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By popular request, another hateful harpy story.

The Hateful Harpy was a frenemy, long before that particular term entered the vernacular. She really was the definition of frenemy in my opinion – someone who acts like she’s friends with you solely for the purpose of all the ways that she can use you, mostly psychologically. I remember when I had some trouble at my new job, a problem with some weird gossip that was circulating about me and turned out to be a total misunderstanding on one person’s part, which turned into an exagerration via a poisonous game of office telephone. Hateful Harpy (who worked for the same company) had the power to quash this innuendo when she first heard it – after all, she was supposedly my “friend” at the time. But she didn’t. In fact, she encouraged it and repeated it and when I went to her, miserable about the untrue and far-out things that I’d heard were being said about me, she said, “You mean that wasn’t true?!” Then she proceeded to tell me with much glee some of the even more horrible things that SHE had heard – and hadn’t bothered to correct or question, either.

I got it all straightened out in the end, no thanks to HH. Up to that point I considered her sort of a casual acquaintance (I really only barely knew her, but at my new job she was the only person I’d known before starting), certainly not a close friend. While I had assumed we might grow close as time went by, the gossip experience was a wake-up call for me. It was one of the first inklings I had that maybe HH’s goal in friendship wasn’t to be actual friends, but to make HH feel better about herself – whatever it took. As it turns out, it took quite a lot! Certainly she’d exhibited other frenemy behaviors before this (making unnecessarily cruel, sarcastic remarks about everything from my clothes to my husband to my home, and passing them off as “jokes” was her specialty), but at the time I figured she was just socially awkward. Actually, she was socially awkward – VERY socially awkward. I think she had, at minimum, Asperger’s Syndrome, and lots of other issues as well. But that’s a Hateful Harpy story for another day…

Sweet dreams, y’all. And watch out for those frenemies!

(Updated to add the link to the hilarious frenemy article on Wikipedia.)

I admit I’ve had a fondness for this song ever since the band I was in back in the mid-90s did a cover version of it. It was a fun song to play, and still fun to listen to. “Jedi mind tricks,” indeed.

Poe: “Trigger Happy Jack”

As expected, those shoes were waiting for me Friday evening, and I took all weekend to consider their merits and decide which, if any, I was going to keep; and which to send back.

By the way, both shoes came with dust covers. The Apepazzas came with one dust bag for both shoes, and the Borns came with a dust bag for each shoe. And in these reviews, when I say I “walked around” in the shoes I mean indoors, of course. Otherwise I can’t return anything!

Apepazza “Giordana” in Antique Black

- Pros: really glitzy, very sexy, I just love the way these things look. Perfect heel vs. platform height. Perfect for Vegas!
- Cons: not very comfortable. Not horrible, but not soft inside at all. Worst aspect: they have a “thong” type strap that goes between the big and second toe. It’s impossible to see in the pictures (or honestly I’d never have ordered them – I can’t wear thong shoes at all) and it’s quite stiff.

After walking around and trying to decide if I could get used to the toe “thong” thing, I decided that no, I probably couldn’t. Also, while they’d look cute in Vegas, it’s hard to imagine getting much use out of them otherwise. The rare times that I do go out, I have other shoes I can wear; and they’re a little over the top for work.

Verdict: They go back.

Born “Jersey” in Black Patent

- Pros: it’s called patent, but this leather is actually much softer than any patent leather I’ve seen, so the uppers are quite comfortable. The footbed is very padded and soft – it’s like walking on a cloud! Very comfortable. They fit perfectly. And they are really cute and MUCH sexier in person than they look in the pictures.
- Cons: only one con, and that’s that the heel is higher than what I’m used to. Even with the platform, the heel to platform ratio makes them quite high, and while I don’t think it will make my feet hurt (they’re so padded and comfortable); and I can still walk in them (thanks to the mostly wedge shape); I think it puts a strain on my bad ankle.

I walked around in these quite a bit too, deciding if the heel is too high. I really think I can get used to it.

Verdict: I’m keeping them!

Another happy shoe ending, courtesy of Zappos.com. And no – they don’t pay me. I just ADORE the site. To me, it’s exactly what ecommerce should be – amazing selection, outstanding customer service, tons of information about every product, and nearly instant gratification.

(Edited to fix links and add a tag.)

Firstly, update on the Zappos: as usual, they upgraded my shipping (FREE!) to overnight. So my shoes will be waiting for me when I get home today. Essentially, I’ll have them less than 24 hours after I placed the order. THAT is ecommerce at its best!

Today’s song/video is a totally awesome mash-up by YouTube user SenorSobchak: Air’s Alpha Beta Gaga over video from trippy 60s film “Lord Love a Duck,” starring Tuesday Weld. Freak yourself out.

I just ordered these. I plan to send back whichever pair doesn’t fit or feel right (hopefully at least one of them WILL fit and feel right!). God I love Zappos!