The Ferrari
A hip young man goes out and buys the best car available: A brand new Ferrari GTO. It is also the most expensive car in the world, and it costs him $500,000. He takes it out for a spin and stops for a red light.
An old man on a moped, looking about 100 years old, pulls up next to him.
The old man looks over at the sleek, shiny car and asks, "What kind of car ya' got there sonny?"
The young man replies, "A Ferrari GTO. It cost half a million dollars!"
"That's a lot of money," says the old man." Why does it cost so much?"
"Because this car can do up to 320 miles an hour!" states the young dude proudly.
The moped driver asks, "Mind if I take a look inside?"
"No problem," replies the owner. So the old man pokes his head in the window and looks around. Then, sitting back on his moped, the old man says, "That's a pretty nice car, all right ... but I'll stick with my moped!"
Just then the light changes, so the guy decides to show the old man just what his car can do. He floors it, and within 30 seconds, the speedometer reads 160 mph!
Suddenly, he notices a dot in his rear view mirror. It seems to be getting closer! He slows down to see what it could be, and suddenly, WHHHOOOOOOSSSSSHHH! Something whips by him, going much faster!
"What on earth could be going faster than my Ferrari?" the young man asks himself. He floors the accelerator and takes the Ferrari up to 250 mph. Then, up ahead of him, he sees that it's the old man on the moped! Amazed that moped could pass his Ferrari, he gives it more gas and passes the moped at 275 mph. WHOOOOOOOSHHHHH!
He's feeling pretty good until he looks in his mirror and sees the old man gaining on him AGAIN! Astounded by the speed of this old guy, he floors the gas pedal and takes the Ferrari all the way up to 320 mph. Not ten seconds later he sees the moped bearing down on him again! The Ferrari is flat out, and there's nothing he can do!
Suddenly, the moped plows into the back of his Ferrari, demolishing the rear end.
The young man stops and jumps out, and unbelievably, the old man is STILL ALIVE!!!!!
He runs up to the mangled old man and says, "Oh My God! Is there anything I can do for you?"
The old man whispers with his dying breath ... "Unhook ... my ... suspenders ... from ... your ... side-view mirror."
About Me
- pattisoriginals
- MS Gulf Coast, United States
- I am a Christian wife, mother and grandmother. I love to sew and create new and innovative items to share with my customers. The most popular area of my store is my Walnut Grove section which features clothing reminiscent of "Little House on the Prairie". Please take a moment to visit my store and see my latest creations. www.pattisoriginals.etsy.com
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Springtime on the Prairie
The weather is gorgeous, warm days and cool nights. The sun is bright and the wind is blowing (but the wind is always blowing out here). Springtime has come early to North Dakota.
The farmers are just starting to turn over the ground to prepare for this season's plantings. There are very small specks of green on the hills; most of the hills are still brown from the winter. As we travel the highway to work each day we are looking for new growth, a sure sign that winter is over.
Last year we arrived here in July and the flax was being harvested. The fields were gorgeous as they were covered with the blue flax flowers. We did not arrive early enough to have the time to travel around and get photos but are hoping to remedy that this year.
North Dakota is especially beautiful at this time of year because of all the new growth and new farm animals. Calves and ponies abound right now.
We are definitely going to take the time to enjoy this season. Hope your spring is just as lovely.
The farmers are just starting to turn over the ground to prepare for this season's plantings. There are very small specks of green on the hills; most of the hills are still brown from the winter. As we travel the highway to work each day we are looking for new growth, a sure sign that winter is over.
Last year we arrived here in July and the flax was being harvested. The fields were gorgeous as they were covered with the blue flax flowers. We did not arrive early enough to have the time to travel around and get photos but are hoping to remedy that this year.
North Dakota is especially beautiful at this time of year because of all the new growth and new farm animals. Calves and ponies abound right now.
We are definitely going to take the time to enjoy this season. Hope your spring is just as lovely.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Hotel Living
There is a glamorous picture in our minds of living in a hotel. We can conjour up ideas of no housework, maids, fancy restaurants and basically a life of leisure. Real life is far from that vision.
In real life all of our belongings are crammed into one small room. Maid service is avaialble but since all of our belongings are in this room, and we are not, we try to limit their access. There are no fancy restaurants in this town and we get so tired of eating out that even a sandwich in the hotel room sounds better.
There is not much leisure because our free time is spent in the laundry or at the grocery. Most of our clothing is packed away in space bags so we have to wash a couple times a week. Space bags are great for traveling this way but they do limit our access to the clothing. So we have a few outfits unpacked and the rest stays in the bags.
The refrigerator in our room is not very cold and is extremely small, so we must go to the grocery several times a week. Minot, ND is not the place to come if you plan on eating in restaurants. The fast food places are so desperate for help that they are not very selective. We had to go out a couple times before we had a chance to get to the grocery. The first order taker did not speak English, that was fun! The second order taker was so slow it took us almost an hour from the time we walked in the door until we placed our order, and there were only 4 people in front of us. Can you say poor management!!
We also tried to go to Pizza Hut but their dining room was closed because they do not have sufficient staffing. We came to the decision that we will eat healthier, cheaper and with much less frustration if we go to the grocery a few times a week and pick up enough to get us through. I can't do much cooking in the hotel and we will probably be sick of sandwiches and soup by the time we move out but at least we will be less stressed!
Anyone looking for a job in the food service industry could easily find a job up here, the qualifications appear to be absolute minimal.
In real life all of our belongings are crammed into one small room. Maid service is avaialble but since all of our belongings are in this room, and we are not, we try to limit their access. There are no fancy restaurants in this town and we get so tired of eating out that even a sandwich in the hotel room sounds better.
There is not much leisure because our free time is spent in the laundry or at the grocery. Most of our clothing is packed away in space bags so we have to wash a couple times a week. Space bags are great for traveling this way but they do limit our access to the clothing. So we have a few outfits unpacked and the rest stays in the bags.
The refrigerator in our room is not very cold and is extremely small, so we must go to the grocery several times a week. Minot, ND is not the place to come if you plan on eating in restaurants. The fast food places are so desperate for help that they are not very selective. We had to go out a couple times before we had a chance to get to the grocery. The first order taker did not speak English, that was fun! The second order taker was so slow it took us almost an hour from the time we walked in the door until we placed our order, and there were only 4 people in front of us. Can you say poor management!!
We also tried to go to Pizza Hut but their dining room was closed because they do not have sufficient staffing. We came to the decision that we will eat healthier, cheaper and with much less frustration if we go to the grocery a few times a week and pick up enough to get us through. I can't do much cooking in the hotel and we will probably be sick of sandwiches and soup by the time we move out but at least we will be less stressed!
Anyone looking for a job in the food service industry could easily find a job up here, the qualifications appear to be absolute minimal.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Off To Work I Go
As I mentioned we are now in North Dakota and have started working at the job site this week. How very different this is from any job I have had before.
Our office is in a construction trailer without running water on site. They bring in non-potable water for bathrooms and bottled water for consumption. At least there are regular bathrooms and not porta-potties.
We do have a private office but so far, only my hubby has internet connection. This makes for long, boring days when I can't do a lot of work but I do manage to stay busy.
Today we had a pre-construction meeting for one of the contracts and the trailer was full of guys from all areas of the construction process. There must have been 30-40 people here and I was one of 3 women. Yes, I did feel outnumbered!
So as we settle in to our new positions, things are going as well as can be expected and I still look forward to my first day in the field when I get to wear my FR clothing and hard hat.
Our office is in a construction trailer without running water on site. They bring in non-potable water for bathrooms and bottled water for consumption. At least there are regular bathrooms and not porta-potties.
We do have a private office but so far, only my hubby has internet connection. This makes for long, boring days when I can't do a lot of work but I do manage to stay busy.
Today we had a pre-construction meeting for one of the contracts and the trailer was full of guys from all areas of the construction process. There must have been 30-40 people here and I was one of 3 women. Yes, I did feel outnumbered!
So as we settle in to our new positions, things are going as well as can be expected and I still look forward to my first day in the field when I get to wear my FR clothing and hard hat.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Back in North Dakota
Our job in Superior, WI was over and we traveled back to Minot, ND this past weekend. The trip started off rather frightening as a heavy fog settled over the area. We drove through the fog for about an hour before the sun was up high enough to start burning it off. The rest of the day we had nice weather and arrived to 70 degrees in Minot.
I sure hope this is not a sign of things to come this summer with higher than normal temperatures. We had such a gorgeous summer up here last year and are praying we get to experience the same this year.
We took a drive around the area over the weekend to begin our search for a place to live. Yesterday we visited several possibilities and were shocked at how the property management companies are taking advantage of the housing situation up here.
The first place we visited told us they had nothing available right now but we could keep checking back with them. When something did come available the first person who came in with a $500 application fee and a $35, non-refundable, background and credit check fee, for each person who will live in the house, would be able to rent the property. Needless to say we are not interested in dealing with someone who treats their prospective tenants like this.
The second place we visited gave us a list of available properties and we drove past the ones we were interested in. The first is a new townhouse but the roads to get to the property are not paved and are full of pot holes. This would have cost over $2,000 a month. The next was a small apartment in a very poor side of town that did not look very secure and the building was in need of many repairs. The asking price for this was ON LY$900.
The BEST (or worse, actually) was the last house we drove past. It was located in the area that was flooded last year and the neighborhood still looks like a war zone. The house was still spotted with debris from the flood and there was a FEMA trailer in the backyard. They ONLY wanted $1600 for this treasure.
What a disappointing day. We are very thankful for some friends who are in the process of buying a home up here and have offered to rent us their basement apartment. We will continue to look for something else but yesterday's experience does not look promising so we may have to take them up on their offer.
It is really a shame to see companies take advantage of people in this way. I understand making a profit but this is really going to extremes and as my husband keeps saying, "Their day will come. What goes around, comes around."
I sure hope this is not a sign of things to come this summer with higher than normal temperatures. We had such a gorgeous summer up here last year and are praying we get to experience the same this year.
We took a drive around the area over the weekend to begin our search for a place to live. Yesterday we visited several possibilities and were shocked at how the property management companies are taking advantage of the housing situation up here.
The first place we visited told us they had nothing available right now but we could keep checking back with them. When something did come available the first person who came in with a $500 application fee and a $35, non-refundable, background and credit check fee, for each person who will live in the house, would be able to rent the property. Needless to say we are not interested in dealing with someone who treats their prospective tenants like this.
The second place we visited gave us a list of available properties and we drove past the ones we were interested in. The first is a new townhouse but the roads to get to the property are not paved and are full of pot holes. This would have cost over $2,000 a month. The next was a small apartment in a very poor side of town that did not look very secure and the building was in need of many repairs. The asking price for this was ON LY$900.
The BEST (or worse, actually) was the last house we drove past. It was located in the area that was flooded last year and the neighborhood still looks like a war zone. The house was still spotted with debris from the flood and there was a FEMA trailer in the backyard. They ONLY wanted $1600 for this treasure.
What a disappointing day. We are very thankful for some friends who are in the process of buying a home up here and have offered to rent us their basement apartment. We will continue to look for something else but yesterday's experience does not look promising so we may have to take them up on their offer.
It is really a shame to see companies take advantage of people in this way. I understand making a profit but this is really going to extremes and as my husband keeps saying, "Their day will come. What goes around, comes around."
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Sunday Phunnies
Tennis Bracelet
A woman parked her brand-new Lexus in front of her office, ready to show it off to her colleagues. As she got out, a truck passed too close and completely tore off the door on the driver's side.
The woman immediately grabbed her cell phone, dialed 911, and within minutes a policeman pulled up. Before the officer had a chance to ask any questions, the woman started screaming hysterically.
Her Lexus, which she had just picked up the day before, was now completely ruined and would never be the same, no matter what the body shop did to it.
When the woman finally wound down from her ranting and raving, the officer shook his head in disgust and disbelief. "I can't believe how materialistic you women are," he said. "You are so focused on your possessions that you don't notice anything else."
"How can you say such a thing?" asked the woman.
The cop replied, "Don't you know that your left arm is missing from the elbow down? It must have been torn off when the truck hit you."
"My God!" screamed the woman. "Where's my tennis bracelet?"
A woman parked her brand-new Lexus in front of her office, ready to show it off to her colleagues. As she got out, a truck passed too close and completely tore off the door on the driver's side.
The woman immediately grabbed her cell phone, dialed 911, and within minutes a policeman pulled up. Before the officer had a chance to ask any questions, the woman started screaming hysterically.
Her Lexus, which she had just picked up the day before, was now completely ruined and would never be the same, no matter what the body shop did to it.
When the woman finally wound down from her ranting and raving, the officer shook his head in disgust and disbelief. "I can't believe how materialistic you women are," he said. "You are so focused on your possessions that you don't notice anything else."
"How can you say such a thing?" asked the woman.
The cop replied, "Don't you know that your left arm is missing from the elbow down? It must have been torn off when the truck hit you."
"My God!" screamed the woman. "Where's my tennis bracelet?"
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