Some people love them, and some people hate them, but my Nike Air Force One Olympic Edition shoes have been my favorite pair of sneakers over the last two years.  I've worn these shoes to just about every DJ gig that I've had and I like to say they help me find "balance" on the 1s & 2s.  After two years I figured I'd try to cop a new pair and keep them in the box until I had run my first pair into the ground.  After searching all over the internet I finally found a spot called kickspro.com which had a pair to sell and I placed my order.  Simple right???

So on April 15th of 2009 I placed my order.  It was kinda therapeutic as I was just about to make my return to office life after my knee surgery.  After being locked down in the house for nearly a month I was happy to be getting a fresh pair of my favorite shoes.  After a week went by and I didn't receive any notification about my order I inquired to customer service and was notified that they didn't actually have the sneakers, but I could get any shoe in their catalog and not have to pay the difference.

At this point I'm a little bothered, but I figured I could find some dope shoes online, upgrade, and still walk away with a smile.  Instead of Air Force Ones, I ended up ordering a pair of Nike Dunks (very appropriate since I have this goal to dunk again).  So I change my order.  Simple right???

Well three weeks go by and after numerous emails to customer service, my shoes (pictured below) finally arrive.

Pretty sweet, right?  A little funky.  Kinda like the mullet of tennis shoes (serious in the front with party in the back).  The only problem is...

THESE ARE NOT THE SHOES I ORDERED!!!

Maybe I could have just accepted the ones that I got, since I thought they were actually kinda cool.  Of course they were an size 8.5, which I wore in the eighth grade.  I ordered the Nike Dunk Low Pigeons in a size 12.  Now I know you're like who names a shoe after a pest of a bird and why the hell did you buy them?  But I fell in love with these sneaks as soon as I saw them (pictured below).  They are colored just like a pigeon with the gray and white-hinted feathers, and orange feet.

Now this was no ordinary shoe purchase.  The Air Force One is a signature Michigander shoe.  A pair of cripsy One's is a signal of my roots back at home and the extreme care that I take to make sure my shoe game does not suck.  I saw these shoes not only as a switch from Air Force Ones to Dunks, but a transition from a Michigander to a Californian.  You see, this year I finally ditched my Michigan license for a California issue.  I also finally registered my car in California...but I still say pop instead of soda, and swear to never use the word HELLA.  The shoes are San Francisco Giants colors and not getting them seemed like a sign that I was not supposed to be here (I know... I'm reaching).

So for about two months I repeatedly emailed kickspro.com to try and resolve the issue.  Every time I saw a pigeon I got pissed off and swore it was laughing at me.  I hate the damn birds already but I definitely noticed them a lot more after the shoe debacle.  To my surprise, I finally received my shoes in the mail yesterday, 2.5 months after my order.

I love my new kicks.  I'm adding them to my current collection of sneakers that all have special significance.

From top to bottom - These green/gray/white Nike Air Max I bought in 1998 and still managed to keep relatively clean.

The white/white Air Force Ones are a staple of Michigan flavor.  If you are from Michigan and don't have a pair of these you might actually be from the Upper Peninsula.

The Air Force One Olympic Edition are my DJing shoes and I will wear them untl the soles wear down.  They've been described as hipster in the front, conscious in the back.  I'm still on the hunt for a fresh new pair.

The white/black Air Jordan XI are the shoes I wore for my senior season of basketbal in high school when we won the state championship. They are my favorite pair of Jordans to date.

Ladies love stilettos, strappy open-toed sandals, and boots.  I love a fresh pair of Ones, J's, and now I'm up on Dunks.  The following would probably be a clear representation of how I reacted when my shoes finally arrived.

So here's my Nu Shooz Mix all about footwear.  Fellas, keep your kicks clean, cause when ladies look you up and down, they start and end at your shoes.  A jacked up pair of kicks can kill any vibe that you're putting out.