in this technology age...
One of the best online services is PayPal. It makes online trading, buying and selling so much easier. No more hunting down my checkbook, write a check, mail it off and wait for 10 days before the goods actually arrive on my doorstep. Now, with 3 clicks, I can send in my orders to the seller and voila, the goods are in the mail, it also made it easier to pay for recurring monthly services like bloghorn. Although, I've heard that people receiving $$ from paypal do actually have to pay a certain fee, I wonder how much that is?

On another note, for all graphic, print and web designers, here's a pretty cool lorem ipsum generator.

Tonight's plan
Having slaved over some Flash actionscripting last night till 2.30am (and then some more this morning), I am exhausted. I think I'm might leave work early today (early means 5.30 at best), and head over to Target to get some new nail polish, go run a couple of miles at the park, and then head home, kick back, watch CSI and paint my nails.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting at my desk trying my very best to work, but in reality daydreaming about what I want to get for Shadow next. Hope the euroswitch shows up today. I can't wait!

my instinct
Lastnight's after dinner conversation:
Me: I think something's wrong with my car, for the past two days, the first gear has no power, it doesn't accelerate like before, but once it hits into second gear the car will drive like normal...
pause.
Me again: You don't think it's because my car is way overdue for an oil change, do you?
S.boy: There should be a light that comes on if the oil level is too low.......
Me: Well, I've already scheduled a service appt with MidAmerica and have them take a look. I told them I want those coilpacks replaced, but they say they won't do anything until it fails.

--Next morning--
I got up bright and early because it's gonna be a busy day, got in the car, barely drove 200 ft when Shadow started st...st...stutter, and then the check engine light did the *blink blink*.

Apparently, my gut instinct was correct, the coil failed this morning. Have to call AAA for the tow truck, it does hurt to see Shadow on the flatbed. *sob* But he'll be alright soon.

Oh, and S.boy was nice enough to let me borrow Sadie for the day. I got my monthly dose of driving a stick, not just any car, but Sadie. Now if only I could figure out how to add a 3" thick pad to a clutch, my next car will definitely have stick.*

* I stand 5 ft tall, after having pull the seat all the way upfront in order to reach the clutch, the steering wheel is practically on my lap. Not my idea of a comfortable position to drive.

New Mini Ads
I haven't been watching a lot of TV lately, but I will now, just to catch these commercials:

Coming off its One Show awards sweep and recent Virgin Atlantic account win, Crispin Porter + Bogusky has launched a pair of new spots for its most lauded client, Mini. In one spot, "Breeze," a young man enjoys a drive along a desert road, accompanied by his Mini-mnemonic bulldog companion, who travels, as dogs generally do, with its head out the window. The driver is also accompanied by his cat, who also travels, as cats generally don't, with its head out the window. The unexpected yet happy scene ends with the tag line "Things will never be the same" and the spot flags the Mini's status as 2003 North American Car of the Year. In another spot, "Carbonation," a driver puts the Mini briskly through its paces and then unwisely pops a can of soda inside the car. Both spots were directed by Warren Kushner out of Bedford Falls. The breezy track for "Breeze" was written and performed by Brian Jones and co-written by Lyle Greenfield both of Bang Music. Music for "Carbonation" was written and performed by Steven MacDonald and Anna Waronker. The spots broke on the weekend and will air in many of the big-ticket network season finales and the NBA Playoffs.
--Adcritic.com

addicted
Still being in the shopping mode, I am addicted to the classified forum of the vwvortex. If I blow $400 on those Hella HID or a new set of 17'' wheels, it'll be all your fault Mr. dK. You have been forewarned.

retail theraphy
Scanning my emails and forum boards this morning, I realized that in the next couple of days, I'm gonna look forward to the poooooostman. Heh. Yeah yeah, I did succumb to retail therapy after my work month from hell, but since most of my purchases are made online, there isn't really an instant gratification feeling the moment I hit the "place my orders" button, rather, the satisfaction comes when I see boxes piling up my living room floor waiting to be opened.

So let's see what's being shipped this week:
1. Jcrew swim stuff and a pair of sandals.
2. Euroswitch for my Jetta.

and there is also this rule in my book, for each time I made two-three seperate purchases over a short period of time, I would have to "punish" my wallet by buying S.boy something, so this is his:

3. The geek apron.

On another note:
Kate, our monday night dinner gang member, showed me how to put together my new herb garden that I've been wanting, that girl knows what she's doing... Right now the herb are still kind of in their infancy stage, but you can see that it'll grow into a beautiful bunch of sweet-smelling herbs. Oh, and she also got me a little watering thing, which I half expect a genie to appear when I rubbed it.

atypical
A typical sonic grilled chicken wrap has: slices of grilled chicken, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes and some mayo wrapped in a tortilla wrap.

Today, after taking the first bite, I realized that the wrap has: the entire fillet of grilled chicken breast in ONE PIECE, a string or two of lettuce, one slice of tomatoes, and probably the entire jar of the 16oz lite mayo.

From the dripping wet wrap, I managed to fish out the chicken breast and the slice of tomatoes, everything else was swimming in mayo. Yuck. Should've gone home and have leftover chicken wings and pasta instead. Bah.

Da Zoo
Boy and I were bored stiff on sunday, it was kinda nice out, and we didn't want to go far, so we went to many of the free places in the St. Louis city - da zoo. Pictures here.