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. 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.