Looks like a torture rack, feels like a torture rack

It's almost 11:00 and I am not sleeping yet. I have a lot on my mind- mainly, my feet- specifically the left foot. I don't have a ton of shoes, but the shoes I do have are mostly impractical. The heel is usually high and the toe is always pointed. I opt for this pointy look because I feel it makes me appear taller and thinner. Most people probably think the idea that shoes can make a person look tall and thin is absurd, but I stand by that premise. People always want to know if such shoes hurt, but they never did. I swear to God; they never did.

Well, a few weeks ago when I was at the gym, I had a little mishap. While awkwardly operating an equally awkward weight machine to exercise my calves, I felt a shooting pain in my left foot. This lead to an even more awkward dismount from the machine, wherein, upon putting my weight on my left foot, I folded up like a cheap table. I'd like to think no one saw me but, as it was "peak hours" at my gym, I'm pretty sure everyone in there got a good laugh out of my clumsy fall. I hobbled out of there, head down, iPod on, tears streaming down my face (tears of pain and embarrassment). In retrospect I probably should have either
A. taken a couple days off for the gym or
B. had it looked at asap.
Instead, I just rubbed it a little bit and ignored the pain that seemed to be dulling with each day.

The days following this incident were casual days at work, so I was able to wear my Puma tennis shoes. No heel, no pointy toe. The pain lingered, but it eventually subsided within a few days. That is until the following week, when I put on my pointy-toed torture racks again. And now the pain is back for good. My dad and my boyfriend both suggested that the shoes were the cause of my pain. Fools, I thought! Don't they know Carrie Bradshaw wore shoes like this all the time? She seems to have no problem prancing around NYC in her pointy-toed Manolo Blahnik heels. Why would I be any different?

Well, apparently Carrie Bradshaw has some kind of genetically engineered foot that can handle that kind of abuse, whereas I do not. As it turns out, my expensive pointy-toed shoe wardrobe was a silent killer. Now I have to find an alternative to the heels, at least until I get the nerve to see a podiatrist, who will probably tell me never to wear heels again. Or worse, he'll say I can wear heels only if I wear the ones from that commercial from the 80s . . . "Looks like a pump, feels like a sneaker." Anyway, this problem is weighing on my mind even more heavily because of the fact that I only own one pair of cute tennis shoes, and those are Pumas, and, cute as they are, they don't go with everything I own. On top of that, I have like 2 pairs of pants that aren't huge on me. That includes my premium denim collection, which I am now calling my Premium Denim Sweatpants collection. None of these things can be replaced or tailored because I have to get out of debt by the end of next year (I'll explain why in another post), and I can't spend a dime on anything but groceries, bills and the occasional night out.

To recap, here are the things keeping me from sleeping right now:
1. left foot pain
2. no shoes
3. no clothes that fit me
4. no money to replace or alter clothes
5. I'm not Carrie Bradshaw
A girl can't be expected to sleep with such problems.

Any suggestions? Any podiatrists out there?