Disjointed thoughts

[livingdeb]

Wasted Gas

Today I used a lot of gas. I drove to Round Rock and back for dinner and a couple of episodes of "Firefly" with my sister.

Worse than that, last time I was at the gym alone, I walked home. But Robin got the message that our other gym buddy also wasn't going to be there, so he drove around looking for me.

Worse than that, I recently forgot my dance shoes on the way to dance lessons and had on very sticky shoes and didn't realize it until we were halfway across town and so we turned back and started over.

Family Gifts

You know how some people recommend that you never loan money to family? You should just make it a gift, and never give more than you can afford to lose.

I don't quite like that philosophy, though I never loan more than I can afford to lose. But I've decided there are two situations where I want to give money. One is when there's a once-in-a-lifetime family adventure, but one of the people in the family can't afford it.

I've learned this the easy and the hard ways. My sister couldn't afford to join us on our trip to Epcot Center (Disney World), and so she didn't come. And that sucked. Later, my brother couldn't afford to join us all in visiting my sister while she lived in Belgium, so I subsidized him. I paid airfare, and he brought his own spending money.

The other situation is where a one-time gift can allow a person to change their lifestyle. For example, one might find oneself unable to afford to pay first and last month's rent on a new place, and thus unable to afford to move closer to work, and thus unable to live close enough to get rid of the car with the expensive insurance payments. A gift of these two months of rent might make a difference. In this case, I didn't think to do it for my brother, but I did do it for my sister.

Frito Pie

I love frito pie. This is where you crumble corn chips in a bowl, then pour chili on top of that, then sprinkle it with cheese.

I never make frito pie anymore. I use rice instead of the corn chips because it's better for me, and it's still good. But today my sister fed me chili, and there was a huge bag of Fritos right on the table (now made without trans-fats!), and no rice anyway, so I indulged. Yum.

Comments

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

I feel you, man. I spend lots of time/brain energy trying to minimize driving; in the end, though, despite the fact that I'm not exactly a 'model consumer' or true patriot in the retail sense, I am, in fact, a participant in our modern society in that I own my own vehicle, and drive most everywhere I go. I feel good about the trips that I do save. I actually thought about you on Saturday when I walked to the library and did bicep curls and upright rows with the bag full of books on the way there. If I integrate exercise into my daily life I can avoid being a gerbil :)

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

You did bag-of-books bicep curls? Hee hee! Hmm, upright rows. Good idea.

Hey, gerbils use exercise wheels when they have them. Even if the wheels are squeeky. Sometimes all night long! (Or maybe I'm thinking of some other rodents; I don't know if some like these wheels and some don't.)