Relaxation Time

Finally have some down time to do some latest updates.

Yesterday was the 20 year anniversary of when we adopted M, and when he first came home to us. It's crazy how time flies. I was about 10 years old and so happy when we brought M to his forever home. I still remember none of us told dad about bringing a kitten home. Growing up, he didn't like to have pets at home (I guess Asian folks think having pets at home is unclean and stinky). Of course when he came home to a kitten walking around the house, he hit the roof.

It was almost like yesterday when that happened, being a little girl and feeling so overjoyed. 20 years later, it leaves an empty spot as he is no longer here with us. It's sad to think about it, and so I try to think of all the joyous times growing up with him. Sometimes it helps, and then the bad flashbacks happen. Those are the toughest to go through. It remains a constant battle.

I have been overwhelmed lately with great news (I guess who can complain right?). I'm very blessed and surprised that I was able to achieve my goals, considering I'm the type of person who can slack off pretty bad.

My abstract was selected to be part of the American national conference next year, where once again, I'll be able to do a presentation on my topic. North American conferences? Check. Shall we take this worldwide? Let's try this.

Today I also found out I passed my specialty certification exam. I jumped for joy because I'm usually terrible at exams, so this was a huge deal. I'm just glad I don't have to spend another few hundred bucks to rewrite it or having to study again for it. I'm thankful it's all over, thank God that the second time around, there was no technical difficulties. Although I did not need to write this exam (and chose to because I figured it would be best for my future), I'm just glad it's finally over.

As part of my celebration, I ended up getting a Moose Knuckle parka. Shopping again.

I had heard of them back in 2010 or 2011 but didn't know too much about them, aside from having ball sacks as their logo and being a bit expensive. Paying a premium to have ball sacks on your sleeve? I wasn't too into that back then. I thought it was nuts. No pun intended.

Years later, I figured it's time to get a warmer jacket. I had worn my TNA jacket since I was in university and unfortunately a douchebag spilled hot chocolate on my jacket and soaked the insides of my jacket (yes, it had GONE DOWN THE DAMN SLEEVE INSIDE!). It was also very cold that day, so imagine walking around with chocolate stained jacket both inside and outside, in freezing temperatures. Not fun. He owed me a dry cleaning session. Unfortunately the mother had no idea how to wash a TNA jacket because when I got it back, all the magnets in the jacket had fallen to the bottom. So there was no way I could bundle up properly without having the front flap against the wind.

Here I go, I buy another TNA jacket on sale. This time around, the magnets were much more durable at the front, but not so much on the sleeves. It would come undone and flap everywhere. The zipper was also a pain to zip up (the pulley would also angle into a weird position where it would be impossible to zip up or down). I also lost a zipper pull for some reason. The breast pocket zipper kept getting stuck in my seatbelt when I drive. It was pretty weird and I tried to minimalize that. However, it didn't help because eventually the zipper pull fell off, and my seatbelt remains damaged from being caught in my zipper.

Minor issues I guess when you think about it. It still kept me warm. As I age, I find that I get colder and colder each year. In -30C weather, I used to be able to wear a T-shirt and run outside the school yard without getting sick. I was burning up, never frozen. It was weird. Nowadays I can't even wear a T-shirt in the house without freezing up. I guess that's the part of getting old?

Anyways, I decided to try one of these jackets as I like long jackets, but not so long that I trip over them when I walk. I'm lazy and figured let's try to get something that's durable in rain (I have an umbrella but never use it...instead my head remains soaked from rain). Lo and behold, BALL SACKS. I always thought it was funny and dumb. But if it works to keep me warm, then sure why not.

I think these jackets run a size smaller. When I tried size S, it felt like my chest was being crushed (plus I had trouble moving my arms around), but the bottom part felt fine. I opted for a M as I was able to move my arms more, but the bottom portion was a bit more poofy. Supposedly they say if you don't plan on wearing any layers, opt for the smaller one, but if you are the type to wear layers underneath, go for the bigger size.

Considering I wear sweaters these days, the M would fit me better. Yet I'm not sure if the wind would go up from the bottom since there is more space now. DILEMMA! Still deciding what to do.

The policy is that you can exchange or refund within 30 days as long as the tags are still there and the item remains clean/unworn. They do have lifetime warranty, although it doesn't cover normal wear and tear. I guess that's not too bad.

I opted for a blue/black combination instead of the traditional black/white combo. Figured I might as well match my car. *Insert lame eye roll here*