Lots going on, lots of money spent, lots of soccer watched.<br/><br/>I already outlined my two races and about the pool. Of note, this month is going to be my highest running mileage since August of last year, it’ll be my highest biking mileage ever, and it’s already my highest swimming mileage ever. Good stuff! Down to 177lbs. 2lbs left to <a href=”../index.php?subaction=showfull&amp;id=1272976230&amp;archive=&amp;start_from=&amp;ucat=2&amp;” target=”_self”>reach my goal</a> by the end of August. Hah! I haven’t dropped any in the past week or two because I’ve been ridiculously busy and not eating as well as I could. We ship a big release at work next week and I’m beginning to get very settled at the new place so things should return to normal in July.<br/><br/>Money spent… Oh man… I’d rather not think about it. Let’s start small, shall we?<br/><br/>I picked up a used <a href=”http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/” target=”_blank”>iPod Touch 16GB</a> for $99, which is $50 less than anywhere else. Great deal for an item I really wanted… You’ll see why later.<br/><br/>I upgraded my 2-year-old iPhone 3G with an <a href=”http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/” target=”_blank”>iPhone4</a>. $200 very well spent; the new phone is wicked fast, and has a camera that no longer has me apologizing for taking phone pictures… That in itself is worth the money, but there were a few other features thrown in “for free.” They came out with some new rate plans that favored me as well; I’m not paying $15 less per month. Do the math… the new phone will pay for itself in a year! Yay!<br/><br/>I upgraded my original XBOX 360 (now 4 years old and actually my 3rd one… they always break) to a <a href=”http://www.pcworld.com/article/198783/xbox_360_slim_includes_wifi_250gb_for_300.html” target=”_blank”>new slim model</a>. The biggest reason for this was now that I live in a box, I actually couldn’t hear games or movies due to the ridiculous fan noise from the original design. The new one is basically silent. To make matters better, I can sell my old unit for half the cost.<br/><br/>And the big one… I BOUGHT A CAR! It took a lot of soul-searching, but I smile every day I think about it so it must have been the right move, right? I picked up <a href=”http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs086.snc4/35643_405912874395_772254395_4090990_1811526_n.jpg” target=”_self”>a brand-new 2010 Volkswagen GTI</a>. Yes, it basically matches my old car, but it’s better in every imaginable way. I went against two [personal] cardinal rules with this purchase; 1) Never buy a new car and 2) Never buy a VW or Audi. What can I say? It felt right… And I’m happy. Gone are the days where I put off all my errands/live like a hermit because I hate driving places… I can now go on road trips and stuff too! Exciting.<br/><br/>Off to a wedding in Yorktown, VA this weekend. Maybe hit the beach for a few hours on Sunday? July isn’t showing too much aside from a week in NC to work and visit the family.<br/><br/>Oh… I went with some friends to make wine last week. It was a total joke so I won’t even give the place a link. It was via a Groupon so it wasn’t too bad a deal… Look forward to a handmade vintage coming to you soon!<br/><br/>Oh yeah… I also went to see <a href=”http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5joyJ78zP6v0k-RdhrjxP4mg7dhGAD9GH9HU80″ target=”_blank”>Strasburg work the Royals</a> on Wednesday. Unfortunately, it’s tough to win when your team puts up no runs… <br/><br/>Oh oh yeah… I’ve been watching the World Cup religiously. Over the years I’ve morphed into a soccer fanatic… I can’t explain it; it was the only sport I didn’t excel in.<br/><br/>Time to pack for tomorrow. Later!<br/><br/>Edit: So I didn’t mention why I wanted the iPod Touch. The new car comes with an iPod interface that doesn’t play nicely with/is a pain to use with an iPhone. The new iPod lives in the armrest 24/7. Nothing could touch the value of 16GB for $99. The fact that it’s a mini computer as well is quite swell, but I’m afraid it’ll never be used for that. Goofy fact: It was cheaper than a 16GB Nano, which is just a music player than can take pictures and video…<br/>