The image of Naomi, Geoff, Veronica, and i leaving Valley Fair mall at 10:30pm on Saturday night said it all ... each of us with 3 or 4 shopping bags in our arms and bellies full of Cheesecake Factory. We did our part to help out the U.S. economy. Purchases doted mainly on clothes, including for myself a pair of dark brown khakis and a brown harrington jacket from Banana Republic, several new pairs of pants and sweaters from the Gap, and FIFA 2006 for Xbox, the new Family Guy DVD Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, and the bargain bin uncut Eurotrip DVD from Best Buy. I also copied Geoff a bit by buying the same super-sweet Kenneth Cole jacket as him, after he'd discovered it in the back of the KC store and become enamored of it. Naomi got a freakin' rad warmup jacket at Lacoste, while V made a bunch of purchases at Lane Bryant and also bought our new living and dining room curtains at Restoration Hardware. Phew.

But the biggest purchase of the weekend actually didn't help the U.S. economy at all, as i put down a $500 deposit on a 2006 Toyota Prius at Stevens Creek Toyota. My tolerance of Veronica's 1991 Tercel has reached an absolute low, and i've made up my mind to get a hybrid not only to reap the numerous tax benefits but also to mediate today's ridiculous gas prices. Turns out most Toyota and Honda dealers are currently sold out of the Prius and Civic hybrids, so it's a wait list issue now. The Toyota dealer told me the new 2006 Prius models begin production this month, and should begin arriving in November. So i plunked down my money and requested a black one with all the extras (i'm giddy about playing with the GPS navigation unit). Unfortunately nobody has one to test drive, but i was able to give an Accord Hybrid a whirl at the Honda dealer. The Accord is unlike the Prius and Civic hybrids in that it has a 255 HP engine, but the gas-electric interaction works the same so i got to see what it's like. It's a bit strange when the engine switches off at a stop light, but when you take your foot off the brake it revs right back into life so it's no big deal. Braking is a bit weird as you can feel the computer system take over braking when you do something more than a light tap. When you release the brake after a significant slowdown, there's a minor lag as the system switches off the battery charger. But from what i read you quickly adjust, and i'm no performance guru anyway so i doubt i'll care. Now just to impatiently sit by my phone until the dealer calls with good news.