Monday, December 15, 2008

Well, Now I Know.

by Teresa

I have to admit, I’ve never understood why anyone would really need to drive a Hummer in Rhode Island.

But on Saturday, at the Warwick Mall, in the parking lot, I heard an engine roar, just behind my car, and then I saw a Hummer screech out into the oncoming traffic lane (luckily, no other cars were traveling in that lane at that moment).  The huge truck then cut a sharp turn up over a section of curbing, crashing onto a median that separated the travel lane from the parking space.  It launched up over the curb, and lurched into a parking spot on the other side of that median, slamming to a stop right in front of another car whose owner had been waiting patiently to get into that spot, as another vehicle pulled out.  (Thankfully, that other car wasn’t close enough to get crushed by the gigantic, gas-guzzling behemoth.)

So.  I guess.  Now I know.  Some people apparently need to drive enormous, pseudo-military-assault vehicles… in order to cheat other people out of parking spots when the mall is crowded with Christmas shoppers.

Happy Holidays.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Discouraging News about College (Un)Affordability

by Teresa

How’s this for a disheartening headline?  In the New York Times: “College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S. “  

And, from Babble.com (a great site for parents who want to kill a little time reading stuff online, by the way), check out this list of The 3 Most Common Mistakes in Saving for College .  I’m guilty of at least two out of the three.. especially the third one: Getting Discouraged.  My oldest kid is only in first grade, the youngest only in preschool, and I already feel like it will be impossible to pay for a good college education for either of my children.  Stories like the NYT article above are not helping me feel any more optimistic.