Life's A Gas

The huge hikes in gas prices since 2003 have more than pissed me off. However, the price of gas from the last few days have been enough to make me consider curtailing my driving a bit. I can't do that too much, though, since my commute to work is 25 miles each way. Weekends vary depending on where I decide to venture.

I've seen prices for regular unleaded gas range from $2.50 - $2.80 a gallon. These high prices have been the talk of the week at my job (again). A lot of the blame is falling on our esteemed (gag!) president George Dubya Bush and the continuing war on Iraq. I tend to think the same way since I really hate Bush. But is he really the only one at fault? Is he, dare I say it, totally innocent? (Heh. That gave me a good laugh.)

In all honesty, I have no freaking clue (aside from the rising oil prices) what is causing the gas prices to spike up. Is it, as I said earlier, all Bush's fault? Is it the greedy corporations like Amoco, Mobil, and Shell wanting even bigger profits? Is it our greed? By that, I mean, our insatiable need to drive bigger and badder cars that require more and more gas? I admit, I was thinking about upgrading my Cavalier to an SUV. But why? I'm single with no dependents and would have no need for a car that size. Why can't I just settle for a Mini-Cooper (aside from the fact that I hate them...*LOL*)? On the subject of needing more and more gas, why haven't we pushed harder for alternate fuel sources to gas? Considering that we depend on third world countries a lot for their oil, you'd think coming up with a fuel source found exclusively in the U.S. would be top priority. There are hybrid cars out there like Toyota's Prius but why aren't there more cars like that? On that note, if the government is so concerned with the environment (yeah I'm jumping a bit...but it's my blog, deal...*LOL*...or leave, NO, don't leave my one faithful reader...*LOL*), umm, Hemingway....as I was saying, if the government is so concerned with the environment, why in addition to encouraging more hybrid varieties, don't they offer more incentives for people to purchase those type of vehicles. Actually though, I did read on the Prius site that some states offer carpool lane privileges. (That must be in Virginia or D.C. since I remember when living there that they had the concept of carpool lanes. That shit's a foreign concept in Chitown.) Ok. So fine, some incentives are happening. But we need more. Anything to reduce the nation's dependence on gas. Of course, corporations like the aforementioned Amoco, Mobil, and Shell won't like this. I imagine they'd do all they can, including woo woo wooing (Synclair, is that you?)our senators and house of reps with cash incentives to keep themselves alive. What do they call that again? Bribes? Ohh...that's lobbying. I think I need to be a senator...*LOL*.

In the meantime, I came across a nice article that explains how gas price work? Forgive the pop-up. That's a whole nother rant that I'll save for another time.

I don't know. Maybe my next car will be a Prius.

On a much lighter note, I've been reading in blogland a lot about the Black Weblog Awards. Apparently it's a big thing. The BWA's came about due to other blog award sites not giving any recognition to the black bloggers out there. It's a cute concept, though I mostly blog just to release tension and give my thoughts somewhere to go. I'm not really looking for recognition (not that I'd get it...*LOL*) but I do support the concept and there's a lot of bloggers out there that definitely deserve accolodes for what they do. (Sidenote: I do have to say that it is nice reading comments from folks out here. It amazes me that my boring shit would warrant them. I'm definitely appreciative, though.) It's hard work coming up with creative ways of presenting thoughts and ideas. I won't categorize them but some of the blogs I do read a lot include:

• Bernard's Sex and the 2nd City (His explicit sex tales always leave me on edge. He's good at cliff hangers too. I wish I were half as edgy.)
  
• Lady In Satin's Sophisticated Lady (I recently came across her site and enjoy her perspecitves on life as she makes her mark on the world. A true lady indeed.)
• DizYaBoy's Lost...In Translation (It's a psychedelic, something like volcanic, you know it's seems organic...okay, oops, guess I went Mariah Carey on yall. Her latest CD is the bomb and so is DizYaBoy's blog.)
• Rod.2.0.'s Beta (Whenever I feel like reading more serious topics, this is the place. And you know he's rolling when you see corporations sponsoring his page.)
• Terricka's Sauda Speaks ( I just recently came across this blog & enjoy reading the random thoughts from this up and coming actress. I was especially moved by her 07/31/2005 entry because it's something that I wish I'd be willing to do. And yes, you'll have to click the link and scroll down to that entry to see what I'm talking about...*LOL*.)
• Miss Holiday's Heiress Diaries & Hollyhood (This lady needs no introduction. She's taken the blog world by storm in the few short months she's been blogging. Plus she has a heart of platinum. *LOL*)
  

I'll admit that I could be a bit more forthcoming with what's going on with me. Knowing that somebody could discover my secret identity (it wouldn't be that hard seeing as I use my real first name), I've been a bit reluctant to get too deep about the things I'm going through. If I mention anyone I know personally, I use an alias. But with each passing day, I believe I'll share more and more. This is supposed to be like therapy, right?

Hemingway I need to go shower and shit. Yeah, that shit...*LOL*. TMI, huh? Remember? Therapy? Hemingway, I'm off to a housewarming of my friend "Sally". It should be a blast. See ya.