Rising oil prices have been on my mind. If you're not regularly thinking about it, I wouldn't understand why unless you're very wealthy.

The problem is my 48-mile daily commute (RT). I've looked into our local Metro Pool, which matches up people who want to drive together, www.nuride.com, the trains, even buying a scooter. Working from home right now is not an option, though i plan to re-request it again at my 6-month review. The trains and scooter aren't practical for me and i couldn't find a rider through the 1st 2 programs.

Then I spoke with my neighbor who lives behind me (the ones whose dog was killed by coyotes). I spoke with the wife, L., whose husband S. commutes in daily to the same city I do, but he's about 2 miles north of where i go on the same highway. His hours are a little different; he gets out a 1/2 hour later than i do. (When my summer hours end, he'll also have to be at work a 1/2 hour earlier than me.)

She said she'd talk to him and have him call me if he was interested. That was last weekend and i was disappointed that he never called. Then i ran into her today walking her Shepherd and a new golden retriever puppy she got. She mentioned that her husband was "open to it" and just hadn't had a chance to call me back yet. I'm psyched!!!

My proposal to him will be that we share rides 4 days a week; he drives 2, i drive 2. (Downside: we'd have to allow an extra 10 minutes for him to drop me off on days he drives.) And since i get out of work 30 minutes before him and becus i love walking and fitting in exercise, i would make it a habit to begin walking north on the secondary (4 lanes) highway we both work on. I'm not sure what point i could reach in 30 minutes, but once i tried it that could be our predetermined pickup spot when it was his turn to drive. It would shave a little bit off his drive. It's a very busy roadway filled with offices, retail, gas stations, etc.

And as for me dropping him off and picking him up, it wouldn't be a problem at all since his office is on my way. So i'm really hoping he calls and we can work something out. Though even doing this, we'd both only cut 2 days worth of driving from our costs each week. Well, hey, that's actually a 40% savings, so it IS significant. I would JUMP to do that becus i see no other way to cut my gas expenses. He and his wife both drive gas guzzlers so it could help him even more.

One more thought: he's so tall i hope his head wouldn't hit the ceiling of my Honda. He might not like that.

Blistering heat today. Not sure what i'll do with the day besides my a.m. eye doc appointment. Maybe I'll try to continue piecing together that cabinet that R. helped me with yesterday. And maybe I should pick most of the tiny lettuce i've got since this heat will make it bolt (turn bitter) for sure.

To help everyone on the east coast stay cool today, picture this:



(That's my toolshed you see in the nor'easter of '06.)