you gotta be kidding me!

i know owning a pet's the trendy thing to do...but a hotel for pets?!?!

on a completed unrelated note, here's an interesting article on gas saving tips. i think most of it's common sense, but there are a couple things i didn't realize (like using overdrive on the highway and every 5 mph higher than 60 decreases your mpg...). i've been wanting to inflate my tires for a while now, but was horrified to discover that Chevron now charges for the "free air & water...cuz that's how it should be" (or something like that) that they used advertise!! Then yesterday, I was gonna get air at the shell that gives it free to customers, but there was too long a line waiting for the attendant. hopefully, i can get air on my next fill up.

More Tips on Saving Gas Money: 13 Ways to Save on Gas and Improve Mileage

1. Stay within posted speed limits. The faster you drive, the more fuel you use.
2. Use overdrive gears. Overdrive gears improve the fuel economy of your car during highway driving.
3. Use cruise control. Using cruise control on highway trips can help you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, reduce your fuel consumption.
4. Anticipate driving situations. If you anticipate traffic conditions and don't tailgate, you can avoid unnecessary braking and acceleration, and improve your fuel economy by 5 to 10 percent.
5. Avoid unnecessary idling. Turn off the engine if you anticipate a lengthy wait. No matter how efficient your car is, unnecessary idling wastes fuel, costs you money and pollutes the air.
6. Combine errands. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.
7. Remove excess weight from the trunk. Avoid carrying unneeded items, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk reduces a typical car's fuel economy by one to two percent.
8. Keep your engine tuned. Studies have shown that a poorly tuned engine can increase fuel consumption by as much as 10 to 20 percent depending on a car's condition.
9. Keep your tires properly inflated and aligned. Underinflated tires cause fuel consumption to increase by six percent.
10. Change your oil. Clean oil reduces wear caused by friction between moving parts and removes harmful substances from the engine.
11. Check & replace air filters regularly. Your car's air filter keeps impurities in the air from damaging internal engine components. Clogged filters can cause up to a 10% increase in fuel consumption.
12. Buy only the octane level gas you need. Remember, the higher the octane, the higher the price. Check your owner's manual to determine the right octane level for your car.
13. Own a fuel efficient vehicle. The difference between a car that gets 20 MPG and one that gets 30 MPG amounts to $1,500 over 5 years.

nyc, biay & vbs

what a very acronym-y update!

NYC was great! Hot & humid and icky but lots of a/c so not soooooo bad (unlike at my house now). Lots of good conversation. Not bad shopping. Good food (espeically babbo...mmmmm...i'm so happy i went).
I'm hoping Di will post a recap on it so i don't have to... :D (i know not to count on shar or nan to do it...haha). Here are some pics to tide you over.

in the meantime...guess what?!?! i'm now passed the 300th day of my BIAY plan!!!!! I can't wait to finish. wonder how i should celebrate this milestone...any suggestions? :)

i can't believe next week's already VBS (vacation bible school)!!!!!! i'm gonna have to be up and at church by 8:30am everyday *gasp* and spend the morning with a group of kids (elementary school aged i think) as we rotate thru a bunch of stations learning about the Bible and Jesus. and THEN i'm gonna go to work afterwards (craziness!!). i think i'm gonna be totally pooped. I hope I can handle the kids! Being the youngest kid in my family, i really haven't had much experience working with kids. I always feel a bit awkward around them. Not quite sure what to say & how to interact with them. heh i remember last yr, i helped out for just 3 days and i only started to feel more comfortable on the last day! HAHA so wish me luck!

7/21 additional note: Yay!! Di did a recap! She pretty much covered it all. What a great vacation! free flight, free lodging, good food and quality time with the gals! =P

About the Food: you've GOTTA order shake shack's portabello burger with meat (it's not on the menu)...that was THE best!! and i liked buttercup's cupcakes better cuz they're less sweet. and we actually asked the waiter to water down the margarita at Dos Caminos but it was Still too strong. they musta watered it down a lot too cuz when it came, it was so thick that it was hard to suck with a straw, but after the adjustment, it was pretty watery!

About the Weather: saturday was PERFECT....not too hot, not too humid, even sprinkled a little in the afternoon. But it got progressively hotter with each passing day. So by monday it was crazy & miserable outside (which is why we mostly cabbed & shopped in a/c). OH! nearly forgot. The a/c wasn't working at sushisamba (for part of dinner)!!! so we were like sweating while we ate...which did not make for a pleasant experience.

break time!

Wow...3 posts in 1 day?!?!
This was fun! but i think i have an IQ of 0. :'(

COME-uni-KAY-shon

words.
they're so commonplace...just a bunch of letters strung together. and yet they have the power to make or break someone's day. Carelessly speaking can really create a mess of hurt feelings or anger or whatever that takes up so much more energy to clean up than if the words had never been used in the first place!

Altho i haven't hurt anyone with my words lately (at least not that i know of!!!) i do feel like a lot of words that have been coming out of my mouth (or um...typed in emails...and more like end of May timeframe when i orginally wrote this =P) aren't necessary and are a waste (of energy, time, etc). reading the verses below really reminded me that i need to consider what is occupying my mind so that the words i speak & write will also be purposeful & valueable and not just...wa-wa-waah-wah. *imagine the sounds that come out of the adults' mouths in snoopy cartoons*

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. -- Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. -- 1 Cor2:13 (NIV)

=================
Now...here's my update to these thoughts:
actually, misinterpreting someone else's words can have equally unfortunate results. but how you understand what another person's saying is totally dependent on so many factors, including your impression of the person speaking, your personality, your history (like if certain words are major triggers for you), etc. etc. it's all sooo complicated! thinking about all the things that can cause communication disconnects, it's amazing that people can understand each other on the first try at all. And in view of that fact and also cuz i assume most of the people i know are well-meaning and speak with good intentions (not to harm)...could we please give each other the benefit of the doubt before jumping to the wrong conclusions? just a thought.

a poll

out of curiosity....

1) what's your favorite book(s)?
2) what's on your "next to read" list?
3) how do you usually get your books (ie. bookstore, online, library, borrow from friends, etc)?
4) when was the last time you went to the library?

Wuz aaaah-p?

i feel like it's high time i updated...but not really sure wat to update with. july 4th was wonderful! nothing like a 4-day vacation to forget all about work. (which only made it that much harder to come back on wed. but YAY! it's only a 3-day week. wooohooo!)

i saw 2 fireworks displays over the long weekend. it was great. i can't believe it's been over 2 yrs since i've seen fireworks. i'd forgotten how pretty they are. i'll add a pic to this post once i upload the pics from my camera (which has LOTS of pics from ages ago but i've been too lazy to plug it into my computer thus far). i also went up to Cal this past weekend. and i'm ashamed to admit that i'd forgotten how to get to the Big C. Ended up having to ask a security guard at lawrence labs (yeah...major detour...all walking!!). such a steep climb!! but yay! now i remember..and hopefully i won't forget the way again. :)

swing dancing's going well. it's quite fun actually. and if you're in a non-A/C'd room in the middle of a heat wave, then it has the same affects as any aerobic exercise! heh heh (or if you have a partner that likes to twirl you around and around and around...)

I'm going to NYC next weekend with the gals! I can't wait!!!! i really need to do some shopping (i'm compiling a list of things i need in my head...hope i remember it all!) and can't wait to hang with shar, nan, al & di (altho, i saw them all pretty recently, but only for the briefest of moments each). yay!!