What the heck am I doing writing something like this? Well, I'm tried of seeing these signs around Whittier saying not to drill in our hills, and those same people (well everybody I guess these days) is complaining about the high cost of gas (and I'm not in the greatest of moods). Here's my two cents worth...IT'S YOUR FAULT!
Maybe it's not all your fault, but at least a portion of it is. Let me try to lay out my reasoning for this. Keep in mind that although I used to work for Chevron, I do not anymore. And while that may allow me to have a little additional information than the average person, in no way does that make me an expert on this subject. I'm just trying to apply some common sense. I accept arguments that have solid logic behind them, which is why I have such an issue with this topic, which has become somewhat more of an issue locally since there is a big deal being made about new (or resumed) drilling in the Whittier Hills. So please try to hear me out. If you have an opinion on this, please feel free to post it.
Everybody is upset now that crude is over $100 per barrel and about $4.00 per gallon at the pump. So let's take a step back and look at this from what I feel is a logical point of view. Speculators (who are an issue all by themselves in my opinion) are the ones who increase the cost for a barrel of crude, based on their speculation of current conditions. Lately this seems to based on the conflicts in the Middle East. That is somewhat understandable, but until they oil supply is cut off from the rest of the world, there should not be an issue.
However, even if they decided to cut off our supplies, you would think we would have enough access to oil elsewhere in the world to help us get through a crisis like that. This is where my biggest complaint comes into play and where I think a lot of the logic of people (at least some) complaining has no weight in my opinion. You want us to be less reliant on foreign oil (more specifically the Middle East), but you don't want to drill locally because of your fear of some type of accident and how that may affect you. While this is a valid concern, it's like saying you're scared to fly because of the plane crashes you hear about. yes, they happen, but they are few and far between. So, if we go with that argument, then we should not drill near any of our national population.
But wait! We can't drill offshore because of the same concerns and how that would affect sea life. So we can't drill offshore either. Therefore, we are required to rely on foreign oil, a large portion of which is in the Middle East. But per the speculators, they could cut off our supply anytime. So, we can't drill near US population, we can't drill offshore because we might hurt some sea life, and a large part of our foreign supply could be lost at any minute. Ever heard of supply and demand??? Decreased supply + roughly the same demand = increased prices.
One more key point that needs to be brought up, which I didn't know before I worked for Chevron...The refineries (i.e. Chevron, Shell, Cononco, etc.) do not get their crude supply from within the company. The very small part of the crude they do get from their own company, they still have to pay the Upstream (drilling/exploration) "company" within the company and they are charging the increased per barrel cost you hear about on the market (although they buy months in advance). So, the costs to refineries to process the crude into fuel that we can use increase when the market price increases, and they have to make up for that increase somehow. SO they charge the stations (most of which are like license agreements and not owned by the oil companies) have to pay the higher prices for gas to get it to their stations to sell to us. Therefore, they must pass their increased costs onto us, which coupled with the whole supply and demand thing, explains why prices are so high. And again, I argue that this is at least somewhat self-inflicted because we force ourselves to rely on foreign oil.
Oh, and please stop with the "Don't buy gas from this station" or "Don't buy gas on this day" chain e-mails. snopes.com explains it very well why those are so poorly thought out approaches. Those just piss me off when I see them
What are your thoughts?
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
5 Months
I find it hard to believe that I have been out of work for 5 months now. We are still in our house and current on payments we are current on all payments and actually have a little money to spare for the time being thanks to receiving my pension benefit this week. When this layoff hit, I looked at the money I knew I had coming as part of the severance and figured we could make it into January without much trouble. Here we are, March 2, and we're still here and in better shape than I imagined we would be in at this point. This all points to one thing...God provides! He has provided in so many ways. I feel so unworthy to receive all these gifts and love, but I know God is providing it all. So I will humbly accept what He is providing for us.
Don't get me wrong, unemployment sucks. I'm just trying to make the best of it since that's the situation I (and the family) am in. It has it's advantages, but the disadvantages can be down right scary. I'm receiving the maximum unemployment possible, but that is equal to about 3 days of work at my last job and I'm only receiving it once every two weeks. We've made some necessary adjustments and continue to look at additional ways to cut costs. I think next up is cell phone cost cuts. The funny thing is I'll probably end up with a better phone while saving pretty significant money every month ($60-80/month). We were able to get our lender to temporarily (up to 6 months) lower our mortgage payment about 75%. I just received my pension benefit (not my 410(k)...still haven't touched that thankfully) and it was bigger than expected.
Obviously, unemployment is the big life situation that has been at the forefront for sometime now, 5 months to be exact, but there is other good stuff going on that keeps me excited, hopeful and happy. (Please indulge me while I talk about them.)
First, I'm coaching Courtney and Skyler's softball team. Based on the age cutoffs for the League, this will be the only year they play on the same team. It seemed like a no-brainer to coach this year. Last Saturday was supposed to be our first game, but it got rained out, despite it not actually raining last Saturday. I'm sure the field was pretty soggy from the all the rain the day and night before, though. Regardless, our first game is this Saturday now and I am excited. All the girls on the team seem to be having a good time, which is good. I'm excited to see how they do in games,
Second, I joined a Bible Study small group about a month ago. This is something I've wanted to do because I know my knowledge of the Bible is well below where it should be. Fortunately, a friend of mine invited me to join his group and since I already knew most of the guys at least a little, it has been easy to fit in to the group. The way this group is setup is pretty much what I had hoped for in a Bible Study group. it's a great group of guys and as of yesterday, we all began the challenge.journey of reading through the Bible in an entire year. I haven't done this before, and after studying John1 the other night, I'm really looking forward to making this reading a daily part of my life. This group is also planning a men's retreat for our church this fall, which should be fun. I haven't gone to the men's retreat before because it's always been in October and, if you know me, that means the playoffs and World Series are happening then. But if we are planning it, you can bet I'll go as long as I can afford it.
Next up, the cruise. Having a photographer for a wife has its perks. In just over three weeks, she will be shooting a wedding her sister-in-law's sister's wedding. What does this entail? Well, they are getting married on a cruise. It's been worked out to where Traci and I get to go on the cruise for FREE as payment for her photography services! I am so looking forward to this. A vacation will be very nice, especially while unemployed. I do have to miss one softball game, but I've got good coaches that will cover well for me. (I'm so glad I have the coaches that I have!) Unfortunately we can't take the kids with us, but they will have fun with my parents that weekend, I'm sure.
I'm hoping to be able to make another trip or two come July. There are two out of town weddings I/we would love to go to. The first is a cousin's wedding in Colorado in mid-July. We go the save the date card, but this will be the toughest trip to make (of the three out of town weddings we have the opportunity to go to) because it would involve flying all four of us or driving to Colorado. Gas prices are soaring so that's a lot less appealing, and flying 4 of us wouldn't be cheap. I suspect this is a trip we won't make. One of my best friends is getting married in late July in St. Louis and has asked me to be a part of the wedding if I can make it out. He knows and understands my job situation, thankfully, but I really want to be a part of this. This is a trip I would go solo on, which would be much less costly than the Colorado trip. It will depend on what kind of tax refund we get (should know in the next week or so), whether or not I get my annual Chevron bonus, as was rumored to be the case for those who were laid off, and whether or not I get a job. Even if I do have a job and they are unwilling to let me take one or two days off to travel (understandable), I could work the travel out I'm sure. It would just be a lot quicker turnaround than I would like.
There is some slight movement on the job front. I received an e-mail yesterday from the Southern California Gas Company saying they would like to interview me for position. The last time I submitted a resume to them was a few weeks ago. It took some time on their end, but I was glad to hear from them. Now I'm just waiting to hear back as to when they would like to interview me. They asked about my availability next Monday and Tuesday so I figure it will be then. Let's keep those prayers coming. God has provided so much up to this point and I know He's now stopping now. He has a plan and He will show it in time.
Don't get me wrong, unemployment sucks. I'm just trying to make the best of it since that's the situation I (and the family) am in. It has it's advantages, but the disadvantages can be down right scary. I'm receiving the maximum unemployment possible, but that is equal to about 3 days of work at my last job and I'm only receiving it once every two weeks. We've made some necessary adjustments and continue to look at additional ways to cut costs. I think next up is cell phone cost cuts. The funny thing is I'll probably end up with a better phone while saving pretty significant money every month ($60-80/month). We were able to get our lender to temporarily (up to 6 months) lower our mortgage payment about 75%. I just received my pension benefit (not my 410(k)...still haven't touched that thankfully) and it was bigger than expected.
Obviously, unemployment is the big life situation that has been at the forefront for sometime now, 5 months to be exact, but there is other good stuff going on that keeps me excited, hopeful and happy. (Please indulge me while I talk about them.)
First, I'm coaching Courtney and Skyler's softball team. Based on the age cutoffs for the League, this will be the only year they play on the same team. It seemed like a no-brainer to coach this year. Last Saturday was supposed to be our first game, but it got rained out, despite it not actually raining last Saturday. I'm sure the field was pretty soggy from the all the rain the day and night before, though. Regardless, our first game is this Saturday now and I am excited. All the girls on the team seem to be having a good time, which is good. I'm excited to see how they do in games,
Second, I joined a Bible Study small group about a month ago. This is something I've wanted to do because I know my knowledge of the Bible is well below where it should be. Fortunately, a friend of mine invited me to join his group and since I already knew most of the guys at least a little, it has been easy to fit in to the group. The way this group is setup is pretty much what I had hoped for in a Bible Study group. it's a great group of guys and as of yesterday, we all began the challenge.journey of reading through the Bible in an entire year. I haven't done this before, and after studying John1 the other night, I'm really looking forward to making this reading a daily part of my life. This group is also planning a men's retreat for our church this fall, which should be fun. I haven't gone to the men's retreat before because it's always been in October and, if you know me, that means the playoffs and World Series are happening then. But if we are planning it, you can bet I'll go as long as I can afford it.
Next up, the cruise. Having a photographer for a wife has its perks. In just over three weeks, she will be shooting a wedding her sister-in-law's sister's wedding. What does this entail? Well, they are getting married on a cruise. It's been worked out to where Traci and I get to go on the cruise for FREE as payment for her photography services! I am so looking forward to this. A vacation will be very nice, especially while unemployed. I do have to miss one softball game, but I've got good coaches that will cover well for me. (I'm so glad I have the coaches that I have!) Unfortunately we can't take the kids with us, but they will have fun with my parents that weekend, I'm sure.
I'm hoping to be able to make another trip or two come July. There are two out of town weddings I/we would love to go to. The first is a cousin's wedding in Colorado in mid-July. We go the save the date card, but this will be the toughest trip to make (of the three out of town weddings we have the opportunity to go to) because it would involve flying all four of us or driving to Colorado. Gas prices are soaring so that's a lot less appealing, and flying 4 of us wouldn't be cheap. I suspect this is a trip we won't make. One of my best friends is getting married in late July in St. Louis and has asked me to be a part of the wedding if I can make it out. He knows and understands my job situation, thankfully, but I really want to be a part of this. This is a trip I would go solo on, which would be much less costly than the Colorado trip. It will depend on what kind of tax refund we get (should know in the next week or so), whether or not I get my annual Chevron bonus, as was rumored to be the case for those who were laid off, and whether or not I get a job. Even if I do have a job and they are unwilling to let me take one or two days off to travel (understandable), I could work the travel out I'm sure. It would just be a lot quicker turnaround than I would like.
There is some slight movement on the job front. I received an e-mail yesterday from the Southern California Gas Company saying they would like to interview me for position. The last time I submitted a resume to them was a few weeks ago. It took some time on their end, but I was glad to hear from them. Now I'm just waiting to hear back as to when they would like to interview me. They asked about my availability next Monday and Tuesday so I figure it will be then. Let's keep those prayers coming. God has provided so much up to this point and I know He's now stopping now. He has a plan and He will show it in time.
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