%#^%@*!!!!! Florida!!!!!!

**theworm**[$] · #1 10-20-2005, 10:18 PM

This is a stupid state with lots of stupid people and stupid news casters and ..... ARGH!!!!

So - today I leave work and notice I'm getting low on gas. I have enough to get home, and I was planning on going to Curves, so I figured I'd get gas near the house. Then Brian called. He had a crappy day, so I said come home and I'll buy you a beer. We comes home and we go out and I tell him we need to get gas.

Well, the station closest to the house has been selling gas for WAY lower than anyone else. Today it was $2.54 - people have been lining up there and waiting 30-40 minutes to save some money. We just go to the other station across the street. No gas - so we go down the street - no gas - further down - no gas - further down - no gas - back up the other side - no gas.

We MAY be getting a hurricane in FOUR days, and everyone is filling up like their life depends on it. There is NO FRIGGIN GAS!!! Now the low gas light is on in my car, and both Brian and I are experiencing road rage. I say lets get off the main street and go up to the next town. There is a Shell Station on the corner. They have gas. No regular - just medium and premium. We filled up for $3.06/gallon.

Now we both want a beer. We go out and eat - have a beer. Get back in Snorky to come home. Now the BP station has gas!!!! Some foul language come out of my mouth!!! Only a five minute wait there. The wait at the $2.54 station is now closer to 50 minutes.

Can you imagine what will happen once they post a hurricane watch???

**Joubert**[$] · #2 10-20-2005, 11:07 PM

Yabba-dabba-do
Sounds like another beer for you.
Wilma comes Saturday.

Offer still open.

poseidon · #3 10-21-2005, 12:30 PM

I know it is a pain in the ass, wormie, but I'd rather see them doing it NOW than waiting until the last minute.

**theworm**[$] · #4 10-21-2005, 12:34 PM

Quote:

poseidon said

I know it is a pain in the ass, wormie, but I'd rather see them doing it NOW than waiting until the last minute.

IF the storm comes at all - it won't be till Tuesday. They'll need more gas by then.

poseidon · #5 10-21-2005, 12:47 PM

The stations, yes. The people? Maybe not -- depends on how much they drive.

I've not filled up my Chevy in almost a month. Basically, it is just being driven on weekends, and because of the gas prices, we've not been driving around for the sake of driving around.

The Jeep, OTOH, gets filled about every two weeks.

So, perhaps people are just being proactive and filling up before A) supplies are gone and B) prices skyrocket, so they can leave town if necessary without having to wait in line for gas and wasting precious time.

**theworm**[$] · #6 10-21-2005, 12:50 PM

Quote:

poseidon said

The stations, yes. The people? Maybe not -- depends on how much they drive.

I've not filled up my Chevy in almost a month. Basically, it is just being driven on weekends, and because of the gas prices, we've not been driving around for the sake of driving around.

The Jeep, OTOH, gets filled about every two weeks.

So, perhaps people are just being proactive and filling up before A) supplies are gone and B) prices skyrocket, so they can leave town if necessary without having to wait in line for gas and wasting precious time.

Nah - they get in line and fill up when they still have 3/4ths of a tank. It's not prep - it's panic. And strangely enough the one station that was open and had the 50 minute wait was the one undercutting everyone else and selling gas at $2.59. I couldn't wait on that line (not enough gas). All the $2.75 stations were out. I had to drive to the next town and pay $3.06. There is no milk or water on store shelves. This is over-reaction and panic and I blame the media. We need to prepare for a hurricane - not for nuclear fallout.

poseidon · #7 10-21-2005, 01:08 PM

You guys have lived through what, eight hurricanes in the last two years? People are getting prepared.

When Rita was getting ready to strike, Michelle and I topped off our tanks. I needed a whopping 3 gallons in the Chevy. The Jeep needed 1/2 a tank. We topped it off because, at $3.09 a gallon, we didn't want to wait for it to hit $4.09 a gallon when we were low (thankfully, Rita didn't affect gasoline prices).

I don't blame people for filling up or for stocking up. Again, you're coming across as being pissed that people are preparing for the worst ahead of time. I don't think that's a terrible idea. Again, I don't see why people should wait for 12 hours before the storm when they can do it three days beforehand.

**theworm**[$] · #8 10-21-2005, 01:26 PM

Quote:

poseidon said

You guys have lived through what, eight hurricanes in the last two years? People are getting prepared.

When Rita was getting ready to strike, Michelle and I topped off our tanks. I needed a whopping 3 gallons in the Chevy. The Jeep needed 1/2 a tank. We topped it off because, at $3.09 a gallon, we didn't want to wait for it to hit $4.09 a gallon when we were low (thankfully, Rita didn't affect gasoline prices).

I don't blame people for filling up or for stocking up. Again, you're coming across as being pissed that people are preparing for the worst ahead of time. I don't think that's a terrible idea. Again, I don't see why people should wait for 12 hours before the storm when they can do it three days beforehand.

Yep, that's it. I'm pissed off that people are preparing for the storm.

poseidon · #9 10-21-2005, 01:41 PM

LOL no, Wormie, I understand that the whole thing is being very inconvenient for you, and I do know how aggravating that can be, believe me.

It's just how you were coming across, that's all.

**pippadaisy**[$] · #10 10-21-2005, 10:16 PM

No... I think what Wormie is talking about is the difference between topping your tank and prepping for a storm. When there is a gas shortage, people are specifically requested to NOT top their tank so that there is enough gas for folks who actually are running low.

poseidon · #11 10-22-2005, 10:09 AM

Florida is a big state -- trust me I lived there. I drove from Miami to other states plenty of times. There's only one direction to choose -- north. If this were someplace like Denver, where I could choose any darned direction I pleased to find safe haven, it would be a different discussion entirely.

If it were me, and I felt that my life might be in danger, I'd pack my things, fill up (if I had anything less than 3/4 of a tank), and leave town.

**theworm**[$] · #12 10-22-2005, 10:21 AM

It's supposed to hit as a Cat 2. It will be a Cat 1 by the time it gets to this area.
OUR LIVES ARE NOT IN DANGER!!!! If that were the case - they got their darned gas - why aren't they driving north?

eris esoteric · #13 10-22-2005, 10:36 AM

Maybe you live in a state full of gold-fish. "Wow, big hurricane. Wow, big hurricane. Wow, big huricane."

Alternate explanation: Florida is where deskclerks go when they get less perky.

cristina1 · #14 10-22-2005, 10:42 AM

Because people freak over the littlest thing?

Around here, people run to the grocery store to stock up every time we are expected to get more than a few inches of snow. I have NEVER been trapped in my house and not able to get to the store - even during storms where it was snowing three inches an hour. And even then, as soon as the storm stops, the roads are clear. It isn't like we are stuck for days. I'll do without rather than wait on long lines of people buying milk, bread and chips. If it were something as important as getting gas and the stations were running out because of sheer panic, I'd be royally pissed. I can totally understand the frustration Wormie is feeling.

**mjfrombuffalo**[$] · #15 10-22-2005, 10:45 AM

me too. Long Islanders freak when they hear "snow," and the weatherpeople on TV don't help - every little flurry is potentially a STORM OF THE CENTURY WITH CONSEQUENCES OF EPIC PROPORTIONS! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!.

cristina1 · #16 10-22-2005, 10:48 AM

Totally, MJ! Don't you get sick of hearing it? Especially when the storm ends up completely passing you by and you get no snow at all?

**mjfrombuffalo**[$] · #17 10-22-2005, 10:57 AM

I hate it more when it DOES snow and the Lawn-Guylanders in their SUV's drive like freakin' morons. Not that they drive sensibly to begin with.

**theworm**[$] · #18 10-22-2005, 03:00 PM

I had to wait in a really long line at PetSmart. good thing I love the little fur balls.

magenta321 · #19 10-22-2005, 03:16 PM

I top off my gas whenever another hurricane is coming to the gulf :wave:

I'm far away. It won't affect me other than because of the price. I just don't like paying $40 plus for a tank of gas. It causes hardship. I did it with Katrina and I did it with Rita. And then I tried not to drive any unnecessary miles until the prices had stabilized to a more reasonable rate -- which was actually this weekend. This was my first trip in the car that wasn't to/from work or a stop along the way.

**pippadaisy**[$] · #20 10-23-2005, 04:28 PM

True, Margaret, but it isn't like EVERYONE is doing it where you are. I don't understand what the PANIC does for people. I love how people freak out with storms, here, too. I mean, we only get snow for SIX MONTHS A YEAR... you'd think they'd be used to it by now.

I'm just waiting for the first snowfall when everyone acts like they've imported native Floridians up here to drive in snow for the first time.

magenta321 · #21 10-24-2005, 07:24 PM

That's me too :wave:

This will be my 11th year driving and I'm still terrified of driving in snow. The five spun-out cars on the main road on my way home (it's maybe 1/4 mile long...) and the fact that I couldn't get down that hill safely without purposely driving into the snow banks to slow me down that I experienced last year did me in even worse. Enough to make me buy an all wheel drive car. But then again, there were SUVs that were spun out and stuck in the melee too... :/

There's fear everywhere. Fear is ok. I understand fear.

But... there are dumb people every where too. I have a patient who cancelled her appointment for tomorrow. "Didn't you hear, we're going to have a NorEaster!"

I guess no one mentioned to her that it's too warm to snow, so the rain she'll get tomorrow will be no different than the weeks of rain we've been experiencing.