Rita effects beginning already

Just a quick report from Northern Virginia.

Thankfully, I'm working out my last few weeks at my present job in Herndon, VA, as I live in downtown DC. Anyway, at about 7pm I stopped into the Sterling, VA (near Dulles airport) Costco to top off my half full tank and shop. 24 pumps...10K gallons storage...dead for the remainder of the day. No gas.

I spoke to the clerk waving people off, and apparently they started selling about 2-3K gallons of gas an hour. Everyone is trying to fill up before expected increases from a Rita hit. They don't expect another truck until ~10am Thurs, and expect to be out again by noon, 1pm at the latest.

If Rita does hit the Houston/Galveston area, things are going to get bad very, very fast.

I have never been so happy about a job change in my life. I'll be really enjoying the new 1.4 mile commute on a bike or on foot.

•  I just put up a Rita open thread

  This would be a great comment there.  We need all the news we can get.

  by Plutonium Page on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:05:15 PM PDT

•  AAACK! SONOFABITCH!

  That's my Costco!

  by Kagro X on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:05:21 PM PDT

  •  so make sure you're there for that 10 AM

    tanker

    by guyermo on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:18:12 PM PDT

    •  I was there yesterday.

      So I'm full. I just didn't want that Elitist guy in my neighborhood!

      Ba-dum, ching!

      Anyway, I'm betting there's plenty of gas to be had around town. Costco tends to get runs like that. People thinking they can arbitrage against rising fuel prices by the half-tank.

      by Kagro X on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:33:35 PM PDT

      •  Well...

        You only have to deal me until Oct 7.

        by ElitistJohn on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:39:19 PM PDT

      •  well, i managed to ride-out katrina

        just fine. The last time i filled up my tank was the Saturday right before Katrina hit. Gas went up to 3.04/gal and now it's back down to 2.59/gal. I still have 5/8 of a tank left. I love being a college student with nowhere to go.

        by guyermo on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:50:39 PM PDT

•  Lack of commute is good

  I'm gassing up twice a month (and could even longer between fillups if I choose to never visit friends) and am very thankful I no longer have a 30-40 mile commute to work.  I may need a parttime job due to lost sales this summer (when all your money goes into your gas tank, you don't buy as many used CDs on ebay), but it'll have to be within walking distance.  

  by ssmt on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:05:41 PM PDT

  •  when I had my honda

    I used to run out of gas since I rarely had to buy any.  That was a pain.

    by unterhausen on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 09:13:23 PM PDT

•  Crap on a stick

  I knew I should have filled up tonight.

  by Raybin on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:17:58 PM PDT

  •  I'm glad I did

    and at $2.59 a gallon!  Geez, it pisses me off that it makes me happy to find gas at that price.

    by TracieLynn on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:52:19 PM PDT

•  bike

  I think tomorrow is a good day to bike to work. (Good for my cardivascular system too!)

  by plymouth on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:21:02 PM PDT

•  Gettin our bikes

  tomorrow.

  We're in Oregon, but screw it.  We don't want to give these oil companies another dime.  I'm filling up the tank tomorrow and that tank is gonna be lasting me a LONG time.

  by smugbug on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:30:10 PM PDT

•  I grew up in Herndon...

  ...and my parents and siblings still live there.  Only my two sisters seem to have an inkling of what's about to happen out there.  Unfortunately my parents and my brother are still Bush supporters (I can't seem to shake them), and even after the Katrina fallout, they still didn't seem to fully take in what was brewing around them.  I wonder if they're noticing the gas situation today and finally thinking things through, but that's unlikely.

  It's terrible seeing something like this happen in slow motion.  It's even worse when your loved ones are in the path of it, and voluntarily choose to remain oblivious, to the point where all you can is stand back and watch.
  

  by chargrove on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:31:58 PM PDT

  •  Yeah

    Ex-urb NOVA...land of SUVs. There gonna be somne serious pain.

    by ElitistJohn on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:41:00 PM PDT

•  The Shit

  is hitting the fan; let's hope it flies into the GOP's face.  

  by elveta on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:34:56 PM PDT

•  The only good thing about being unemployed

  Commute costs are sweetly low for me right now.

  by Richard Cranium on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 07:45:12 PM PDT

•  Rita is about to make our lives

  profoundly local.

  by 0hio on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 08:10:22 PM PDT

•  CNN: $5/gal next week?

  Rita could equal $5 (per gallon)Link:gashttp://money.cnn.com/2005/09/21/news/economy/rita_threat/index.htm

  by multispeed49 on Wed Sep 21, 2005 at 08:37:38 PM PDT