Bazaar on the Parthenon lawn

Tennessee Arts & Crafts Fair - 1

Samantha and I spent a bit of time today at the Tennessee Arts & Crafts Fair at Centennial Park. Our somewhat insular routines mean that we spend a couple of hours at a time on our respective computers reading various things on the Internet, so getting out of the apartment is held at a premium.

It was quite a packed event with parking spaces hard to come by, and pedestrians that did not bother to look both ways before crossing taking their lives into their own hands. I took a couple of pictures with my cell phone because I can never seem to remember to grab our camera when we head out to such events.

Science experiment

I did not earn a degree in physics, but I would make a fairly sound bet that the following chain of events is at least unlikely. While grabbing a bottled water and a Coke at a local convenience store this morning, one of the bottles in the rack came dislodged and tumbled toward the floor. As it landed, the cap end caught the edge of the cooler, breaking the highly carbonated beverage’s lid off. “Great.” I thought as I looked around for the bottle at my feet. I eventually found it sitting at the front of the store, where it came to rest more than ten feet later on an improbable trajectory and leaving a very sticky mess all the way down the aisle. The bottle was empty, except for carbonation left behind. The cashier and the stock clerk were just as mystified as I was.

Lots of left turns

Ice had formed on my windows this morning as I drowsily slumped into the front seat of my vehicle. The cold snap overnight had caught me by surprise and without a coat. I had also managed to forget to grab a frozen lunch on my way out the door, but those stairs are even more of a challenge when you are just at that moment gaining the motor skills necessary to operate the vehicle that is warming up around you.

The cost of fuel and food is a very real hassle for us. When you have a budget tucked away on a Google Doc somewhere, even the slightest bump in one price shifts other spending habits. Samantha wants me to reconsider eating out after a 19 year old convenience store clerk was killed on a road that is home to most of my lunch destinations (Street View). The $3.49 / gallon gas price precludes driving much further to avoid the area.

It is also one of the many reasons why my first full vacation day taken in six months this Friday will probably be spent close to home. We hear that the our stimulus check is somewhere between here and there, but that is likely going toward vehicle repairs (if the mechanic can ever locate a part) and into the savings account. The President and congress can forget about us blowing through it on cheap imported crap like they want us to do. We help the economy by not running up debt.

The presidential primary season has overstayed its welcome for me, and I have been ready for the general election since around mid-February. I am beginning to wonder when a large collective of supposed journalists will re-learn the definition of scandal, and quit using it to refer to lapel pins, pop star princesses and bowling scores. The American psyche may not like to grapple with much tougher issues (war, economic struggles, health care, etc.) but there is no need to placate the ratings and circulation rates with sound-bites and out-of-context quotes to grab headlines.

As a side note, if the new Wii Mario Kart commercial, featuring the loud announcer with a distinctly southern drawl excited about “racin’”, is targeted just for the southeast United States, I am going to be upset.

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