Saturday, May 10, 2008

Ends, Means, Justification: All In A Row In Some Semblance of Order...

After three days of desperation, Jen said to me, "You realize we are actually counting on the Bush administration to do something right for a change."

Things have been tight for us lately. Mounting doctor bills for both of us, rent going up, time missed from work... we've had to live relatively low. Not that we are crazy spendaholics. But we have had to take a few more nights in at home lately, and shop more for value than taste as regards the grocery bill, which is something into which one should never be forced. And I had just taken a small vacation -- hotel room, concert ticket, personal shopping -- up in the Monterey Bay area a couple of weeks ago. Right now, things are tight.

So, we had to really justify doling out some more green to see the reunion tour for The Kids in the Hall last Friday. We didn't have to justify it artistically, though. "It's The Kids in the Hall!," Jen practically shrieked. "We have to go!" Jen doesn't shriek a lot -- really, at all -- so this was a pretty emotional state for her. Myself, I could easily have made the same statement, only I would have colored it with a carefully chosen expletive to prove my point -- mainly because I loves me some expletives -- but, for once, I was straining to remain rational even as my heart was breaking at the prospect of missing one of my favorite comedy troupes live on stage.

Economically, we justified it by turning to the Bush Administration and their impending stimulus package. I had been calling it a "stimulant" package for weeks, mainly because I figured most of the people receiving it would simply have to buy $600 worth of stimulants of one sort or another to drink oneself into the belief that this ridiculous move would actually help the economy, outside of in an extremely minor way. But I have one of those lower-numbered SSNs which would cause me to receive my stimulus package well ahead of most of America, and the happy news was that my payment was supposed to be landing by the night of the show we wished to see. It was nearly perfect timing -- perfect enough for our purposes -- but just before we made the decision, Jen dropped the bomb regarding that political burr in our side.

And now we are hypocrites, because, for just a couple of days, we actually became dependent on W. We hated the notion, but there it is. I am a whore. Bought and sold like the rest of America. (I say this like I wasn't already. Please, allow me this delusion.) As soon as I found out the drop date for my payment, I slapped down my credit card and purchased a couple of tickets for the show. Luckily, they were still available, though we did end up in the last row of the balcony. The plus side was that they were on the aisle, and in the center of the theatre. (We found out later the other plus to these seats: that they made access to the bathrooms, exits and bar area exceedingly simple, far more so than for most of the rest of the audience.)

And now, thanks to Bush and his oil-sucking cronies, we were going to the show. It was a bitter pill to have to swallow --- but it's the motherfucking Kids in the Hall, for gay baby Jesus' sake!

See? I told you I would have said it with a little bit more in the way of color. And it's totally justified...

1 comment:

The Working Dead said...

I am right there with you. Although I disliked the overall idea of the stimulus payment, we really, really needed it.

Although, not for anything as cool as the motherfuckin kids in the motherfuckin hall.

Motherfucker(you see, I'm just a wee bit jealous).

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