It is surprisingly hard to find this fuse diagram online. I actually had the diagram in the glove box of my car but it is cold out and I didn’t want to sit outside reading the manual. I went in trying to find the source of my rear window defroster failure and found the fuse blown and “melted” to the plastic. I broke the fuse when I removed it and then replaced it with a spare fuse.

Ahem, let me dust this this off… For those keeping track at home, it has been over 7 months since writing on this thing. Yup, new job, new car, new apartment after I got back. That was fun, and “settling” in again has kept me busy. I’ve also been enjoying the [short] summer that we have. The most common question that people ask me now is “When are you leaving again?” – I guess there must be something in my eyes when I tell the travel story…ha.

(Preface: I’m writing this for my own recollection and because I found it useful to read other people’s experiences as well) Dec 6 2011: Planned: 9am meet the DPE (referred to as ‘she’) at KANE hangar. I went to KMIC to get the plane ready, it was snowing and forecasted to rapidly improve. However, time was not on my side here and I had to make a decision about my flight to ANE.

In June 2009, I started tracking my gasoline usage in my car via [fuelly.com][1]. There is no specific reason that I started doing this, just for fun I guess. I kind of like tracking how much I spend on such things in a neat graphical format. So, 2009 stats (since June): 26 fuel-ups, 8,130 miles, $631.50. You can find my current stats here by clicking on the image below. [1]:

It has been months since seeqpod was shutdown. I have finally found fl4sh.com. I took this recommendation/review and went ahead and signed up for an account. After all, I needed a [pandora][4] replacement after they limited free listening to 40 hours per month! Now, if I only had my saved seeqpod playlists! Oh well, rock on. [4]: http://www.pandora.com/

As seen [here][1], I received my grades a couple weeks ago and I am done with undergrad now (I passed). Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota. Sounds quite cool, eh? 😉 Now…student loans.. >=| [1]: http://blog.jolexa.net/2009/05/12/undergrad-is-done-w00t/

Well…I started “contributing” (read: investing) to a Peer-2-Peer (P2P) lending service, called LendingClub. Lending Club is an interesting little operation that sets up borrowers with a group of lenders. I am doing this for two reasons: 1) The “average return” is 9.05% – this is better than my retirement portfolio in the past short-term (in other words, more diversification) & 2) it gives me the warm fuzzies to know that I am directly helping someone achieve specific goals.

I finished my last final of undergrad last night. More to come on this after I receive my grades.

After some searching for a new online savings account, I settled on [ING Direct][1]. A few reasons include a competitive interest rate, good user interface, ability to create sub-accounts (I use these for different savings goals), & most importantly a $25 bonus from using some one else’s referral link. It took me until the 4th page on google to find a working link. So, if you are looking for a new savings account or just a quick and easy $25 dollars, do consider using these below.

(This post may come off even more ranty than normally seen here) Charles de Gaulle Int’l Airport in Paris, France is really bad. CDG is reported to be the busiest airport in Europe. No wonder it sucks. Here is some real life experiences.. It is a freaking maze to get around in the terminals. Different floors to check-in vs security lines, etc. After landing, I am greeted to a bus to bring me to the terminal..lovely.

Spring Break trip this year was to [Montpellier, France.][1] I was in France for 8 days. The whole point of the trip was to see Kelli. She showed me around the city and was my personal tour guide. French towns are very interesting, small streets, 6-spoked intersections (non-right angles), old buildings, etc. I will eventually post pictures of the trip. Overall, great trip. My only complaints are that it wasn’t long enough and everyone there smokes cigarettes.

So, you know those “gift cards” that are made by Visa/AMEX/MasterCard and can be used anywhere? Well..they are sneaky, here is why. You must have a balance on the card that covers the cost you are trying to purchase! Otherwise it is ‘denied’ like a credit card is. This is real annoying when you have less than a dollar on the card and you can’t use it anywhere! Money down the drain for me and making money for them.

About a month ago now, my girlfriend and I went to Chicago. We choose [megabus][1] because we heard ‘ok’ things about it. All I have to say is ‘buyer beware’ – avoid at all costs! At first glance, megabus looks great. Cheap-ish rates, direct service, better than greyhound, wifi on bus, etc. However, the real story comes out once you start your journey. Enroute to Chicago, the ambient temp on the bus was ~50 degrees or so.

One final down – no problem. One final tomorrow – medium difficulty. One final a week from tomorrow – sad face.

A short list: Cheapest gas since 18 months ago, weee. I just paid $2.24 (A gallon of milk costs ~3.29) The housing market will still be in a slump when I am looking to buy a place next summer. Yay, real estate will be on sale. GREAT time to invest for a young, 22 year-old like me. I’m trying to pour money into the market now. The stock market will come back, it always [does][1].

Well, I just started classes again today. I just have 5 classes left of undergrad! Only 16 credits, so technically I could finish it in one semester. However, I would prefer to stretch it out over 2 semesters. 10 credits this semester and 6 next semester. Both technically are considered “half-time” which is great because then I won’t have to repay my student loans until 6 months after May 15th 2009 or so.

Well, after 6 years of driving I got into my first car accident with another car. That sucks! I trying to change lanes and make my exit. I wasn’t all that close to the car in front of me, but when he decided to basically stop I ended up rear-ending him. =( It was a small SUV (Ford Escape) and the only real damage to my car was the front bumper and the front headlight.

Welcome to my inaugural blog post. I am home today, relaxing, after an eventful weekend up north in [Twig, MN][1]. Perhaps the funnest thing was on July 4th morning when we went to a nearby town’s parade which highlighted a drunken clown band at the end. Quite interesting to say the least! (especially, when you have had quite a few drinks yourself before noon! A big “good job” goes out to Kel for buying drinks until we were both inebriated).