What the heck!

It's 103 outside (feels like 104 according to Weather.com) and it RAINED, basically making the outside a sauna. It's so gross feeling outside today.

Ordered a new laptop

After almost 3 years on my powerful but beast of a laptop, the Dell XPS Gen 1, I have decided to replace it. Dell just released the all new sleek Dell XPS M1330 ultraportable laptop with innovative new technologies like an LED backlit display (brighter, uses less power and allows for a thinner display), solid state hard drive (uses the same memory as a thumb drive, typically faster than standard spindle drives, uses less power and more reliable since there are no moving parts).



Of course being the techy perfectionist I am, I had to deck it out with all of the options so here are full specs:

XPS M1330 (Matte Black)
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800MhzFSB, 4M L2 Cache)
4GB, DDR2, 667MHz
13.3 Inch Wide Screen LED Backlit LCD with integrated Webcam
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
32GB Solid State Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card
Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR)
Fingerprint Reader
ExpressCard Remote Control
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery
and a free Timbuktu laptop messenger bag

Initially when I priced it out under Dell Home it came out to $3406. Looking for the best deal possible, I priced it as a student under Dell University and that took an additional 12% off bringing it down to $2990, pretty decent. The very next day I went to price it out again at Dell University and was able to get it down to $2,531. That's over $800 off this brand new top of the line laptop! Afraid it might be a glitch, I ordered it right then and there. The only downside is I'm going to have to wait over a month for delivery. Dell is having some production issues with the new paint scheme as well as keeping up with the laptop's popularity due to its new components and design. But everything I've read about the laptop shows it's worth the wait. *twiddles thumbs impatiently*

Update 09/04/07: Priced the same configuration out on Dell Home again and it's now $3631! I really got a good deal!

The Harvest

So we decided to harvest some of the vegetables from our garden which we planted about 2-3 months ago. It seemed like the cucumbers had doubled in size almost overnight, so we thought it would be a good time to pick them, along with a couple other vegetables that looked ripe.

With the plentiful bounty we whipped up some delicious cucumber salad and I ate one of the cayenne peppers (not pictured) just for the heck of it. It all tasted surprisingly good, there was a noticeable difference compared to store bought vegetables. Frankly I'm surprised the seeds we planted survived long enough to produce vegetables, considering in the past a normal houseplant would have died by now. I guess I've finally "matured" enough to the extent that a plant is one living thing that I can be responsible for. Just so long as I don't mature enough to be responsible for kids I'll be safe! *phew*

Hiking Mount San Jacinto

As a precursor to the annual Mount Whitney hike and also as a sort of litmus test, the Temecula Outdoor Enthusiasts were encouraged to hike Mount San Jacinto. I must say, this was definitely a tough one. Getting up the mountain's 8 mile trail to its 10,834 foot peak was pretty challenging but coming down was definitely the most daunting part. Once you reach the peak it's great, great views, great relief, great feeling of accomplishment, but the trek down is just pure drudgery, the whole time you're thinking "Are we at the parking lot yet?" and "I've seen all this crap already". It was still a great hike and I know Whitney is going to be even more of a challenge, but I'm ready for it.

Still waking up. 7AM is too early for a Sunday.

Sitting on top of the world...or at least Riverside County.

A time for reflection.

Proof!