50 by 50 = math meets #fluevog

thanks @Fluevog ... for continuing to feed my eyeballs with shoe love that translates to happy feet and then some.

back in october 2010, after purchasing my first two pairs in late 2008, i took my first inventory of Fluevogs - thirteen pairs of Fluevog shoes and your fabulous weekend bag - and i was not quite sure how far my love would travel.

thirty-four (or thirty-seven, depending on how one counts) ... as the "Madam" of MotleyFlue with For the Love of Vogs, this nutkin shall cross the half-century mark and wonders whether 50 by 50? countdown to halloween 2013 shall become a reality. given the support of the MotleyFlue and others, it is likely that 50 by 50 is a possibility, and then again ...

it's all about the journey, 

a few steps at a time

(with a Fluegasm here and there, of course)

oh my #fluevog love

thanks to joanne, 

who started something special for the Fluevog IV.

we are celebrating our Fluevog love as 
the MotleyFlue at 
For the Love of Vogs

it all began in May 2011 on Haight Street
L-R: Dorothy, Gladys, Joanne, Shirley

here's my "about" bio ...

Name: Shirley R

Moniker: The Cubevologist

Flue-sona: "The Madam"

Shirley proudly admits to being rightfully blamed by Joanne for bringing Fluevogs into our closets, hallways, and shoe racks. Shirley has recruited those who have found another way of life for their feet. As the oldest (and therefore "The Madam") of the MotleyFlue, she will hit the half-century mark in 2013. Who knows? Will she celebrate her 50th birthday with a 50th pair of Fluevogs? If so, she'll be picking up the pace, given she tallied up 23 pairs when she turned 48 yrs old. While the MotleyFlue's beginnings may be attributed to Shirley, in late 2008 her friend Kate served as her guide  to the Haight Street store; Kate kindly entertained hastily heading to the Haight after a day in cubeopolis. Shirley's virgin voyage was celebrated with a pair of Fellowship | Kathy and with a pair of Operetta | Malibran the very next day. She would later learn about the phenomenon the MotleyFlue have coined as Fluegasm. And she has not looked back!

Meanwhile, as "The Madam" of the MotleyFlue, Shirley also calls herself the "Anthrocubeologist" - passionate about discovering how peer-to-peer interactions can affect workspace cultural shifts (and vice versa). Sure she holds a degree in chemical engineering, but who says the left brain can't meet the right brain?! As a workspace explorer, storyteller, catalyst, improv performer, randomness connector, and servant leader, Shirley often wonders - can the workspace become a playspace simply one Fluevog pair at a time? Join her as the cubevologist, smiling at her Fluevog-donned feet while making others smile.

On style: "Born among the tail end of the Baby Boomers and beginning of Gen X, and working among Gen Y Millenials and Gen Z Digital Natives,  my style is as varied as the generations - choosing from what's comfortable and timeless. I keep my dry cleaning bill to a minimum. Iron clothes? Meh. Steam clothes? Here and there. Wearable off the clothesline or out of the dryer? Preferred. And while I grew up with Glamour's Do's and Don'ts, am a believer in Tim Gunn's 10 Essentials, and get excited when Stacy and Clinton of What Not To Wear have tips for the curvy and petite, none of these have taught me what my MotleyFlue have - enjoy dressing from your Fluevogs up, treat yourself to fun pairs of socks and tights, and remember your feet deserve style, as well."

What I look for in a Fluevog: "It's all about the Fluegasm. Four characteristics intersect to create that special moment when I know a pair(s) of Fluevogs will come home with me - (1) my Greek feet are nicely accommodated, (2) Percy Jr. (a bunion on my left foot) is not cranky, (3) the shoes/boots add more color and texture for my feet-wearing options, and (4) when I look down at my Fluevog-wearing-feet, I am always in a better mood. Comfort, happiness, and a little biofeedback kickstart are what Fluevogs offer me.  Admittedly, I own shoes and boots from other designers that also offer comfort and happiness; however, it is far and few between that they are mood changers.  Simply put, everyone deserves a Fluegasm."

visit us
For the Love of Vogs

twenty-five six ...

... and counting my @fluevog

@Fluevog Radio | CBC (purple)

retail therapy ... it was my moment of retail therapy yesterday, and i was just wanting to see some smiling faces at the haight street store.

26 ... that's the count with this pair of purple CBCs, which i'll be wearing with the teal laces to cubeopolis tomorrow (err ... today, thursday) .


and the other pairs? ...  "where are the other 25 pairs?" you ask. whether or not you're asking, visit them among the cobbled blog posts. check them out at fluevog.com.

• 25th pair in this post

• adriana | nuni
• 24th-1st pair in this post





• operetta | brightman
• bellevue | etta place
• faith | certitude
• prepares | merit
• mini | zaza
• another day | monday
• adrians | alli
• minis | elif
• wonders | kiliminjaros 
• hope | promise
• prepares | guide
• baroque | ruben
• mini | gorgeous
• angel | ?
• operetta | julia
• operetta | malibran 
• truth | pilgrim
• frontier hi | calamity
• together hi | benatar
• angels | michael
• wearever | gracias
• bellevues | pearl hart
• operetta | malibran (black)
• fellowship | kathy

accessories, too!

today's @fluevog official-ish count ...

fluevog iv and haight street's jim and denny.

fluegasm (re)ERRATA-ing ... simply put, this asian did her math WRONG. (i'm the asian.) today, it is 23 pairs. this is based on an "official count" with vog-a-holic joanne over here and my yesterday evening purchase at the haight street store. LOVE the spring 2012 collection and colors! (and i'm crossing my fingers on the operetta brightman and looking forward the continued unveiling of spring '12.)

math oopsie ... in november, i posted that i had 23, as in the prime number - see over here. after reading the post, looking at the pictures, and counting out loud with joanne, while pointing at the screen (which was repeated 2 more times), it WAS actually 22 during the november count. i counted wrong. brain fart.


welcome new vogs ... yesterday evening's the new addition - the bellevue | etta place. and i LOVE  the ribbon laces, so i'll enjoy seeing what other ribbon colors will be fun to mix up. my feet will happily wear the soft white pair. they are described as soft white. it seemed in the lighting there was some faint color behind it - maybe a cream-ish or pink-ish. i'll give it a whirl in natural sunlight and see what's up. - i dunno.


visual recap ... twenty-two, shahwenty-shree, square root of π ... if someone wants numbers and reasons, here are 15 reasons to love fluevog over here. ... regardless of the count ('cuz there certainly are many reasons), i have shoes that make me (and others) smile. and i have accessories, also.

count-along ...

9 pictured. (right?)

12 + 1 (blk malibran not pictured)

and for accessories ...

operetta clutch

eddie weekend bag

next in line of sight 

i puffy heart operetta ... oh the brightman! as i may round-out for an even number count (or as i approach the next prime number), i am determined that my feet will meet a pair of brightman.

thanks jim, denny, joanne 

for a FABULOUS after cubeopolis experience.

see ya soon as spring 2012 rolls in to the haight store.

(UPDATE: twenty-four. yup, 24, as of january 21.)

OH! AND if you need company, family guy's

brian and stewie over here can keep y'all company. 

five hard inches ...

boot heels, that is ... from @fluevog, last week my fluevog faith | certitude red clog boots took their virgin voyage into san francisco and cubeopolis. with a 1-inch platform and a 5-inch heel, i had a nifty new view in the cubeopolis maze; in other words, i could see over the cube partitions a l'il more!

"thank you" ... it's what i said quite often for those who complimented my boots. first compliment? male stranger in elevator as i started my day in cubeopolis - 

"wow, those boots are great! i hope they are as comfortable as they are totally cool!"

(great way to start the day!) yes, indeed, they were. admittedly, at least for me (who is not used to wearing heels), i'm not sure if i'd be able to do that walk-all-over-the-city all day and night, but i know i can do so during the work day around the office and a jaunt out for lunch

critter love 

meanwhile, my little cubemates (aka toys in my cube) bore witness to my virgin voyage.

 
and thanks for the elbow of shiny penny andy that was available in case i could not comfortably navigate the little slope/hill jaunt out for lunch a couple of blocks away.

 certitude-licious!
(and visit my addiction)

[p.s. no animals were hurt

during this photog shoot.

girl squirrel is fine!]

curbside chat, zaza, grits

YUM! ... @brownsugarkitch, @eco_smiley and shirlnutkin (aka banshee) had a great sunday breakfast at oakland's brown sugar kitchen (on web, yelp, facebook, twitter, youtube). worth the wait with a curbside chat, caffeine, oatmeal currant cookie, and comfy zazas!

(i know, i know ... 

but i had to sneak in 

my fluevog mini | zaza fun!)

side bar ... of course, while waiting to hear "banshee" yelled, posting a pic or two on facebook (right?) is kind of a must. loved this comment - 

"careful someone might drop some coins in the cup
thinking you are begging to support your shoe habit!"

(BRAVO, pipes man!!!)

back to food stuff ... i likes make love covet me my grits (as shared in last year's post, for which there are other restaurants i'll need to add to the grits offering in the bay area). this morning was no different, and piragua also had her share of grits.

organic cheddar cheese grits w/poached egg,
bacon-cheddar-scallion biscuit,
veggie quiche (incl. portabello mushroom),
chicken apple sausage, more grits,

and one word: 

BUTTER

fluegasm me (ERRATA) ...

forgive me? ... @fluevog, i miscounted. one of my vigilant fluevog iv sistahs noted that on nov 9, when i posted (over here) what i thought were my 22 pairs ... i missed one. oopsie - 23. (a prime number is good!) 

short version ... love fluevog (on web, twitter, facebook, youtube) and my feet love fluevog. (and j-ro's feel love fluevog; here's j-ro's confessions of a vog-aholic!)

ERRATA via update/repost ... one of my fluevog iv sistahs has demanded a re-post. i shall oblige.  i offer this updated version of my previous post to j-ro (fluevog iv watcher) with the added missing pair.

ahhh ... it's all about @fluevog shoes or shall i call them feet enhancers? last year i posted about my growing collection over here

post about the 13 pairs over here

where 13 really are the 12 in the image below

PLUS the black operetta | malibran pair

(up above with the cross-over straps, aka the operetta | malibran)

and let's not forget a couple of accessories -

and because one or two of the fluevog iv

(more about the fluevog iv over here)

 has asked for an update of my shoes

(fluevog iv pictured here at the SF haight street store with our flue-daddies: jim and denny)

 

L to R: shirlnutkin, dorothy, jim, gladys, joanne, denny

this is my update.
since my july 2010 purchase of the rubens,
here are the additional 8 ...?! oopsie! 9
for which i believe is the order that i purchased them
(although i have been known to do "clearly i am addicted group" purchases)

and here is some fun with my adrians | alli

LOVE 'EM ALL!!!

(yes, jim, i kinda cheated on you.

got the certitude boots when i was at the melrose store.

a kind of happy birthday (again) to me pair. i still puffy heart you!!!)

j-ro perspective: Btw - I'm okay if you cheated in LA... 
as long as you remember that 
Jim and Denny are the Flue-daddies you come home to at night:)

fluegasm me ...

ahhh ... it's all about @fluevog shoes or shall i call them feet enhancers? last year i posted about my growing collection over here

post about the 13 pairs over here

where 13 really are the 12 in the image below

PLUS the black operetta | malibran pair

(up above with the cross-over straps)

and let's not forget a couple of accessories -

and because one or two of the fluevog iv
(more about the fluevog iv over here)

has asked for an update of my shoes

(fluevog iv pictured here at the SF haight street store with jim and denny)

 

L to R: shirlnutkin, dorothy, jim, gladys, joanne, denny

this is my update.

UPDATE 11/12: 
repost at fluegasm me (ERRATA) ...

(oopsie! miscount. 23 (not 22) pairs)

 since my july 2010 purchase of the rubens, here are the additional 8
for which i believe is the order that i purchased them
(although i have been known to do "clearly i am addicted group" purchases)

LOVE 'EM ALL!!!

(yes, jim, i kinda cheated on you.

got the certitude boots when i was at the melrose store.

a kind of happy birthday (again) to me pair. i still puffy heart you!!!)

i spy an almost all-nighter ...

i spy STUFF
should i really clean this shit up
before i relo-cube-alize?

cubeopolis ... until ~3:30 am and back in by ~8:30 am, this is the after-math of the near-all-nighter. i'll continue to reside in this squalor until i start to relocate on wednesday (june 1) to a coveted-by-others spot down the aisle. meanwhile, i'll add to this post later ... as i did back in april over here ...

deconstructed cube-o-rama slice o' life ... i have STUFF. let's begin with may 27 and one slice of cube-o-rama. let's i spy STUFF (roughly from left to right)...
[update on 05/29 ... from L-R-ish]

• coffee cup 1 (of 4)
• tim gunn bobblehead (the original)
• soda (sprite) can 1 (of 3)
• coffee jacket, aka java jacket (of many distributed randomly across squalor)
• telephone headset
• yellow sticky, small (of various sizes and distributed randomly - and not so randomly - across squalor)
• scissors
• bejeweled monitor
• red pencil sharpener
• coffee cup 2 (of 4)
• orange
• red flocked wrapping paper (as cubeopolis wallpaper)
• my health month rules
• whiteboard pen holder (with rogue "girl with raised pigtails" pen from pho queen)
  
• glasses (for distance)
• soda (diet coke) can 2 (of 3)
• not-yet-assembled john fluevog pencil holder
• paper-umbrella i-quit-my-corporate-job and here's-why mini-flyer, handed out during the going away luncheon
• soda (pepsi) can 3 (of 3)
• not-yet-eaten raspberry muffin (which STILL remains uneaten and in my backpack)
• zen board (desk version of a buddha board)
• coffee cup 3 (of 4)
• to-go soda container (from chipotle) with diet coke
• pictures and paper galore, including niece+nephew, pigdog, malia+javier, guac monster, sculpture (once at laguna art museum), tim biskup mini-cards
• colored felt markers strewn on my desktop squalor
• penguin coffee mug (without coffee)
• folders under desk
• felt marker pen holder
• tarsier with red fez and red wine
• printed box with girl stuff in it
• solo cow in moonlight
• chipotle to-go bag with 2/3-eaten chicken bowl (aka compost, later in the morning)
• stimpy (of ren & stimpy fame - or infamy - created by john k) peeking out behind the chipotle bag
• shoe magnets
• pedestal desk first drawer ajar (aka the napkins collection area)
• coffee cup 4 (of 4)
• albert einstein bookmark (with quote "great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds")
• hard drive
• signed glossy (to top chefardy) from top cheftestant, ryan scott (on web, facebook, also is 3 sum eats that is at OtG here/there) - and here's the deal about the glossy ... he and top chef, season 4 winner, stephanie izard (on web, her restaurant girl & the goat, ), were featured at the top chef tour many years ago when the tour dropped by the bay area ... i've given a cubester stephanie's glossy
• incase maroon laptop sleeve
  
• magnetic container (regularly used for spices) with coveted small binder clips
• fake roses in a coffee mug
• some sort of writing pad (i didn't realize that was atop the shelf)
• and ... apparently not a window cube, but that's o.k. ...

(not in picture - plant trimmings
hanging on for dear life
... and more squalor)

answer to question:
NO.

fluegasm ...

@fluevog ... fluevog + orgasm = fluegasm (by joanne), which is loosely defined as an excited pee-in-your-pants or oopsie-seat-cushion-event or do-i-have-to-dry-clean-this, which is somewhat related to occurring ...

• ... when you give it to yourself - while (or after) seeing the artisanal fluevog(s) of your choice that your feet want need already know you are going to purchase,
  
• ... when the store dealers folks (like the one's over here) or the online dealers shop (over here) give it to you - after trying on and/or purchasing that special pair(s),
  
• ... when it's a group-frenzy thing - let's leave it at that.
  

today is THE 41st anniversary and the day where regularly priced in-store purchases are 15% off, ground shipping is free for online purchases (in u.s. and canada), and every 41st online purchase is free. (also, there are other specials from participating merchants over here - including goorin bros.)

and yes, since last summer, i've added five pairs to my pool o' fluevogs (over here), which i shall post about later. meanwhile, for the fluevog iv (over here), a haiku for the day ...

john fluevog today
haight street?! bay to breakers boo ...
anti-fluegasm

(in other words,
not heading in to the city today
to get shoes signed by the man. oh well ...)

fluevog iv

the sisterhood ... @fluevog (on twitter, web) on haight street in san francisco this past saturday, the self-proclaimed fluevog iv (aka fluevog four) sisterhood met up - some for the first time (except via facebook chats) and others just reconnecting.

[on second thought ... fluevog iv may mean fluevog Intra-Venous?! but i digress ...]

time spent in the store ... some spent 4 hours in the store while others starting off a little more than 45-minutes. here we are with jim and denny at the haight street store - love 'em! was probably a good thing that some of the fluevog iv got hungry and others had to head back to the east bay. we'd never have left.

[in picture: shirlnutkin (moi), dorothy (on twitter, web), gladys, and joanne (on web)]

gimme fluevog ... simply put, it was a great, relaxing, fluevog-trying-on, (for some) fluevog-purchasing, and fluegasms (coined word for fluevog-orgasms).

yes - quite an afternoon of a range of emotions and expressions ...

• excitement over meeting up for the first time,
  
• professing love for john fluevog's shoes amongst ourselves, (as i have done in the past here when i broke in my rubens and here with my growing collection of sorts)
  
• professing love for john's shoes with other customers, (gladys now has a southern california fluevog buddy - with the SAME shoe size!)
  
• a hug fest upon the first gathering of the fluevog iv,
  
• theories about whether (or how much!) happy gas is piped through the store,
  
• our dealers (affectionately termed) - jim and denny - lovingly bringing out those shoes that needed to be on our feet, and ...
• sadness over not-available-sizes in some of the fluevog iv's wish list, (oh how i will search the web for a size 6.5 in the mollie johnson)

gimme fluevog
(aka gimme ... or find me ... mollie johnson in size 6.5)

plaid in cubeopolis

tights ... from @leg_avenue (on twitter, facebook, web), my plaid tights with my operetta black malibrans from fluevog were quite eye-catching in cubeopolis. (thank you leg avenue and 23 skidoo vintage)

plaid day ... it was unofficially plaid day yesterday, so said shiny penny andy. both he and i were shackled-cubesters, tied to an on-line event, so neither of us quite got to plaid-walk together around cubeopolis.

i spy shirlnutkin's cube-o-rama ... in the world of cubeopolis, each cubester has his/her own personal cube-0-rama, framed by four beige walls where push pins and magnets find a reason to exist. then there are just the surfaces where STUFF just happens. for some cube-o-ramas, it's a tidy sight. for others, it's an a.a.d.d. celebration of sorts.

deconstructed cube-o-rama slice o' life... i have STUFF. let's begin with one day and one slice of cube-o-rama. let's i spy STUFF (roughly from left to right)...

• to go coffee copy
• shotglass (gift from a cubester)
• bejeweled computer monitor
  
• red pencil sharpener
• red, flocked wrapping paper
• my health month rules
  
• squirrel postcard
  
• albert einstein bookmark (with quote "great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds")
• whiteboard pen holders
  
• pen with punching girl and pigtails standing up
• leather classes case
• 23+oz plastic water bottle
• black malibrans (from fluevog's operettas)
• plaid tights
• black leather planner
• zen board (desk version of a buddha board)
• pink piggy bank (from nashville, tn ... thanks kate and gwen)
• felt marker pen holder
• pictures and paper galore, including niece+nephew, pigdog, malia+javier, guac monster, sculpture (once at laguna art museum), tim biskup mini-cards
  
• tarsier with red fez and red wine
• solo cow in moonlight
  
• printed box with girl stuff in it
• distance glasses
• empty ziplock bag
• scooping yogurt
• shoe magnets
• reading glasses
• coffee-stained (years of...) teeth
• and ...
  

... i'm sure it looks different today.
what do you i spy?

uncharacteristically blog-quiet ...

indeed ... 5 posts over the past two weeks?! yes indeed - quite uncharacteristic. time for shirlnutkin to get back to characteristic. time to gather some nuts (again)!

for starters ... social food fun and yip-yap on saturday - a been-a-long-time breakfast buds morning, so the quiet will slowly let up. although not at much ruckus as breakfast buds new year's napkin fun at ella's, we caught up at 900 grayson - catching up on dating, non-dating, and what's dating(?) stories. trips planned and still in the planning stages. learned what it REALLY means when the host's mutters "it may be about 1 hour and 20 minutes". and finally, knowing that without planning a breakfast buds moment, there will be other breakfast buds moments in the future. (always fun times!)

side note: always love 900 grayson (on yelp and their site). it's not just their cheese grits - it's their almond macaroon, alfajores, specialty sausage offering, fresh ingredients, and fun-fun-service (which includes the decoder ring).

nudge from a friend ... thanks to my buddy, yvette, who gave me a little nudge saturday afternoon - "i hope that's simply because you're busy with other stuff and isn't reflective of discouragement of any sort."

my response ... my note back to yvette included words and phrases such as - "work ... pretty major ... sick mon + tues ... bundled up ... bit of discouragement .. slow train wreck ... catch-up ... life observed ... regular fun/creative things ... housecleaning ... funky-ness ...". with cubeopolis life being quite the contributor to how i spend my time - day-time AND a few evenings here and there - the past 2 weeks have spoken ... get clarity and (re)focus!

a bit o' social stuff ... however, amidst the meh-blogging over the past 2 weeks, i have had a bit o' social activities that have included attending comedy shows last week, a very awesome brunch where i met my friend's baby girl (10-months old) for the first time, happy hour and dinner with a buddy, and breakfast buds yip-yap (which included chomping on a TASTY(!) alfajor). ALSO, i have LOVED the flurry of FB fluevog sisterhood shares and comments among glady, dorothy, and joanne.

reconnecting with what i've missed ... as i am playing catch-up, i realize that it is time to reconnect and get my ass in gear. for good or bad, i'm still in the search mode as i was back in mid-january. time to get jump back onto love2011 and health month posts, and given the out-and-about food stuff i've been doing, a few food posts are in the future. the daily reverb10 has evolved into a monthly reverb11 or re11, with my contribution to february's prompt over here, and a yet-to-be-posted-response for the march re11 prompt (hmmm ... what a prompt?!)

i am a couple of months behind on my nutshells, with january as the most recent nutshell (though february is teed up somewhere in my drafts). and for me, there is the catch-all yhd2011, for which i recommitted in march. B3 (or blogger gals) is still a go (yippee!!!), and although kit's cyccyl (on facebook and yet-to-be-revamped site) is in hibernation, i still keep my kit kick going on. and in the world of cubeopolis, intending to continue to be involved activities that make the workplace an enriching experience.

and a few adders in the mix ... with my recommittment to yhd2011, i am using my droid's springpad and thinking space (mind mapping) much more so i can capture, organize, share, and act on ideas that keep flying ... and just in case my phone is not around, i've got my purse-friendly paper-pen moleskine grid journal and action runner notepad. while doing a bit of human-spring-cleaning, i am getting read to work with human performance expert, tracy, at t2 performance solutions, and i am signed up for a greenleaf center course on the foundations of servant leadership, which i was introduced back in 1999.

to r|cat or not to r|cat? that amidst cubeopolis ... and go figure, for whatever reason, i have been pondering a complete overhaul of r|cat - not at all what it once was, while retaining the same vision and values. dunno where that's coming from, but i'm going with it for now to see what pops out at the end. meanwhile, yes, i'm sticking with cubeopolis.

oh those?
that's the pair of fluevogs i'll own
after this week's cubeopolis
OR MAYBE
i'll get them sooner and
sleep with stare at them
THEN
wear them after this week's cubeopolis