5.

As I mentioned earlier, my mom and I both ditched work on Tuesday (Monday too for that matter) because we had to wake really early in the morn to drop my grandparents off at the airport. So early that our/my biggest concern was whether to get the nap in before or after breakfast. But I wasn't even really hungry yet, it was just that early.

We had some ideas. One was to head to Pasadena to catch the new Wes Anderson and check out the H&M which we've never been to. When I determined how much trouble that would be, I vetoed it myself. We'd just come from Orange County (John Wayne Airport) and did the westside only a couple days earlier. Why not just stay in the Inland Empire. So we just headed over to Victoria Gardens. It's a nice place if you like mall shopping--they have a nice store lineup--but it's even nicer on a Tuesday when it is basically a ghost town. We had the entire place kind of to ourselves. I'd been there before on a weekend but can you imagine a APPLE Store with no waiting? Actually, I did wait a little but there was no crowd. I left and bought lunch for mom and I. She bought a pair of jeans. Looked around at stuff and when I returned to APPLE, a cute little guy was right on us ready to answer questions and sell me a computer. Which he did. I'd been meaning to buy a computer for the past 2 months or so but haven't been able to pull the trigger--such expense. Now that I have it, I'm glued to it. Installing software; customizing; adjusting my settings; importing, catching up on tasks I've put off...It's like I have a personal assistant now. Anyway, I got the hookup from the very helpful people that work there--I mentioned this to a coworker whose response was, "Who do you gotta do to get that deal? I'm taking you with me next time I head to Apple Store..." followed by some grumbling. And this was the coworker that somehow got a iPod with a video screen (before everybody else did) just by visiting a store. When he heard I also somehow got all those vegetables at the Farmer's Market for a buck-fifty the week before, he became convinced that I'm some sort of retail lucky charm.

I explain it in this way
1. Be a genuinely nice person.
2. Patience.
3. Don't be afraid to spend money. Honestly, in the big picture, I shop way more often than he does and buy a lot more stuff.

Also, 909 people are definitely nicer to their own.