As gas prices have risen and risen and risen some more, the “lightbulb” in my head didn’t flicker on until the other week.  It’s been depressing enough seeing a gallon go up 10 cents at a time every few days.  Even worse though?  For those borderline OCD people like myself, there was a subtle shift in my pumping habits.  Ever since I’ve been pumping gas as a teen, I find the need to have the total amount end in ‘0’ or ‘5’.  This means that if the pump automatically stops at $38.88, I need to quickly pump the gas price up to $38.90.

I will begin to have a semi-regular series called “Signs I’m Getting Older”.  I understand I’m not the oldest person reading this blog but as a 35-year old I can start to relate to some signs of Old Fogy-ness.  Let’s reiterate – I’m only dipping my toe into old age.  I want to be at least 50 before I consider myself knee-deep in the pool.

Progress can be a two-edged sword sometimes.  It’s a necessary component of accommodating for more people, it allows for things to be updated over the course of time (from people’s clothing styles to renovations of buildings), and it also can revitalize a neighborhood.

While it’s nice to have those self-service kiosks at grocery stores like Kroger, there are inherent drawbacks too.  Even though the Robot Lady’s voice is semi-soothing, it’s borderline nagging to tell me to “Please place the item in the bag” if I haven’t gone from scanning the item to putting it in the bag in less than 2 seconds.  Sometimes the bags are hard to separate although not as bad as trying to open up a clear produce bag.  I’d have better luck and feel more dexterous were I to defuse a bomb with my toes.

I have an addiction.

It’s sending my life into a Death Spiral with Satan.

I could stop it if I wanted to but I don’t want to.

Even in the midst of these sleepless nights thanks to our restless daughters and stressful days due to work deadlines, I have to remind myself how spoiled we can be.  My battery in my car key remote died the other week and I found myself not realizing how convenient it is to have that.  Besides the fact that it’s handy to have if you don’t recall exactly where you parked your car, it’s convenient to have it ready for you to open if you’re caught in a downpour.  For the few days where I had to manually insert the key into the door, not to mention I had to get into the car if I wanted to open the trunk since there is no external key entry for it, I realized how much we take little things like that for granted.< ...

I don’t think any of us are fans of door-to-door salesmen but I did get a good laugh last night.  Each year the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sends out college-aged kids to try to sell subscriptions.  A kid in his early 20s rang the doorbell last evening and I opened the door, Katie in one arm, with a “What am I being interrupted for?” scowl on my face.  It’s a good idea to have a kid with you because you can claim that it’s bedtime and you have no time for talking.

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Even though my bloodlines hearken back to stoic Protestant stock, where outbursts of emotion aren’t encouraged and are frowned upon, I don’t have a problem with people showing emotion.  Heck, I’m not exactly a “keep it bottled in” guy when I get frustrated.  People being outwardly happy don’t bother me if it’s a spontaneous reaction.

I’ve noticed there is a specific pattern for any college graduation.

Let’s begin the weekend on a highly cynical note, shall we?  We all know that government entities (local and national) get bogged down in bureaucracy, taking forever to make some decisions and making the wrong decisions when they’re finally made.  Budget shortfalls are as common as budget overruns with construction projects.

I’ve never been into video games.  I’ve got nothing against them and actually enjoy watching others play but I rarely played them myself.  For whatever reason, even though I consider myself relatively athletic, I simply don’t have the hand-eye coordination necessary for success in video games.  There have been a few exceptions, like most golf games and Tetris, but those are rare cases.  In addition, being tethered to a computer screen all day at work makes me less wanting to plop down in front of the TV for something in addition to my normal TV shows and movies I watch.

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