Chrysler Financial

I'm leasing my car through Chrysler Financial and the turn-in date is rapidly approaching. Well, they've been calling me (through my parents' number, ha ha) like once a week or so over the last month to talk with me about my options. Finally, I called them back today and the woman is kind of like, "Well, what do you want from me?" Seriously! Like, I thought she would give me a figure if I wanted to turn the lease into a purchase... nope. Or she might try to sell me on something else... nope. She asked if I'd been in touch with the dealership yet! I was like, "Well, you guys are the ones calling me so I assumed I needed to talk to you." It was all very odd. But, she did tell me that I can extend my lease for another six months, so that is something I seriously think I might do because I really don't feel ready to make a decision on another car yet. Of course, it's more expensive for the next six months, but not TOO too much more so that might be the way to go.

Monday meme: Walt Disney

Oy. I'm not a Disney fan, but here goes...

Walt Disney

1. What is your favorite Disney movie? Beauty and the Beast, maybe?

2. Have you ever dressed up or attempted to as a Disney character? Umm, no, not that I recall.
3. Which Disney song do you know all the words to? None, unless you count "Heigh ho, heigh ho, off to work we go." But even then, I think there are more words than that and I don't know them.
4. If any Disney character could be your BFF, which one would it be? Seriously? Umm, the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella would be pretty sweet as a BFF.
5. Name as many dwarves as you can in 20 seconds. Time yourself. Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy...

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Old Town Walking Tour

A friend & I went to Old Town Alexandria to take in some of the historical sites. We started at Gadsby's Tavern for a tour and then for lunch at their restaurant. Then we just walked around a bit, checking out some historical markers and buildings. It was a nice time... despite the pouring rain. We were lucky enough to not have the rain hit when we were outside at all, though.

Saturday at the Mall

I went shopping yesterday! I went to Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax and got some really great deals. I don't think I need to buy another pair of dress pants for work for at least a year or two. Although I doubt that will necessarily stop me... I got a great pair of awesome black pants at H&M. What makes them awesome besides the fact that they were on sale is the fact that they are part of the Madonna fashion line!! I'm so excited to own a piece of Madonna clothing, you have no idea.

Before heading home, I also stopped at the Wegmans by the mall. Ahh, how I miss Wegmans.

Which Simpsons Character am I?

You Are Lisa Simpson

A total child prodigy and super genius, you have the mind for world domination. But you prefer world peace, Buddhism, and tofu dogs. You will be remembered for: all your academic accomplishments Your life philosophy: "I refuse to believe that everybody refuses to believe the truth"

The Simpsons Personality Test

It only took three months...

but my roommate has FINALLY cleared out some room in the refrigerator. I now have approximately half! Well, she still has the entire door and more than half of the freezer but it's a huge improvement! I am almost stunned.

She also said she really enjoyed living with me and that I was such an easy roommate! Of course I am, ha ha. I almost feel guilty that I'm kind of looking for another place to live, although to be honest, that's mostly because I'd like to be closer to work.

My Boys

My Boys is a sitcom on TBS that aired last fall and will debut new episodes starting Monday. I watched the first 13 episodes over the last week thanks to TBS on Demand and their Web site, where all of the episodes can be streamed for free, and I really enjoyed it! It's about a girl who is a sports reporter in Chicago and hangs out with a bunch of guys, including her brother, her best friend from college, an ex-boyfriend, and well, to be honest, I'm not sure how the other guys fit in. But they hang out at the bar, have weekly poker nights, tease each other and make for a pretty enjoyable half-hour! I highly recommend it!

Popularity Dialer

I'm surprised someone hasn't thought of this sooner, or if they have, I'm surprised that I haven't heard of it sooner. You go to the Popularity Dialer Web site, set up a time to receive a call and voila, at the appointed time, you get a REAL fake phone call so you won't have to fake getting a phone call when you are in some uncomfortable situation where you wish you could be saved by a phone call. Awesome. The disclaimer says "PopularityDialer.com is a service meant for alleviating awkward social situations and creating confidence in its users. Please do not abuse it." Way. Too. Funny. But, also, most people have friends or family members who will do this very same thing for you. Although, to be honest, I'm guessing this system is just a tad more reliable. (via)

An Environmental-Friendly Google

Google has launched Blackle, which is basically Google in Black... the Google search engine with a black background designed to save energy. On the site, there is a running count of how many watt hours are saved from this... apparently, it uses more power to show white screens than it does to show dark screens. I kind of like it and will probably use it; I even found a Mozilla add-on for it!

Monday meme: Laundry

It's been awhile since I did one of these but here goes:

1. Do you do your own laundry or do you send it out? Do my own, of course.

2. Do you laundry at your home or a laundromat? At home, thank god we have a washer & dryer in the apartment. I hate laundromats.

3. Are there certain articles of clothing that you need to have dry-cleaned on a regular basis? Well, yes, certain items I have like dress pants or dresses require dry cleaning. The "regular" part is the thing that's tough, though. I definitely do not go to the dry cleaners regularly, more like once every six months or so.

4. How often do you do laundry? Is there a certain day of the week that you consider "laundry day?" No set "laundry day" or time period. I guess generally I do laundry every 2-3 weeks, unless I want something specifically cleaned before that.

5. Do you iron your clothes as you pull them out of the dryer or do you wait until just before you wear the clothing to iron? Well, usually the latter although I sometimes try to do a bunch of ironing at once, like on some Sunday nights I've been known to iron all the clothes I'll wear that week. I kind of like to iron. Even whenI do that, though, it is NOT right after I pull them out of the dryer.

6. Do you hang your clothes outside to dry or do you dry them in a dryer? About 90% of them I dry in the dryer but there are a few pieces that I dry on a drying rack.

7. Do you own things that need to be hand-washed or do you try to avoid buying things that you can't wash in the washing machine? I try to avoid buying things that need to be dry cleaned but I don't mind the hand washing part too much. I tend to put "hand wash only" items in the washer anyway. To be honest, though, I rarely think to look at the washing instructions of something before I buy it.

(via)

Bit of a scare

My dad collapsed (fainted?) while he and my mom were out to brunch yesterday. He told her he didn't feel well and the next thing she knew, he was down on the floor. Someone called 911 and they eventually took him to the hospital. By the time the paramedics arrived, however, my dad was awake and seemed to be relatively fine, although clearly it is not ideal when a 60-year-old man passes out for some unknown reason and they took him to the hospital. My mom was kind of a wreck, though, and called me all crying and worried. It made me sad that I couldn't be there for her. She calmed down eventually and I finally got in touch with my brother, thinking he could go sit with her, but nope. My dad called me after he was released and they apparently couldn't find anything wrong with him (other than a big lump on his head from when he fell) but he is going to see his regular doctor for a checkup today.

I'm really glad things are okay but I'm not particularly pleased with my brother. He was only 30 minutes away and he couldn't go be with my mom as she waited to find out what was wrong with my dad? This is only the latest in a long line of selfish behavior from him, though, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

I guess this is a compliment???

Yesterday, when I was down in the mail room of our building getting our mail, a man who was also getting his mail struck up a conversation with me, primarily about whether or not he was going to go to Virginia Beach for the weekend. At the end of the conversation, he asked me where I was from originally. I told him Cleveland, OH. I assumed he was going to say something about my accent or something. But, instead, he said he would have guessed I was from the south because I seemed so laid back. Umm, thanks?

Car nightmare

So I had this horrible dream last night where I was at a gas station and some other person at the gas station noted what horrible condition my car was in... I looked and sure enough, there were scratches all over it and an actual hole of missing metal from the front hood!! Dream Cheri couldn't believe that she had never noticed it before and it was one of those times when you wake up immediately afterwards and think that it was real. Of course it wasn't (I checked when I got to my car!), but I don't need a dream like that when I have to get rid of my leased car in the next month or so!!

"Lebron James to host 'SNL' premiere"

Yay! (via).

I thought he did a pretty good job hosting the Espys. I mean, Jimmy Kimmel made most of the jokes but Lebron was a good sport and seemed to have fun. The fact that he got on stage and SUNG was very impressive, especially considering he can't sing. At. All.

Mexican potluck

We are having our second potluck lunch in two weeks next week in celebration of someone leaving our office. Well, I don't know if we are exactly "celebrating" her leaving, but you get it. It's a goodbye party. Anyway, this one has a Mexican theme so we have to make Mexican things. What the heck am I going to make?

Another successful eBay auction

I love selling stuff on eBay!

I just put up two paperback Harry Potter books, trying to capitalize off of the new book coming out this week and sold them for $9.00!! Nine bucks for two used paperback books, one of which retailed for $9 when it was new (the other retailed for $10). I started the bidding at like $1.50 or something and would've been fine selling them for that! I'm pretty sure they were bought new at Costco, which discounts books like 40% or so as it is. So I nearly sold them for what I paid. Yay!

Celebrity Apprentice?

I haven't really watched The Apprentice in years other than an episode here and there but apparently, they are going to do a celebrity version of it this year so I'm definitely in. I love watching celebrities do anything out of their comfort zone so I try to never miss shows like Celebrity Jeopardy or even Dancing with the Stars. While I find the idea kind of exciting, I have to say that I don't really get why celebrities would want to be on that show. They won't seriously be competing for a job with Donald Trump, will they? Unless it is as host of Miss America or something... I hope they get a bunch of comedians who really don't take the job seriously and give Donald Trump a hard time. He's such an egotistical ass. (via)

Happy Birthday Brian!

Today is my brother's birthday! Happy birthday to him! Here's a picture of him with his son from last August.

NetFlix for Books

I just read an article about two companies that offer a "NetFlix for books" model... a user pays a certain amount for a monthly fee, gets so many books out at a time for an unlimited period, creates a queue, gets a new book once a book is returned, etc....

It's interesting that people would be willing to pay for that service when public libraries give books to users for FREE! While not an unlimited period of time, it's still usually a couple of months if you renew. If it takes you that long to read a book, it probably wasn't worth reading in the first place! Sure, it can be nice to have books delivered to your doorstep, which most libraries do not offer (although I have seen libraries who will do this), but often they can be waiting for you at the front desk so you need only walk a few feet inside the door.

Another reason I find it interesting is that having worked at a circulation desk before, I know that many people bitch and moan about having to pay five or ten cent fines when they don't return their books on time. It surprises me that people would be willing to pay $20 or more each month to get books.

Here are two options: BookSwim and Booksfree.com

Back in DC after nearly a week away!

I went home for an extra long weekend, nearly a week really (Tuesday to Sunday), and saw my family! We watched fireworks from the backyard of my brother's in-laws on July 4th and then all celebrated my nephew's 2nd birthday on July 6th. The lucky guy got lots of great presents, including a basketball hoop!! I'm so jealous; I always wanted a basketball hoop. I also visited with my brother's cat, who has been banished to their basement because in his quest for attention, he has started using their couch as a litter box. Poor guy. I wish I could bring him here to live with me. While I'm no pet expert, I do think he's just starved for attention. It used to be just him and my brother; then came a dog, then came a wife, then came a baby.

While at home, I also got some birthday presents of my own! And, met a friend for dinner one night. Did some shopping. I think I finally am satisfied with my work wardrobe and will not have to wear the same outfits every week.

I also FINALLY finished the book I'd been reading for what had to be months. I started it while I was still in school so that explains what took me awhile at first, even though I did like it in the beginning. Then, I just lost interest in it. Although it got rave reviews from multiple sources, I just found it kind of boring, so much so that I didn't want to read more than a few pages at a time. I was far enough along, though, that I wanted to finish it. And the ending sucked. Now, I can move on to reading some of the books I got for free at the ALA conference a couple weeks ago!!

Anyway, then it took me over 8 hours to get home, even though it really should only take between 5 1/2 and 6. Traffic was just congested everywhere. Yuck. So I got in kind of late last night and now I'm kind of bogged down at work, trying to catch up. I have a bunch of emails (work and personal) to sift through.

Short Stories Online

This link looks promising for someone interested in reading a short story by a famous author. On the home page, the stories are listed alphabetically by title and the bibliography page includes word counts, in case you are looking for a shorter one because you only have a few minutes. Could be useful during a lunch break! (via)

21st century movie renting

I am now officially a NetFlix subscriber, although I guess we'll see how my 30-day free trial goes before I commit to actually paying them. I have no idea when I'm going to fit in non-stop movie watching but I'll give it a try. Since I'm going home for nearly a week, I thought to change my address to my parents' address to receive my first three movies there... not sure if the address change went into effect before my movies got shipped, though. I should have done that from the outset. But the feeling I have with Netflix is the one I had when I worked at the bookstore and could check out anything or when I'm at a library, one of 'I'll try anything!' I mean, I've already added all kinds of crazy stuff to my queue, stuff that I would never dream of renting if I had to actually pay for each individual item at a video store.

Then, there's RedBox. I never heard of it until I moved here, maybe it's new, but the RedBox machines are basically in grocery stores and McDonalds. Movies cost $1.00 a day; you can return them to any RedBox, even in different states; you can preorder them online or browse available titles at the store. It seems like it's pretty new release-heavy so if you are into older titles, it obviously isn't for you, but it seems like a great deal if you are hankering for a certain new movie that night. The other thing is that if you keep a movie for 25 days, you don't need to return it; it becomes yours (well, you've paid $25 for it at that point). I really don't see the downside to it and I might end up canceling NetFlix and using RedBox, or doing a combination of both: NetFlix for TV shows on DVD and RedBox for new releases. I do have a full slate of cable movie channels, too. And On Demand.

Holiday Greetings from Southwest

I got an e-card for the 4th of July from Southwest Airlines! This amuses me, for some reason.