Whew, that was a good ride. The saddle is pretty firm on this bike, and I think my rear is gonna be hurting come tomorrow

Here are some pics of the bike. Sorry for the low quality shots, I just propped the bike up in my room (where I keep it, no garage =\) to take a few snaps. The new paint job is a bit more subtle than the 2006's blue/silver, but I actually like it better. I took a couple pics of the components, but they are all the same as the 2006. Kind of rough to pay 20 bucks more for just a paintjob, but I DO like it better, so it's for the best.

Besides, I got something brand spankin new

As for the rubbing sounds, I figured it was the front deraileur making the noise, but to clarify it, it doesn't only happen only when I'm cross-shifted like you described, blue_neon. It also happens in some gears, like when I'm in 2-8 (front-rear), or when I'm in the end gears on either side (whether both on the leftmost gears or both on the rightmost gears).
Also I've felt the gears skip off a few times, or shift late (click and hold, nothing happens, release, nothing happens, a minute later I feel the chain pop onto the gear when I don't expect it), so something definitely needs adjusting. I don't think the sound is bad enough that it seems to be causing any abnormal wear, and I don't feel that it's unsafe, so I had already planned to do as you suggest and ride the bike pretty hard and then go in for my tune up =)

One question: does anybody know if removing the rear wheel (via quick release) is likely to misadjust the shifters at all? I just wonder because to transport the bike, I currently have to take off both wheels to fit it in my car (Honda Civic 2-door) since I have no bike rack. If taking the wheels off hurts adjustment, I won't want to take it around much, but I really want to be able to take it places to ride on some trails a couple hours away.

Thanks for all the input, everybody =)