Toe Ring
Posted By Kristabella on June 23, 2009
The key to blogging is to write about hair or shoes, apparently.
So you guys have opinions about those shoes. Or should I say OPINIONS. I loved reading all your comments. There would be a lot of “hmm, maybe with capris or a skirt would be better” comments and then you would have a bunch of “NO! BAD SHOES!” comments. I’m also surprised at how many people have these same shoes and actually like them. Decision? To be decided.
I agree with a lot of you that it is a lot of foot. I don’t know why it bothers me more than a flip flop or any other sandal. The only thing I can think of is that these cover just the middle of the foot. And then like the whole end of your foot is out there! In the open! With the possibility of stepping in Chicago sludge!
I’m going to try them with a few different things – long shorts, capris and a dress (not all those at once, though), and see. I also got a pedicure tonight, so that should help. I put off the pedicure for so long because it was like in the 60s last week and I was wearing socks. Then all of a sudden it’s 91 and I’m wearing sandals and people are looking at my bare toenails! THE HORROR!
Also, a tan might help. But that won’t happen since I prefer the indoors and SPF 75.
So as I was getting my pedicure tonight, I started thinking back to when I wore toe rings. Did anyone else wear toe rings? Why did I feel the need to wear a ring on my toe? Why would I encourage people to focus their gaze on my feet? (Although, a player at the 49ers, John Keith (who only those of us who worked at the 49ers know who the hell that even is), he used to tell me all the time that I had pretty feet. And then I would say “thanks perv, now move along and stop breaking like a God damned China doll!”)
Anyway, I remembered toe rings during my pedicure tonight because I always took mine off for pedicures. Because it was FINE JEWELRY, apparently. And I would wear it on my pinky finger, like an Italian mobster, until the pedicure was finished. That’s classy right there. Klassy with a K.
I actually only kept wearing the toe ring for one reason – because Steve Mariucci, the cute, former head coach of the 49ers, he would always comment on my toe ring. (I’m also pretty sure I’ve mentioned this story before.)
See I was in charge of taping his informal media gathering after practice every day. And then I would go upstairs and transcribe it for the website. It sounds like a mundane task, but when I was first asked to do it, it was one of the first times a woman was ever allowed on the practice field. In like the entire history of the organization. This was in 2000.
So I jumped at the chance. THIS! This was going to be my in, this was going to be my way to break down all those rules and the glass ceiling! I am woman, hear me ROAR!
I was told to just tape and not say a thing. I am woman, hear me stand meekly with a tape recorder.
Now if anyone of you have ever met me, or read this blog, you might guess that being quiet is NOT an easy thing for me to do. But this was my chance! I would do what it took to carve my niche, to create my place in history with this franchise. So I stood, every day after practice and held my little tape recorder and stayed in the background.
I found out a few years later from my boss that Mariucci, he did NOT like me being out there. He was against it from the very beginning. And it was Mariucci, or Mooch as he’s known, who gave the instructions for me to be quiet. Kirk, my boss, he could care less about gender. He always hired good people who worked hard and did their jobs. He’s a younger guy, so the whole Old Boys Club of not having women around, he didn’t buy into it. I was very lucky to work for a guy like Kirk.
As the practices went by, as I behaved myself and stayed invisible (I think), slowly Mooch started to warm up to me. Since I’m not shy, and I am blessed with a quick wit and a big mouth, he probably regretted the day he first talked to me. Because then, once I was spoken to, I had to talk back. And I could make a living at talking back. I’m THAT good at it. And once I started, I could not be stopped.
Because the years Mooch coached the team (while I was there) were some of the worst teams in Niners history, he got asked a lot of questions by the media that he didn’t want to answer. When he didn’t want to answer, he would look at the ground. When he looked at the ground, he saw a bunch of ugly man shoes and MY FEET! Specifically, my toes. And, you guessed it, my toe ring.
He was obsessed with the toe ring. He couldn’t understand the purpose. (Nor do I, years later.) But he would bring it up all the time. For awhile, he would call me Toe Ring. If I ever had a note or something from him, it would either say “Dear Toe Ring” or “Dear Sun Devil” (he saw the tattoo later on.)
So one year I decided to get him a Christmas present. I went to Claire’s and found the girliest pink toe ring I could find. And I wrapped it up and made this heartfelt speech to him, telling him I really wanted to get him something or some other bullshit. He, of course, laughed his head off and LOVED IT! And it sat on his desk for the rest of his years with the 49ers.
On the day he got fired, I walked into his office to say goodbye, with tears in my eyes because I knew not only was I going to miss him because he was one of a kind, I also knew that all the years I worked at becoming one of the boys, getting him to see me as a professional, not as some WOMAN, some walking vagina, who wanted to sleep with players, all that was walking out the door with him. And I was going to have to start from scratch.
But he told me that he was taking the toe ring with him and it would be displayed on his desk the next place he ended up. Although I’m quite sure it ended up in the circular file. But I still have my memories!
About the author
Man, the only thing I ever gave my bosses were Starbucks giftcards.
Nothing says, admiration of the boss like a toe ring.”)
.-= gorillabuns´s last blog ..all aboard the choo-choo train. all aboard, all aboard, choo-choo! =-.
That is such a good story…I’d kinda forgotten about it until I started reading today.
I don’t even like the feel of rings on my fingers…i can’t even imagine wearing them on my toes. also, i think my toes are too small for toe rings….BUT I think it’s awesome that you got him a toe ring. and that he kept it. awwww.
and you do know that I hereby will ONLY be calling you Toe Ring.
.-= ali´s last blog ..first day last day =-.
What a great story!
Also. I will forever think of you as Klassy Kristabella. 🙂
.-= Angella´s last blog ..How Does Your Garden Grow? =-.
I have webbed toes, so no rings for me. But really, now that I think about it, they are the gift that keep on giving.
.-= Libby´s last blog ..Music of My Youth =-.
I used to wear toe rings with pride back in the day…I used to think they were the height of Klassy Fashion! I really liked that story. Also re: shoes…apparently it takes a village to decide on your footwear…hope you come to a solution that works for you soon!
OMG! I Love (yes as in present tense) my toe rings!! Actually? I don’t think I could get them off right now – I think they’re a permanent fixture on my body. See, I hate the “adjustable” toe rings so when I worked for the jewelry company – I had ACTUAL wedding rings sized down to fit on my toesies! Now… like I said – they are there for life.
Great story though – I don’t think I’ve ever gotten my boss something so.. hmm shall I say personal?
De-lurking to say a) that was a cool story and b) I still wear my toe ring…is that bad? Because I just kind of forgot about it. I don’t even notice it.
I actually still wear my toe ring. I bought it the first week I moved to Seattle so it has special meaning to me. I pretty much never take it off. Is that bad?
.-= Vanessa´s last blog ..Hair Hair Hair =-.
Aww, what a cute story! I wore a toe ring once or twice back in the day, but the thought of a little piece of metal around my toe kinda creeps me out now.
.-= Amanda Nicole´s last blog ..late to bed, early to rise =-.
ha! i wore a toe ring once too! i have no idea why. i might still have it. it is so silly and frankly hindered my walking properly.
but that is a great woman vs. the glass ceiling story. great.
.-= michele´s last blog ..Jen Lancaster Book Signing! =-.
Cute story.
I could never wear a toe ring, they were so uncomfortable for me.
I tried though but failed, I still have them though.
.-= christina´s last blog ..Round n round! =-.
I think I saw it on his desk when they did a thing on him for the Lions.
Hee. No, not really. Sorry.
I liked my REALLY CHEAP toe ring when I was all kinds of skinny and tanned… Now? Um…not with the shoes I wear. Ouch.
.-= Ree´s last blog ..Oops, I did it again =-.
At the risk of being flogged, I still wear 2 toe rings. Why? They are pretty and shiny and I like them. Also I might be part gypsy.
Yep, I had my toe ring — a plain silver one that I wore on the 2nd toe of my left foot. Wore it the second that the weather allowed for sandals. Also wore it on my pinky during a pedicure. And I love that I could take it off and see how pale my feet were normally and bask in the glowing tanness of my skin… in fact, I think my toe ring is buried in the bottom of my jewelry box…
Great story, and great for us new followersof the log. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on that one!
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Getting Crunchy =-.
By which I meant “followers of the blog”. I am an incompetant typer!
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Getting Crunchy =-.
That is one of the coolest stories! I always had such a huge crush on that man. And here I thought this was going to be a post about shoes.
Sorry about the onslaught of “try it with…” on your last post – it’s just that I totally sympathize. For many, many, many years, I could not wear and/or look at shoes that showed the foot. This made fashion quite difficult as you can imagine. My friends still laugh about it and how far I’ve come…but those shoes tested my boundaries too!
.-= TUWABVB´s last blog ..It’s All About Me (sarcasm intended) =-.
what a great story!
i used to wear a toe ring, but I was also a lifeguard so i was barefoot or in flip flops 24/7. I wore it for years after, too. And then, when it was cooler out and i wore real shoes, it would hurt when i walked, but i still kept it on. i don’t know why. i think it even made an indentation in my toe-is that gross? I don’t dislike them, mine just got messed up. oh wait, i had two:)
.-= Scarlet´s last blog ..A Movie Script Ending =-.
I almost bought those shoes, but I too was all “That’s a lot of foot.”
heh, I saw a toe ring stand at a craft faire and I told Jon that I was thinking of getting on and he looked at me very seriously and said, “wow, that’s so 1998 of you”
I guess they aren’t really all the rage anymore…
awesome toe ring story! also…i still wear my toe ring, but only in the summer cuz it hurts my toe when i wear shoes. i didn’t realize toe rings weren’t “in” now. guess i’m too busy paying attention to my own feet to notice that no one else was still wearing them! oh well…i love it because i wear it on my second toe that is kinda crooked and i think it distracts from the crookedyness. and on people with really pretty feet, i think they’re hella sexy. except for men – that gives me the creepies.
.-= auntie´s last blog ..Where’s the Pepto??! =-.
I have freaky spidery finger toes, so the toe ring (which, yes, I used to wear…mine had PEACE SIGNS embossed on it, OMG.) actually looked unsettlingly like it was on an actual finger. I…don’t know if that makes it better or worse. It’s probably best not to think about it.
.-= metalia´s last blog ..Key moments of my Tuesday, in the style of the Harper’s Index =-.
I am willing to bet that he kept the toe ring. I would.
.-= lceel´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – marbles =-.
I use to wear toe ring but they always hurt. Maybe I have like weird deformed crooked toes or something?
I hope he wore the toe ring when he left. He obviously didn’t want to wear it in front of you because he gave you so much crap for it!
Love the sandals, hate toe Rings.