I am completely oblivious to the world around me.
I mean, not *really*. I know what’s going on in the world. I read the news, I watch TV, I get invitations to join Facebook groups that will totally make gas cheaper if enough people sign up. I know, man. I am in the zone.
Perhaps “oblivious” isn’t the right word to use here – “disaffected” might be closer. None of it really affects me, and while that doesn’t mean that I don’t *care* about the Big Issues of the Day, it also means that I am not nearly in enough of a tizzy about it all.
Cases in point:
The housing market is a horrible disaster: I don’t own a house and I’m not looking to buy one. I am a happy renter not living in the west end, and my landlord doesn’t seem to have any plans to condo-ize the building. I don’t have a mortgage, I am not being foreclosed, I do not live in any sort of ghost town. Yes, the housing market is scary right now. It doesn’t affect me in any way.
Gas prices are higher than they’ve ever been and higher than people in the 60’s could probably count: yes, gas prices are insane. However, I don’t drive a large car. In fact, we drive our own car so rarely that one fill up generally lasts us 3 weeks or more. When we do need to fuel the Mazdabator, we never fill the tank completely. Gas prices are terrible, but $25 in car gas lasts us just as long as it did last year. My primary mode of transportation from March to November is my scooter, and at less than $5 a week, I’m just not feeling the gas crunch.
Global warming has caused all the crops to wither and die and food is too expensive so people have to use food stamps: We don’t do a lot of grocery shopping, and when we do, we’re not feeding a large family. Yes, food is expensive, but when you’re buying such small amounts you don’t really feel the pinch as much. I make an effort to buy as local as I can (and if not BC, then definitely Canadian-grown), because shelling out $6 for BC corn is a much better idea to me than paying $4 for American corn. I’m patriotic like that, and I am fortunate enough to be able to afford to make these decisions. Does Canada even HAVE food stamps? I honestly don’t know.
The biggest pain in the ass the crop-harming weather has had for me is that my Okanagan cherries (aka Allergy Bombs) aren’t as large or as firm as I like them to be. Yes, it truly does suck to be me.
Random severed feet are showing up along BC’s coast lines: Everyone I know still has two feet.
Gas prices are so high they’re causing problems for soccer moms because they can’t afford to drive little Timmy to baseball and little Suzie to ballet: snort.
Maybe I’m just a carefree bastard, but none of this really bothers me much at all. I just roll with the punches, and try to do my part – recycle, think about how my lifestyle might affect the environment, make an effort to clean up after assholes on the beach who litter, etc. I can’t claim that I live a completely green lifestyle, but I do try. If I have to have a carbon footprint, it’s going to be as tiny as I can get it – it may not cure cancer, but it gives me a smug sense of satisfaction that is just lovely.
I’m not oblivious, but I’m not a statistic either.
Are the major issues of the day affecting you? How so? Share your woes/smug hipster ways with me!
delicious juice dot com 
No, I am in much the same situation as you. I am a homeowner, but units in our building are still selling for significantly more than we bought ours for (and we don’t plan to sell anytime soon), so we’re not worried. Also, we’re not concerned about interest rates, since we got our mortgage when they were high, and the rate has been consistently dropping (huzzah for the floating interest rate loan).
We don’t own a car, and gas is included in the one we drive. I also haven’t noticed the food prices changing – partially because we haven’t been home to buy food much recently, and partly because we don’t buy much food as a two-person family.
I was certainly miffed when NutroMax discontinued the variety of dog food we were feeding Sasha and we had to go from lamb to chicken (the horror!), but considering I’m just too lazy to go to a raw food diet for her, I suppose I can’t complain.
Mine is, “The Baby Boomers Are All Going to Retire and Businesses Won’t Have Enough Personnel to Staff Them, oh noes!” HR departments have been figuring and re-figuring out the dates for this disaster just about my whole Gen X life, but still haven’t done anything to attract or retain this holy grail of younger people they purport to need. And yet, meh. They’ll get what they get, then, won’t they?
(Warning: the previous statement contained sweeping generalizations.)
I rent and I don’t drive, so OMG HOUSING and OMG TEH GAS affect me not a bit. I visited my friend in SoCal and she was having a cow that the gas went up ten cents a gallon on a daily basis (it really did, I saw it), but I am just kind of like uh, what are you gonna do about it? Nothing, you’re stuck. Just by not driving alone, I am some kind of eco-warrior, I swear.
Hee, Jenertia, do you work at a university? Our version of that is “Oh Crap They’re All Retiring And We Don’t Have Anyone Who Knows What They Do, But Thanks To Budget Cuts We Can’t Even Hire Replacements Any More.”
I am just happy I am in a layoff-proof job. I’m bored of it, but I’m not gonna be last-hired-first-fired again, so I’m not leaving.
Also, apparently it’s “Jen’s weigh-in day” on teh deliciousjuice blog.
Also, meh. This week we have become victims of the housing crunch, being served with an eviction notice because someone complained about an illegal suite downstairs. It’s okay, it’s only me, my wife and my 4 and six year old being put onto the street. And the other 5 people in the building.
You can all go back to being smug now. It’s doesn’t affect you, after all. Yet.
See Matt, that changes everything – now someone I know and care about is affected by it, so I’m concerned. Yeah, it doesn’t affect ME, but you’re in my bubble regardless of how far away so it hits a lot closer to home now. I’m really sorry to hear that, and I hope you find a place soon. If you’re thinking of moving to Vancouver, let me know and I’ll hunt down a place for you. :)
Well, at least the rental market in Van is not as tight … we’re waiting to hear back from our mortgage broker. I was hoping to stay in our current hell-hole for a couple of years and bank some $$, but maybe now’s the time to take out a really, really big loan.
Did I mention meh? Strangely, a mere four hours before being served with the eviction notice, we purchased non-refundable plane tickets to Japan for November. Woot! I think it’s a sign. You know, buy a house, take a vacation kind of sign. :)
I am jealous – I would dearly love to go to Japan. Can I come? I could be your nanny! Quick, someone tell me how to nan so I can go to Japan!
It costs the same to fly to Japan as it does to Halifax or Castlegar. WTF? At work when I process invoices (fun) I really see how much we are paying in fuel surcharges, and you bet these costs are passed along to the guests, but I have never seen a fuel surcharge like the one on four round trip tickets to Japan. Holy shit.
You should come!
Heh, this is the second time I’ve been surprised to see this shortcut reasoning from a fellow geek. :-) If gas prices are on a steady rise you’d be saving money if you always filled the tank completely.
We have a car and drive it (I drive Vancouver -> Burnaby four days a week), but I’m fine with the higher gas prices. Unlike most cars around here, ours is a sensible low-end model with good mileage. North Americans need to start buying cars that fit their driving needs; so far everyone seem to just buy the biggest and most expensive car they can afford.