I had work to do for a deadline this coming Wednesday and I figured I would be staying home Friday, and most of the weekend.  Friday is my usual telecommute day, and at the end of it I usually drive down to Washington to gather with some friends at the 30 Degrees bar for drinks and a nice restaurant later.  But this Friday I couldn’t make it because I had to spend that time at the computer in my home office instead. 

When I came home last Thursday my little neighborhood street was packed almost solid with cars.  This should not be a hard city street to find parking on because it’s a little dogleg of a side street that only has rowhouses on one side of it.  On the other side are four widely spaced detached homes, some of which have their own parking pads anyway.  So that side of the street is usually open.  But we have two households here now on my end of the street, on the rowhouse side, that like to hog the available parking like they’re the only people who live here.  One of them is a little gay diva who rents his house out to two other people and between them and their friends parking on the street there isn’t much space left.  The other is a straight couple who just had a baby…so they’ve had family and friends over all week long.  Another guy is moving and he’s had friends over helping out.  The net result is that my little out of the way city street is suddenly hard to find parking on.  Last Thursday I had to park halfway up the street, and then wait for a space near my house to open up.  It wasn’t until Friday morning that I was finally able to park in front of my house.

So I started the weekend feeling reluctant to move the car anyway.  Having to fight for a parking space here is something I’m not used to.  In point of fact, I bought the house here on this street specifically because parking seemed to be no problem here, as opposed to some of the other densely rowhouse packed streets in the neighborhood.  Now I’m seriously considering putting a parking pad in the back yard, which would eliminate the only yard I’ve ever had in my life.  I kinda like having that little 8 by 15 foot patch of green grass back there…tiny as it is.  But I need a place to park my car, and there is always the even smaller front lawn I can always make a fuss over.

I’ve been busy at the computer most of my waking time this weekend, getting stuff done for work.  But I live within walking distance of two nice grocery stores, and Saturday evening after it had cooled down a bit, and then again early this morning, I was able to take a short walk to buy some food.  I also took a brief cigar walk around the neighborhood late last night, when I started getting cabin fever.  It’s a nice neighborhood to stroll around in, when it’s not sweltering.

But my cigar humidor is getting a tad empty.  I toyed briefly this afternoon with the thought of taking a quick drive to my favorite cigar store in Cockeysville and loading up.  So a few moments ago I checked outside to see what the parking situation looks like.  It’s still bad, but not horrible.  I thought it over for a moment.  There were just a few spaces on the street, but later, as guests go back home for the work week, more will probably open up.  But did I want to drive all the way out to Cockeysville just to buy cigars with gas prices being what they are now?  I still have a few good cigars left in the box to tide me over until I need to buy something else out in Cockeysville. 

Now…see what happened? I would probably be on the way home from my favorite cigar store right now, were it not for the price of gasoline.  It is making less and less sense these days to drive somewhere for just one item.  I can walk to two good grocery stores and a handful of drug stores to get most of my day to day necessities.  The things I need to drive outside the beltway to get I now find myself carefully planning out.  Instead of making several trips out there I try to make only one. 

The net result being that car sits in front of my house a lot more then it did when I bought it.  I’m still in new Mercedes love.  I still go outside periodically and just…stare…at that car like I just brought it home.  But you know…I’m finding I appreciate it all the more when I drive it less often.  Driving it has become something of a special occasion now.  The last time I bought gas was almost two weeks ago. 

I doubt I’m the only person making these sorts of calculations because gas has become so expensive.  I’ve noticed now for several weeks that traffic has been much, much lighter on the highways then usual.  Thing is, I haven’t actually started spending less on things like food and other necessities.  I’m holding off until I can combine trips, instead of getting stuff on an as-needed basis.  If that’s what other people are doing, then this isn’t necessarily hurting retail too badly.  On the other hand, I’m not shopping and impulse buying either.  I’m just buying things I need.  That’s probably hurting business.  But the housing bubble burst would have done that without the gas price spike.