Gearing Up

We are less than one week out from our departure. Al'hamdu'lillah, it's been a pretty productive week. Went out for more shopping- socks, sweaters, and such. I still need a coat, though.

I don't know anything about coats. I started reading a bit about them. There's all kinds: car coats, toggle coats, duffle coats, trench coats, pea coats, barn coats, Depakotes.

Depakote is actually anti-seizure medication. You might consider taking some before you go coat shopping. It really is pretty hard. Part of the problem is trying to understand what people mean when they say "cold." We're from southern California. Cold is when you think maybe you'll go outside without your sunglasses. Thankfully, I got this bit of advice from another man who's been through a Jordanian winter or two. He said to bring:

"A good jacket to retain heat and keep you dry. This will literally help you adjust to the weather. Again, the only things to keep in mind is that it needs to keep the water out and keep the body heat in."

That narrows things down a bit. Now in addition to the selection of coats mentioned above, I am also free to consider a wetsuit, or perhaps a Hefty bag. He went on to suggest that I also bring:

"A good beanie, scarf, etc that will keep your head, neck and ears warm. I have heard that you can find these items here downtown but they may be a bit hard to find."

Hard to find? How necessary could they be? Don't the locals have heads, necks, and ears? How come they don't need this stuff? Hardy folks, these Jordanians.

I'm taking his advice, though. I'm not Jordanian. I'm half Syrian, part German, and part Wuss. Besides, I like the way I look in a beanie, like a sailor, or a criminal, but in a good way. If it turns out that I don't need the stuff, I can always sell it off to some local considering the apparent shortage of cold weather apparel.

In reality, however, my clothing options are limited by my available finances, which is to say that I will likely freeze to death. This past week saw me make the markedly gallant gesture of presenting my wife with a diamond engagement ring. I won't say where I got it, except to hint that it's a famous store with a name that rhymes with "epiphanies."

An epiphany is a sudden realization, like when you walk out of a jewelry store and think to yoursefl, "Oh my God- I just blew my housing budget on a bit of twinkle."

Like I said, it was an engagement ring. I couldn't afford one when we were courting, so I only bought her the wedding band. But, al'hamdu'lillah, I have recently achieved great financial success in a very short period of time through my most recent business venture, namely, selling my stuff and moving in with my mother-in-law. Wife now wears the resultant dividends on her finger. She's happy and that makes me happy, but kind of broke also. Wal'hamdu'lillah.

Looking forward to packing.