So much, so little

I have so much to say, I think I will try to post whenever I have a couple of minutes... no, I'm not that busy, but I do have things to do, and as I'm not the world's fastest typer, a short post can take a long time...


So, first of all, about Tennessee. I want to talk about people/eating habits/fast food/shopping, of which I have discussed before, but I'm always taken aback when in Crossville.


One morning, in a shopping adventure, I decided to check out this one store that is going out of business, I think it's like a Kohl's department store, (it was closed anyway...) and that route takes me past Hardee's. I don't think that we even have Hardee's here, we have Harvey's which is pretty damned good fast food, and a staple of mine in University due to $1.19 bacon cheeseburgers, and good soup... but anyway... It was about 8:30 local time, and the Hardee's parking lot was absolutely full. The drive thru had at least 35 cars it in. Unbelievable. I know that they have a breakfast burrito, as I heard a commercial for it every 30 minutes, so I guess that's the draw... crazy.


On the way to the Super WalMart, I had to pass Rally's (which we don't have) McDonald's and BK. Guess what? They were all packed!


This is an area that is not rich, let's see according to City-Data.com, the average household income in 2005 was $25,100. Yikes! But it seems that everyone can afford to eat out for breakfast! I know that some may say that it is easier and more cost effective to eat out than make breakfast at home. Let's say the average fastfood breakfast is $5, (X 5 is $25, duh), well I'm pretty sure a box of cereal is $3, and milk is $2.50, and five bananas is $2, and a carton of orange juice is $2.50 and if only consumed at breakfast the cereal and OJ will last more than a week... total: $10, not to mention incredibly more healthy! You can buy a box of instant oatmeal with 8 servings for $2!


So what is the deal? Laziness I think... Also maybe a feeling that a person 'deserves' to treat themselves. I can imagine excuses like, 'I'm too busy to make breakfast'... but you have the time to sit in your car for 20 minutes in the drive-thru, wasting gas, not to mention if you had to drive out of your way to get that particular fast food outlet.


Around here, A LOT of people go to Tim Horton's. It's addictive, but not as expensive as American Starbucks'... only $1.37 for a large coffee... I can sort of understand that, as it mostly is just coffee, (ask SuprT) and it is also an important Canadian social custom (someone brings the coffee in, people meet at Tim's, or even the fact that the drive thru employee is the wife of a childhood friend... etc, etc..) still, Timmy's is not something I indulge in anymore than once a month... of course more when I was working... see, there's the excuse... It can cost a lot of money when you add it up... not to mention your time, the gas, etc. (Often I write etc. when I can't think of anything else to add... you got me!)