Work was really slow today, so, on a whim, I took off for Moose Jaw at 11:00 this morning. The plan was to get sushi for lunch and then find jeans and a couple of skirts for my upcoming grand adventure, as well as possibly get a new nose stud, just for a change of colour. I’ve been doing a lot of online shopping for bits of my travel wardrobe, but it’s so hard to find jeans that fit me properly that I wanted to buy them in person and shipping on the skirts I wanted was outrageous, so I hoped to find something locally. I wasn’t optimistic on the skirt front, though, since it seems that no one wears skirts anymore, especially not out in my rural area, so choice is poor in stores.

Well, I hit a snag in my plans immediately after a very delicious and satisfying sushi lunch (DK Sushi is as great as ever!): I managed to leave home without my wallet!!!! OMG. There I was 150KM from home with about 75 cents in cash on me. I thought I had a US 20 buried at the bottom of the purse, but only just discovered that I had taken it out and put it in my foreign currency bucket at home. So yup, I had about 75 cents on me and an $18 lunch bill…

The CIBC is at the opposite end of the same block as DK, so I thought that I would see if I could make a cash withdrawal with just what I had on me for ID, which was my phone, which would give me account numbers and balances. I asked the cashier at the restaurant if she would let me try in exchange for leaving my truck keys. Yes.

So off I went to the bank, where I was greeted with the usual, “How can I help you?” and I replied, “I don’t think you can, but here goes, I left my wallet at home, south of Assiniboia.” The woman burst out laughing and said, “You just need some cash?” “Yes,” I replied meekly. “Not a problem!” she replied to my immense surprise. I had to give her the phone number on the account, the account number, the balance to the penny, my full name, and my date of birth (not in that order) to make a withdrawal that would, hopefully, cover all my purchases for the day. I mean, I was already in town so I might as well pursue my plans, but be extra careful with my driving!

I settled the restaurant bill and burst out laughing at the fortune I got with my cookie:

Little did I know, Passport Canada inefficiency notwithstanding, the cookie fortune would prophetic.

First stop was the Salvation Army Thrift store, where I found the exact model of jeans I wanted, in my size, and with a tag still on them. They were a lighter wash than I wanted, but at less than $2.50 (half off special!), I knew I would regret not buying them.

Then, I went to the jean store, whatever it’s called, in the Town and Country Mall, where my piercer is situated. They didn’t have darker jeans in the same style I’d just bought, but, get this, I found my skirt! It was exactly what I wanted in terms of fabric and cut. And it was buy one, get one half off! I ideally wanted two skirts to go with me since I knew I’d live in them, so that was an incredible deal. Less than $50 for both!

Unfortunately, my piercer was off on maternity leave, something I would have known if I had checked her Facebook page before leaving. I could have bought a new stud, but would have had to put it in myself. I’m not able to do that without a lot of pain because my fingers are so big and clumsy, so I passed. I don’t mind the one I have now; it would have just been nice to have something different since I can actually see my stud when I look down at my nose.

I was at a loss at this point about where else to try for jeans since I’ve never bought clothes in Moose Jaw except at the thrift store when I had a brilliant epiphany: Reitmans moves to summer stock about this time of year and the fall/winter stuff goes on sale. I hoofed it up to the store on Thatcher Drive and learned that I was right: all jeans were 50% off, so $24 instead of $48! They had exactly what I wanted, so I was out of there very quickly! I’m not sure I’ll have room for both pairs in my suitcase, but it would be nice to have the lighter pair for casual things so I can keep the darker ones for when I want to be a bit dressier.

I was beat by this point and still had work due tonight, so I headed home, not bothering to get any groceries. Prices aren’t really that much better than in Assiniboia and I’m trying not to keep too much in the house since I’ll be leaving withing the next three to four weeks.

I took the scenic route home and enjoyed blazing fast internet (by Saskatchewan rural standards) at a stop I made to enjoy the view, more than 30KM in any direction from any settlement bigger than a farmstead. Meanwhile, my hamlet, a proper community with all other services (except cable TV) is half that distance from a proper town with broadband and we’re too far from civilization to get service. Got to love SaskTel’s logic!

Thank you to CIBC for saving the day! I’ll be better at putting my wallet back in my purse from now on! 😀