I see "The Gay Quiz" advertisement is back up on my site... Interesting. Thanks, Google Adsense for posting relevant content to my site (but really, Google, you know I love you and your Adsense).

So once again, gas prices have hit a record high in the United States.

At this point, it's only a matter of time until we hit $4/gallon and companies like Exxon will likely continue to post record profits, yet we will continue not to care. Why? Because people have a hard time sticking to anything that requires a new commitment.

We say that we're going to eat better, but then the wonderful greasy smell of Tito's Tacos on your drive home makes you put it off another day. We say that you're going to join a gym, but then we realize that we just really need another iPod. We often do the things that we say we'd never do, but then we convince ourselves that we're not actually selling out.

Welcome to the world of cognitive dissonance - where we do things that we know we shouldn't, but create compromises in our own minds so that we can live with ourselves. We'll pledge to buy a hybrid for our next car, no matter the cost (See: Me), but then justify the purchase of a 31/38 MPG compact car because of how much easier it'll be to parallel park with the third smallest car in the United States (1. Smart Car 2. Mini Cooper 3. Scion xA). I tell myself that I bought a car with good fuel economy and one that does minimal damage to the environment, but in the end, it's still not a hybrid. But I justify it to myself by looking at Ford Explorers and Yukons, thinking that I'm saving more gas than them...even though I drive by myself 95% of the time and probably don't.

Cognitive dissonance, it's a beautiful thing.

In Los Angeles, we say that you just can't survive without a car in this city. We say, "You could take the bus!" And follow this statement up with a laugh, because really, what could be more ridiculous?

I'm totally kidding.

However, it does just take forever to get anywhere using public transportation in Los Angeles, which is probably the reason why many people choose not to take it (this doesn't include the train, which people tell me is actually pretty nice!). I remember growing up in Mill Creek, Washington, we had a field trip where we got to ride the Community Transit buses (probably a step up from LA's Big Blue Bus that cruises around West LA) and it was such a thrill for me as an elementary school student.

I thought I would take the bus all the time! $.50 for ultimate freedom! And the bus flexed in the middle! Incredible!

Did I ever take it after that field trip? No.

Because a car was easier.

The only two times I've ridden a bus in Los Angeles were very different. I took the Dash from USC to the Los Angeles Convention Center for the LA Auto Show once. It was nice! Much better than I thought. However, I was forced to take the Metro (the orange one) back to USC because the Dash had stopped running. I have been in many a public restroom that smelled significantly better than that bus that afternoon. To this day, that is probably one of the worst smelling places I have ever been. This is how I justify to myself that I need that "new car smell," instead of the smell of poop emanating from individuals and soiled cloth covered benches inside the metro.

Wow, this got off topic.

Watching that video, I am just wondering how much money these older women are spending on gas to make it across the country in their SUV. Unfortunately, everything about those ladies (not in a bad way) screamed "old money," which made their road trip a bit easier for them to swallow. Show me a guy who is driving across the country with his McDonald's uniform on from work and smiling about it, then it'll matter to me.

Gas is expensive. It was $.87/gallon when I started driving. The other day, I spent $3.55/gallon here in LA and it didn't even phase me. I remember when I made $18 at a garage sale and thought I was rich. Today, $18 would put my gas tank a little bit above the middle and would be a little under a quarter tank on an Escalade. It's not inflation, it's gas companies getting paid.