Cyber Monday Blues

Did you find that the Internet was a tad slower than usual this morning? I did, at 6am, and it was actually a lot more sluggish. I could not log in to gmail nor hotmail. So I ended up using Yahoo mail. Fortunately, I subscribe to these three web mail systems just for an eventuality like this.

I think the unusually heavy traffic this morning has something to do with the Cyber Monday phenomenon, one which I came to know about just recently. But I wasn’t planning on doing any online shopping today as I’ve already got what I needed (not what I wanted) on Black Friday, at Staples.com.

And my order was delivered this afternoon, a pleasant surprise. And I submitted the e-rebates within minutes, online. The rebate amount actually came to more than half of the purchase cost. So I saved time and the hassle on Friday, and was rewarded with a prompt delivery of the order and a quick submission of the rebates online today.

This is really convenient, and relaxing. No mail-in rebates. I think shopping the Staples way should be my MO from now on.

Coincidentally, I took today off, ostensibly to get over the holiday hangover, if there is such a thing. So I and my wife took a leisurely stroll in our apartment complex, taking in the greenery that lines our route and soothes our nerves.

On the first image, the center spots a shorter palm sandwiched between two tall palms. We have a similar type of the shorter palm back in Malaysia too, but an even shorter variety. Back home, the pointed tips of the long slender leaf blades are covered with egg shells to prevent accidental poking of body parts whose owners have come into contact with them unwittingly.

This was followed by a cruise along the Bayshore Boulevard, feasting our eyes on the morning splendor, and infusing our minds with the serenity that will only ensue after the morning rush hour traffic.

We ended up at Ballast Point, beautifully landscaped and marked by a wooded jetty extending into the bay. There were few visitors at this hour: an old man resting on a park bench and gazing forlornly into the horizon; and a lady positioning her camera on the railing aimed at the mist shrouded downtown cityscape beyond the bay. We took a similar shot, but from a vantage position at the shore end of the jetty, framing the distant cityscape comprising numerous concrete high rises between two woody ones. You would have to look real hard to discern the outline of the cityscape because of the light background.

We returned considerably invigorated, my wife’s Monday Blues largely dissipated. Thus recharged, I’m ready to take on what the remaining week has in store for me.