They don't expect you to smile. After a week of visitors and visiting, this nerd is feeling a bit like she's been dragged down a few miles of hard road.
Backwards.
In a gunny sack.
With a incontinent puppy.
Who bites.
Now, don't get me wrong. The time to see friends was wonderful, if a bit exhausting - three over for dinner, one all day tennis date, 2 hours each way drive to my parents for the weekend, another 2 hours further south for his family, a late night call and a whirlwind visit immediately following our own return home has me hugging my bed and swearing off leaving the house for a few weeks at least.
Which brings us to the unsettling feeling of being mugged.
Five hours in the car on Saturday, another six or seven on Sunday, a late night work call for the Prime Geek = a metric shit ton of gas. We were staggered over the $3.76 a gallon it took to fill and refill the tank for this weekend, but as I topped off the tank this afternoon a crowd began to swarm the pumps, all hollering in horror that this was the last station to turn its prices. Wondering what they meant I drove up the road to witness it for myself...
$3.99 – 4.19 a gallon. For regular.
I dropped a little over $24.00 to fill up the last quarter in our tank and I'm can't help but feel a little violated. And the truly sad news? No real end in sight... its just gonna get worse from here. Grocery prices are skyrocketing, fuel is going through the roof, and folks are getting a tad squirrelly over an uncertain future.
The Prime Geek and I are luckier then many. While he has a one hour round trip each day to work – he can use the bike on nice days*. My test for my own motorcycle license is fast approaching and once that's done I'll be able to ride the frog around town for most errands. Living in town gives us more options then a lot of people have these days. We're feeling the pinch, but so far we are a world away from the crunch that others are struggling with. Between our steps to gear down, going greener, and the sheer luck that we honestly enjoy figuring out alternatives and making things work we're doing okay.
There is going to be a bit of a change on this site over the next few months. No matter your political stance or view of the “greenies” out there, we're at a crossroads in our country. We all have choices to make, and less room for error in the decisions we follow. We're headed for Chinese Curse territory, and “interesting” definitely is the mildest way to describe the times ahead. There will be more day to day blogging going on from now on, combining the green with the cheap. We'll all get through what's happening, I honestly believe that. Just buckle your seat belts and head towards the nerdiest star on the right.
UPDATE - Three hours later the station has fallen in line with its brethren. $3.97 a gallon and rising.
* And “nice” covers far more time than it used to. Not actively flooding outside is now nice.
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3 comments:
you are so lucky some days, living in town.......we have a 20min at least drive to the grocery store!! and our gas prices yesterday were at $3.89........and have been for a few days........
any cheapness you can dig up that will apply will be gladly appreciated........though i'm pretty sure if we actually cut back any farther, we'll be on a bread and water diet......or rather, water and ramen, bread is expensive these days!!
Okay, the incontinent puppy who bites just got the best laugh of the day from me. Guests are the best and the worst.
I'd love to get a scooter to commute with, but am soooo nervous about other people not seeing me. So, I think I'm in a similar boat of not being in a megacrunch, but seriously considering as many ways as possible to simplify and scale back. Looking at today's post, perhaps bread is a place to start?
We pay about $5.50 of your American dollars for the equivalent of an American gallon.
Europe is even higher.
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