Day Zero Project #3: Buy a new suit

I headed to Men's Wearhouse on a mission. I wanted to buy a new suit. And since I will rarely wear the thing, I needed it to be a style that would work for weddings or job interviews or trips to the bar where I want to wear a jacket to fit in with rich dudes sippin' on Scotch.

And I need all of that at less than $300.

I relayed all of this to the salesman and he said, "No problem, sir" and proceeded to tell me the color I would need (charcoal) and then took my measurements before saying, "I've got just the thing for you."

He grabbed a jacket off the rack and helped me into it. "How's that?" he asked.

I turn to the mirror and then to my wife, then back to the mirror. And I'll be damned if that jacket didn't magically transform me into someone as suave looking as James Bond. Who knew a simple article of clothing could make that big of a difference?

"I love it," I told him. Even better, I'd already told him my price range so I knew I would be able to afford this image-transforming piece of fabric.

"Great, and at only $550, it's a steal," he replied.

ERRRR. Slam on the brakes. $550? Sneaky move Salesman Guy. He put me in something he knew I'd love and then tried to upsell me.

Well, I showed him. I took his color recommendation and his measurements and went to the mall where everything I tried on paled in comparison to the $550 jacket. The salesman had managed to ruin every other suit that existed by showing me one I can't afford.

Eventually, I found something at Macy's that worked. Not quite James Bond, but for the amount of times I'll wear it, it will work just fine.

It was later that I learned that you don't button two buttons!

Day Zero Project #87: Take Part in a Pub Quiz

We did this months ago so the memory is a bit hazy, but if I recall correctly there was a random Tuesday were we thought it might be fun to not sit around the house doing nothing. We knew that our local World of Beer had a trivia night, so we got ourselves off the couch and walked over to accomplish #87: Take Part in a Pub Quiz.

We signed up, were handed our pencil and paper and then proceeded to order delicious beers and get our butt's kicked at trivia. There's a few lessons here. 1) Contrary to popular belief, alcohol DOES NOT make you smarter. 2) Trivia is better with a big team. We don't own a TV, so every time they asked a TV question we knew we were out of luck. Winning pub trivia requires a well-balanced team of drinkers, tv/movie watchers and people who are way too into sports. If you can get that, you have hit the Pub Trivia jackpot.

But, like a trooper, we toughed it out and managed to get 2nd to last by overbidding our final points in an attempt to get first. I wish I remembered the final question so I could post it for you, but it was way too long ago.

Thank you trivia for making me feel guilty about having a lack of knowledge about everything pop culture...

Two of my favorite things: beer and pointless knowledge.