My Shoe Addiction

It’s a Sunday and I am a day late with this post. I am posting it today because I am not sure if my usual readers will care about my shoe issues. Regardless, here is my shoe post.

Currently I own 33 pairs of shoes. As you can see from the photo it looks like a lot of shoes and it is. I know my collection would not even compare to some other collections out there but seeing as though I only owned 2 pairs of shoes a few years ago, this is pretty good.

I don’t have any good reasons why I love shoes so much, I just do. My mother thinks it may be because as I kid I had to wear corrective shoes for a very long time. They were like bricks on my feet and I looked ridiculous. It could also be because I don’t have many things I collect. Besides books, I only love shopping for shoes. I like nice clothes, but I get more excited over a nice pair of shoes. I love the different colours and the looks of shoes. I am not too obsessed with dress shoes. I think dress shoes are too similar to one another. Running shoes, or sneakers, are much more versatile. I have been able to pull off a shirt and tie with a pair of Adidas. I think (and hell, I know) it looks sharp.

I used to be a big Nike fan. My favourite shoes were Nike’s without question. Then…I found these…

These Green Adidas Gazelle’s fit beautifully and I love the look and feel of them. They became my new favourite shoe. While not as easy to wear with a lot of clothes, they were my first pick out of the closet when I could.

Then I found these…

These are Black Re Split Low Adidas. Have you ever seen a man or a woman who just seemed perfect and then you spoke to him/her and she/he was even better than you imagined? Yeah, that was the feeling when I put these on. I may sound like an idiot, but you have never worn these shoes. I liked them so much that I got a green pair and a blue pair. The black are still my favourite though.

My Adidas to Nike collection stands at 11-7. Nike still makes a great shoe but they don’t have the colour variety or the Re Splits. So Adidas comes out on top for me.

I also own two pair of Doc Marten’s that should be in everyone’s collection. I have a nice brown pair for more formal type functions and a beautiful pair of Cherry Red for fun days.

Lastly I cannot talk about shoes without mentioning Chucks by Converse. I have only 4 pair (I left one in Florida due to luggage constraints) but I still want more. My issues with Chucks is that they never seem to have my size when they go on sale. Bastard!

Other facts? I own 3 purple, 3 green, 1 yellow, 1 turquoise and 4 red shoes. I sadly don’t own orange. That needs to change.

And of course I own these.

 

Lines and My Awesome Boys

I had a very big day with my posts. I broke a record and put up three different ones and at the same time broke a record for the number of hits to my site. The Alex Wong experiment is working. It’s pretty cool since I can support an awesome dancer (who someone claims I have a crush on) and generate a few more hits to my site. Whether or not those hits will come back for the wonderful goodness that is my site is left to be seen. The Cap’n and the Cowboy posts are also still generating a lot of interest. It’s too bad that they haven’t commented more like the first time. I love comments!

Back to life….

I heard on the radio this morning that a gas station in Toronto had a promotion with some airline to have gas at $0.50 off of the regular price. This was only valid on 50 litres of fuel per person and only if it went into their car (no gas cans). Of course this promotion  generated a lot of reaction and people were lined up in their cars at least 3 hours before the place opened. I think that’s nuts. The most these people will save is on $25. That’s 3 hours (or more) of their time to save $25. I don’t quite get it. I understand that money can be tight and saving every dollar can help, but it is still only $25 and a onetime deal. I can imagine the people that are lined up are the same ones that you see on Oprah or somewhere that give you lessons on how to save every single penny. They are the types that wear full on snowsuits at home to save money on heat. Or they only buy almost expired meats at discounts. They don’t buy anything and they don’t have cable, internet or have fun. Maybe I am being a little bit of an ass, but I don’t fret over every single dollar that I have. I ensure the bills are paid and that I have money for the future, but I don’t sacrifice living life for savings every day. There has to be a balance.

Damn, I didn’t mean to get all fiscal. I meant to talk about lines. I won’t line up for much anymore. I don’t get it when people do. I admit I have lined up for Depeche Mode tickets very early in the morning, but that was high school and I was dumb. Also in high school, I camped out with my friend for Leaf playoff tickets (Kings vs Leafs). We got them and of the four people that went to that game 18 years ago, 2 read this blog and one writes its (Hi AC! Hi CM!). Other than those two instances, I won’t wait in long lines. I don’t understand the need to “see a movie first”. When the new Star Wars movie opened in 1999, we heard about people waiting weeks in line just to be first. I saw the movie on the Saturday and didn’t have an issue getting in. I worked for two weeks and made money and lived my life. Why would I wait for a movie? Sure, this was the movie that I had anticipated more than any other in my life (except maybe Return of the Jedi) but I wasn’t waiting for days or even hours in line.

I won’t got to an amusement park and wait 2 hours to go on a 4 minute ride either. It just seems like such a waste. Last year I took my son to Canada’s Wonderland and we hit almost all the rides we wanted in the first two hours. Once the lines were long we went to the water park. Yeah, some of those rides are a lot of fun, but not worth waiting an hour for.

I think the only thing I would wait in line for is the chance to time travel. Why? Not only because of the irony but because it would be cool.

And finally….

I love being a father. There is nothing more in life that is as important to me as my two boys and the absolute joy of life they have given me. I cannot find the words that express the deep love that I have for those two. They embody everything that is good about me and that make it better. They are drastically different and yet so similar. Nothing in this world will ever fill my heart as much as a hug from them. Even though he is thisclose to be 13, I still get hugs from my oldest son and the words, “I love you Daddy.” Or I will hear, “I love you DD” or “I love you Deeds”. Those are new nicknames created by my youngest son. There are moments in life that you cherish and hold onto for the rest of your years and my boys give those to me every day. It is the little things, like a look or a comment or a picture drawn out of love. This is one of my favourites. It is on my desk and reminds me why we all live and love.

 

And the boys in question….

 

Mirror Image

3rd post today!

Here is a challenge to all my readers. Below is a picture of me and a drawing of me by my 8-year-old son. Can you guess which is which?

I don’t think you can (but notice that my horn cannot be seen in either).

 

Shoes, Dooku and Love

My last post about Alex Wong was a bit of an experiment. The hits to my site have increased lately and a lot of it is due to searches on Alex Wong, Cap’n and the Cowboy and Leah Miller sucking. That last one isn’t supposed to be sexual. I mean she sucks as the host of So You Think You Can Dance Canada and apparently I am not alone in my assessment. I am sure she is a lovely person, but she pales in comparison to Cat Deeley. It would be like if Canada did a version of Survivor and got Jonathon Torrens to host it. The show wouldn’t be the same and I wouldn’t watch it. Or they would get some lame-ass CTV host. Remember Canada’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Of all the Canadian talent we have they went with Pamela Walin. What a disaster that was.

In other news….my Count Dooku diet seems to be catching on as well. I was approached by someone at work who noticed the weight loss and asked how I have done it. Using the real name, Dukan Diet, I explained and she may be another convert. I should turn this into a coaching business. I am sure that the Dukan people would never sue me!  Regardless if I venture into a business (I won’t), it sure feels good to have people notice my weight loss (35 lbs and counting). I am looking forward to writing a full post when I hit my goal weight. This blog has been a great record of my progress. After the disaster that was the 3-Day Fruit Cleanse, I wasn’t sure if blogging about another attempt to lose weight would be a good idea. I am glad that I did. I also (because I can be vain, I suppose) look forward to the reactions of a few other people that have not seen me since I started this diet. They may have read the blog and are aware of the loss, but seeing it in person could “wow” them even more. I am aware that the best thing about losing the weight is a health reason, but looking good is pretty awesome too.

Yesterday I was accused of having an issue with shoes. I received a text that said, “You have shoe issues my friend”. I won’t comment on the grammar (it is missing a comma) but I will comment on the statement. My friend is totally correct. I do have an issue with shoes. In fact, he has prompted me to write a special blog post this weekend about my shoe collection. If you are interested in hearing about my issues with shoes, please come on by. I plan to do a total count of my shoes and post a picture of them all. I may even write about my favourite shoes.

 

Here is a picture of another pair of shoes that I desperately want. They are out of stock now but I may find them yet. They are $110-$140 so I won’t be getting them right away. I can’t spend my money like the government does.

And finally…………..

I have been wasting too much time with contempt for the government, politicians and the multiple tragedies the world has seen in the past few weeks. I try and move on from them but they seem to sit in my mind and my heart and I become distant and sad. I heard that a co-worker’s son died over the weekend. He was 25 and died in a car accident. I was moved and felt my stomach sink and my heart felt pain. I didn’t even know this guy or his son. Regardless, the story made me filled with sadness and grief. While we sit and complain that Rob Ford is an ass or Obama spends too much, we forget that we have a precious gift called life that we should not squander. We have the ability to love and hate. We should focus so much more on loving. Love brings us joy and makes the life we have all the better. Hate only brings us down. I am going to try and avoid all the hate and spend more time with love. I have a big heart and I have plenty of love to give out. Why keep it all in? No one should.

I know I sound like Oprah but I don’t care.

 

Alex Wong Injury Update

I have been generating a tonne of hits due to my Alex Wong, Injured Again! post. Of course it is not like Alex Wong is calling me up to do interviews or even has a clue who I am or what this blog is. But if he did!!! Woo hoo! That would be cool. Anyway, here is a link to an Entertainment Weekly interview about his most recent injury.  If you are a fan, it is a good read. If you have no idea who I am talking about…well..I don’t think that interview is for you.

 

Bacon, Atwood and Things

It’s very hard to break out of vacation mode. I think I am still in it. I am missing going to a pool or a beach every day and reading in the sun. I miss the awesome turkey bacon we bought (it had even less fat than the Blue Menu Turkey Bacon up here…and more taste!). I miss not having a TV on and the peace that being basically cut off from the world was. I miss not having to think about work. Damn, my vacation was just a little too good. I definitely think I need to make it a two week excursion next year. This time we can drive to Florida. Every kid should be forced into the long car trip with the family. I think it is a rite of passage. Hopefully we don’t run into any National Lampoon style adventures. I thankfully do not have an Aunt Edna.

Going back to the beach in Grand Bend may be a little underwhelming compared to what we just saw. Although the taste of the water is significantly better. Watching my boys first get a taste of salty sea water was pretty funny. All I could see and hear was constant spitting. They also learned pretty fast that opening your eyes isn’t the best idea in the ocean (or more specifically the Gulf of Mexico). I think a trip to Grand Bend is in order though. It’s been far too many days since I have been on a beach! My burns have healed, so I figure I need to burn them again. As Elvis would say, “Wiggy, wiggy, to the beach!”

I’m avoiding political topics because I am so fed up with all of it. City Councillor (or the real mayor) Doug Ford has belittled Margaret Atwood and he looks like such an ass. Atwood made her opinions known that she didn’t support the idea of closing an libraries in Toronto. As a prolific author and a huge supporter of the arts, this is not an odd view for her to have. Ford’s response was that he had no idea who she was (lie), no one is his district would know who she was (lie) and since she was not an elected official, he didn’t want to hear her opinion (just stupid). She has every right to speak since she is a citizen of Toronto. This whole argument makes Doug Ford look like the asshole that he must be. While closing a few libraries may be required, belittling Atwood is just being a bully.

Then the real Mayor of Toronto, Doug’s brother Rob, admits to talking on his cell phone while driving. Great example there, Rob! Way to show leadership. Right now these two seem like the Assmunch Brothers.

Looks like I didn’t avoid the political topic. Damn it.

So onto more happy topics…

Things that I am doing (if anyone cares)…

Reading: I am halfway through the second A Song of Ice and Fire book, A Clash of Kings. I am shocked by how much I am loving George R. R. Martin’s prose. Every chapter takes the point of view of a different character and it makes the world really come alive. I love these books. I am so happy I will have 3 more to read once I am done the second. With each book over 1000 pages, it makes for a good, long reading.

Watching: Breaking Bad – this is a remarkable show. The fourth season is airing on AMC and it just keeps getting better. I watched the first 3 seasons on DVD (and Blu-Ray) and every episode kept me enthralled and entertained. It’s violent, funny and has a plot that moves fast and doesn’t always take you where you think it is going. I don’t have any faults with this show. Go read about it and then watch it. It has deserved all the awards that it gets. Really. This is a great show. Probably the best drama on TV right now. Next to The Wire, it may be the best drama ever.

Listening: After watching that Heineken beer commercial too many times, I went searching for the song. I found out it was by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour and the song was called The Golden Age. I am really loving this song and I will probably get more by the group. I think it’s poppy and it makes me happy when I listen to it. Those are good things.

Eating: While I have had deep cravings for shellfish, I cannot cook it very well. So I have made other things. Last night I made a very delicious healthy omelette. I used one egg and half a cup of egg whites to make the base. I cooked some Turkey Bacon in the microwave and cut it into slices. I also sautéed some mushrooms (no butter or oils..just sort of cooked them in a pan). I mixed everything together and made an omelette. As it was cooking I added a little salt and pepper. I never added butter. In the end, it was really good. I recommend making it if you’re looking for a healthy filling meal. If you are a vegetarian….well…the mushrooms were good.

Wanting: I don’t really want for a lot of things. However, I am in love with another pair of shoes. Adidas OG Gazelles, they are purple and fantastic. They aren’t fancy or expensive but I really want then. I know I don’t need new shoes but these are pretty cool. I may have to wait a little while to get them, but they will be mine, oh, they will be mine.

 

Amy, Glenn, Dorothy and Darth

Today just got better when I realised that it is a long weekend this weekend. That crazy August holiday is upon us and it means a day off. I dig it.

I have been struggling with writing about Amy Winehouse’s death. I can’t seem to put the words together that sum up my thoughts very well. I wrote a few paragraphs but I came across as an asshole. I don’t know if I will finish it. I will sum up my thoughts very quickly though. Drugs kill. People that do drugs are stupid. People that die from drugs are even stupider.

I think that’s all I will say. There is no rationalization for doing cocaine, heroin, ecstasy or whatever. If you do it, you’re an idiot. It is that simple.

Glenn Beck is a piece of shit. For those that don’t know, Glenn Beck is a nutty conservative talk show host that somehow has legions of fans. His recent comments on the massacre in Norway proves that he is a complete nutcase and anyone who listens to him or considers themselves a fan is a bigger moron. He said the following about the camp that these kids were murdered at, “”sounds a little like, you know, the Hitler Youth or whatever. Who does a camp for kids that’s all about politics? Disturbing.”

He is basically putting blame on the camp for their own deaths. You don’t compare mass murder victims to an atrocity like the Nazis. What is even worse is that this asshat funds the “9/12 Project” a politically based summer camp for kids. One of them is hosting a camp on discovering America and “where we went wrong and what we should do.” I can never fathom why anyone would take a tragedy like this and spin it against the victims….just a little. He condemns the actions of the murderer but then very subtly gives a valid reason for the attack. So I offer my congratulations to Glenn Beck. I didn’t think he could be a bigger shitstain on America and he proved me wrong. Good job, Glenn!

That’s the end of my ranting today. I need to focus on nicer things.

I read a really great blog yesterday about finding the love for movies. The writer blames Dorothy Gale for his love of the magic of movies. Of all the movie characters in history, I cannot disagree that she can be blamed for making movies so good. I would also blame Darth Vader but that’s just me.

His entry was about the first movies he saw and how they affected him. It made me think about the first movies that I saw. I am pretty sure the first movie I saw was Star Wars. I would have been around three. Much like the other writer, I was taken into a world that was larger than life and filled with imagination. Luke Skywalker was a hero to me and Darth was the greatest villain. It was a world where lightsabres existed and the little guy could win. Of all of the movies I ever saw, this was the one the affected my life the most. Star Wars spoke to me and made me see what movies could be. I can still remember seeing the Death Star blow up for the first time. I was awestruck. But I had a question! So I asked my Mum, “But what happened to Ben’s lightsabre? Is it floating in space?” Oh, the concerns of a 3-year-old.

 

Dooku and How AirTran Airways Sucks

I still have a lot to write about this week and I have no idea when I will have the time. Although I got to work today and everyone in my department seems to be off. That should make for a quieter day. It may also help alleviate the “How was the vacation” questions. They will ask but let’s be honest, they really don’t want to know.

The past week’s tragedies in Norway, China and Grand Prairie, Texas have left me pretty saddened. So much senseless death and yet our lives move on…untouched. But we must move on. I will write about Norway again this week  but for today I can’t keep focusing on death.  I wrote enough about Norway yesterday (go look if you haven’t yet) and I need a break today.

I will start with my Count Dooku Diet update. I was on vacation for a week and I will later describe how I came to eat a hamburger and fries at Chilli’s. The past week saw me eat 20 chicken wings, a waffle and that aforementioned burger. After nearly 60 days on the diet I finally treated myself to something that was bad. I didn’t fully cave and drink Coke or eat chips, but I broke the diet nonetheless. However, I am not quitting. I am back on and my exercise routine is back in place. In fact I broke a new record for my faster KM last night (4:41) and fastest mile (8:19). So I am pretty pleased with that. On the weight side…..on May 30 I weighed 237.6lbs. Today on July 25 I am at 204.9lbs. That’s a total loss of 32.7lbs in less than 60 days. I still have some work to do to hit my final goal but I don’t fear it now. I like my new eating habits. I love running. I like drinking water, non-sweetened iced tea and black coffee. It is a lifestyle I can embrace and enjoy. I also know that once in a while I can break off and eat something bad. I can’t do it on a regular basis but sometimes. I won’t break it until I hit my goal and I anticipate hitting 190lbs in about 3 weeks, maybe 4. My goal will be September 1. I think that is very reasonable.

The other funny thing…..my search engine is telling me that some people are googling “Count Dooku Diet” and finding this site. Who the hell is doing that? The term was invented by my Diet Cherry Coke loving friend. It’s made up! Or is he secretly a genius? He invented the diet? Or is he the actual Count Dooku? I haven’t seen a funny shaped light sabre in his house. I think I am scared.

On to my trip home…it was a very long day. I was up at about 4:10am to get everything ready. We were at the airport by 6 (our flight was to leave at 7:45) and everything was going well. Oddly enough it was my wife that was stopped by security because she had too much change in her purse. The day seemed to be going well. The night before I had secretly upgraded our tickets to Atlanta for $50 a person courtesy of my awesome Mother. I thought it would be nice to relax a little and it would get us off the plane first. We had a connection to Buffalo an hour after we landed and I didn’t want to rush. I knew the gate was only two down from our landing gate but the upgrade was cheap. Why not? We were flying AirTran, an American discount airline.

They boarded the first class passengers and we all took our seats and relaxed in relative comfort. No one else was boarding. After 15 minutes we are told that they were having a slight mechanical issue with the cockpit and we would be delayed 10 minutes. They told us to stay on the plane and not to worry. So I didn’t worry.

20 minutes later we worried.

A ticket agent came on the plane and assured us that we should stay on the plane and that our Buffalo flight would be held for us. I relaxed again. It was a little unnerving when I saw some luggage being removed from the plane. Someone was getting off this flight, but why?

An hour later they finally started boarding the plane and we took off. The flight was nice since we were seated in first class. I was a little anxious about the next flight but there was nothing I could do. Once we landed in Atlanta we asked the new ticket agent about our flight and he looked at me quite puzzled. “That flight is gone,” he said. “You’re on the next flight at 4:30.” It was 10:20. He saw my expression and told me to talk to customer service. We headed there and were told the same thing. I asked why would everyone tell us that they would hold the flight and she said, “They say anything to keep you on the plane. This has been a problem for a while.” I asked what they are going to do for us and she said, “We have you on the next plane at 4:30.” That was it. I asked her what the hell are we going to do for 6 hours and she didn’t like that I said the word “hell”. She only gave us a coupon for $10 off a meal at the airport and $25 off our next flight. She was very nonplussed when we explained we had no desire to fly AirTran again. We were shuffled off.

At this point I was pretty pissed. A  6 hour delay was too much. We had a dog we had to get home to and a house sitter that was at wedding and would not be able to let him out. We had been up since 4:30 and it didn’t look like we were going to be home before 9pm. I was beyond livid. However, I realised that yelling at someone will not solve anything. It seems like the AirTran employees are used to this and didn’t care if I was angry. I needed to take another approach. I saw a booth of phones that went directly to AirTran customer service. Knowing that the local representative was unwilling or unable to help us, I used the phone. I spoke with my most pleasant tone and made sure that I let the person on the other end know that I appreciated her help and didn’t blame her. She couldn’t get me on an earlier flight and was only will to bump my future discount to $50 for a flight. In the most rationale tone I could find I said, “That won’t be acceptable. I appreciate the effort that you are giving me but this delay was mechanical. If it was due to weather or something beyond AirTran’s control, then I would be more willing to accept this. This was AirTran’s fault, plain and simple. I paid for an upgrade to ensure we got off the plane promptly. I did my part. Now I am stuck in Atlanta for 6 hours with two kids and senior. We have responsibilities at home that we cannot attend to now for an additional 6 hours. Something else should be done. Is there anything you can do for me?” I was placed on hold and within minutes I was advised that I was being refunded for my upgrade ($250) and I was being upgraded to first class on my next flight. I knew that was all she could do and I thanked her and asked for her name to I could include her great service against the crap we received from everyone else. She was pretty excited about that. We still had to wait six hours but at least we weren’t flying home at the very back of the plane like they had us on.

I will not be done with AirTran yet. Unless they are willing to do more for me, I will never fly AirTran again. They apparently gave other people (who were not held on the plane) free tickets to anywhere they fly. They conveniently never told us that. So they deceived us more than once.

The wait in Atlanta was not fun. We ate a sub-par Chilli’s and the burger I had was not worth it. We sat around and did nothing for several hours since there was really no place to go.

After the long wait we finally flew to Buffalo without anymore issues. We got to our car fast and across the border quickly too. Once we were home around 8:45 we were all exhausted. It was a long day.

That was the trip home. The moral? Don’t fly AirTran.

 

Norway

I have so much to write about this week that I have no clue if I will get to everything that I want to cover. I was completely cut off from the news and had no idea about the tragedy in Norway. I am still trying to process what happened and read what I can about it. This is one of those events that make me feel sick and hopeless. The more I read the more I get upset and fear for this world. There are people that want the same thing to happen in America to “silence the left”. Those kinds of people actually scare me.

I also read about the deaths of Elwy Yost and some drug addict. The drug addict seems to be eliciting more sympathy on Facebook and Twitter than the near 100 people lost in Norway. One person throws their life away and Twitter explodes, 93 lives are stolen and the same people fall silent. I know the stories aren’t the same but that was my reaction when I went back online. I only thought, “This is what people are talking about?” I won’t mourn the drug addict’s death. I will mourn the 93 innocent victims.

I don’t mean to cast judgment or look down my thoroughly crooked nose at anyone, but I am writing about how I felt when both stories came at me at the same time. I need to process more of my thoughts and figure out a point to what I want to say. The shitbag they caught in Norway will be giving a “reason” for this and I want to read more. I don’t think it will make anyone feel better or understand why it happened though. No doubt there are others involved but it doesn’t matter.  It will never bring back those 93 souls. If I believed in a God, this is when I’d be praying.

I meant to write more about the end of my vacation but I can’t have these two entries share the same space. I am crying for the mothers and fathers of those kids. I am crying for their brothers and sisters. I am crying for their families and friends. We can never make sense when people die from accidents or disease but when they die from the actions of one person who purposely ends their lives for a “just cause” it goes beyond reason and understanding. It can never be understood or forgiven. These deaths will never get justice. These kids, whose names I will never know, deserved better than this. Their families deserved better. My heart is filled with pain and sorrow. There is no hate in me, the pain I feel doesn’t leave room for it.

 

Sun, Sweat and Sales

My time in Florida is at an end. I think the weather knows it too since it seems that the ocean just appeared above us and is dumping its contents on us. The forecast has called for rain during the day all week and it finally happened. I can’t complain since we had the best possible weather we could ask for.

Today was especially nice. We did a last pool swim and it was the hottest that it has been all week. The themometre at the pool claimed it was 120 degrees in the sun with 25% humidity. I am not sure if it was accurate but it felt it. The heat was immense. I would read a chapter of A Clash of Kings and then swim. I couldn’t last much longer. I even left a sweat mark on one of the pages. The heat even disabled my iPhone. I went to take a picture and it had shut down due to the heat. I have never seen my iPhone tell me it was too hot to work, but it did.

Yesterday was also a shopping day. We found an outlet mall neat Ft Myers and it was a goldmine. If only I had more cash and room to pack the things I wanted to buy. This outdoor mall had a Calvin Klein, addidas, Nike, Banana Republic, J Crew, Gap, Perry Ellis, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, and a whole lot more. Addidas was a waste of time since their “sales” were nothing to shout about and they didn’t even have that great a selection of shoes. Bollocks to them. But everywhere else had monster sales that could not be ignored. 70% off already discounted items! At Banana Republic they had shirts that at around $110 at home being sold for about $20. They had some shirts on for just $10. At Perry Ellis they had shirts and pants for $15. What is this madness? God Bless America indeed!

The only kick to the crotch was that I didn’t have the room to put all the stuff I wanted to buy. We have a short 35 minutes between flights on the way home and traveling with checked luggage would be stupid. Regardless I bought a shirt or three. Not only did the sales almost make my knees quiver but I also fit myself into a large size shirt. The XL don’t fit this bastard anymore! I actually fit into a large! Count Dooku has come through for me again!

I didn’t bother buy pants due to my shrinking waste. The 36 waist shorts I have down here are cinched like a corset around my waist. I may be down to a 34 waist now, I am not sure. I still have weight to lose so I won’t bother with pants for a few more weeks. I will just trust that my belt will prevent my pants from falling down. No one needs to see that (well at least for free).

It is 4:00 on Friday as I write my final entry from Florida. I will miss this place and its blazing hot sun, cheap clothes and drivers who don’t signal turns or lane changes.  Okay, the drivers I can do without.