1. Drive Pricing – Have you ever debated between a road trip or a flight? I sure have! And this website is a perfect way to figure out just how much that road trip will cost you. It’s super user friendly, and even links you to a site that helps you figure out the mpg of your car (using year and make). It even asks you to input current gas prices to help you out. Fantastic. [source]

2. For the coffee lover in you.

3. There’s a facebook virus (Koobface). I’m posting about it because I actually got a message from a friend who’s account was taken over because he was infected. Luckily, I didn’t click on it/ get infected, but I’m spreading the word. Facebook published some help on how to fix, in case you were infected.

4. Top Ten Marketing Blunders. My favorite? Disney marketing High School Musical underwear for 7 year old girls that say “Dive In.” Hilarious.

5. Did you know you can turn your ipod touch into an iphone? I had no idea. Thanks Lifehacker.

1. I like listening to music at work. I think it’s generally a Gen Y thing, since it’s often a debate at the company I work for. In any case, I almost always have at least one headphone in. Sometimes I just want some peaceful background noise, and this is perfect! From the sound of rain to crackling fire pit, this site has it all. I think I’m gonna fall asleep to one of these tonight.

2. Google has come out with a new search that includes magazines. I wasn’t even aware of the book search. I guess I missed that announcement. In any case, I tried it out and searched for Freakonomics. I wasn’t surprised that only parts of the book were published, but I think it’s a nice way to get a taste of what the book is about. Saves me the trip to Barnes and Noble. As for the magazines – so far, I’m impressed with the idea, but not their selection. My first 3 searches? Tennis, People, Road & Track. 0/3. Who said print was a dying form?

3. Vegas has some pretty sweet deals these days. Not many people can afford the luxuries and indulgences associated with Vegas. Seems like there are some pretty sweet deals out there – Harrah’s has rooms starting at $48 dollars, Paris is $69.  Tempting?

4. Imeem.com - I heard of them last week because apparently they had Britney’s cd leaked a week before it’s release. Free to listen to. From my quick browse through the site and what it has to offer, it looks a lot like pandora and lastfm. It has a little section to see what upcoming concerts are playing in your city. I like that I can listen to whole cd’s almost completely uninterrupted (just a few commercials).

5. Making vs. Taking – a good article by Seth Godin about… making a brand instead of taking from someone else’s concept. Sure, making is riskier, but it separates you from the pack. Instead of showing you’re just a bit better than someone/ something else, you create your own identity.

1. I love looking at postsecret every Sunday. Sometimes I’ll read a postcard that makes me smile, and this week, this one made me smile. “I can’t wait until I’m old and wrinkly with laugh lines… then everyone will know how HAPPY you’ve made me <3.” Who makes you smile, and will you be proud of the wrinkles on your face one day?

2. Just discovered monitter.com, which is a great way to see what people are twittering about! It’s a live twitter monitor. Just enter in a few topics and you get to see what people are saying.

3. I get questions all the time from people where a simple search on google would suffice. So let’s say someone asks what years Baron Davis played for UCLA and I don’t remember what year in the 90s, but a simple search on google would spit out the answer. This is a funny way to answer their question. And very passive aggressive! And here’s the example. [Source]

4. This made me laugh and realize that my job is pretty great. It’ll probably make you realize your job ain’t so bad either.

5. Just a few weeks ago, I was looking at my gmail inbox and thought it was a bit bland. I’ve added Remember the Milk as a taskbar on the right, and adjusted placement of tags, chat, etc., but I was getting tired of the colors. To my surprise and delight, google has added themes!

1. Twitter is a fun and easy way to keep people informed about what you’re up to, and it allows you to share ideas or websites, etc. It’s 140 characters (short and sweet). There, you can follow people/orgs and people can follow you. I’m new to it, but loving it so far. I just downloaded twitterberry so now I can update on the go.

2. Sephora is a great website for girls to buy their beauty products. With free shipping over $50, and all these free samples when you order online (and free gifts sometimes!), why waste the gas to go to the mall when you can have your essentials delivered to you door? I can’t find very many reasons to wander into an actual store anymore.

3. Let me just say that Britney Spears deserves major props. Anyone that can have that many ups and downs and still find a way back to the top is amazing. Even after losing custody of her kids, being blinded under the lights of the paparazzi, and even after shaving her head… she’s recovered from it all, and is once again a sex goddess. It’s undeniable.

4. I’m a big fan of attending sporting events. There’s something about the atmosphere that’s addicting. I think my best ticket buying experiences have been through stub hub.com. Easy, convenient, and hassle-free!

5. Trying to condense a url to fit within the 140 character limit of twitter can be hard! I have definitely found tinyurl.com incredibly useful.

1. Ever wanted to draw right on a Google map? Perhaps some specific directions or an alternate route, in case you hit traffic? Or maybe you want a little note on the map. Well, now you can! Using quikmaps.com. You don’t need to sign up or anything.

2. Death Cab for Cutie’s I Will Possess Your Heart is borderline creepy, but it has a beautiful opening: “How I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me. It’s like a book elegantly bound, but in a language that you can’t read.”

3. Since I’m studying for the CPA, I decided to upgrade my note-taking skills and adopted the Cornell note-taking system. So far, I like! It’s organized, with a place for cues and summaries, all on the same page as my actual notes. We’ll see if it helps me succeed.

4. An interesting thought: Why did you choose the person you chose to marry? There are many reasons to love a person. Of all the things you love in a person, why did you pick those to marry?

5. “The human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed.” (Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre)

1. A great light-hearted article from the NY Times about the Lessons of Love, By Way of Economics.

2. I like to-do lists because they help me organize. I do not like, however, that I rarely follow them. They tend to be long, and I’m not the kind of person who finds pleasure in crossing something off a list. So alas, they stay in my purse or on my notebook, sometimes neglected. I am, however, a fan of now do this, mainly because it has a clean design, and when I reach the end of my list, it says “all done!” I feel a great sense of accomplishment. It only works with sequential lists, because you might get stuck on an item.

3. Sometimes I want a piece of graph paper, but I don’t want to buy a pad of it at Staples. I’m also the kind of person that often has loose dvds and cds floating around, and as much as I hate it, I don’t keep those jeweled cases nearby and I’m always afraid I’m going to scratch my dvds/cds. I got super excited when I ran into this, which is a list of the “Top 10 Printable Paper Prodcutivity Tools.” So now I can print one piece of graph paper, and I can make fun colorful paper cd cases.

4. The company I work for does not have IT restrictions. But in case your company does, this is a pretty great guide to break out of IT jail and finally check your gmail.

5. I talked about pidgin once as an instant messenger tool, and now that I’ve implemented it and worked out all the kinks, I absolutely love it. Tabbed conversations, no blinking windows or sounds (instead a discreet icon that changes colors), and the fact I can connect my Sametime, aim, gchat, msn all in once place. Let me know if you need any help setting up the Sametime (it took a little bit of work to get that one running), but yes, I give Pidgin 2 thumbs up.

1. When you’re sitting at your desk wondering where to go after work for some free booze, myopenbar.com is the perfect source. It lists locations in LA, NYC, SF, Chicago, Honolulu, and Miami that offer free or discounted alcohol that week. Selling point for me? It told me that LAX is having a free keg on the dance floor tomorrow night.

2. This one stop source is a no fuss way to find out the free iTunes download of the week. Make it a convenient resource by utilizing RSS Feed.

3. The free iTunes download this week is Holly Conlan’s “You are Goodbye” which is a beautiful mellow song with excellent lyrics. It’s the kind of song you place on repeat after heartbreak. Here’s a sample of the lyrics: “I remember ’stay’, I remember ‘please don’t ever leave’… But tomorrow and today, Well they misunderstood. And you went along your way… You are good, goodbye.”

4. Google search is great, but sometimes I’m wondering if I can get all the new and current up-to-the-minute info about Walle-E, Wimbledon, or Angelina Jolie on sites like YouTube, blogs, Diggs, etc. This is where I can!

5. This is a fun youtube video of an amazing chinese acrobatic performance. They’re doing flips in a ridiculously challenging environment.

1. Who is Brandon Hein? For a tragedy that occurred in my hometown over 10 years ago, three boys were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Brandon is truly a victim of injustice, with a fate that seems to hold little hope. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and although he did not partake in the stabbing that killed a boy, or even know that it occurred, he has suffered 12 years in prison so far, with a lifetime more ahead of him. I don’t know what lies in his future, and I don’t know how to rally troops to support him and help his appeal, and I don’t know how to effectively bring this to the attention of the CA Governor (who can pardon him), but hopefully if just one person reads this and does a little about it, a lot of a little might just turn into positive successful action to help him. It’s the kind of case about injustice that sociology classes study. Read about it here.

2. Ask yourself: Are you dreaming big and taking risks? Are you living the life you imagined? In light of all the emails I’ve been getting from friends and colleagues who have moved to Japan, Germany, and Greece, plus the emails from co-workers bidding farewell to public accounting, I think it’s important to think about taking risks while young and relatively commitment-free. Maybe you’ll realize your life isn’t heading the direction you want it to, or maybe you’re set on a destination, but instead of taking the freeway you decide to explore the scenic route.

3. Free wake up calls at wakerupper.com, and you can even have customized messages.

4. Some tricks for google searches: to get to websites blocked by your company try “cache: site.com“, to compare items use “better than _keyword_”, find related items with “~_keyword_”. More tips here.

5. Try some new instant messenger applications like digsby.com and pidgin.im (pidgin even includes lotus note’s sametime) but meebo’s still my favorite.

1. Joined Mint.com and I’m a huge fan. It took me a few months to warm up to the idea, but I couldn’t ignore the rave reviews from accountable sources. It’s an amazing way to consolidate all your financial data, with quick analysis tools. I immediately know how much of my paycheck I’m spending on fashion, groceries, and gas. Don’t know how I lived without it.

2. Dirty Jobs is my new favorite show. It’s “a hands-on way to pay tribute to a nation of unsung heroes.” Definitely a tribute to hard workers everywhere who don’t always get the credit and the thank yous they truly deserve. My favorite episode is the one with the demolition crews cleaning up the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

3. Watched Wanted. WOW – please indulge in this 2 hour ass kicking. And to think… I’m an accountant.

4. “If you can’t take the worst of me, you don’t deserve the best of me.”

5. Watched this story about a tanner in Morocco with the smelliest job in the world, but who still finds happiness and pride in what he does. Talk about perspective.

1. Watched Ladder 49. If some consider that happy endings (in life) are just stories that haven’t finished yet, I think I prefer watching movies with a happy ending as the credits begin to roll.

2. Became a fan of tennis player Janko Tipsarevic. Serbian, 24 years old, currently #33 in the world. Forced Federer into a 5th set at the French Open (final score in the 5th set: 10-8). He also wears silly goggles and a nose bandage. Very classy.

3. Realized my brother isn’t going to wait until I recover from foot surgery before he becomes a certified scuba diver. I have to say I’m more than slightly disappointed. My pleas for him to wait for me were ignored.

4. I’m back to my phase of retreat from the world. It’s a time marked by silence and little contact with the rest of the world. No phone calls, chatting, emails. I’m thinking a lakeside cabin would come in handy to person like me.

5. I’m beginning to feel embarassed by my daily lack of productivity. Maybe it’s the lack of tangible results. I’m reading, learning, watching movies, and resting (in hopes of a faster recovery), but sometimes, at the end of the day, I’m left wondering if tangible results would make me feel more accomplished.