Keep 'em coming

I pulled into a Chevron gas station this morning to fill up the tank. As I sat there pumping my $3.95 a gallon gas, I saw the gas station attendant walk outside with his price changing pole. I watched curiously as he begin to change the prices...wondering if I'd personally see $4 a gallon gas for the first time. My hopes were dashed. The prices went up four cents to $3.99.

Insane? I guess. But you know what? I hope the prices just keep going up.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a rich man. Paying for gas is just as painful for me as it is everyone else in the country. I remember when it was going for 99 cents a gallon. I think I was 19 or 20 at the time. I would love to be paying those prices again. But I think it's obvious to everyone that we need to wean ourselves from oil. And I'm not just talking about foreign oil. I'm talking about all oil.

Humans are ingenious creatures. We are perfectly capable of solving problems. Unfortunately, we don't do that in many cases unless we absolutely have to. Don't sit there and tell me the internal combustion engine is the beat all/end all of automotive power. There are people out there with good ideas about how to transform our vehicles. We just need the incentive to do so on a mass scale. I think some sky high gas prices will be the catalyst. We're going to reach a point when gas starts to seriously sink the U.S. economy...much more so than it's doing now. At that point, the lights will start clicking on. People will say, "okay...this is it. It's time for change." And then it will happen. The interim will be painful. But guess what? Serious change is always kind of painful. I think we'll come out better in the end.

I can't say whatever alternatives we come up with won't present their own set of problems and challenges. (I'm sure oil companies will monopolize new forms of automotive power so they can continue making money). But I think we have to go for it...no matter what.

I don't usually tackle "issues" on this blog. But I've been thinking about this for a while. So while I, like everyone else, will continue to wince at high gas prices (I have a 25 minute commute every day)...I'm smiling deep down inside.

Feedback

I'm all in favor of feedback. So imagine how happy I was when I looked in our station's public email folder and found this little gem.

"I have been watching channel 6 morning news for the past 12years- - -cannot watch any longer! The three commentators are the gooniest, dorkiest and most immature silly bunch on TV in Boise- - --especially Ms. Paul. Hopefully you are working to upgrade your personel. Thanks."

Some 60-year-old man sent this to us. Ah well. Don't really care. In all honesty, we've received many positive emails regarding our new morning show. So shove it dude. :)

I'm addicted to crack...

...and by crack, I mean these little guys.
I have a huge sweet tooth. Everyone knows it. But I turn into a vacuum when I get around these things. I don't know what it is about them. They're stocked in the vending machine at work and everyday I throw down a dollar (yes a dollar) and buy a package of three. Dee-licious. Scrumptious. Bad for you. I don't care. If anything makes me fat in life, it's going to be Oreo Cakesters.

I can only remember one other time when I was obsessed with a new food product. Does anyone remember Suddenly Smores? They were little, pre-packaged smore cookies that you threw in the microwave so the chocolate could melt and the marshmallow could puff up? They came out when I was a kid. I loved them. They disappeared off store shelves not long after they debuted.

Good stuff.

Comfy

My new couch arrived this past weekend. Take a look.

It's very, very comfortable. I even slept on it Saturday night. Me gusta mucho. And best of all, I destroyed that crappy $150 futon from Walmart...and threw it in the dumpster. It gave me a lot of satisfaction. So now I have a real couch. Maybe one day I'll grow up and graduate to a real bed and a real dresser. We'll see. By the way...any thoughts on the rug? I was unsure about it at first but it was cheap and thought "why the hell not?" Either way I'm done with furnishing my apartment. It's too expensive and too much of a hassle.

By the way, have you ever cut yourself with a piece of string? I was trying to tear some loose string off one of the pillows on my couch. I grabbed it, wrapped it around my finger, and pulled. That's some tough string. It sliced right into my finger. Hurt like hell.

One last thing: It was 94 degrees this weekend. I liked it. A lot.

Tough Times

When did I become such an adult?

In the past three months, I've paid more attention to my financial future than I ever have before. Let's face it. The economy sucks right now. Every day I read yet another story on the news about home foreclosures, high gas prices, the rising cost of groceries, companies going out of business, etc. It's made me think about where I am in this economic downturn. Never have I thought about that before. I was having too much fun in Glacier or New Zealand to worry about my finances. After that I was below the poverty line in Bozeman...what's the point of planning when you're making so little money? Now...things are different. I'm making a decent living but I feel unsure about my future.

I've now become a little obsessed with saving money. I finally enrolled in my company's 401(k) plan. I'm making huge payments each month to pay down my credit card debt. (not a lot...but enough to worry me given my newfound financial outlook). I'm thinking of moving to find a lower monthly rent. I've given up on the idea of having real furniture in my apartment. (Except for that couch I bought...but I'm okay with that purchase). I'm monitoring my bills and bank accounts more than I ever have. I'm taking responsibility for myself.

I'm okay with all of the above. But I'm worried about the next steps. I'm worried about what's in store. A new car is likely in my future. I'm eventually going to have to get a permanent fix for my worn down teeth. (Refer to this post for background). I need to start investing my money (once I pay down my debt and save some more) but I'm unbelievably intimidated by the prospect. Basically I need to balance saving money with spending money....and leaving some room for fun.

That's not the only thing I'm worried about though. Although my job situation is pretty secure, this is a tough time to be in the TV news business. I see co-workers around me struggling with pay raises, contract negotiations, and general work problems. It's discouraging. And it affects me. There have been industry layoffs across the country. Obviously, this is happening across the board...in all lines of work.

I'm just really thinking like an adult now. Thank God I only have myself to support and not a family. I can't even imagine that.

Polygamist

My roots are catching up with me. I'd like to introduce you to my 4th TV wife.

Now getting divorced and then re-married is nothing new. I went through two divorces in Bozeman. However, now I'm officially a polygamist. I have two TV wives...at the same time. We're a three person anchor team. I introduced the other one back in February.

So far, so good. We started our new, revamped morning show and I'm liking it. Getting lots of positive feedback too.

And best of all...it's warming up. I'm so happy summer is on its way.

Really?

There were three times today when I got annoyed and said to myself, "seriously? Is this really happening?"

The first occurred at 3:00 this morning. (That's when I leave for work...lucky me, huh?) I walked outside and saw frost on my car. It was freezing. May 1st...and it's freezing. "Yeah but it was the middle of the night," you say. I don't care. It's May and it should be warmer than that. I'm really ready for summer.

The second occurred when I logged on to CNN.com and saw this:

Notice the "Live Developing Story" banner. Really? A stuck pelican? Worthy of a such a news alert? I'm an animal lover but come on. I'm even okay with a local news station covering a stranded kitten in a tree. But this is a national news site...breathlessly announcing a....STUCK....PELICAN. Whatever.

The third happened at the gym. I hopped on the eliptical trainer for a little warm-up. A man and woman soon got on the machines next to me. BAM!!! I was almost knocked over by the overwhelming stench of liquor. The guy next to me was hammered. REALLY? Going to the gym drunk? I don't get it. He only lasted on the machine for about 2 minutes before he gave up...laughing as he dismounted. Idiot.

The world never ceases to amaze me.