I planned on flying to Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia over the course of my vacation. Then I realized that travelling over the Memorial Day weekend was going to be nearly impossible: many of my airline's flights were booked, overbooked, delayed, cancelled, and--well, you get the idea.

I may still try to fly somewhere later this week. But living in Florida is a vacation in itself; beautiful Tampa Bay is only a short drive away, and I'm within shouting distance of Busch Gardens. I also kicked around the idea of driving to Orlando (Disney World! Sea World! Universal Studios!), but with gas tipping the scales at almost four bucks a gallon, that'd be the height of insanity. (Note to Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman: now might be a good time to tap those oil reserves.) In any case, I've stocked up on beer, pizza, ice cream, and Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union. That doesn't give me anything to complain about.