My newest gripe: gas stations

First off, they haven't been simple "gas stations" since the 1970s but that's another story for another day. Today it hit me as I stood alongside my car filling it with rather costly gasoline: gas stations are really annoying. It really hit me while at this particular Kwik Trip as I was barraged with obnoxious music fit best for a slow ride on an elevator bound for hell.

I don't quite know when it became the norm for mega convenience stores to assault our auditory senses in this fashion. I know that in the past couple years that too many Twin Cities-area Holiday stations have added those annoying as hell televisions at their pumps so we can be punched in the face with messages from KSTP-TV and KARE-TV about their breaking news and endless loops consisting of promos for their respective network's shows which I care nothing about.

But in the end the music coming over the speakers sealed the deal for me. I might actually seek out backwoods-type gas stations totally lacking in technology, ambiance and general safety to avoid this full-on assault on my senses just to avoid hearing ultra-shitty and non-offensive soft rock hits, the store's latest specials and a clerk announcing which pump is clear for takeoff - please pay inside when done!

Cut all the crap. I'm here to fill my car with gas. I don't give a damn about being surrounded with music so knock it off. I don't want a damn "experience". I want my fucking gas so I can get back on the freeway and find something else to think about writing here because it seems like more and more of life's conveniences aren't exactly pleasing. Maybe I should start scouting out land in the middle of Montana and get the hell away from civilization before a crosswalk/stoplight with a timer sends me completely off the edge.

One of the few things keeping me sane is MinnPics. The photographers populating Minnesota create some amazing photos and I'm lucky enough to be a part of the further sharing of them so go - now - check them out!