I need boots. Preferably cute and fashionable ones, but at the very least something that allows me to wear skirts or leggings in the wintertime. I walked into a local shoe store, saw the price tags, and walked right out. Ugh how does a pair of shoes cost $300?!

The cello strings are here, actually. I called the store yesterday, and the strings got here today! Stringing the cello was a challenge. I know I'm stating the obvious, but since the instrument is significantly bigger, it was harder to hold still during the process. Oh well. But the real problem was that the pegs were slipping... they drove me insane. I still couldn't get them to tune to A440, but maybe A430ish. Since I don't have perfect pitch, it's totally fine for now, as long as all the strings are relatively flat altogether. I'll try again later when I've regained my patience.

My life is always full of dilemmas -- mainly because I can't make up my mind. But I think I am going to go for this one: Starbucks Gold card. A couple of my friends told me about it before, and I felt like the $25 membership fee was too much, but now that I give it serious thought, perhaps not. The main deal is that it gives me 10% discount on drink/food purchases (among others). I did the math:

With the card, I get a free drink on my birthday (say... $4). --> Net cost of this card = $21.00

To make this deal worth it, I have to spend at least $210 on drinks/food at Starbucks in the next year.

Not very difficult.

If I buy a bag of ground coffee (~$10) once every 3 months (i.e. $40), I'm already down to $170.

If I buy a decent sized/flavored espresso drink once a week, each one costing ~$4 on average (i.e. ~$200), I've already "saved" money by getting this card. I suppose quitting Starbucks altogether would be a real way of saving money, but...