Yeeeeah…September has been a budgetary failure for me. There are many reasons why this is the case, but in simple terms there are more fixed and semi-fixed costs that I have to take care of, and I haven’t yet reduced my variable costs to compensate. I’m not made of money; I shouldn’t act like I am. Anyway, I have decided that October will be a well-budgeted month. No surprises, I hope. No feeling sorry for myself.
Category Archive: consumerism
Cold lessons
Lesson: when coming back from grocery shopping make sure that you put anything frozen into the freezer right away. I left some ice cream bars out in the open for a few hours. When I realized it I put the box in the freezer to re-firm. Unfortunately the result was little bags of lumpen chocolate and dairy products. What a waste, eh?
To better race photos
I’ve been sitting on the couch, listening to the radio, and drinking tea while trying to figure out what to write about. I’ve got a heavy blanket covering my shoulders and a new Running Room jacket on. It finally clicked that I should write about this jacket. So, first a little background on the new jacket. One of the perks of being a Running Room clinic instructor is the ability to take advantage of the employee discount. It’s actually a really good perk if you’re in need of new gear. Thing is, it really only lasts as long as the clinic. Soon after the clinic ends the powers that be take that discount away. It’s understandable. Well, since my clinic ended recently I decided to head in to store and take load up on some gear. In particular I wanted to buy a new jacket.
Most of my running jackets are from the Resolution Run races that take place each New Year. I have four of these–there are new designs each year. They’re good jackets, but they’re also rather ubiquitous. As well, three of those four jackets are actually size XL. These days, even though the jackets are usable they’re kind of baggy. In race situations, when I look at the some of the photos that sports photographers get of me while wearing these jackets I just look large or odd. In summary, I figured it was time for me to get something somewhat more fitted to my new size. Makes sense. Buying clothing in smaller sizes seems to be a common theme lately, no?
I went in on Tuesday night prior to my clinic’s get together. I originally wanted to find something that wasn’t Running Room branded, but there weren’t that many options readily available. The store manager pointed me out to some other jackets and a black one caught my eye. He picked out a size medium which ended up fitting me rather well. I spoke to another runner who I see often in store. He said the jacket worked. He also pointed out the discount rack as a place to find jackets. He did a quick search and immediately found a blue jacket in a medium. Truth be told, if it came down to a choice between the blue and black jacket, I would have gone with the blank. Thing is, when we checked the tag, the jacket was marked down to $20. With my employee discount, the jacket came to $10. At that price it made sense to get both. Crazy. So now I have two new jackets for use during the spring running season. Nice. I’m totally ready for better race photos.
Off the rack
You know Moores is having a buy one, get one sale on suits, shirts, ties, etc? I ended up getting a pinstriped charcoal suit, and a dark grey one-button suit. With the shirts, ties, and a pair of shoes the whole things came out to a bit over $800. I was kind of expecting to pay that much anyway for a new suit, but the fact that I got a second suit out of the deal is pretty sweet. I ended up saving about $650 or so.
See, I suppose I could have gone the custom route, but I’m at a point where I kind of need a suit sooner rather than later. The last time I bought a suit was back in 2006. And surely, that suit no longer fits me. When I went in store, after the salesman measured me he had me try on something in a size 40. Immediately, the jacket fit me quite nicely. The shoulder width was perfect. The fit was really good; I had no reservations about how it looked. That’s a first. Back then, I always felt like the jackets seemed far too big, but I didn’t really have a choice. Due to my size I had to opt for bigger, and things never really fit right. This time: bang on. The salesperson said that I’m lucky to be in a state where having something off-the-rack works. Maybe the only issue is that the pants are ever so slightly snug. They’re about half an inch smaller than my waist size, but I’m still able to breathe. Maybe I can manage to lose an inch off the waist before the suits have to be used. I don’t know. We’ll see.
Why do I need a suit sooner rather than later? Not going to talk about it openly (yet), but, I suppose the answer is obvious. I’ll report more if and when something happens. Umm…yeah.
Read between the lines, eh?
Eternally slothful
Honestly, I think I’d be happier with a pair of overalls.
Intense man
Really, how hard is it to find a signature cologne? Back when I visited Arizona I ended up getting a bottle of Acqua di Gio. It’s served me well. Over time though I’ve come to learn just how ubiquitous the scent is. I smell it pretty frequently as I’m going about my business. Sometimes some random person walks by and immediately my mind registers the scent: “Oh hell, he’s wearing it too.” I suppose I don’t mind too much. I mean, that means the scent is popular and has gained a following. All the same, my vain mind kept yelling at me that I didn’t want to be just a part of the crowd. So somewhere in the back of my mind I’ve been searching for a replacement scent for a while.
Today, on a whim I stopped by Sephora to check out the colognes. Ultimately I narrowed my options to Jean Paul Gaultier – Le Male, and L’Eau d’Issey Miyake Pour L’Homme Intense. Both seemed pretty nice. They were close. I did end up liking Le Male slightly better, but I thought that if I opted for that one I’d have the same issues with ubiquity. Ultimately I purchased Issey Miyake. It’s not the established one but the newer “Intense” version. I do like it, but I still need to go through a breaking in period with it. Hopefully I won’t get tired of it. Maybe I can get to a point where people begin to associate the smell with me. Yes…we’ll see.
Business as usual
After work I had about an hour and a half to burn through, so I spent my time wandering Queen St. W and poking around at the Eaton Centre. Being that it’s two days before Christmas, indeed the crowds were sizable. I didn’t get the sense of desperation or urgency that I figured might permeate the space. No, instead it felt like everyone was just going around doing business as usual. I popped into a couple of stores, but the lineups were far too long. I was content to just look around like and feel the energy of the crowd. Over at the Apple Store I took a good look at the iPod Nanos on display. Over at Sephora I sprayed a couple of men’s colognes on sticks, trying to figure out which I might want to buy for myself after the holiday. Yeah, more than anything I was basically there to people watch without gawking. Does that make me odd? In other scenarios I’d be perfectly happy just lounging around on my couch. Given a choice though, I think at this point in my life I’d be out walking around looking at stuff. It’s not that home is uncomfortable, but I’m basically on my own. Don’t get me wrong. I’m the type of person that needs to retreat and isolate myself in this sanctuary to recharge and re-centre myself. I think I just have a lot of energy to burn.
Awesome vending machines
The most interesting vending machine I’ve seen over here on these shores was one for Joe Boxer. That pales in comparison to crab vending machines, or banana vending machines. Or how about one that serves hot ramen? Bah!!!
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