Monday already. Le sigh. I am already bored of 2004.

I think I forgot to mention how, on Friday morning, Mr. Pink managed to concuss himself on our wall. And you can laugh (as I did) because he isn't really that hurt. Apparently, he was so eager to head out and face the day, he "bounded" (his word) down the stairs and whacked his head against the overhang above the steps. He kept going down the stairs, and then, according to his reenactment for me on Friday evening, he slid down the wall in the hallway and sat on the floor, stunned, for a few minutes before continuing on. I don't know if I am telling this in a very funny way, though. Oh well.

Since Dan-o was all concussy this weekend, we spent a lot of it doing low-key errands and watching football, which is totally okay. I am about halfway through making some really rad fingerless gloves out of hott pink mohair (although a construction mistake on them last night threw me into a fit of hideous rage, and the only thing that could calm me was watching poker on ESPN), so that occupied much of the time. It's nice to sort of hole up in the house from time to time, so all things told, I was very pro-this weekend, Mr. Pink's goose egg notwithstanding.

Oh and! I have been meaning to say. Since I got back from my beloved homeland -- duh, Pittsburgh -- for the holidays, I have heard more national news stories about it than possibly ever before. Of course, not so much because of excellent news coming out of the city. More about, you know, a hideous budget shortfall leading to the city being designated "distressed." Eep. I love the idea, by the way, of the commuter tax for so many reasons (and unshockingly, this puts me at odds with the aforelinked editorial from crazypants Richard Scaife's "news-" paper), so I am following with great interest the other stuff that shakes down.

Comments

[mark]

why why WHY would you love this insane bullshit tax? it's now actually going to cost me MORE to work here than when i lived within the city limits and paid that god-awful 3% wage tax that mr. murphy and his council cronies squandered.

it's called taxation without representation. i'm sure you've heard of it.

the ways in which the city government has been mismanaged (for decades, it's not just a recent thing) are astounding...so much so that i don't have the time or energy to get into them right now. but suffice it to say, though i am not the type of knee-jerk "no new taxes" kind of guy that most people 'round here are, i am STAUNCHLY against this one on many levels.

[Sarah]

Oh, I just believe that suburbanites should be taxed to the max for making so much sprawl and gross Wal-marted landscape full of heinous housing developments when there is pre-existing infrastructure in the city (which is taken advantage of but not paid for by suburb-dwellers). Live in the city you work in, people, and leave the countryside as country! Sprawl, boo-urns.

And seriously, a $10 commuter tax is all you all have been paying up til now? Cry me a fucking river.

Of course, none of this applies to you, kitten, just to the other Starbucksheads. Kiss!

[mark]

Live in the city you work in, people, and leave the countryside as country!

ahem...you live where? and you work where?

good. i'm glad we cleared that up.

[Sarah]

Hey, man, I am talking about an ideal here! Plus, as we have established, I am being held captive!

And, also, for the record, I would gladly pay a commuter tax! Especially if that would help them, you know, clear the fucking snow off the roads!

[R]

so, mark, it makes sense for people that work in the city and live outside the city to contribute just $10 per year to the upkeep of the city? really? even though we have all the good hospitals, all the corporate headquarters, all the sports stadiums, museums and libraries? do you think cranberry would exist if pittsburgh did not exist? i agree the city should tighten its belt, and watch motznik and peduto make it happen on city council - they will.