I have an addiction.

I am about to make a confession, a confession that I hope my friends and family don’t use against me later or judge harshly. Just remember, I am only human and I am allowed to have flaws.

I have an addiction. Yes, I have a problem. I have kept it a secret for many years now but this weekend forced me to look at myself from a different angle and it showed me that I am a weak, weak man. I can’t help it; sometimes I just do it because it is there. I don’t really need it, but I can’t seem to stop myself. My addiction is shopping. More specifically, shopping for shoes. I have more shoes than anyone I know, I really don’t need one more pair but I couldn’t help it. There are so many shoe stores in Toronto it was like being in heaven, a dirty heaven but heaven nevertheless. I started shopping on Saturday and I did pretty good, I bought a few shirts and some other things I don’t need and will probably never use. On Sunday, I broke down. I walked into a shoe store, just to check it out, I didn’t want the shoes to feel neglected, and I walked out with a pair of shoes. I promised myself that I wasn’t going to buy anything else that day because I didn’t have room in my suitcase. Later that day I was walking passed an Aldo’s shoe store and I couldn’t help but go in. There was a sign on the window that said 50% off. Yes, 50%. I love Aldo shoes and I normally buy their shoes for the full price so I had to go in. How could I not, it was half off. At first I didn’t see anything that I liked but give me 15 minutes in a store and I walked out with two pairs of shoes. If you are keeping track, that is 3 pairs total. Keep in mind that I don’t have space in my luggage to take them back home. Aldo’s is based in Canada and they are the Starbucks of Canada, they have stores in every corner. As I am walking through the city I keep running into more Aldo shoe stores and I am starting to believe that they were strategically placed in my path to test my will power. I seriously saw and went into at least 5 Aldo shoe stores within a mile radius. All said and done I ended p with 4 pairs of shoes. WAIT, before you judge me, they were on sale and I got a GREAT deal on all of them, except maybe the first pair I bought, but I love them and I would never think about taking them back.

I go back home tomorrow and I am wondering what trick I will need to pull to get all of these shoes back home. I am at a conference full of logistics and compliance professionals, perhaps I should propose my situation as a case study and have them provide a solution and a rate quote by the end of the day.

Oh, one more thing. All of the boots at Aldo’s were on sale. Had they had them in my size I would have bough two pairs. Guess what I am doing this weekend? I am going to the closest Aldo’s in TX and looking for my boots.

I am ready for an intervention.