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California

Gas prices in California has fluctuated between $3.25-$3.75 in the last couple of years. Sadly, we have grown accustomed to these lofty prices and have accepted it simply as a part of life, like its the water & power bill or something... A friend of mine in Denver was telling me how her SUV guzzles-up gas at a very high rate and complained about the gas prices. She said she spent nearly $35 to fill-up the 21 gallon tank... I almost laughed at her relatively minor problem considering $35 is about what i spend to fill up my little Honda Civic that has a minuscule 11 gallon tank...

I think it's fair to say that Inflation is prevalent in all of the United States. I believe that if you take under consideration the Cost of Living here in California, it probably ranks high up on the totem. Prices are so inflated here that often we are no longer surprised by price hikes. It's almost a way of living around here, a sort of rite of passage. If you're gonna live around here you'd better get used to it... Like this recent plan to increase the Power rates by 9% and Water by 6%, what could we do? Some guy they interviewed from the streets simply said that it's probably warranted anyway. You might think him complacent but i would beg to differ. I'd say he's a smart cognizant fellow... So the cost of living here is at an all time high and the bills are starting to skyrocket, what do you suppose we do about it? The only real answer to this California plight is, well, is to move out of State. Not that this idea would be practical to most, or that it would be easy Dollars and Sense wise, but if we're talking pure economics it would almost make perfect sense.

That said, i have never considered moving out of State, at least not seriously. Dollars and sense wise it would be good but there has not been any good reason for me to do it. God forbid if i ever lose my job and the Company's Denver office woos me, maybe then i would give it some serious thought. Provided i get to keep my pay grade of course... In terms of hobbies it wouldn't be such a bad trade-off because the state of Colorado is adorned by world class ski resorts and i'm pretty sure they've got some great Mountain Bike trails too. And the gotta have basketball there, right? Ideally i would live in a log cabin nestled in a grove of pines with my two dogs. I could gather my own firewood and maybe even hunt for food occasionally. Perhaps i could get an old Ford truck with a hunting rifle perched on the rear window to complete the Mountain-man effect. I may even dress like one.

Realistically though, i may live in California for the rest of my life. As solitary as i may get sometimes i do enjoy the occasional get-together with my family, extended family, and friends. Living deep in the woods of Colorado might prove a little too recluse, even for me. Besides, Los Angeles has proven to be a good epicenter...

So as much as California economics strain our lives around here, staying sounds most pragmatic.

Anyway, to conclude this blog entry, i would like to share a funny story that was influenced by the California living cost, in an intangible kind of a way. I was craving ice-cream after lunch last Friday. It had been more than a year since i last enjoyed a bowl so i was feigning it pretty bad (after watching Tony Soprano feast on a bowl of Rocky Road the previous night... Season 5). So much so that i had gone by myself after being admonished by the guys at work (of course they would happily eat some later on... bastards!). I could have easily gone to the Company Cafe and spare myself the drive (though not very far) but i was thinking more a half-gallon rather than the drumstick kind. My problem though was Cash, i only had $4.00 in my wallet (Of course i could have used my ATM, but i wanted some cash back). Surely $4 wasn't enough money to buy a half-gallon, of anything, i thought. After having spent $13.00 for lunch and $8.99 for a tiny 4 oz. bottle of chain lube for my Mountain Bike earlier that day, i was almost in shock when the machine registered $2.25 for the Mint-Chocolate half-gallon ice-cream. In all honestly i had expected something more in the $8.00 range somewhere. As i told my Friend in Denver who'd complained about gas prices, i probably wouldn't have suspected anything had the Machine registered an erroneous price up to $19. In fact $2.25 seemed to me erroneous. I even double-checked with the nice lady at the Register who gave me an incredulous look before assuring me the price was precise. DOH!

Damn California... Have a nice day!

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Thursday, June 07, 2007