Samurai S5000VX21 4-year update.

It's been about 2-3 years since my last update (June and January 2011).  I haven't worn them that much in the past year for a few reasons - not appropriate for work and also because I gained some weight last year.  Now that the holidays are upon us and I've dropped my waist size back down to 32 and half of HR just got let go, I started wearing them to work again.  

You can see the creases where I cuff the jeans when I'm at home and not wearing boots.  I'm trying to minimize the wear at the back of the leg opening.

In the front-view picture, the twist in the legs are a little more apparent.  The denim twists in the same direction (to the right) as the material shrinks.  

Just repaired the back pocket again. Hard to see, but there's a fresh piece of denim inside the asshole.  The seams on the sides of the coin pocket have burst.  

I'm thinking of buying a new pair of jeans this new year - definitely want to stick with Samurai, maybe in a more relaxed fit, though.  

Happy New Year everyone.

H.H. Brown Dress Boots

I did a little internet research and discovered that Matterhorn is in fact owned by H. H. Brown, who also make army boots.  In fact, my issued dress boots and ‘77 Matterhorn work boots were made at the same facility in Sherbrook (Quebec), 22 years apart. 

As it turns out, both my dad and I made the same sizing mistake 22 years apart.  We both ordered boots that were tagged for our shoe size, not realizing that H. H. Brown’s sizing doesn’t conform to any kind of industry standard.  He’s normally a size 7 shoe, and I’m an 8.5, but in H. H. Brown sizing, I’m actually a 7.  This means that by good fortune, my dad’s sizing mistake ended up in my favour.

As for my parade boots, I exchanged them for size 7.5 which fit perfectly if I have to wear thick wool socks for a winter parade. 

This week, I’m wearing my dress boots and polishing daily to rebuild a fresh foundation of wax so that I can get a great spit-shine on for Sunday’s Remembrance Day Parade.  

4 years ago, I posted about the results of my annual fitness test.  Yesterday, I ran the test again for the 2013/2014 training year.  

So it turns out that the previously marked route for the run was 400 m short (not my problem the army didn’t accurately measure that distance).  That means my previous time of 28:52 is actually closer to 30:47 for the 6.4 km (4 mi) run.  My previous 5 km split would then gain an extra minute or so to be 23:04. I guess I always suspected the route was too short. 

That said, yesterday’s stats would give me some new personal bests:

4-mile (6.4 km) run: 29:48

5 km split: 22:58

Chin-ups: 11

Push-ups: 50

Sit-ups: 60 / 2 min

I was worried about the run, having gained 10 lbs after having a kid, but I guess the body has a way of adapting to the extra weight to maintain a relative level of strength and fitness. 

Matterhorn Steel Toe Workboots

So, the story behind these boots goes something like this… My dad was cleaning out the garage and came across an old pair of boots from the late ‘70s when he worked out west for Syncrude.  He wore them once while visiting a plant and they’ve been in storage ever since. 

I tried the boots on, and they fit real good, so I took them home with me.  I wore them to work today to start breaking them in.

Camilla

Erasing denim stains from leather

If you happen to get a new pair of jeans that's bleeding all over your leather shoes, wallet, belt, etc. there's an easy way to get those stains out.

Step 1: brush off any dirt or dust.

Step 2: use a soft white rubber eraser and scrub the stained areas.

Step 3: apply a light coat of mink oil or whatever to protect the newly exposed surface.

That's all there is to it. My wallet was stained by the indigo bleeding from

my jeans. After scrubbing, it looks quite a lot cleaner.

-d

Project Trucker: Levis Type III Jacket

Hit the Levi's store at the Eaton Centre and finally sank the $88 +tx for the 'modern' Type III Trucker Jacket. I hmm'd and haw'd for months about whether to drop the extra $370 for the 21 oz Iron Heart Type III. I just want to mess around, so I finally decided on the cheaper.

The cut is longer than the 'vintage' capital E model. The bottom button is now below the beltline, instead of above. Apparently, this is a 'modern cut.' Stupidly, Levi's has not widened the hem at the bottom, which would have made sense since the closure is hip-height rather than the waist. So now, if you do up the bottom button, the whole thing rides up, and if it doesn't you should consider a gym membership because you are one skinny motherfucker.

The other big change is the addition of two slit pockets to warm your hands in. The pockets are generous and the pocket bags feel pretty tough. I like this addition.

The buttons and rivets are the same shitty tinny looking ones that we come to expect from today's Levi's. I expect the denim to perform same as the other rigids and bleed out until it looks stone-washed. But hey, for less than $100, that's fine. I'll wear the fuck out of it, and then we can compare Big E to Little E.

-d

Garrison Bespoke Part 3

Samurai S5000VX21oz update

So, I took my jeans into Sydney's to get the crotch tears and back pocket holes repaired. They send it out to their tailors who conduct the repairs, and ended up doing an amazing job. The back pocket was an especially good job - the back pocket was unstitched, patched, and sewn back on. The repairs are pretty much invisble from the outside of the jeans. You'd have to look very very close to see the stitching.

Update: I played around with the white-balance and the photos below are the best approximation of the true colour.
I also picked up a pair of sweatpants from Roots. Finally found a pair made of 100% cotton. I've been looking for so long, and I was resigned to the fact that they would never make anything other than cotton-poly blends because people like how 'soft' the blend feels. I picked up a terry cotton sweatshirt last year at the GAP. Well, that's another check in the box - 100% cotton sweats.

Garrison Bespoke Part 2

Garrison Bespoke Part 1

Samurai S5000VX21oz

If you aren't aware, I've been wearing the same pair of jeans almost every day for the last year. I dont' wear them every day - more like every other day on average. It's been my pet project for the last little while, so I guess it's my sense of dedication and commitment personified.

Samurai is the brand - a relatively small one based in Osaka with a bit of a cult following around the world. The only retail outlet outside of Osaka is in NYC - Blue in Green, which is where I got mine.

Anyway, here they are - or were - last year pictured above at 1 month old, and below how they look today, almost a year later. (click to enlarge)
Most of the fading is from just everyday wear. I don't do anything particularly intense or rough in them, so I guess the fading is modest when compared so some of my other pairs. A lot of the wear is actually from my canvas messenger bag. I do alternate shoulders, not so that the fading on my jeans is even, but moreso because I ended up with a pinched nerve from shoulder muscle imbalances last year. I have some salt splatter from the GD sidewalk slush.

My grossly oversized wallet busted a hole in the back pocket, and since it was fucking freezing cold today, I stayed in and did some hand-sewing. Just patched with a small piece of scrap denim from another pair that got hemmed.

Yeah, the crotch is blowing out. They'll probably be NSFW in a few more months - according to the company's style guide. I guess I'll start working on another pair.

Mantis

Found a praying mantis on the field on Tuesday. I'd never seen one so large in the GTA.

-d

Thursday Farmer's Market @ Mel Lastman Sq

If you have time today, go check it out.

The magic school bus there is actually a fully functional kitchen where they make baked goods. Today, the Peach/Apricot dessert loaf is awesome. The peaches come from the stand next to the baked goods stand. Try the peaches there too. Fresh, in season, and almost-ripe. Probably the best peaches I have ever eaten.

Thornloe and Montforte also sell cheeses there. Some are award winning, and most of their selection is pretty damn good.

Also check out Mark Wilson's bee stand. He normally has a comb from his hives on display.

Avoid the north-east stand (closest to starbucks). They're not really farmers. They're just produce re-sellers.

-d

iPhone 3G & Rogers plans for sale

My co-worker and her partner are leaving the country, and would like to sell their iPhones and transfer ownership of their Rogers plans rather than pay a cancellation fee. The key selling point is the $30 / 6 GB data plans. Details as follows:

Phone 1:
Mega My5 35 ($35.00/month)
Unlimited Eve/Wknd Minutes
200 Weekday Minutes
250 Bonus Minutes
50 Bonus Minutes
6PM Early Eve. Calling Option
MY5 + Canada Wide
Call Forward/Trans.Pay Per Use
2500 Sent/Unl. Received Txt
9-1-1 Emergency Access Fee $0.75/month
System Access Fee $6.95/month
Data Service Plan 6GB $30.00/month
Phone Value Pack+VVmail $15.00/month
TOTAL = approx 87.70

PHONE 2:
Mega My5 25 ($25.00/month)
100 Weekday Minutes
1000 Eve/Weekend Minutes
Call Forward/Trans.Pay Per Use
Partial Detail Billing
MY5
2500 Sent/Unl. Received Txt
9-1-1 Emergency Access Fee $0.75/month
System Access Fee $6.95/month
Data Service Plan 6GB $30.00/month
Phone Value Pack+VVmail $15.00/month
TOTAL = approx 77.70

Let me know if you're interested and I can put you in touch with her to discuss further.

-d

Entertainment

For the record, I started growing my beard after my Sister's Wedding, as planned since early June (no hair cuts or shaving until September!). My beard plans predate the beard fad that is now being highlighted by a variety of sources online.

Saw Rock of Ages and Legally Blonde with KT over the last couple of weeks. Both shows were pretty good.

Rock of Ages stars the same French dude who was in We Will Rock You, as well as the chick who played Maria from the Sound of Music. Anyway, we went to the theatre a couple hours before showtime, and entered the lottery for discount tickets. We scored 2 front-row seats for $25 each. I think there are 15 lottery tickets each show, so if there are less than 15 people entering the lottery (only 8 ppl entered the lottery for our show), you’re guaranteed the ticket. We sat front row, off to the right of the stage (don’t sit in the centre because you’ll get spit on by the singers…). I think sitting front row is a totally different experience because you can hear the actors’ real voices belting out those songs, and see the expressions on the faces. It’s pretty amazing. Anyway, for $25 a pop, it was definitely well worth the show.

Legally Blonde was… Legally Blonde. Initially, I was skeptical about how good a Legally Blonde musical could be because of the generally cool reception from critics. It's commonly described as 'vapid,' or 'vacuous,' but I realized that that’s exactly the selling point of a Legally Blonde musical. The musical is the same as the movie, so it stands to reason that if you liked the movie, you’ll like the musical. I liked the movie, so I liked the musical.

Saw Inception last night. Gotta say, it’s my fav movie this summer.

-d

Solid weekend.

June 26: Janice's Wedding.
I got this engagement photo blown up to 41" x 27" (colour adjusted!) and got a black Ikea frame for it for my sis' wedding.


June 27: the 30-60-90 Tri-Generation Birthday Party.


-d

Father's Day

Click to Enlarge

Another good real estate article

Mish's view on the Canadian Housing Market

For a more in depth explanation of why price-rent / price-income is an indicator of a housing bubble, drop me a line, and I can fwd another article that'll lay it out for you.

-d

How to compost in your condo

Been crazy busy and haven't had much time for blogging.

Anyway, just thought I'd drop this awesome article about DIY vermicomposting towers. I have a similar system under my desk at work where I throw my vegetable/fruit waste. The diff between the one in the article and mine is that mine is a tub system, which is a little simpler to run, but harder to maintain. The tower system has a higher chance of success, and is probably more effient, but it's also a lot more complicated to build.

Anyway, if you're interested, drop me a line, and I can help you get started (ie. with worms and some tips).

As a side note, I'm planted a garlic clove at the office and it sprouted!

-d