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I haven’t had much to be proud of lately. I work at a job that suits the financial needs of a teenager. I haven’t had a good haircut since 2008. I’m a burden on society and take more in government aid than I pay in taxes. But I can proudly proclaim I had a gas-free October. I filled up my gas tank on November 2nd. The last time I bought gas before that was September 23rd–meaning I did not buy gas for the entire month of October. Driving a highly fuel-efficient Honda played a big part in that, but I’ve had the car for almost four years and I’ve been getting 35 miles per gallon from the beginning. I was able to go six weeks in between fill-ups thanks to a perfect storm of events that left my car at home more often than not (no, it didn’t break down–it’s a Honda). Since I’m only taken one class, I only go to school once a week. October was filled with rainouts and byes, so I had only a couple softball games all month. And since work is a mere four-minute walk, it’d be wasteful to drive there. I typically go . . . . .
I didn’t realize how much work it took to post things online. I mean, I probably should have since I was the one who did all of the maintenance on my site–but I never truly realized how painstakingly difficult it is. I recently posted something online after months–almost a lifetime (well, gerbil’s lifetime)–of not posting anything. The writing wasn’t really the difficult part. The time-consuming aspect of this is putting the text in the necessary format to post online. I thought it was easy in the past, but now it just felt like a lot of work for such a small audience (my mom, Steve, and–if she’s not too busy–The Wife). When I was doing it regularly it didn’t seem like a lot of work. But now that I’ve taken a break, I didn’t realize how much work was really involved (probably ten minutes–not including composition, editing, and revision…as if). I’m not sure I will ever be able to return to a once a week entry (remember when I tried to churn out two or three a week). It was fun while it lasted.
My appreciation for the Almighty Honda is well known. The obsession started in my teens simply . . . . .
I know I’m not exactly the foremost expert on hipness and what’s in. I might still have t-shirts I wore in high school and drive a car built when “Saved By The Bell” was on the air. But I don’t go out of my way to prove how dated I am. There’s something that has caught my eye this election season. A lot of folks have presidential bumper stickers on their cars–and their certainly entitled to do so. I applaud folks who are actively aware in politics and don’t make their decisions based on an ad campaign. What I don’t understand are the folks sporting older bumper stickers.
At least once a month, I see a car with a Kerry/Edwards sticker on the back. There are folks out there who want people to vote “Dole ’96.” That’s all fine and good…if you want to the world to know you support losers. What’s the point in having a political bumper sticker from an election that’s already over? I know pretty much everyone hates George Bush–but campaigning for Al Gore in 2008 won’t really help.
Let it go people. Peel off those ancient bumper stickers. It’s not like we’re talking about catch . . . . .
I never understood the joy of fishing. You sit there and nothing happens. As far as I can tell, it’s all luck. You give two guys the same bare, pole, and lake, there’s nothing either one of ’em can do to catch more fish. They throw their lines and hope something is dumb enough to bite.
Gas prices are skyrocketing and I have little sympathy for those who complain at the pump. America is a society where people really couldn’t care less about the price of gas. Sure, they’ll bitch and complain about how much it cost to fill-up. The evening news will cover numerous stories regarding the hardships people experience. You might even catch a person or two suggest they’ll drive less.
But the truth is actions speak louder than words. If Americans really wanted to do something about the price of gas, they’d take action against it. Look at the roads today–the streets are jam-packed with SVUs and other non-economical vehicles. American’s are obsessed with big cars and powerful engines. There’s a reason there’s more Suburbans on the road than Focuses–Americans love their big cars.
Rising fuel costs isn’t anything new. A decade ago, I remember when gas . . . . .
Friday afternoon I was driving through a parking lot when it happened: some idiot backed his car into me. They say during traumatic experiences, things slow down for people. I remember sitting in my car watching it slowly happen–but I think the slowing effect was due to him going about three miles per hour. There was a green Lexus in front of me, also circling the lot for a spot. For reasons unknown to me, he stopped his vehicle and the reverse lights came on. The car started slowly backing towards me. I’m not sure why I didn’t honk the horn–probably because I didn’t believe what was happening before me. Dude had to have seen me–I was right behind him and it’s not like I came out of nowhere. Besides, what kinda idiot drives in reverse without looking behind him? Review mirror. Looking around. I figured he had to see me. Alas, he was as blind as I was wrong: even when he bumped me, I still couldn’t believe it was happening.
I didn’t know what to say or do, so I sat in my car contemplating my options. The guy was obviously an idiot but I wasn’t sure if . . . . .
Killing time until it’s good and dead.
Bought me some car insurance tonight–now I feel like a real grownup. I wanted to buy the bare minimum required by law ’cause I’m a really good driver and don’t go around hitting things. California is a screwy state. It requires you to have car insurance; however, the minimum property liability is $5000. How useless is that? Five grand? Maybe I’m jaded ’cause I live in Orange County, but there are very few cars on the road worth less than $5000.
I even called an agent today to try and figure out this insurance thing. The dude seemed kinda surprised that I didn’t want any coverage in case I have an accident that is my fault.
“I’m looking to keep my rates as low as possible,” I told him.
“We can set you up with something that has a high deductible–like $1000,” he offered.
“My car is only worth $2000–why would I want a $1000 deductible?”
I really don’t understand people. Folks always wanna have a new shiny car–it’s so vain. A car’s only job is to get you from point A to point B. My 18-year old Honda is just as good . . . . .
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