gas (i.e. petrol)

So it’s confirmed: people are still not buying less gas, even with prices @ a record high.
And New York City drivers don’t want to pay up to $8 to travel in and around the city. Can you blame them?

We’re a society of convenience, and it seems that maybe even the ultimate incentive, money, may not be able to change that. Or maybe it will just take a little more incentive than the current situation.

I’ve been around, as they say, growing up ultra-rural (1200 people in “my little town”), living, working, and learning in the suburbs of Chicago for 6 years after high school, and now living in the metropolis they call Milwaukee. Hopefully that gives me a little perspective on the issue of when driving is and isn’t necessary.

Scenario 1–Hicksville: For those people who live in the “boonies” who live miles away from where they work and who have no access to any sort of public transportation, there is really no option by the gas-guzzling automobile. However, there are some things to consider, like moving closer to where you work, which may be more of a sacrifice than one is willing to make, or carpooling, which is usually possible in most cases. Since there are no buses or trains, on usually requires a car to travel to locations such as movie theaters, shopping malls, and grocery stores. Since there is less of a “choice” to buy gas, it is good that gas tends to me more inexpensive in rural areas. (On a side note, there was a town an hour from where I grew actually called Hicksville.)

Scenario 2–The ‘Burbs: I actually won’t get into a whole rant and rave about the suburbs at this juncture – maybe somewhere down the line – but the whole idea of the suburbs is quite interesting. Those who choose (there is a choice involved here) to live in the suburbs and work in the city, which is usually the case, often do have some options for their transportation needs, depending on their actual location. Be it by bus or train, many people can either use public transportation for their daily commute or drive a portion of the distance and park and ride, both options freeing the traveler to read or do work while commuting. Getting other places can be a bit of a hassle, though, so one might still want a car to go shopping and get to other locations, depending on your specific public transportation circumstances, but minimizing gas use is still much more possible than in a rural setting.

Scenario 3–City Live: So you’ve chosen to live in the city? Great! Now sell your car and start saving money! Not only do you save money on gas, but you won’t have to pay for car insurance, license plates, oil changes, tune-ups, new tires, and however much you’re paying on your car loan. This, of course, assumes you work in the city too, but if you can get to work using a bus or train, you can probably get anywhere else you “need” to get, too. My experiences living the past two-ish years without a car have definitely shown me that you don’t “need” a car, but it is without question a very nice convenience. Things like getting groceries can be hard, but not impossible, without a car, depending on your distance from the store and how much you’re buying at once. It’s definitely harder to travel out of town, and you can’t get everywhere you’d want or even need to get for certain events, but here’s the kicker: almost everyone else has a car, so if you really need to get somewhere special that the trains and buses can’t reach, you can probably find a ride. Until that aspect of life changes and the number of cars lessen and buses and trains don’t become only “for those who can’t afford a car” (and hopefully that day will come), I’ve found that most people are more than happy to give you a ride when you’re in a bind.

So what does this mean? Well, the U.S. still has it pretty well compared to most 1st World countries, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a more graduated pricing structure based on the 3 scenarios above, where prices are higher where other transportation options are available. Until then, we will have to hope everyone makes conscious efforts to continue saving gas wherever they are able, even if for you that can only mean taking a bus, train, or plane the next time your travel out of town. I hope you’ll continue to think about your choices and the effect they are having on the world and its future.

(As a prelude to some likely future installment on cities and suburbs, check out this website and the sustainability, or likely unsustainablility, of most cities.)

the cycles of life and television

Tonight is the final episode of Gilmore Girls. It is definitely a sad day for me, but I am approaching it much differently than I did the series finale of my first truly beloved show way back in 1998, Seinfeld.

I have watched Gilmore Girls regularly/obsessively since early 2003, midway through its 3rd season. I was actually introduced to it early in its run, during season 1, but I didn’t really give it a chance back then. Thankfully, though, the “invention” of TV shows on DVD has helped me catch up. But now, finishing its 7th season, I feel like Gilmore Girls has run its course. If we think about life, there are openings and closings, beginnings and endings, and the same is true for television shows. It’s been a very enjoyable show for me, and I know that I’ll be able to continue to experience the beauty of Star’s Hollow for years to come, thanks to the aforementioned DVDs.

Sports Night, a show that existed for only 2 years in the late 90s, is a bit of a different story. Similarly Arrested Development more recently, it was critically acclaimed but didn’t have the ratings to sustain it more than a few years. It was cut down far too early, but it still lives on in DVD form. In fact, I watched all of season 2 of Sports Night during my spring break. If you haven’t seen it and ever get the chance to watch some episodes, I highly recommend it. A great mix of comedy and drama, much like Gilmore Girls, it pushed the likes of Felicity Huffman and Peter Krause into the television spotlight years before Desperate Housewives and Six Feet Under.

When Seinfeld ended, I was devastated. Maybe it was because it came at a time for me when I wasn’t ready for change and didn’t recognize and understand the importance of the cycles of life. It was the first time a show I really loved was taken off the air, and even though I had watched many episodes on syndication and found it relatively late in its run, I still felt cheated. How could they take this part of my life away from me? Now that it has been gone nearly 10 years, I really don’t watch it any more, even though there is an episode or more from its great catalog on somewhere almost every day. Even if I don’t watch it now, it still holds many significant memories of my comedic growth.

Things will always change. In everything there is a start and a finish, be it a job, a relationship, a living situation, a time of education, or anything else. Sometimes the end is death, but most of the time it’s not. As we age, we get more accustomed to things ending. Sometimes the end may come more easily and it may seem like the appropriate time, as it does now for Gilmore Girls, but other times we won’t want it to end and will plead for things to continue.

Eventually, though, we all adjust to the changes life brings us. Maybe there will be some new TV show that “replaces” the Girls this fall or a few years down the line, but maybe not. Similarly, as jobs and relationships and the like draw to a close, we must get past them however we can. Sometimes it will come easily, maybe in a few days of even in a few hours. Sometimes it may take years or never really happen.

But we get by. We deal with the cycles of life much the same way we do the cycles of television: we continue to tune in.

(Also, here is an interesting article related to television and pop culture: Syracuse prof is pop culture ambassador )

productivity overload?

So I saw this link today that said 5 steps to be more productive, and thought, “That’s just what I need” (in the sarcastic internal voice that I often talk to myself in — do you?), but I clicked on it anyway. It has some pretty decent information but is pretty much stuff I already do.

It was interesting, though, because last night I had a conversation where I shared how I like to be productive in as much of my time as possible, be it “productive” productive, in such things as doing “work” or writing or reading or washing dishes or cleaning or other things that “need” to be done, or just more “socially” productive, things like talking on the phone, writing letters, playing sports with others, or even just spending time with someone while watching TV or a movie. I, like those I was talking with, do wonder if this is OK or whether I need a “break” sometimes, where absolutely nothing is accomplished, but I feel like a break can also be “productive,” in something like taking a nap or running or writing a letter (and even if not “productive” like that, wouldn’t the break itself be intrinsically productive, as it would be accomplishing something?).

I don’t know for how long exactly, but for quite a while I’ve felt and believed it important to make the most of the limited time I have on this planet. I don’t always succeed, but I think continuing to look critically at how I use my time and how I choose to live my life — things like my location, job, people that surround me, social and other activities — will always be important to me and help me continue to live life with few regrets. I’d love to have no regrets, but we’re all human, so I think that’s impossible, so becoming comfortable with the regrets that I do have is all I can strive for, and I wish the same for you.

I challenge you to find that balance and mix of productivity and relaxation that works for you and go with it. I think it’s a life-long struggle and journey, but I also think the benefits you’ll elicit will be well worth it.

happy birthday to you!

So, here it is. My blog. I was thinking about ways I could celebrate the momentous occasion of turning 25 (though we all know it’s just a number… right?), and after much internal discussion, with no one but myself, I decided it would be a great time to start a blog. In response to the ever popular (or infamous) e-mail updates over the past few years, I’ve gotten many suggestions to start a blog, but I’ve always stayed away from blogging for one reason or another. Until today.

Don’t expect this to be a place where I rant and rave about the horrors and difficulties of my life, and don’t expect it to be a place where I tell you how amazing my life is either. I don’t plan on detailing my daily actions or necessarily even giving an overview about what I’m up to on a daily basis, but I’m sure a little bit about what I’m doing in my life will creep in. I don’t expect this to replace the e-mail updates, which I really enjoy doing, but an additional outlet for me and an additional way for you to connect and bond with me.

As the subtitle “my mind in words” indicates, I hope this blog to be both a place where I share a little of the inner workings of my head and maybe even a place where you can converse with me and others in my world about topics — serious, mundane, humorous, irreverent — that I ponder when I’m living this life. I have no idea how often or rarely I’ll be making posts — that’s all part of the experiment of a new blogger like myself, I suppose.

That being said, I’ll end my first post with this question:
Can soap get and/or be dirty? Discuss