When you bring your used ink cartridges into Staples, they reward you with a $3 coupon. You used to get the coupon immediately; now you get it in the mail a month later. Still, $3 is $3, and I was able to get a 4-pack of these awesome little gel pens for only $0.49 after my coupon (they were on sale for $3.49)! Hooray for almost-free stuff!

So Verizon was supposed to install FiOS on August 16, but one of their installers called in sick that morning, so again they had to cancel on our entire building at the last minute. Now it’s mid-September, and we haven’t even heard about a new install date. At this point, we’ve definitely decided not to sign up for it when (or if) they eventually come around again.

I really enjoyed [title of show]. It’s a Broadway musical about two guys trying to write a Broadway musical, and it stars the two guys who wrote it, along with the two women who worked on it with them. It’s exactly what you’d expect it to be–a song about writing an opening song, a long scene about a scene that’s too long–but it works. It’s touching and hilarious, and it’s especially great because you’re watching the very people who wrote it… writing it. If you’re in New York, I highly recommend it. It’s an underdog of a show, with no big stars or hit movie behind it, so it’s pretty easy to get tickets.

Since December we’ve been hearing that we’re getting Verizon FiOS “soon” in our building. Finally in June they scheduled a day when every single tenant had to be home, and FiOS would be installing their stuff in every unit. The installers came that morning and said, “oops, we forgot to bring pipes to enclose the cables in the garage, so we need to reschedule.” Now they’re supposed to come again this Saturday, and once again someone needs to be home in each unit. This time I’m expecting, “oops, we forgot to bring screwdrivers, so we need to reschedule.”

I finally got a Sonicare toothbrush. The hygienist recommended getting one when I was at my new dentist’s office last month. My previous dentists just recommended any electric toothbrush, but apparently my new dentist’s staff are believers in the Sonicare hype.

Anyway, in my research of the different models, I found out that Wal-Mart had a model called the Sonicare Xtreme–which uses AA batteries instead of a charging base–and it was only $28 (instead of the typical $99 or more)!

Some reviews online say it dies a quick death if the battery compartment gets wet, so I’ll have to be careful. But it comes with a 2-year warranty, so I should be covered even if it does. I was replacing my Crest SpinBrush ($10) every six months anyway, so if this one lasts just a year and a half, it’ll be worth it. And supposedly it works much better than other toothbrushes, thanks to its “sonic cleaning action,” which I still think is hogwash but my new dentist thinks is science.

Ash and I have been listening to Mortal City by Dar Williams in the car recently. In particular, we really like track eight, “The Pointless, Yet Poignent Crisis of a Co-Ed.”

And another thing, what kind of a name is “Students Against the Treacherous Use of Fur”?
Fur is already dead, and besides, a name like that doesn’t make a good acronym.

It’s a good album, as long as you like really, really folky music. We generally do.

Today I picked up my new Jhane Barnes glasses at the optometrist, and I received my new phone in the mail. It’s an enV2 from LG, which is similar to the enV but smaller. I like it so far. My big complaints about the enV (which I had for a hot second) were the small keys on the front of the phone and the big overall size. This phone’s smaller, but with larger keys, so I’m pleased now.

When you get a Discover card, you’re allowed to choose from over one hundred fifty designs, and you can order a new card with a different design at your leisure. I think it’s a brilliant marketing move. When you choose a new card design, it gets you excited about using your Discover card again. You want to pull out your card with puppies on it, or palm trees, or the Statue of Liberty, so that clerks everywhere will say, “Ooh, what a cool credit card you have.” And then, as if getting you to use your card more wasn’t enough, it might also convince others who see it that they should get a Discover card. That way they can have a credit card with puppies on it.

Tonight Ashleigh and I tried the new “Watch Now” service from Netflix. It allows us to watch a movie instantly on our computer screen instead of waiting to receive it in the mail. The service is only available for select titles, and obviously only with a fast internet connection. Anyway, it’s pretty amazing that a movie can be delivered so quickly and reliably, and at a very decent quality, over the internet. Our movie had to pause a few times for just a minute to “catch up” to itself (as a result of hiccups in our internet connection), but that gave us an opportunity to use the restroom; it wasn’t much of a nuisance. This is definitely the future of movie renting, and I highly recommend it for any Netflix users who haven’t tried it yet, provided you have a very fast connection.

Some of the American Idol contestants are decent, I guess, but I’ll tell you who my idol is: Robin Sparkles. She’s got the best music video ever.