Looks like Penance glyph is going to stay the same after all. At least, that’s what Kalgan says. I’ve noticed I can’t mass shield as much anymore without having to chug more pots. Oof.
Went to the States for the first time yesterday (and probably last). I’m not exactly much of an outlet shopper but my cousins insisted. So I went! What did I learn?
- A medium at Jack in the Box is the same as a large in Canada
- Walmart green stores are huge
- Stuff is ridiculously cheap compared to stores in Canada
- I cannot accurately pronounce the name of that Tulip place (casino)
- The only thing I found remotely appealing to purchase was the $2 garlic bread (There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who like garlic bread and those who lie about not liking garlic bread)
- Every store I walked into had employees that were unbelievably nice (“Can I help you today?†“Did you find what you were looking for?â€Â)
- Using 1 dollar bills feels strange
- It’s cheaper to drive into one of those smaller airports to fly from as opposed to flying out of Vancouver International when considering traveling around the US (IE, 1 way to LAX from VAN is $150 as opposed to Bellingham which is ~80)
- Beer and wine in Walmart. Did a double take. Alcohol is sold in Canadian government regulated stores (BC Liquor store)
Anyway, won’t be going back for a while. My friend tells me I’m a waste of a shopper :D. I’m inclined to agree.
praise jesus for the penance change back to a non change. I only offspec discipline but honestly don’t know what they thought we would be able to do without it. oO was scary.
as for the u.s. dude i’ve traveled the world. I’m to the point I won’t leave wisconsin except for canada… and your prices scare me =)
The beer and wine thing varies by state. In my home state of California, you can purchase any kind of alcohol (including hard liquors) at any grocery store. When I moved to Virgina, you can only buy beer and wine at a grocery store, if you want anything harder you have to go to a government run store, and there are some states/counties where you can’t buy anything. All of which are remnants of Prohibition. 😀
I’m dissappointed. Is my home state of Washington so dull that you only just ventured into it for the first time? I promise there’s way more interesting things to do here than outlet shop!
Also, it’s “Too-Lay-Lip”, and they have the most annoying commercials on TV.
Lamy: Pretty much :(. I’m sure there is. Apparently the ocean from BC looks a lot different from the ocean view from Portland. And I hear stuff there is tax free. I may just consider going there again in the future.
Matt,
If you ever plan on venturing out to San Francisco, let me know. I can show you around to some really great places to eat. Forget the outlet stores and go to Swan’s Oyster Depot for the best raw Oysters and Dungeoness Crab for lunch and Suppenkusche for their cured and grilled Pork Chop for Dinner.
Louis: I’ll see what I can do. I’m still young, I’d like to travel. It’s always the budgetary reasons though that stone me ^^.
The mediums in Jack in the Box used to be larges. They and a bunch of other fast food places changed their sizes about a year ago and it still makes me mad because I always order a medium soda expecting a medium soda, not something roughly the size of a kiddie pool.
The alcohol thing definitely varies by state. You can’t get hard liquor in Alabama unless you go to a state-regulated liquor store (which you have to be 21 to enter.) Things like beer can be sold at regular stores, but we also don’t have any alcohol sales at all on Sundays.
Otherwise… you need to come to the South, so that I can introduce you to amazing food. =D
Fain: Not quite sure if I can handle the heat of the south :S. But it’s something on my to do list.
The first time I went to Canada there were two things that were weird for me, one was the liquor store, the other was the cigarettes. In Michigan you can get any type of alcohol you want at the grocery store or party store. I had never seen or heard of bullet cigarettes before, and Canada started putting dire warnings on their cigarette boxes long before the States. When you live driving distance from Ontario though, it’s a pretty quick and cheap jaunt across the bridge for a visit to Canada 🙂
And I thought state-run alcohol stores were just a “Scandinavian Nanny State” thing (we have them in Finland where I live now)…
@Arduanne: Have you seen EU cigarette warnings? They take up half the pack these days!
Oh yes, a big YAY for the Penance glyph change of heart!
Matt, First as a transplant from the South I understand your adversion to the heat. As for the alcohol, only beer and wine is sold in regular stores in WA. Which was a HUGE change for me to find you can only get liquer at a state run store. Back in TN I’m used to have to get it all at private liquer stores. Which was a boon since you had large emporiums. I loved one run by knowledgable people who you could have a conversation with about the flavors of one liquer or scotch (or anything really) over the other etc. State run? smaller selection and not nearly the knowledge base or interest.
Other than that you do WA an injustice if you just visit Bellingham. Hit up Seattle, roam the warf, visit Pike’s Place Market, stroll around town. 🙂
@Fain mail me cornbread? *bats eyes*
Lenelies last blog post..Does Discipline Still Sparkle?
If you want better outlet malls you need to drive past Bellingham into Burlington.
Also check out the Costco if you have a membership. Many of my friends go down there and by the tires for their car at a savings of $200.
Booze is a total rip off in Canada. I just bought a 6 pack of beer for my hubby. It cost almost $14.00 here.
Matt: where is there a Jack in the Box in BC? didn’t know they had them here. I did here a rumor of a Carls Jr. coming to Surrey though. 🙂
@Missmedic: There isn’t one in BC :(. We had just driven past the Peace Arch and there was one right there. I forgot what that area was called.
I thought I remember seeing one (Jack in the Box) in the middle of Vancouver when I was there a few weeks ago… can’t find it on google maps, though. Guess it was something else.
I will say that I got food for cheap up there – 3 slices of pizza and a soda for $5 was great.
PS: If you visit Seattle, you should totally notice the fancy amazon building! (Pic: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Seattle-PacMed-2571.JPG – it’s on top of one of the more southern hills)
there is no ocean in portland – its about an hour to the seashore and its amazing – closest we have is long beach/tofino – they have real waves!