Adventures

Atlanta has been under a severe gas shortage since the hurricanes hit the gulf coast two weeks ago. We also have a serious case of illegal price gouging going on.

Despite the lift of the high-sulfur gas ban two days ago, gas is still hard to come by. Local news stations have maps that you can go to and plot when, where, and how much gas was (if there was any) and message boards where you can bitch about the lack of gas. Many metro-Atlanta residents are succumbing to the fear and are topping off their tanks when they aren't anywhere near empty! On tv the other day, there was a woman waiting in line for gas who still had half a tank left. I wanted to reach through the tv and throttle her because Those People are making this gas shortage worse for the rest of us sane folk.

Last Thursday, I lucked out and filled my running-on-empty tank after only having to wait in line for 5 minutes. Today, though, I haven't been quite as lucky. I have enough gas in my car to get me to work tomorrow and probably enough to get me back home again, but I'd be pushing it. This evening, I drove past 7 different gas stations on my way home from work (even going a bit out of my way for some of them), and couldn't find any gas. I've checked the maps online. I've called gas stations this evening. Everyone that I can get in touch with is out of gas. If I wake up in the middle of the night and *then* go search for gas, I can miss the long 2+ hour lines. But the problem of actually finding a gas station that has gas still remains.

I've already warned my supervisor that I probably won't be at work tomorrow. I think I'm the first gas-shortage casualty in the office, which isn't surprising considering my 45+ minute commute every morning and afternoon, sitting idly on GA400 while my gas burns into the atmosphere. My weekend plans have dissolved as I carefully calculate how much gas Dustin and I have and whether we can grab bookshelves from watchmebe AND go see Furries vs. Klingons bowling on Saturday evening and still have enough gas to attend the family birthday party (bowling!) on Sunday. Who knows if we can manage a 5-minute-out-of-the-way stop at Petsmart to get more cat litter, or if the stray cat Fin will have to pee on newspapers.

It's an inconvenience, but thankfully, I have a job where I can work from home and errands that can be run on other days. I just hope that Atlanta residents will learn from this and will realize that we cannot be this dependent on gas forever. This could be much, much worse.

The ONLY bummer about going to Jacksonville this weekend: I'll miss the St. Patrick's day festival at Underground Atlanta, which features Dennis Haskins,aka Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell as the Grand Marshal of the parade! DAMMIT!

Keep in mind that the last time we got snow in metro-Atlanta, I was a freshman in college. So this is a HUGE DEAL and OMG THE CITY HAS SHUT DOWN. A normally 20-minute drive on GA-400 shot up to 1 hour, 40 minutes this afternoon during rush hour. There were "major" and "moderate" accidents on every major highway in Atlanta. Needless to say, it was a good day to work late, even though I desperately wanted to go play out in the snow.

When I left work at 8, there was still snow on the ground. Even in Buckhead, there was snow on everything except the roads! So cool! So I was very excited as I drove out of the city and up Ga 400 to where we live. There's snow here in our complex, too! It's everywhere! AHHH!

( Pictures of the snow! )

The National Association of Convenience Stores is having a conference in Atlanta this week.

I'd like to imagine that there's a class for making the perfect slushies. A class on how to say "Please come again" in the most cheerful voice imaginable. Maybe even a one-hour presentation on the latest technology for making the most succulent, glistening hot dogs in those rolly things.

My imagination is right on track with the details of the conference. Check out the video of last year's conference. At the NACS conference, you can learn the best slushie techniques. You can see the newest, most innovative car washes. You can hear Archie Manning give the opening speech and Karl Rove on the closing speech. And best of all, there's a special feature demonstration on cooking with beer! Sign me up!

Unfortunately, the realities of being busy at work and my brother's wedding this weekend mean I can't attend the conference. But had I known about this earlier, I definitely would have registered for at least a day's attendance at the conference that divulges the secrets of the Kwik-E-Mart.