Let me say this outright: I hate, hate, hate clothes shopping. I really do not enjoy going to a mall, walking around, trying on various clothes, and then walking out three hours later empty handed.

Shoe shopping, on the other hand, is a little easier to like. Not sure whether it's because trying on shoes is a quick process, or the fact that DSW keeps sending me coupons and stuff… but shoe shopping is significantly less painful than clothes shopping.

That being said, I realize I want to buy a pair of red sneakers to wear to next year's DC United games. DSW doesn't really stock scores of red athletic shoes, so I headed online to see what I could come up with.

First contestant is from Zappos, one of my favorite (but albeit more expensive) online shoe stores. This is Puma "The Suede."

Next up, also from Zappos: Converse All Star Core OX.

At this point, I ran out of plausible options in the Women's section, so let's head over to the Men's dept.

Contestant #3:Gola Harrier - 40th anniversary. (Never heard of Gola before, but I certainly have heard of Harrier. Yes, that plane is hovering.)

Another site I particularly enjoy (save for their search engine) is 6pm.com. I think Zappos actually owns 6pm, and it's essentially their outlet store. Really cheap prices, but the tradeoff is no free return shipping. Meet Adidas TOP Sala VIII.

Sadly, this particular pair is only available in mens sizes 4.5 (I didn't even know they went that low), 10, and 13. Cross this pair off the list.

Thankfully, THESE guys come in my size: Reebok Superkick.

The Superkicks are my favorite so far… my only little quibble about those is the black heel. If I actually had any readers on this blog, I'd put a poll up or something to see what everyone else thought. (Then again, if I based my decision on what everyone else chose, what kind of person would that make me?)

For those who missed the original news…

Sun Journal
WCAX
Maine Today

Paul's obituary

Nice remembrance from the "Citizen of Laconia" newspaper

A day late, but Happy St. Lucia Day! (Or God Luciadagen!)

Not exactly what I had in mind. (That cat's like, "WTF?!")

Here's a better image. I was always the one on the left, as the oldest daughter gets to play the part.

I think I need to add a "Launchcast" blog category, since it seems I have at least one post related to it every few months.

I'm sitting here listening to my station, and what should come up? Think… Thanksgiving is no longer the harbinger of Christmas overload - I saw decorations up in Target in effing OCTOBER - so naturally, Launchcast has started shuffling some Christmas albums into the playstream.

I couldn't hit the "Skip" button fast enough for this one:
Christmas Carol Cats - "Deck the Halls"

WHY?! Seriously, why?!

then, if that weren't bad enough… a few songs later:
Jingle Dogs - "Ding Dong Merrily On High"

I kid you not. Who thinks of this stuff? Better yet, who buys music like this?!

…again.

Many of you know that I get most of my crap, er, furniture off Craigslist. It's a pretty valuable resource for cheap ass people like me, though there are a fair amount of creepy people on there as evidenced by the Personals.

Anyway, I've been intermittently searching for a chair for my room, and I have my eye on an IKEA Poang chair. I feel obligated to buy IKEA stuff not only because it's nice and affordable, but we're talking about a company run by my (Swedish) heritage here. Plus it'll match all the other IKEA furniture I have sitting around my room.

The Poang chair isn't huge, and is just the right size to fit in my room. Currently I strike all sorts of awkward poses on my IKEA bed with its IKEA mattress made up with IKEA sheets to watch the TV on my IKEA dresser without falling asleep.

Back to Craigslist. Like I said, I'm cheap, so finding a Poang chair for $50 would make my day. Today I saw a posting for a $50 chair and e-mailed the owner, half expecting it to have been snatched up by now. Well, apparently the guy who was supposed to buy it fell off the face of the earth, so it's still available… but there was one catch:

"The last guy had offered me $65." (says CL seller)

I e-mail her back and say, "I can pick it up tonight, but I was only hoping to spend $50 as that's what you have listed in the ad." He/she e-mails me back and says they'll take $60.

Okay, from what I remember in Used Stuff Negotiating 101 (as taught by my dad, aka "Cheap Charlie"), normally one bargains DOWN from the advertised price, not up.

I haven't e-mailed them back yet, as it seems kind of pointless. If I wanted to spend $60, I might as well spend $90 on a brand new chair that hasn't been used (and possibly peed on by someone's cat), or fork out a bit more on this cute Lillberg chair that someone has listed for $75.

Maybe I should just buy a folding lawn/lounge chair and just be done with it. I wonder if anyone on CL is selling one…