Maybe writing down dumb clothes things will help me feel better, despite the general pointlessness of such an exercise.

Acquired: Cord jacket (thrifted, like that a lot), various interesting blazers, more button shirts (9tailors and Modern Tailor both have their strong points, off the rack plus alterations can also work, but see below), ties and pocket squares (thrifting, eBay, Etsy), red chinos.

To acquire: Brown cords (maybe?), khaki chinos a size up (maybe; the ones I have are getting small on me despite my weight going down, but maybe that will change again), sweaters, better (or better-fitting) cardigans, a heavy wool coat (the one I have is not quite what I'm looking for in weight and style; more importantly, it's too small), more casual button shirts (my main problem here is that I still have no idea what I'm looking for in this space, probably my best bet is to thrift stuff and rotate out what I don't wear). Possibly take some of my favorite polo and henley shirts to the tailor for adjustment (but that should maybe wait on more fitness stuff).

Deferred: Lots of stuff. Pretty much everything expensive, except that coat.

This weekend was good, except that on Saturday I was struck down by a terrible stomach bug. Couldn't eat normal food again until Monday, and I'm still tired. I still enjoyed the Top Shelf Flea on Sunday (though I had to avoid all but bread and bananas while out on the town), and Xave's story circle on Monday was fun (I read a favorite passage from Infinite Jest, among other things).

Last weekend was fun: The American Craft Beer Festival on Saturday evening was awesome. My plans to join DJ's family for their party in Albany on Sunday, however, were thwarted by my inability to read a bus schedule correctly.

My new suit is almost done and looking great. The new shirts I ordered also came out great. Getting enough exercise, but probably not quite enough sleep.

Climbed (not quite passing but closer than I'd expected) a 5.9+ at the gym on Monday.

Trying to get all my travel plans organized. Getting ready for Sandy Island.

Politics continues to be interesting, as everyone and their uncle announces their run for the Republican ticket (including Rick Santorum (very probably NSFW, also the guy doesn't have the best reputation on Google for some reason)) and Rep. Anthony Weiner proves he is stupid, impulsive, and incompetent (seriously, what an idiot).

The better my life gets, the less time I find to write a coherent blog post about how well things are going.

Last weekend, I was at this, which I discussed more at length in my other blog (and seriously, even if you don't read that, read the speech here). There was also this, which I only saw a bit of, but it was fun, and the resulting photos were good:



That's myself and DJ. The immediate reaction of Michelle (and Tara) was that we looked like certain muppets. I'll accept that.

Other stuff: Went on a lot of good dates, watched 5 Centimeters Per Second (good, and pretty, but a little sad) and saw Incendies with Film Club (sadder than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be sad; still a well-crafted film), worked on v1s and v2s bouldering, attended an annual Olin alumni event and caught up with some old friends, continued to be overwhelmed by Google-ness, and stumbled home after dawn.

Enjoying the weather and very much looking forward to summer.

Two weekends ago: Dinner at Journeyman (fantastic) with DJ and Zach (sp?) (DJ's friend), BarCamp Boston (I did go to the second day after all).

One weekend ago: Saw The Dark Crystal (there are many good thing about this movie, but that doesn't change the fact that it's overall pretty terrible) and Labyrinth (awesome) at the Brattle Theater. Thrifted some vintage clothes to attend Michelle's "Totally Rad Party" with Tara and DJ and others. Saw the first episode of "Game of Thrones" with Amarley et al (people who I know from medieval dance and the local anime meetup group).

This weekend: Anime Boston, which I'm not really as into a PAX East and so on, but it's still fun. Was excited to see all the people cosplaying Homestuck characters (in other news, MS Paint Adventures is awesome, and Homestuck is probably the most bizarre piece of postmodern fiction I've ever read). Got in a dinner at Eastern Standard with DJ and Michelle. That place deserves it's reputation for exceptional drinks, and the dessert was also fantastic, but everything else, while not bad, didn't seem at all like a good value.

Looks like Saam will be moving out post-graduation at the beginning of June. With luck, Zach will be replacing him. (Without luck, we'll be housemate-searching on Craigslist again.) It's been good, but not nearly long enough since the last time the residents of this house changed. Can't be helped, I suppose.

This week is the Boston Independent Film Festival. Weekend after that is the International Steampunk City in Waltham.

Yet another badly delayed entry. I blame the DDoS. Though that doesn't account for last week.

My whirlwind tour of NYC was awesome. I really enjoyed catching up with Emmett, spending time with Nikki, and even the shopping. Visited Odin (a nifty boutique that seemed like some sort of curated museum of fashion), Epaulet (similar feel, but not quite as good), Opening Ceremony (felt more like the Garment District except everything was new and designer and cost about a million dollars), Uniqlo (Japanese fast-fashion brand that everyone's heard about), and Onassis (Japanese fast-fashion brand that not everyone has heard about). Bought a few things, but my favorite purchase was my new jacket from Onassis, it looks pretty sweet.

Last weekend involved a pub crawl, spending time with Tara, getting half-stranded in Dorchester, a crazy birthday bash for zombie_dog (including the "transexual punk-rock zombie-movie masterpiece" Wild Zero (the DVD has a built-in drinking game!)), and dinner and ice cream with Olin friends (including David (seramir323), who was on spring break from his work teaching English in northern Japan (fortunately for him, up in the mountains)).

Tomorrow I'm seeing these guys about a suit. This weekend is Bar Camp.

Been trying to get to sleep earlier with limited success. But I seem to be waking up earlier at any rate.

So I've got great socks, proper-fitting jeans and chinos (and some khaki shorts, too, though I could use another pair or two for summer), plenty of t-shirts in my size, some good fitting dress-shirts and casual button shirts, a few sport-coats, some nifty hats, scarves, and belts, more than a few ties, a great watch, and so on.

I'm working on getting some sweaters for winter layered outfits. This, too, has been problematic. I'm often in the situation where medium is too big, small is too small, and both are too long. I bought and returned a lot of items. I did keep this cardigan from Lands End Canvas (in small), which I like even though I need to cuff the sleeves. I'm looking into items from short mens' specialty stores.

My replacement bag from Rickshaw arrived, and it looks great, but it's not in the color I ordered. I'll see if I can get that corrected.

After a little tailoring, the suit I bought this summer is okay. But it's totally not what I would have bought now. So a better "basic" suit is still on my list. My winter and spring coats are also okay, but there's room for something better, especially on the winter side.

I'd say that my current queue looks something like this (rough ordering):

Dress slacks: I'm going to try some basic gray wool slacks from Lands End. There are a few more interesting items that have caught my eye, but they've been deferred. My main concern is that the pants will be overly itchy, I often don't do well with wool. If that's too much of a problem, I may have to seek out some design that's fully lined.

Navy blazer: Just an item I want to have for summer. Probably going with this because I can get it custom-fit for relatively cheap (note that the listed price isn't what I'd count as "relatively cheap", but Indochino offers some significant coupon deals), plus I want to try Indochino.

Basic suit: Navy or charcoal gray (probably the former), notch-lapel suit with slim, plain-front pants. I've got a lot of options. I suppose I could do that one via Indochino, too, but perhaps I could do better getting something off the rack.

More interesting suit: I want this, but don't want to make such an expensive purchase my first. Also, what is up with the backing on that vest?

Winter coat: There are a lot of options. What I have now is okay, and I'm not sure what I want. Perhaps I just need something similar but better fitted? (A size down?)

Heavy tweed jacket: This. Not sure if serious.

Black tie attire: I've been spending too much time reading this website and wishing I was as good/lucky at thrifting as this guy. This has to be low priority. I don't have any black-tie occasions to go to!

Related to that last point, I have a friend who's seeking black tie occasions to attend in the Boston area. The catch is finding occasions where such attire is not just acceptable, but expected. A bit tricky if you don't have connections or deep pockets, even if you already have the requisite clothes bursting out of your closet.

My first double-edge shave went without too much trouble, very clean with only a few nicks (nothing the styptic pen couldn't handle). Used the Mach3 to do the final touch-ups, though, I'm not tempting fate by trying to figure out everything at once.

I got a new watch and had it adjusted today. I really, really like it.

I also received my latest order of shirts from RootPrinting. I owe these guys some props, their shirts are amazing, and if you like wearing T-shirts, you should buy some of their designs.

Work was really challenging this week, but I'm getting stuff done.

The past week was busy. The coming week looks like it will be busy. My life seems to be taking a turn for the awesome.

Last Wednesday: Saw Antje Duvekot in concert at Passim.

Thursday: Another snowstorm. This winter seems determined to make up for the past few winters.

Saturday: Workout, haircut, and new dress shoes (and they are some good looking shoes). In the evening, I went to hang out at Alibi Lounge at the Liberty Hotel (an old prison converted into a hotel with several very popular bars). Met a few interesting people, too, which will make wrangling my schedule next week even more of a challenge.

Also, as part of my ongoing fashion quest I switched to wet-shaving. Which is awesome! But the second phase of that plan involves switching from my infinity-blades-by-2020 gizmo to a more sturdy one-blade-at-at-time safety razor, a plan that is not at all 100% likely to end in disaster. Wish my face good luck!

Today: Brunch with DJ and Tara (who we met at The Buttery on New Years'). And tapas with Jen, who I met on OKCupid.

Tomorrow, with any luck, a trip to the tailor.

Education: An essay on why going to any non-top-tier law school is a one-way ticket to penury. Ditto (most of the time) for getting a PhD. An article on the overuse of homework in elementary school.

Music: A love note sent indirectly, a twist on the multitrack music video, an OverthinkingIt essay on the song Like a G6.

The Internets Attack: An article on memetic epidemiology in the Cooks Source plagiarism scandal (more background on that), and a hypothetical story of a flash mob gone wrong.

Clowns Attack: Clowns versus clowns, an anarchist army of rebel clowns.

Politics: Why the health care bill won't be repealed (basically all of it is popular), an article on the downside of diversity, an article on the reaction to deadly airline terrorism before 9/11, an article on pilot unions and airlines.

Food: Making porchetta, omelets inside the egg.

Clothes: A post from the author of Dresden Codak on costume and character, a talk about fashion and free culture, more than you ever wanted to know about men's dress shoes.

Other Interesting: Augmented reality for the colorblind, The World's Greatest Drunk, a psychological history of David Foster Wallace, translating early modern philosophy texts from English to English, a video asking "what do sex workers want their significant others to know?" (produced by Scarlet Alliance, a sex workers' rights organization in Australia).

Finally: Denki Groove's latest video, Fake It!