A long weekend has never been so short

Thanks to spring break around here (yeah, yeah, I know...it's not spring yet) the U gave employees a three day weekend. Since that coincided with the opening of "The Music Man", it gave me an actual day for weekend-y stuff. Like taking a good hard look at some of our bills and making changes. The biggest thing was that we went to the internet place, which has now finally divorced its phone and cable packages from internet. So we got stand alone internet, and thanks to a promotion we're getting a reduced rate for a while. So that should save us quite a bit of money.
The musical is going really well. The first night was interesting, though. We'd just gotten into "Ya Got Trouble" when the fire alarm went off! Ah, community theater! Everyone had to evacuate. I was...well, in the circumstances it was smart, but if there had really been a fire it would have been stupid. I ran back to the green room to put my violin in its case (don't want to take it out in the cold!) and grabbed my hat, gloves, and coat. I should have grabbed more, though. I left my scarf and my fleece in the green room thinking I'd be fine. I was, but half the cast and orchestra had gone outside without anything to keep warm. And the wind was blowing. So I gave my hat to another woman and pulled up my hood. Despite being so close, it took the fire department about ten minutes to get down there, and then another ten to give us the all clear. By the time we got back inside, everyone was frozen. Even with my gloves and my pockets, my fingers were frozen and stiff. Do you have any idea how hard it is to play a string instrument when your fingers are cold? The wind players were making horse-like noises with their lips to warm them back up. But it turned out to be fine. The audience was great about it. The orchestra decided that Tommy Djilas did it (which is only funny if you know the show!).
Our weekly total was $130. Ouch, right? But we also fed my little brother all week, since the Commons closed down for the break.
I was talking with a friend and we agreed that this time of year is just always expensive. Rate increases from the electric company, still having to heat homes and paying a lot for oil, the price of gas usually goes up, and we're running out of our local food (except, of course, meat and fish) from last summer so we're buying a lot more. I think it's just one more reason why everyone is anxious for summer to get here. The ease and bounty of summer is beckoning. Signs of the approaching spring are out there. The roads are bare in most places, rather than shiny with ice. The build up of snow on our back porch is getting that funny look of bulging out at the sides from having melted a little bit in the middle. And of course, the sun is back, out for over half the day now. Summer will come, and sooner than I think it will.