Random sustenance shopping blurbs

44lbs of cat litter that I carried while rollerblading

My brand new shopping cart that I can use instead of being a mule on wheels

Lugging a 44lbs (4 pounds was free!) bag of cat litter while rollerblading is pretty tiring. The people at the pet store looked at me funny as I rolled away carrying the stupidly large bag. The funny thing is that now I know what it feels like to carry 44lbs of stuff while rollerblading and I've definitely carried a lot more than that before.

Side note: I use organic, non-clay based, clumping, flushable cat litter now.

I typically procrastinate grocery shopping and will go only when I have to. This means every 2-3 weeks and I'll spend $100 - $150... and carry it all by hand by myself! I go prepared. I bring a large duffle bag and a backpack! I tell you, that's way heavier than 44lbs. 44lbs is a walk in the park compared to carrying groceries. When I go grocery shopping, the first thing that I think about when I see a product is not the price or it's healthiness, but rather, it's weight and size.

But no more! I finally bought one of those shopping carts from Chinatown! You know, the ones that the old women push, but I got the large, manly size. I've been thinking of getting one for a while, but just have been too lazy to do so. I tell you, it's amazing! Of course, the first thing I do is buy a 18lbs bag of rice and a bunch of groceries from Chinatown. Now, I can go grocery shopping without thinking about whether I can carry it back or not :). People look at you funny when you are rollerblading and pushing a shopping cart though. I had one guy in my apartment building audibly laughing.

In my shopping in Chinatown, I made some interesting observations:

• If you're shopping for a shopping cart, they speak to you in English


• If you randomly stop at a fruit stand and quietly pick mangoes, they speak to you in English to tell you to pay inside


• In the Chinatown TD Canada Trust, despite all their Chinese signs, Chinese tellers, and Chinese customers, they speak to you in English by default. I think the only non-Asian in that building was the security guard.


• If you buy esoteric dried food products, such as 茶魚 (tea fish), from a small shop where they only have signs in Chinese, they speak to you in Cantonese


• If you ask for Chinese vegetables (菜心) from the guy that grabs them and puts them in a bag, they speak to you in Cantonese


• If you're reaching to the top of the shelves for a whole box of instant noodles, and there are 2 boxes above the one that you can reach, they ask you in Cantonese if they can help


• If you're staring at the multitude of options for rice for 5 minutes, they speak to you in some language I don't understand (Mandarin?), and you reply in English

Not so fresh bread

So, I bought some bread online at Freshbread.ca.

I specifically woke up early this morning in anticipation of my fresh bread delivery, but there was nothing outside my door at 7. Nothing at 8. Nothing at 9. I got an email saying that my order was waiting for me downstairs and shortly after I got a phone call from the super that he had bread for me (he was kinda chuckling at it). Apparently, they just left it at the front doors of the building and not with the super or in front of my apartment door, as they advertised that they would (like how I used to get the newspaper right on my doorstep). That's pretty dumb to just leave it out in the open in the lobby.

The bag was a lot bigger than I expected. I got a baguette, a loaf of bread, 2 chocolate croissants, and 4 bagels (which turned out to be 6). Total including delivery was ~$15 (delivery was $1.50, but the items themselves were a little pricey).

Once I got back to my apartment, I eagerly ripped a piece of the baguette off and bit into it. Wow, that was disappointing. It wasn't stale, but it wasn't particularly fresh either and it tasted just like the baguettes you get at regular grocery stores. The croissant was pretty tasty, but I wouldn't say it was baked fresh this morning. The loaf wasn't anything special either. I haven't tried the bagels yet.

I'm not sure if it's b/c I ordered it Friday afternoon after the cutoff time for a Saturday delivery and they made it Saturday and just let it sit around until today to deliver (since they didn't deliver on Sunday), but it sure tasted like it. I was expecting fresh bread, just hours from the oven, as advertised.

I gave it a shot and was hoping for some mind blowing bread orgasmic experience, but ended up with just overpriced typical grocery store products dropped off at the front doors to my building left unattended.

I have to make a trip to Cobs Bread around the corner early in the morning some time and try that out. I'm also gonna try and make my own bread some time.

Strange online buying experience

So I'm buying bread online (I figured that I'd give it a shot; stop asking why I'm buying bread online and just accept the fact that I'm doing it and let's continue with the story). Anyways, I fill up my "bread basket" (instead of a shopping cart) and I go to check out. I enter all my info and credit card stuff and I get to the confirmation screen. I notice something about delivery options, so I go back and check to see what options I have.

As I'm doing this, my phone rings. It's someone from the website that I am currently buying the bread from! He's concerned about if I'm having problems with the site because I was about to complete the transaction, but then I went back. How freaky is that???

I tell him why I was going around in circles on his site, and proceed to complete the transaction in fear that he would show up on my doorstep as his next step.

Long distance online shopping

The Furminator

New watch

I'm not sure how this happened, but Debbie has become my long distance online shopping buddy. First it was VistaPrint, then I bought the Furminator and a new watch off of Ebay. So far they've all been good purchases and good deals, so I'm not complaining per se, just noting this strange trend.

Furminator retail price: $34.95
Ebay price: $16.99 (+$6.95 shipping)

Watch retail price: $175
Ebay price: $69.95 (+$12.95 shipping)

No taxes on either! (both were shipped as a "gift" worth $20 or $25)

Debbie recommended the Furminator to me since she had one and it removes the dead undercoat like crazy on her cat. Watch the videos on the website. It's pretty amazing.

She also has this very peculiar hobby of collecting watches and for some reason or another was sending me links to ebay listings of watches that she was interested in bidding on. That got me thinking that I wanted a new watch, a thought further spurred by the dying of the battery on my old watch, which I replaced anyways because I can't go a day without a watch, otherwise I feel stupid looking at my wrist several times a day and just seeing a freckle instead of the time.

I am now also recommending VistaPrint, the Furminator (see zip lock bag of fur above), and buying watches on Ebay. Stupid Debbie...

Time to wash the floors

I figured that my floors were pretty clean until I walked around my apartment with my new volleyball shoes and looked at all the dirt that my shoes picked up.

In other news, 5 guys walk into a volleyball store and leave with over a grand in stuff...

I built this with my bare hands

I forgot something on my "Why I haven't been blogging" post.

Over the summer, I built my own computer for the first time! I've been taking computers apart, fixing them, and upgrading them myself for about a dozen years now, so I've known the inside out of computers for a while now, but never actually built my own from scratch. It was fun actually (some frustration when some things didn't work as planned) and I learnt quite a bit from having to research each individual part in the computer that I wanted to get.

My computer turned out to be cheaper (about $1500, which is worth it since I'm on it all the time), more powerful (2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Quad (4 CPUs), 4GB RAM, 1TB hard drive space, ATI Radeon Pro X1950), and quieter (I got a case that muffles sounds and bigger fans that can push the same amount of air by spinning slower).

It's about 3 times faster than my old computer (which was 4 years old) and I'm quite happy with it.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

It took me just over a week, but I finally got my hands on a Nintendo Wii!

It was actually pretty sad up until that point. I had 2 games, an extra Wii remote, and a nunchuck, but didn't have the system to actually use that stuff!!! Yesterday, back in the day when I was Wii-less, I connected the Wiimote to my Powerbook using the Bluetooth connection. I was able to control the mouse (poorly b/c I didn't have the infared thingy) using Darwiin Remote and various applications using Remote Buddy. It was pretty cool. I think for my next talk, I'm going to use a Wiimote to control Powerpoint :). That made me feel a little better that I was at least able to use the Wiimote despite not having a Wii.

Anyways, I went to Futureshop at 10:30 am today and they had a shipment of 3 Wii's that morning and I got the last one! They weren't out on display and I had to ask someone to get it. It was the first time (after like 30+ tries) that the person didn't just outright say "NO!". She went to the customer service desk and came back with a Wii! I was actually pretty shocked. I was at the point where I was tired of getting my hopes up and I was just going through the motions and just didn't expect to get a Wii, but was trying anyways. Today was my last ditch effort. I would hate to have to work at any store that carries (or should I say, doesn't carry) the Wii or PS3. "Do you have any Wii's in stock?" "Do you know when you'll be getting more?" Some people were rather annoyed at me when I asked such questions as they had obviously been asked the same questions time and time again for the past month and a half... Always the same answers: "Nope" "Nope, they just come randomly"

I had an inkling that Futureshop was going to get some Wii's today. I was carefully studying the shipment patterns of stores and was pretty sure that Futureshop, Walmart, and EB Games were going to get Wii's today. These two forums have been very useful. Yesterday I went to 2 Futureshops, a Best Buy, a Superstore, 3 Walmarts, 2 EB Games, a Toys 'R Us, and a Zellers. Nothing. Saw a bunch of PS3s, but not a single Wii. There were just no deliveries. Last week however, Futureshop, EB, and Walmart supposedly got shipments on Wednesday and I missed it b/c I didn't have access to a car and didn't go to any places until the late afternoon (on my first of 3 trips to Gord's for my snowboard rental). So, with the mirroring of holidays this week, I highly suspected a shipment and knew approximate delivery times as well - Futureshop in the morning, EB and Walmart before noon, probably around 10ish. Yes, all my careful observations and studying of patterns paid off!

I also picked up a 3rd Wiimote from Superstore. I'm going to wait for the game Wii Play, which supposedly includes a Wiimote for my 4th controller.

It definitely lives up to the hype! I played it all afternoon and my older sister played it through the evening as well (mostly Rayman Raving Rabbids and Wii Sports). My Mom even joined in. My younger sister just missed it as she flew back to Saskatoon last night. It's not unusual for my family to play, we used to play the original Nintendo together. There was a lot of Dr. Mario back in the day. Oh those combo's that made extra pill crap fall on the other person's screen!

The Wii's all packed up and ready for it's trip to Toronto! I figured that it'd be easier to buy it here in Winnipeg where I have access to a car, plus there's 1% less tax, and my family could try it out. The only reported injury is that my Mom hit her arm on the corner of the coffee while bowling. She's gonna get a bruise...

Oh, my Wii friend code is 2390 3177 9065 4384.

NO PST, BITCHES

My new snowpants and a look into my bedroom, a place where unfortunately, few have seen. My previous offer still stands.

Finally got a pair of waterproof snowpants! That should help me in times of rain, like last year and my recent trip to Snoqualmie.

I had the hardest time finding a new pair as Men's "small" is too big! MEC and REI didn't have a substantial kids section either, and the women's snowpants were just too fitting :s. I found myself in Eaton Centre today and in SportChek. I tried on like 10 pairs of snowpants, and finally settled on this one:

I still wear kids clothing

Even with a "youth" size, I have to make use of the elastic waist adjustment band :s. I tried one size lower, but it was too small. Using the adjustment thingy makes the back all scrunched up. I may have to find a belt instead...

I found the attached sizing chart rather humorous :). Europeans wear XL (18/20) when they're 14, but people in Japan and Korea wear it when they are 19!!! Heck, I'm still wearing it! I know that growing up, I would typically wear the same size as my age, as advised by this sizing chart for Asians, and I guess I just stopped at 19, which is about right, as that's about the age people guess that I am :p

Asians are small

Not only was the snowpants on sale ($80), but since it was kids, there was NO PST!!! Unlike in Manitoba, in Ontario, all kids clothing automagically gets the PST (provincial sales tax, 8% in Ontario) off, and you don't have cashiers asking you if you are under 14.

NO PST, BITCHES

Seattle wrap-up

I'm sure that this is going to be a long post, so here's the executive summary for those of you who have exams and don't have time to read the entire entry. Wait, people with exams need to procrastinate :). Ok, this summary is just for you lazy working folk then. Except those of you who read at work. You know who you are :)

My trip was quite good overall. Interviews went well (I think and hope), wrote and submitted a good paper (I think and hope), snowboarded twice (Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie), played volleyball twice (Pro Club and Kamiakin), GReunion 2.0 (Jonny!), saw most of the people I wanted to see, and had the most amazing dragon boat practice.


Dragon boating with Hot Sake

Being on the water on Saturday was simply amazing.

Bright shining sun. Clear blue skies. Still glass water. Fresh cool air. Magnificent mountain backdrop.

The most fascinating thing was putting my bare hand in the nice, cool lake water and watching the steam come off my warm hand.

I still remembered how to paddle and my technique improved with Charlene coaching me. Dropping my shoulders when the paddle enters the water made it so my arms were way less tired. My endurance and power were way up. My ass got bruised from the hard plastic seat of the boat, but I'm told that's a good thing b/c that means I'm rotating instead of just using my arms.


Chinese restaurant tradition

I've noticed that I've been privy to several Chinese restaurant traditions.

• After dragon boat practice, we always go to Jade Garden in Chinatown for dim sum.


• It's always Jeem's for dim sum with Nebojsa


• UTCCF always goes to Kowloon on Baldwin after fellowship


• I don't even have to ask where we're going for family Saturday dinner when I go back to Winnipeg, b/c the answer is Marigold

Tradition is good, but some variety is good as well.


GReunion 2.0

By freak coincidence, Jon and I were both in Seattle at the same time.... for interviews.... for different companies (MSR and Amazon)! Crazy. I always knew that we'd meet again, but I figured it would be here in Toronto since I'm here for school and his family lives here.

I was meeting up with Dmitry, his wife, and Sarah for dinner, and Mr. Deyo blessed us with his presence. We went to Bluwater Belltown Bistro in Belltown near Sarah's place. Nice place.

Sorry, no pics b/c I forgot my camera in Toronto. I had the battery charger and USB cable, but no camera :(


Snoqualmie

I went to Snoqualmie by myself on Monday. Pretty close, like a 1 hour drive. I wasn't impressed. Only a small portion of the mountain was open and there was only 1 good run. And it was raining / freezing rain. I got my bindings ladder fixed, now all 4 of the straps have been replaced and they don't match - 2 grays (instead of black from Blue Mountain), 1 ugly beige (from Stevens), and 1 shortish bright red (from Snoqualmie). The guy said that he wished he could give them away for free, but he couldn't and asked me if $3 sounded fair and I said 'ya'. I went to go pay, but the cashier was just ignoring me. I was obviously standing in a place to butt in (like you'd do at McDonald's) to just do a quick payment, plus I was next in line anyways, but in the wrong direction. Anyways, I got sick of waiting and just left.

The best part of the trip was when my fuel gauge hit empty on the way there and I took the next exit to get gas, only to find myself driving for a few miles into the town of Snoqualmie. I saw signs for Snoqualmie Falls and decided that I'd go take a look as I had heard about it previously and it was close by. I was impressed. The water flow was quite low when I went, but it was cool to see the huge drop. Again, no camera, no pictures :(


Volleyball

Volleyball at the good 'ol Pro Club was fun. Good to see all the familiar faces. Not as many as I had hoped to see though.

I went with Alex and Stacey to Kamiakin, which was a bust at first b/c there was no open gym, but they didn't change the hotline. We had to wait until the league playoffs finished. I ran into Reiner (Rodney Blanco's older brother) there who was playing in the league, which was pretty random.

Alex and Stacey have definitely improved since I last played with them in March.


Flight entertainment

Flew direct back to Toronto on Air Canada. They had screens on the backs of each seat with on demand entertainment. I was watching My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and it was fine for a while, but then it started to get freeze every few seconds and it was so annoying that I just had to stop (they should really do some buffering or something). Sleeping was a better alternative anyways since I only had 4 hours of sleep the night before.

At least my luggage wasn't overweight - 46 lbs, only 3 lbs heavier than I went, but that's only b/c I moved a stack of papers into my carry-on and stuck my gym shoes and some socks into my snowboarding bag. I went shopping at Redmond Town Center and Bellevue Square on Monday and Tuesday, and dished out like $300, which translates into a couple pounds of clothing...


Clothing rant

Clothing is expensive. My credit card bills were much lower when I didn't like shopping. Recently I've been thinking about the (approximate) amortization cost of clothing. If I buy a (relatively cheap) $30 sweater and wear it once every 2nd week, for 4 months out of the year, for 2 years, then that's ~$2 / wear. If I wear a pair of jeans 80-100 times, then it's about $1 / wear. Shoes are probably the best deal. I've been wearing my new pair of Sketchers (the infamous pair where I was asked if I was under 14) since Aug. pretty much every day, so that's already $1 / wear even if I were to throw them out now. I always thought underwear was cheap, but it's not. I have enough to last me about 2, maybe 2.5 weeks, so that's about 26 wears / underwear / year. Some of the boxer-briefs (yes, that's what I wear, and if you're a girl, you're invited to my bed to check them out for yourself ;)), are like around $26 (after tax, etc.), so that's like a dollar every time I put one on! 50 cents if the pair lasts 2 years, 33 cents if they have holes in them. Socks, I'm not sure about. I have a bunch and I don't know the price and I don't know how long they last, but I'm guessing around a quarter per wear. Coats are very seasonal. $100 coat, 3 months out of the year? If I wear that coat every day for those 3 months (unlikely) for 2 years, then that's still more than $1 / wear. So, given that it's fallish, every time I walk out that door, it's costing me more than $6. Say I'm wearing a few layers, and put on a toque and gloves. It starts adding up! Summer I suppose is cheaper though.

I think this is a good argument for walking around naked. Again, cute girls are encouraged to explore this option in my bedroom. I am able to accommodate multiple visitors simultaneously.

Christmas lists in the Internet age

My Christmas List 2006 Edition

I never know what to put on my "wish" list. I don't usually wish for much. If you have any suggestions for my list, let me know...

My family always asks me and my sisters to make Christmas/Birthday lists to make gift shopping easier. Traditionally, we write on pieces of paper, maybe taping on clippings from flyers, and then put it on the fridge. Additions and modifications would be made as necessary. Sometimes the list would go missing when it was taken to go shopping and never returned to the fridge for the benefit of others and rarely returned to the owner for his/her record.

This year, I've moved my list onto the digital domain of the Internet! Flyer clippings have now been replaced by hyperlinks (I'm too lazy to get images). I can modify it and it is instantly reflected on the list for my family a couple thousand kilometres away.

You are probably asking yourself why I don't use a more web 2.0 thing like ThisNext. I think that's a great idea, but it has two problems for wish lists. First, somethings I don't know what exact product I want. For example, maybe I want a new pair of sunglasses, but I don't know exactly which pair, but ThisNext requires an exact product, or at least an example. Second, I would want to use ThisNext for all my shopping stuff, not just a seasonal thing. Plus, it would be a mix of things that could be gifts and things that I would want to get myself (so I get the right one). I would also have to remove things once I get them (like if I buy it myself), otherwise I could end up with duplicates. ThisNext is more of something that I would have for myself and I would know what I have and don't have and also what I don't like/want anymore.

My day as a girl, or at least, a gay man

My day started off with the motivation of going shopping. And by shopping, I mean clothes shopping. For those of you who are even remotely familiar with my shopping habits, your jaws probably just hit the floor.

I have never, and by never, I really mean never, have voluntarily gone clothes shopping, and heaven forbid, by myself. How, you may ask, do I have so many clothes then (for those who have ever seen my closet, I have a lot of clothes). Well, reader, this is how it works. My sisters and my mom drag me to go shopping. I follow them through the shopping mall standing for hours in womens' clothing stores and occasionally sneaking off to Electronic Boutique, book stores, etc. When we are however, in a store with both a men's and women's section, I follow them around and when one of them are done, follow them around the men's section as they pile clothes on my arms for me to try on. Recently, I've been told to wander in the men's section while they go through the women's, but I'm just kinda wandering until I receive some help from my professional shoppers. My function there is just to be a mannequin. The alternative, which occurs periodically is when I just get clothes, particularly when my family goes on vacation without me, eg. HK & China, factory outlet malls when they visit me when I'm on internships, but I'm at work, etc. They know my size and taste, since the consensus vote between them is my defined taste anyways. In short, I don't go clothes shopping.

So, you may ask why I don't shop, even in instances when I'm there anyways. I have a theory, but I've shared enough embarrassing things in this post already. This recently invented theory is like my own universal theory of everything. It explains everything from my own personal social interactions, musical aspirations, language, shyness, pickyness with food, and reluctance to change in some instances, but not others. I think that I have pinned down the root of all of these, but it's something that I'll blog about some other time.

Anyways, back to shopping, or lack thereof. The problem now is that I'm in need of clothing. One of my favourite pairs of jeans has a massive hole (to which you can check if I'm wearing underwear or not) and another has been worn out quite a bit and I just don't really like the rest. And I'm getting bored of my t-shirts. And I need more athletic socks. And more underwear. And a new pair of shoes. And a new fall jacket. Ummm... when it rains, it pours.

So, the plan today was to go to the Eaton Centre. Yes, it's still called the Eaton Centre and not something like City Centre (like how Winnipeg renamed Eaton Place to City Place). It's a big ass mall.

First stop, get my hair cut. Went to L'Attitudes. A step above my recently usual $12 cut at Top Cuts, but less than my adventure at Toni & Guy. It's a good compromise. It's not the first time I got my hair cut at a place like that in a mall. The guy used the typical razor on the sides and back, but instead of using scissors on the stop and then using the hair thinning one, he used the hair thinning scissors the whole time on the top. It was interesting b/c it gave my hair a lot of layers. Girl point #1.

Next off, I went shopping for like 3 hours. Went to like every store. Surprisingly hard to find jeans in my size. Either the waist is too big (I wear 30 with a belt) or the length is too long (over 30 I start tripping). I found a nice pair at American Eagle that fit nicely. I wanted to get a second pair, but didn't find anything. I didn't find anything that fit and I liked in terms of t-shirts, but I found a really nice long sleeve shirt/sweater at Abercrombie & Fitch. Oh well, it's fall season any how. Also no success on the other clothes necessities. I'm considering going to Yorkdale tomorrow for more shopping. Girl point #2.

I stopped by Dominion's on the way home to get groceries (finally). Girl point #3.

Then I cooked dinner. Spaghettini Bolognese. Girl point #4.

Then I cleaned (the dishes and kitchen). Girl point #5.

Then I watched The Notebook. Girl point #6.

By myself. Girl point #7.

And liked it. Girl points #8 - 10.

Places to eat and things to do in Toronto

This is for you Nusraat. I didn't have much time to do this (Jill is here). The most important section (food) is the most elaborate.

Places to eat:

• Over Easy (amazing breakfasts)
  Map


• Mel's Montreal Deli (good breafast)
  Map


• Richtree Market (used to be called Marche, really, really good food and cool environment, go for dinner)
  Map
  (there are several locations, but be careful, some of them are not the full restaurant, the one at BCE, listed here, is really nice)


• Korean Town (One block west of Bathurst and Bloor). I recommend Seoul Restaurant
  (Not sure if I got the address right or if it's called Seoul Sam Mi, the sign is this big orange sign on the south side of Bloor that says Seoul)
  Map


• Pho Hung (Good Vietnamese)
  Map


• Goldstone Noodle Restaurant (authentic Hong Kong style nooodle house - very good)
  Map


• Nataraj (Good Indian)
  Map


• Greek town


• Little Italy


• Sushi (all over the place, but several locations on Bloor between Bathurst and Spadina, some places in uptown have all you can eat sushi!)


• Caffe Demetre (AMAZING desserts)
  Map


• Greg's Ice Cream (very rich ice cream)
  Map


• Bubble tea
  • Ten Ren Tea
  • Tea Shop 168
  • Bubble Tease (I love the fresh and fruity's, which are like healthy slurpees)

Things to do:

• CN Tower


• Canada's Wonderland


• Science Museum


• Bata Shoe Museum (Jill liked it)


• Centre Island


• University of Toronto (ask Kevin for a tour)


• ROM (Royal Ontario Museum)


• African Lion Safari (Safari Zoo's are the best - take a rental car ;))


• Niagara Falls

Places to shop:

• Eaton Centre


• Yorkdale


• Yorkville (posh shopping)


• Bloor St. between University Ave. and Yonge St. (some flagship and posh stores)


• Queen St. between University Ave. and Spadina Ave. (Much Music is also there)


• Square One (in Mississauga)


• Chinese supermarkets (has good authentic Asian food products in a North American style supermarket! i.e. they're clean, don't smell, and accept credit card)
  • T & T Supermarket (the best supermarket ever!)
  • Big Land Farm Supermarket

Shopping by myself

I hate shopping.

The only thing worse than shopping is shopping for clothing.

The fact that I went clothes shopping by myself today will blow the mind of some of my readers. Before you start shitting yourself, it wasn't so much clothes shopping as jacket shopping and it was at a relatively Vincent friendly store, MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op for those out of the loop). Functional shopping I can do.

In preparation for skiing/snowboarding which is starting next week, I decided that I needed a new shell, something that was actually waterproof and windproof, which I can not only use for skiing/snowboarding, but also general wear especially in the rain because I don't have rain gear b/c I'd rather not be outside in the rain (dragon boating in the rain and my experience in Disneyland made me realize that I don't have any rain gear). I also realized when I was in Winnipeg that I didn't have any suitable clothing (long underwear, dry fit stuff, etc.) to wear during skiing as like everything I own is cotton, which is the worst thing you can wear. In the past month I've like dropped $400 at MEC :s.