Four years of poly sci and NOW is when I get it?

After a conversation with Megan today and watching a rerun of "The West Wing" on Bravo, I finally understand something about taxes.

Megan asked me why we even have taxes in the first place. I remember asking the very same question when I was her age and my weekly income rose above 15 dollars a week I could scrounge up from my parents and various holidays. However, I don't remember getting the same flippant answer I gave Megan:

"The government's not going to repave over potholes if we don't send them SOME money..."

We then extrapolated that, without taxes, the traffic lights wouldn't work, and, in essence, without taxes everyone in America would die.

That's right. Taxes bring life, or at least prevention of death by traffic-related incidents.

After talking to Meg, I realized that wasn't such a flippant answer...it may have come quickly, but there might be some truth there.

Then, during the "West Wing" rerun, Martin Sheen's character says something about the fact that a ten word answer at a debate calling for lower taxes sounds great to everyone, but what are the next ten words? What ten words could explain how such a plan to constantly lower taxes could help us continue to have safe streets, clean water, and a million dollars a day to fight a war in Iraq?

So I started to realize something that my parents probably realized years ago: taxes are a necessity for living in any country, but the answer of how much, and how those taxes are used, is up for debate. Lots of debate. It almost makes my head hurt thinking about how much of the debate over political ideals really boils down to the amount I pay out at the end of each year. Sheesh!

Excuse me while I go and nurse my idealistic nature. Maybe I'll watch "The American President."

I can attest that my new blender works just fine, thank you. No blowing of fuses in my apartment, no electrical smoke. To test it, I decided to make a frozen margarita at 11pm last night. It was a slushy, watery affair, and the salt ring was a bit too generous, but I didn't have much time to be disturbed with my failure because I promptly fell asleep, having been exhausted before attempting the blended drink (or attempting to drink it).

Next time for margaritas: no more slushy frozen-style attempts. Tricia was right, just some ice in a glass with a salt rim will be perfect.

Next time for the blender: smoothies!

A-cha-cha!

Lots of small things:

* I made a no-dairy, no-sugar Pecan Pie last night. I haven't tried a slice since it needed to cool for a bit last night and I ended up going to bed, but the bit of pie filling that I swiped tasted pretty good! I forgot how good cooking with maple syrup vs. sugar can be (with just the tiniest pinch of stevia extract).

* Justin decided to take up knitting! I realized that I had quite a bit of knitting experience in my past, but that I didn't remember one technique. It's a bit like riding a bike, though. Once I did a few test stiches, I was able to remember the feel of it. We're just knitting for now, purl stiches come later...they just seem more advanced.

* I decided to lay down the cash for "high potency" Fish Oil (Omega-3, dude), which contains almost four time the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids per capsule. Mom and Dad had read up on how Fish Oil can benefit someone with an inflammatory disease (asthma, anyone?), so I decided to take some this morning.

I'm glad to say that, without my double dose of Excedrin and cup of coffee, my breathing is back to normal this morning and I feel better than usual.

Yea!

* For some reason, I have "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I feel fine)" stuck in my head.

The end. =)

Justin and I rang in the first week of our new year by scaring ourselves silly watching "Open Water."

Can I just echo what every reviewer has said about this movie (minus the overused "harrowing")? It keeps you on edge. The director/editor's timing is impeccable. The sharks are naturalistic and just a little bit more frightening than their "heightened reality" counterparts in other movies.

Kudos to the husband and wife team that dedicated their year's weekends to the shooting and editing of "Open Water." It reminds me of another husband and wife film team that I know...I'll have to check in on them very soon.

***

You have to check out Meg's art-for-sale page on eBay. Justin and I are addicted to her art, but we're restraining ourselves from bidding on everything.

Our withdrawal symptoms were drastically reduced, however, by this wonderful Christmas gift from Meg: