out of curiosity i went to the newly opened cw price store next door. the last time i was here was when it was still aj wright, during their going-out-of-business liquidation sale. they had some really inexpensive queen sets for around $15, but they were all synthetic microfibers which felt plasticky.
back in the parking lot, my motorcycle was parked next to a man loading up his car. instead of returning the cart, he just pushed it into the empty area of my parking space. i pointed to his cart and asked him if he was just going to leave it there. "why, is it blocking your motorcycle?" he said with a touch of sarcasm. "no, but the next person can't use this spot if you leave your cart here." i was trying to shame him into doing the right thing. he hesitated then said, "could you do me a favor? could you return the cart for me? i have a baby in the back seat," as he was already slowly pulling away. i looked at him in disgust and told him, "never mind, get out of here," as i shooed him away. just because you have a baby onboard doesn't mean you can be inconsiderate.
i went underneath the mcgrath highway and headed towards bed bath & beyond to return the bed sheet set i bought yesterday. 
as part of the ongoing construction (outlet mall, ikea, condos, new orange line stop) the very first thing they did was to fix the roads. they made it wider, added islands and bike lanes, and repaved it. because its so new, not too many people use it, and even the traffic light isn't hooked up yet, so it's basically this untarnished straightaway, great for speeding down on the motorcycle.
coming back, i went to nearby k-mart, thinking they might carry some yarn (they don't, at least not in this particular store). i did pick up a tube of listerine toothpaste ($4.99, the only one left, my local rite aid doesn't even carry it).
back at home, i did a load of laundry (including my newly purchased fitted sheet) while i took a shower. after i threw everything into the dryer i went out again, this time via bicycle, first to the bank in union square, then the somerville avenue rite aid to buy some ferrero rocher chcocolates ($2.50/pack), and finally the dollar store to get some kleenex and some stain remover gel.
the new sheet i got is in a pale blue color, but i now realize i have way too much blues in my bedroom. i'm looking for some white sheets, or better yet, some orange for contrast. keep my eyes open!
my latest shipment from dealextreme arrived in the early evening. they include: a pair of 3-LED rear bike safety lights (SKU#03651 $2.95 each). they're not the brightest (especially not compared to the superflash, which should've arrived today but didn't) but cheap enough to get a few for backup purposes; a pair of 30-lumen LED flashlight (SKU#44705, $3.30 each). dealextreme sells an endless array of flashlights big and small. this one is on the small size, uses just a single AAA battery. i got one for my mother earlier in the year and it's surprisingly bright. i figured i could pack one in my bag as an emergency light (even though normally i'd carrying my bike lights as well); universal travel adapter (SKU#02723 $2.03). with all the chinese and european roommates i've had over the years, sometimes they bring equipment that don't use the right plug type. i figured i should at least have one adapter (euro/chinese to US) in case they need it; 5-LED headlamp (SKU#24401 $2.54). this was the cheapest headlamp i could find. i wanted one that i could easily retrofit as a head light for my father's bicycle, to be mounted on his front wire basket. maybe i should've gotten a better head lamp light because this one is pretty crappy. it works but it's not waterproof (i can see the batteries and circuit board through the holes) - one rain storm is all it takes to short out the light.
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finally, i ordered an assortment of LED's, along with some rare-earth magnets. i was originally thinking about making some throwies, but who knows when i might need LED's for some future projects. they average about $1.30 for a package of 10, i bought 5 of the following colors: blue, white, red, yellow, green. the white ones were the most expensive. they're not color-coded so the only way to tell what colors they are is by testing. the rare-earth magnets (SKU#13518 100-pack $9.90) were much thinner than i realized. i didn't need all that many, but ordered the 100-pack because it was more cost effective. now i have more magnets than i know what to do with them.
i thought i could light the LED's using simple watch batteries, but it didn't work at first. apparently they need 3v of power but the batteries are only 1.5v. once i sandwiched 2 batteries together though, that was enough juice to light the LED's. yellow and white are pretty bright, followed closely by red. the dimmest is blue, next to green.
i really don't know what i'm going to be doing with these LED's. maybe get an arduino board, an ethernet and prototyping shield, and create some kind of status display for web events, like notifying me i have new e-mails. or maybe some kind of weather forecaster.
a turkey pastrami sandwich for lunch, then a cream cheese with smoked salmon served on a toasted onion bagel for dinner.