Hitchhiking anyone?

'Tis another Sunday...I'm sitting in my home office staring out at the oak tree which is standing there sweltering in the lovely August humidity. The music currently playing is from Lifescapes, a 2 CD collection entitled "The Relaxation Collection". Should the truth be known, I bought it because I liked the CD cover...a sand covered walkway leading out to a thatched-roof gazebo in the middle of light blue water, billowing cumulus clouds dot the horizon, and you can make out the shore of another island way off in the distance. Great picture, very idyllic, peaceful. Invokes visions of some island out in the Pacific. I know, I'm ridiculous...good thing the music is very relaxing. :~)

On my way home a couple of days ago, I passed by several gas stations with prices that had seemingly skyrocketed in a matter of 12 hours, from $2.34 to $2.48. Ugghhh!!! :-( Felt like I'd been socked in the stomach. I paid $18.00 and only put in a little over seven gallons in my car. I think I'm going to start hitchhiking in the not-so-distant future. For those of you in CA, $2.48 probably seems like a drop in fuel prices, but it doesn't seem too long ago that I was paying $2.19. Oh for the days when the price of crude oil was $11/barrel.

In Seminole county, the one in which I reside, school started Aug. 1. What's that all about? Orange County, south of me, which includes Orlando, school started a week later, on the 8th. No wonder kids here are getting more and more violent. I would throw fits too if I had to go to school the day after my birthday.

Briefly looked into buying a condo, or rather an apartment turned condo, a couple of weeks ago. Get this...a 500 sq. ft. condo went for $90k. And that's with being in with a broker, before the public even gets a chance to buy. That $90k was the lowest available price...you know, the ones with no view, worst location, etc. I was looking to potentially buy one as an investment and then flip it, but the developer had only marked 25% of the available units for investors, and I was too far down the list. Besides, the developer had a restriction on the investment units as long-term, so I wouldn't be able to flip it as quickly as I'd want. The real estate market here is as overheated as an Arizona sidewalk.

No, I haven't gone on any trips lately. I wish I could report on the latest adventure, but not today. What have you been doing? What summer treks have you taken? With summer winding down, the tourists here should slowly but surely be leaving...woohoo!!

I've had some more neighbors move out of my building, only to be replaced rather quickly...with smokers!! Aaarrghhh...I'm surrounded by them...I'm going to get lung cancer and I don't even smoke...:-( One of my neighhbors got a new car. They now park it on the other side of the lot instead of in front of the building like the rest of us. I guess so no one dings the doors. They'll get over that soon. lol

On the nightstand for reading...a biography of Mother Teresa.

Stay cool out there...see you in the funny papers...