Very good Patagonia down jacket

Last November, I was fully taking advantage of current exchange rate between US dollar and Japanese yen when I bought a Patagonia down jacket.

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-mens-down-sweater?p=84673-0-889


When I came to the bay area, I did not bring any jackets of mine because I heard that the bay area is warmer even in winter than Tokyo in Japan and jackets are not necessary. However that`s not true somewhat . It is certainly true in the daytime, but in the morning and night we definitely need jackets because temperature often goes down to 40F in this season. That`s why I decided to buy a jacket.
When I told so to my colleague who likes outdoor activities, he really recommended a Patagonia down jacket. According to him, it`s designed for outdoor usage but I can wear it in daily life, and it`s light so it`s easy to carry and store. As you can easily imagine, it is more expensive than other competitive products. I placed much value on lightness so I decided to try it. First of all, I googled it ,and found that a Patagonia special shop is located in Santa Cruz near to the exit of highway 17. At one day after thanksgiving, I went there while expecting thanksgiving sale, but unfortunately the shop did not have it. However I found a favorite jacket there, furthermore I could find XS size which just fits me perfectly. I decided to buy it immediately because it`s really difficult to find good size clothes for me in a lot of shops in US. Evey time I can not find good size clothes I wish I were a little bit taller. And I wish so every time I read motorcycle magazines and catalogs because almost all motorcycle seat is higher for me. However $200 price of that seemed to be expensive for me, so I used Japanese credit card because Japanese yen is obviously stronger than ever before compared to US dollar. One dollar was equivalent to about 120 yen 5 years ago but it is about 77 yen now !  
Anyway let me tell you how the jacket is. It`s is really light and hold warmer air inside the jacket and keep me comfortable during walking. When I went to the office with the jacket, everyone told me that this looks light and easy to walk.

I really like it and I am considering to buy some clothes more.

Thanksgiving day

Key words ; thanksgiving day, turkey day, whole foods, cooked turkey

Thanksgiving day was the first time since I came to US. Things which I got to know about the day are two. The first one is that family members come back and gather home. Second one is that family typically enjoys to eat a roast turkey together with gravy and cranberry sources. Therefore I tried to follow the manner mentioned above. Firstly, I was thinking to cook a roast turkey from scratch, but as I checked how to do it, I got to feel like that it is difficult for me to do that easily just by following manners available in internet because it takes much time to complete every complicated process for more than 6 hours since a turkey is put on a oven and it needs a lot of staffs like sources, a dedicated oven board. Immediately after realizing that, I decided to ordered a cooked turkey because I wanted to experience a perfect cooked roast turkey. And at that time I was thinking I would cook it by myself next year if it is delicious.

During 2 weeks before the thanksgiving days, local radio advertisements were all about the special day which included a organic turkey pre-order at whole foods market. So I went to the whole food nearest my house and tried to order an organic turkey, but unfortunately it was sold out but a non organic order was still be available. My family is only my wife so I wanted a small one but 10 pounds size one was minimum. It is obviously too much size for two peoples, but I ordered that size reluctantly because I really wanted to try how taste a roast turkey is.

(This is just an aside but I sometime see a herd of turkeys in the Racho san antonio park)

At the day, I went to whole foods at 11am and picked a roast turkey with an instruction paper to warm an cooked turkey in an oven. At whole foods, I bought gravy and cranberry sources, and a wine additionally. As soon as I got home, I started to pre-heat a oven and put the cooked turkey but it was a little bit tough work because the 10 pounds turkey was heavier than I though. 2 hour later, everything was ready on a table finally. I remember that my expectation was highest at this moment. Soon after one bite, I was positively feeling that it was very happy for me to experience a traditional food, and at the same time I was negatively feeling that I expected too much and chicken taste is better for me. I did not want to admit that because the ordered turkey was expensive but it was honestly true for me. Finally I realized that likes and dislikes depend on person, and the difference of cultures because a lot of American people continue to do like this annually.

Much part of the turkey was left over but don`t worry about that. I enjoyed that with a fried rice and sandwich later.

Taste was not what I expected,however I thought that this was great experience totally.