip counter to a miles-per-gallon-o-meter, giving instant feedback on how my right foot is affecting my wallet. The challenge of keeping the number in the mid to high 40’s actually makes econical driving quite good fun, comparitively. I mean, if I had to wait until the fuel ran out and then check the trip counter to calculate how far I’d gone on one tank then that would be pretty dull. Watching it rise and fall as I drive gives instant feedback on how’s my driving?

Budget Month

Monday May 8th 2006

Due to paying off the car & home insurance and our holiday all in the space of a month, my bank account is running on empty for the first time in ages. So, to help cushion the fall into overdraft territory we decided that May 2006 would be a budget month.

In order to cut out the unnecessary expense of multiple short trips to the supermarket we went and done one mega shop at the end of last week. It consisted of things like a bag of pasta so large we can go camping in it after it’s empty (some time circa 2008, most likely), and other odds and ends that were two–for’s or own brand items that aren’t that far removed from their more expensive counterpart.

Disappointments so far have included the Asda own brand apple shampoo, which is pretty average as far as washing goes, and the apple fragrance is so weak it just washes away. The own brand fun size treats are pretty grim, too. I’d agree that in a budget month we shouldn’t have any fun size treats at all, but I like to have a couple in my bag to eat with my lunch at work, plus they were two for one, so they seemed like a steal. A couple of them are alright, but the caramel and peanut variety are disgusting, so I wouldn’t get them again.

Good buys come in the shape of the Asda own brand coconut bubble bath, which certainly does the trick bubble wise and it was a three for two offer, so that’s a result. I also got a whole bunch of decent bread rolls, too, but since our fridge has started playing up again I’m afraid they probably wont last long enough for me to eat them all.

I’m happy that my beer and wine sacrifices saved a around ?20 from the get–go, and I’m sure we could have made more effective cost cutting measures if we’d thought more about it. If June ends up being another budget month I’m certain we’ll be better prepared for picking up cost reducing items.