another thing I love.

Okay, I've calmed down a little since that earlier outburst. (It helps that the tosspot spammers have apparently moved on; at least I'm not getting any more "you bad person you, sending us spam!" bouncebacks).

But I have to mention another thing I love all to pieces, especially in this era of high gas prices and my having little time to go out and shop:

I love Amazon Prime.

Yes, it's kind of expensive - I think it's $79 for a year. But that gives you free all-you-can-use access to 2-day shipping on most books, cds, and dvds. Even to addresses that aren't yours...so you can use it to send gifts to people.

The most recent thing I ordered, just today? Season 2 of "House" on dvd. I debated about it a long time - I MIGHT be able to get it cheaper at Target, but I don't know when I'm going to be going out driving that direction (it's an hour's round trip) next. And I've almost run through Season 1 even though I kind of save and "dole out" episodes to myself so I don't blow through the new-to-me episodes all at once.

It's been only about a year and a half that I've even HAD a dvd player; I'm slowly learning the joys of having one. I love the idea of being able to buy whole runs of television shows I like. I love being able to find obscure movies and obtain copies of them.

Oh, I had a VCR before. But the tapes can wear out if you watch them too much; they're big and unwieldy; there's no good way to skip ahead to another section. And more stuff can be fit on a dvd than on VHS tape. And the reproduction quality seems better to me (that might just be because I have a better tv now).

But I was talking about Amazon Prime. I love that I can decide, kind of on a whim, that I want a book or a cd or a dvd, and instead of having to wait until I have time to drive somewhere to buy it (or hope one of the local stores, like wal-mart has it - which, with books at least, generally the answer is "no"), I can order it and have it show up on my doorstep in 2 days. Wonderful. What brave new world with such people in it, and all that.

It's a really wonderful thing for those of us who live in the 'sticks' where the option of running to Border's or Barnes and Noble's or the local indie bookstore ISN'T an option because these things don't exist in our towns.

And there's something oddly comforting, oddly self-caring, about being able to order a book you want, and come home from work some afternoon, and hey presto, there it is, waiting for you.

(Much of my "disposable income" goes to books these days. And dvds. I've never been a "shoe" or "purse" woman; I'm not that big on buying clothing. But books - they are friends that never let me down.)