Today's post is all about me

Not Liam, me. (And, well, a trait of mine that I hope he is not psycho enough to pick up, at least not to the same degree).

I have this thing about comparison shopping. I research every purchase to death and am just sick if I don't get something for the lowest possible price. Normally I'd say this is a good quality to possess, but when coupled with an inability to rein it in from time to time - it's enough to drive a person mad, especially during these last few days.

First there is the issue of the price of gas. I have to preface this by saying I have always been driven crazy by the price of gas, and it drives Chad crazy that I go crazy over it. We pass a Shell station around the corner from our house four times a day, on every trip to and from work. And every time we pass it, I am likely to comment on it: "Wow, I can't believe gas went up four tenths of a cent just this afternoon." <--- That's what a comment of mine would have been six months or a year ago. Today, it's more like, "Wow, I can't believe gas went up thirty seven cents just this afternoon." Anyway, I filled up the tank yesterday since we are heading out of town for the weekend, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that hurricane + weekend = expensive gas. The price was and had been $103.7 for several days. I got sixteen cents worth of silver grade gas into the truck and then the pump quit. Seems they had run out of gas. Why?? Because the station up the street had risen their price to $1.80 on speculation that the hurricane was going to cause the price to skyrocket, and the owner thought he would lead the pack. So everyone panicked and went to fill up their cars at Shell, and their pumps ran dry. Is that crazy or what? Today the price at Shell is still $103.7 and they have gas in the tanks again. Crazy, I tell you! I have made multiple phone calls to Chad at work this week to ask what is going on with the price of gas (nice to know someone in that field :) ) and to see if he's heard what's going on around town (apparently the one station was not the only one to jack up the price prematurely).

Then, today, the issue was water. We buy bottled water. I think it's a ripoff, but I still drink it from time to time. Our tap water sucks by comparison. Anyway, when Home Depot opened here last week, the door crasher was a case of water for $2.97 (as opposed to the normal six bucks it would otherwise cost). Even I am not crazy enough to get in line behind thirty other people to make a purchase like that, so we bypassed the Home Depot water. But a couple of days later I was shopping at Walmart and noticed that they had price matched Home Depot. So I came home with four cases. We have the space to store it and I know we'll drink it, so why not? Then this morning, Liam and I went grocery shopping, and it seems that Zehrs lowered their price to match the other two (these stores are all part of the new shopping complex at the north end of town - i.e. direct competition for each other.) So I picked up another three cases. I cannot resist a good buy like that.

I had only unloaded some of the water and had left the truck hatch open when Chad came home from work for lunch, and he carried the last of the water inside, set it down on the floor, and proceeded to ask whether CNN was reporting a shift in the tracking of Hurricane Rita to make a direct hit on Chatham - was I stocking up on batteries and canned goods also?