Well, this is going to suck

[annathepiper]

According to this article, we've just had a state drought emergency declared here in Washington, as our governor is warning everybody to gear up for the worst drought the state's had since 1977.

Between this and record high gas prices, what a fun summer we'll have!

Comments

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

Damn, sounds like '76 all over again.....

[flashfire.livejournal.com]

YOU CAN'T HAVE OUR WATER!!

Wait...you're not SoCal.

[annathepiper]

They hit US up for water too, you know. ;P

[annathepiper]

Doesn't it just? Only now I actually know what's going on. Bleh.

[flashfire.livejournal.com]

Right bastards, the lot of 'em.

[daspatrick.livejournal.com]

No fuel, no water, it will be just like Road Warrior! I'm gonna start putting spikes onto my football pads now.

[annathepiper]

But who gets to run the Thunderdome?

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my big memory of the gas crunch was having to leave school early because I had a crippling stomach ache and mom "just stopping for a minute" to get gas. I swear I was writhing in the back seat for half an hour.

[firni.livejournal.com]

That's okay, I'll just drink whisky instead.

[firni.livejournal.com]

and bathe in it.

[firni.livejournal.com]

and cook with it.

[annathepiper]

Well, 'soused' is one way to make it through a drought!

[annathepiper]

Hrmm. I honestly don't have any memories of the gas crunch. I know it happened, but I'm not pulling up anything out of the back of my brain about it. Possibly because right around then, my family didn't have a car, so we did a lot of walking to the store to get stuff.

[firni.livejournal.com]

The other possibility is for me to water the lawn three times a day, with a sign pointed towards the neighbors that reads "FUCK OFF".

Whilst soused.

Hey, if it's a drought, I'd better water my roof, too! I'd hate for the moss to die.

[firni.livejournal.com]

ME

Hold on while I tease my hair.

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

Did we blow that up back in 2000? OH, no wait, that was the Kingdome...

[annathepiper]

Other things need watering, too, don't forget. The stop sign on the corner, that passing dog, the woodpeckers that keep going nuts in our neighborhood...

[annathepiper]

I'm sure we can find a chain-mail dress for you if you are not already thusly equipped!

[annathepiper]

Having had a Thunderdome there would have been way cooler than the Kingdome.

TWO BALL TEAMS ENTER! ONE BALL TEAM LEAVES!

That would have been one way to get the Mariners a better season... ;)

[firni.livejournal.com]

BTW, I spoke too soon about the flicker drumming.

6am this morning.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT ... BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT

SHUT UP ALREADY!

[annathepiper]

First few times I heard a woodpecker sounding off around here, I thought it was a jackhammer and that there was a construction project going on somewhere. This is what I get for being too used, still, to the noise levels of the U-district!

[watermelonpunch.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about the drought.
And Mt. St. Helen's of course.

And damn, I forgot to stop for gas tonight.

And damn, I wish it would stop snowing so I can go have my car turned into 2 wheel drive... I'm only getting 22 miles to the gallon right now on all wheel drive!

I guess I should be grateful that my area's gas prices are below the national average. But still, it sucks.

I'm going to have to start participating again more on Scranton Gas Prices (http://www.scrantongasprices.com/).
Check it out, there's likely one for your area you can find through that site.

[hkortekamp.livejournal.com]

wow, and I tohught gas in Germany was expensive. Here it is 1.10 -1.20 € (around 0.90 $)... But 2 $??? That's pretty ugly. You have my sympathy. Some people need their cars and can't just stop driving. My father for example has to drive 1h to work...

[annathepiper]

Thanks! Dara has wisely advised me that the best we can do is try to enjoy this nice weather we're having, and deal with summer when it gets here. Even though every time I heard my bus driver on the way home yesterday encouraging folks to enjoy the weather when they got off the bus, I couldn't help but think, "We're going to pay for this..."

Mt. St. Helens, not so much of a muchness. Seattle (and Kenmore, which is where I actually am) is not close enough to that old gal to see her from afar, much less be bothered if she blows her top. Back when she blew in 1980, I'm given to understand that Seattle only got a bunch of ash and was otherwise unbothered.

Thanks for the link! Any little bit's probably going to help. Dara may have to wind up buying our gas at Costco more often--she does that sometimes, where she can get gas significantly more cheaply than through the usual stations.

[annathepiper]

We're two dollars a gallon, yeah. Do they sell gas by the liter in Germany, or by the gallon? Last time I visited friends in Canada, I had a bit of an amusing mental exercise trying to figure out the equivalent U.S. gas prices up there--since it required converting Canadian dollars to U.S. AND liters to gallons.

And indeed, some folks just can't bail on their cars entirely. I bus to and from work as much as possible, but then, I work for a contracting agency that provides free bus passes for its employees. The Seattle area tries to encourage people to take mass transit, and fortunately our mass transit system is good. But we still have nasty traffic during rush hour.

[hkortekamp.livejournal.com]

oh, I've never heard of a gallon before. How much liters is one gallon?
Gas is sold by the liter here...

[annathepiper]

Ahh, yeah, I wasn't sure how much of Europe is on the metric system, but I was fairly sure I remembered Germany being on it--either from other German friends or from German classes I've taken.

Google reports 1 US gallon = 3.7854118 liters. So actually, your all's gas prices suck way harder than ours do!

[hkortekamp.livejournal.com]

WOW!!!!! Damn, I knew gas was expensive here... That makes it 4,16 € / 3,33 $ a gallon... :o Then WTF are you worried about???

[annathepiper]

*giggles* Yeah, I know, we should shut up and deal. ;) The part that bothers me, though, is that I'm honestly certain that the vast majority of Americans, who are used to much lower gas prices, won't take this as a wake-up call to start using gas wisely. This is exactly one of the reasons why, for example, that the greater Seattle area has huge traffic problems despite having very good mass transit. Most Americans just aren't to the point yet where they'll seek out traffic alternatives. A lot of us have to be hit over the head with a cluebat before the clue sinks in.

[watermelonpunch.livejournal.com]

Yes, I personally choose cars on the basis of saving gas.
Unfortunately All Wheel Drive is NOT conserving of gas - but our winters & mountains here make 4 wheel drive very desirable.
I also drive in such a manner to conserve gas.

But many of my fellow citizens are not nearly so conscious of this type of thing. They complain about gas prices, but drive SUVs in the city for commuting, for no reason but that they are fashionable.

In the area I live - it is EXCEEDINGLY difficult to survive without a car.

The public transportation in my area is so horrible - it's almost non-existent.
The buses run infrequently, for only a short period of the day, never on Sundays, and on limited routes. And they're not really cheap either.
The taxis are expensive... and very scarce. (There's only one general cab company (excluding elite services) in the whole of this metropolitan area.) Even in the downtown areas of the cities, one must order a cab by phone, and at least 45 minutes in advance (or more) to even come close to being sure the cab will arrive for pick up on time.

It's just about impossible to have much choice in employment or make anything near a decent wage if you don't have your own car here.

I spent nearly the first decade of my adult life without a car (using public transport, a bicycle, and walking to work) - and was almost unable to make ends meet at all - because my job options were confined & limited... and my prospects very poor indeed - as many employers in the area, even those reachable by public transport - will base their hiring upon whether someone owns a car. I'd even lost jobs I was more qualified for, to people who owned a vehicle. (Yes, I was told this.)

[watermelonpunch.livejournal.com]

It sounds like in Seattle, one has some choices. And not making conservational choices would seem particularly clueless.

In my area, it's not quite that way... in that there really aren't any viable alternatives to seek out. :(
(see my other comment) (http://www.livejournal.com/users/annathepiper/350278.html?thread=2535238#t2535238)

[annathepiper]

Yeah, we're lucky up here in the greater Seattle area to have at least some choices. We've got that mass transit system I mentioned, and at least at Microsoft, they've made it easy for full-time employees to telecommute. (I'm just a contractor, so I don't get that option, but.)

There's also been repeated attempts to extend our monorail system and/or put in light rail, but so far these have not come to fruition. Seattle voters REALLY want a monorail, though.

[annathepiper]

Geez, losing a job opportunity because you didn't have a car is just harsh. :/

I remember several of the situations you describe being the case in Kentucky when I was stll living there, and they have not improved greatly since I moved up to Washington. Last time Dara and I were in Kentucky, over Christmas, we were once more reminded of how everybody drives everywhere there.

[watermelonpunch.livejournal.com]

"Geez, losing a job opportunity because you didn't have a car is just harsh."

Yeah, not only that... But people who lose job opportunities because they don't have a car, often have trouble getting a car because they don't have the job to afford one...

Catch 22.

[annathepiper]

That's often the way of things, indeed. "You can't get experience without a job, and you can't get a job without experience!" "You can't get an agent until you've been published, and you can't get published without an agent!"

Oi. :)