Parka

Today I recieved, after a wait of about 3 weeks, my new Canada Goose parka, style "Expedition". This is the same parka issued to United States Antarctic Program personnel, and beloved of cold-weather travellers everywhere. Normally they retail for about $600, assuming one in the correct size and colour can be found in a store - stores often seem to carry only a handful of individual parkas - but I bought mine on an eBay store for about $350. Weirdly enough, these parkas are manufactured in Canada (as befits the name) but I bought mine from a fishing store in the United Kingdom. The reason it took so long to get to me is it had to cross the Atlantic; I gather the store was able to purchase a lot of these (literally one lot, rather than the vague "a large number") at some very low cost.

The annoying thing now is the weather. It's too freaking warm! Since I ordered this parka, we here in Saskatoon have had exactly 1 day colder than -20; Monday morning was -24. But it warmed up by Monday afternoon to about -10. This parka is too heavily insulated, too extravagantly down-filled and fur-trimmed (coyote fur) to be worn in anything but the most frigid Arctic-front kind of weather.

Look at this. According to the CBC, Saskatoon is sitting at -9. And look at the rest of the week! Highs of zero! It's late February! Why am I not watching the tip of my nose freeze, die, and get blown away by the harsh North Wind?