Tuesday, July 8, 2008

I haven't had this feeling since I was a kid.
I write, of course, of the lack of central air conditioning during a humid, sticky July, which has turned the cheap oscillating fan I found in the basement into my best friend and my favorite outfit into a pair of boxers and a cheap t-shirt, accompanied by a pitcher of ice water. Come onnnn, September!
Life in Madison has been pretty decent lately. I'd discussed coming back to Chicago, but I think I'm going to stick around for a little while longer. I signed a lease yesterday to move to the efficiency apartment upstairs, so (knock on wood) I'm looking forward to the easiest move I'll ever have in my entire life. And if I want to head somewhere else, apartments around here are ridiculously easy to sublet. I'm staying mostly because I'm finally feeling comfortable at work, and I'm not ready to leave quite yet.
Hmmm...oh! I saw the first part of Kill Bill last night. It was pretty good. I'm looking forward to the second one coming in the mail in a couple of days. Not quite the "THIS IS SO AWESOME" love fest I heard about it when it first came out a few years ago, but I'm digging it so far.
I just FINALLY paid off the debt from my old computer in full. Only took me six years (ha). When I get the new one sometime this week, I'm making absolutely sure it's paid off in a year.
I bet you didn't know the United States economy is going down the tubes! I've been reading articles like these in the news every day for the past three months. And I've gotta say, the people profiled by these newspapers need a serious dose of reality if they think their lives are "hard" because of the recent economic downturn.
Get those Kleenexes ready...
The Cincinnati Enquirer today published a sob story about the cutbacks families earning more than $100,000 a year are being forced to make. The families featured in the article have so far had to sell their second homes, their Lincoln Navigators, and cut back on their $5 lattes. Boo. Hoo.
And the New York Times wrote about $100 fillups!

Bryan Carisone, a heating and air-conditioning contractor in Raritan, N.J., "absolutely loves" his new GMC Denali XL, an extra-large sport utility vehicle with televisions built into the leather seats. But in June, one week after he bought it, he pulled into a station on a near-empty tank and watched the total climb higher and higher - to $109.

"It just about killed me," Mr. Carisone said.

I hate to be the one to say it, but, um...I told you so. Anyone who drives an SUV and wasn't prepared to pay the price, especially if (re-read that quote) his GMC Denali XL is brand new, and didn't have a clue or a care as to how much the tank would cost to fill up, is the kind of idiot who I refuse to feel sorry for. Dude. You bought a gas-guzzler a week ago. And now you're sad because it guzzles gas. The lack of logic of some people just absolutely astounds me.
Did you notice that Denali is an anagram of Denial? Just like the guy later in the article who's buying a gas guzzler because he thinks prices have hit their peak? Didn't we say that back in the good ol' days, when we hit $3 a gallon? The days of cheap oil are OVER. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm at least attempting to get used to it.

You know you want to call 'em:

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Oh, and Britain's National Children's Bureau wants you to keep an eye out for toddlers who don't like spicy food. See, it means they might be racist. So for all of you who have toddlers, if they don't beg for curry every night...send them to Tolerance Camp!

Okay, that's it out of me.

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