1.08.2006

cave-dweller

i have been on a "news fast" for months. in fact, it might be going on a year by now. that means no tv news, no Internet news (at least not on purpose), no newspapers, and no talk radio. usually, if something big happens, i'll hear about it "through the grapevine." sometimes, i'll watch the weather or look it up on weather underground if i'm curious enough. so when someone asks me if i've been living in a cave when i tell them i hadn't heard about something that had made big news, i usually answer in the affirmative.

why in the name of jim are you doing this? you are probably asking. i promise i am not purposely trying to make myself into a cave-dwelling freak. it's just that the news is depressing. on the rare occasion that the television is on when the evening news starts, i would just about bet my only child that the first sentence out of the anchorperson's mouth will have something to do with murder, death, fire, rape, missing children, or something else just as heinous. other news sources tend to be just as negatively focused. just for kicks, let's take a look at the top stories on google news: 1. doctor's to decide when to end sharon's coma [illness and death]; 2. u.s blackhawk helicopter crashes, 12 dead [tragedy and death]. i know i feel uplifted just reading the headlines, don't you?

ironically, scrolling further down the lesser headlines brings me to the one that inspired this entry: u.s. postal service price hike. i sat down at the computer this morning to read my group digests and found out that stamps went from 37 to 39 cents today. having just ordered a coil of 100 stamps, i feverishy went to look at them and indeed saw that they looked different than the usual red, white and blue stamps i am used to seeing. so, i went to the post office web site where i order my stamps and sure enough, there was a huge banner at the top of the page announcing the change in price on january 8, 2006. a huge banner that i must have overlooked the other day. i also must have overlooked the price hike since i happily paid $40 for my roll of stamps instead of the usual $38 (the extra dollar is a service charge). i can't believe i have angst-ridden dilemmas about whether or not to go to the stupid gym when i am blissfully ignorant about real stuff. cave-dweller am i.

2 comments:

Silly Old Bear said...

I still have 33 cent stamps in my desk at home. I have to buy extra postage to use them, so now I just put two on an envelope to use them up.

Got room in your cave for a visitor?

StaceyG said...

Cool! I'm not as much of a freak as I thought! Or perhaps I am just surrounded by freaks...

Either way, I feel better.