Instead of luxurious, a bit stiff

I got my three pairs of custom-tailored pants back today. They fit my funny legs pretty well -- nearly to a T, and certainly better than regular off-the-rack pants fit. But I'm disappointed at the quality of the material I chose. When I selected three different types of material, each of them felt OK when feeling it with my hands. It seemed like each material would translate into a good pair of pants. It seemed like each was what I wanted. It seemed like blends of cashmere and wool and similar materials would work for me.

Damn. They just don't feel right.

Instead of feeling luxurious, each pair feels a bit stiff. Each pair is lined and all, and the handiwork is fine. The tailor accommodated each of my requests (slightly wider belt loops, double cuffed at the bottom, 2 non-flap back pockets, slit pockets at the front, flat front, etc.), so I'm happy about all of those details. In fact, each pair looks pretty darn good on me, and that's the really important thing. I'll just hope that people can't tell that they aren't feeling like a million bucks on my body.

But -- and let's be honest here -- I paid a mere pittance compared to what I would have paid for the same thing at home. Cheers to that!

I did even more Christmas shopping today and am thinkin' that I've pretty much hit the finish line. But it's so darned easy to see something cute and cheap and pick it up for the nieces and nephew. They'll think Uncle Jeff is waaaay better than Santa Claus this year : ) I just have to balance the need to pick up all of those kinds of little treats against my inability to actually cart them home with me. Or else I'll be sending one honkin' big parcel that costs about a million bucks.

It's my last night in Patong Beach and shortly I'll be heading to a place called Buffalo Grill, or some approximation thereof. I went there for dinner the other night and enjoyed the most garlicy bruschetta I've ever eaten in my life. I must have been oozing garlic from the pores the next day, but it ain't like I'm in jeopardy of kissin' nobody, so I can live wit dat. I also had a Bacon and Cheese Burger that was quite likely the best burger I've had in possibly my entire life an awfully long time. Bring on the sequel at Buffalo Grill tonight! I may have to sacrifice the bruschetta on account of the fact that I'll be sitting next to other passengers on my two flights tomorrow, but I'll be happily chowing down on another burger.

So this vacation comes to an end. And, to be honest, I'm quite cool about heading back to Honkers and back to work. It's not like I missed work or anything, but I reallllly miss the amazing shower and bed and flatscreen TV and work desk and free broadband internet and luxury of Le Meridien Cyberport. But most of all, I can't wait to be reunited with the shower. Sigh. It's like a tropical waterfall that makes it very easy to pass an easy half hour while watching the flatscreen TV in the other room. Plus, I'm excited about being back in Honkers to get together with some friends for my birthday drinks, celebrate the end of our Asia Pacific Tour with the whole freakin' team, and then head home to Vancouver.

I've really enjoyed Honkers as a host city, so I'm a bit disappointed to leave there (particularly in light of some of the upcoming stops on our American Tour). But going to Vancouver? Well, ain't nothin' could be finer! Yippee! But before Vancouver: the madness of Tear Down.

(insert foreshadowing music here)