Tag: travel

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Med Students

My neighbor called this morning in a panic and asked if I could please drive her and her teen-aged daughter to the hospital. She didn’t want to call an ambulance, but she had no transportation until her husband got home late tonight with the family car. Of course I agreed to drive her. Her daughter looked very pale and sweaty and I was very concerned for her health. I suspected heat exhaustion – but it could have been something even worse.

We got o the hospital quickly and without incident and I helped them get in the ER entrance. She asked me to not bother staying at the hospital – she just need the ride to get there. That is not the way I was raised – I felt a duty to go inside and make sure she would be treated and taken care of – not just drop someone off and drive away. I don’t care how many white lab coat doctors, med students and nurses were milling about – I needed to know that she would be seen.

It has been a couple of years since I’ve even seen a lab coat or pair of scrubs anywhere. Thankfully I’ve been healthy and not been around hospitals much. In fact, the last time I saw anyone in scrubs is when I went online and ordered a Halloween costume for my nephew, who wanted to go trick or treating dressed as a med student flunky, with fake blood smeared all over his shirt and gloves.

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A Free Bankruptcy Consultation

Since my sister’s husband was in a car accident several years ago and the whole mess has left them penniless, since he can’t work, as well as all of the medical bills that have been piling up, she is seriously considering a bankruptcy free consultation to see if that is the route that would be in their best interest.

No one wants to declare bankruptcy, it isn’t a fun experience and it doesn’t come cheap, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Bankruptcy laws have changed since I went through that whole process, but I can honestly say that when it is all over and done with, it is worth all the time, effort and money.

I hope that this free consultation gives her the information and the encouragement she needs to get things over and done with. In the meantime they will keep trudging along and keep screening their house phone calls from all the creditors that are after them right now.

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The Learning Of Using The Right Tools For Marketing

It is surprising to find that there are so many businesses that aren’t utilizing all that the Internet and other modern technologies that are so important to check out and use. I kn ow that the computer can be intimidating, especially with so many senior citizens that didn’t grow up with anything like what we use almost on a daily basis for work and personal use.

It really took a lot of effort for me to get my Aunt Dottie to understand Mobile Advertising and Mobile Marketing for her small business that she and my uncle are trying so hard to hold onto since the economy went all crazy on us over 6 years ago. It is a mail and packaging store that they have put all their time and energy into since finding themselves retired and nothing to do to keep them busy and hopefully help with their finances that is most of the time a concern when someone retires and doesn’t have close friends or family to help along the way.

Once she took a course at their local community center that offers senior citizens classes on how to understand and to use their computers, she was like a kid in a candy store! Right now they are working on utilizing Mobile Coupons that they hope will help generate some business to tide them over until the Christmas holidays start. That is their busiest time of the year with so many people mailing gifts all over the world. They even have to hire someone part-time for the month of December it gets so busy. It’s just too bad that they only have one good month out of the year while the rest of the months they find themselves desperate for business.

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Jeep

I’ve decided on a few things that I want to purchase when I finally get my tax refund check that has been tied up for way too long,  in the next week or two. It has been a while since I’ve had a few bucks in my pocket and I feel like a kid in a candy store with so many choices out there that I’d love to be able to afford.

It has been a good project to tackle at night when I’m done with all the farm work and I sit down in front of the computer. Most nights I’m too tired to concentrate on much of anything, so it’s kinda cool to be able to just mindlessly surf the Internet and see what is out there. There are things that I want and of course several things that I need for around the place so I’ve been trying to balance it out some.

One thing that I’ve definitely put on top of the list is a nice new set of wheels for my Jeep. I had such high expectations for my Jeep when I first purchased it 2 years ago and I haven’t been able to do as much with it as I had planned, but for now a sweet looking set of wheels will have to do. CARID.com has some great accessories that I’ve spent some time gazing out. Good stuff going on there folks and they accept PayPal.

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Thinking of San Diego

Before I settled down and took over the family house and farm, I had the opportunity to do a bit of traveling. I can’t tell you how much I miss that part of my life. One of my favorite places was San Diego, California. And thanks to Facebook I have been able to reconnect with a couple of good folks that I met there and they are still living there after all these years.

I found one friend on Facebook through the Meservy Law link that I followed, which took me to another site that I clicked around on and 45 minutes later I stumbled onto one of the greatest bartenders that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He is a lot older than I and quit the bar tending business and it’s crazy lifestyle and last I heard was driving a city bus some where in Wisconsin. I used to have his phone number and his address, but then it turned into utilizing email and then he pretty much dropped off the face of the earth, so finding him on Facebook, by complete accident was a nice surprise.

If I ever get out that a way I will certainly have to spend some time with this guy. They just don’t make them like him any more. But then again, I don’t get out much anymore.

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Searching For The Bright Red Coffee Can

As much time as I have spent trying to get things better organized around here since moving permanently here at the family farm, it would take a miracle to get it all done by myself. I have done a good amount in the past 5 years or so, but my parents lived here most of their adult life and the managed to accumulate a lot of stuff throughout their life times and never wanted to get rid of anything.

I was looking for a few u bolts the other day and I knew that I had seen a coffee can in one of the out buildings that had a variety of u bolts as well as other types of bolts that I knew would come in handy at some point (much like my dad did apparently). Now that I need them of course I can’t put my hands on the coffee can to save my soul even though I remember it being red in color and you would think that a red coffee can would stand out and say “look at me” but not this time.

I’ll be darned if I am going to run into town for a couple of bolts, so I’ll just keep looking for that darned coffee can and next time I go into town, if I haven’t found them yet, then I’ll start looking at buying new ones. Of course as soon as I purchase new ones I will find the old ones, it never fails!

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Nemo Tents and Sleep Systems

For many years, more than I wish to confess to, I have been wanting to go out with some friends and go hiking, camping and fishing like the good ol’ days, but had just been too tied down with work and spending time with loved ones. This year I felt was a brand new year, and was a perfect time for me to get out there and so something I had always wanted to do.

Like I said before I had been wanting to go camping for a long while, and I found myself scavenging my garage for supplies and camping gear I needed to go. I found so many things I used to use while camping, but couldn’t find my tent I used to use. While searching for it, I realized my tent is very out of date and probably needs an upgrade even if I did come across it.

I took a night to sit in the office and just search around the net for some good deals on tents. I came across a nemo tent sale, and had found great deals on all types of tents, but the one that stood out to me the most was a 3 season tent, something I’ve always wanted to own. I ordered it right away and had it shipped to my home, and in no time at all I was camping out by the lake the following weekend. I am so grateful to have found such a sturdy tent to spend many of nights in while by the camp fire enjoying nature.

photo of Nemo camping gear
Nemo Sleeping Bags

 

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Looking For The Perfect Mocha At A Reasonable Cost

It wasn’t all that long ago that the McCafe was the new “product” from McDonald’s and they were advertising it very heavily on local TV. I’ve seen several different commercials recently, and that’s with just the little bit of TV that I’ve watched. According to the local Business Journal, the man who owns most of the McDonald’s franchises in Alabama has spent a WHOLE lot of money remodeling the Alabama restaurants to include a McCafe.

I’m looking forward to visiting a McCafe and trying their coffee. I wonder if it tastes as good as a Starbucks and how much of the flavoring you have to add yourself instead of a trained barista. I’m not optimistic what-so-ever, since every time I drink just a plain old McDonald’s coffee it upsets my stomach for hour after drinking, so I would imagine that it will be the same with their specialty barista drinks.

So far I haven’t found anywhere that makes the hot mocha that I enjoy drinking day or night, summer or winter as well as Starbucks. But seriously someone could go broke frequenting Starbucks. Last time I was at a Starbucks I was really happy to see that they have started their own “Customer Rewards” program so that after a certain amount of purchases you get a free drink. The bad news is that you have to purchase 20 drinks to get a free one. That’s a lot of purchasing going on in order to get a free one. At least with Sheetz you only have to buy 10 in order to get a free one. They are a bit cheaper than Sheetz and are the closest to the Starbucks flavor that I have found anywhere else yet.

 

 

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Luxury Vacation Rentals, Paris or Greece?

Since it has been so nasty outside with freezing rain, snow, sleet, along with some pretty hefty winds these past couple of days, I do what I only have to do and get myself back inside as quick as possible. The older I get the less I enjoy (yes I used to enjoy) winter and all the ugly weather that it brings along with it, like it or not. Although we have had some pretty mild winters these past couple of years it is still winter and it’s still cold and wet. Not my favorite mixture.

I’ve been going through some boxes that have been in the “Guest Room” for many years now that mainly have papers in them that have needed to be gone through, most of which ends up in the paper/cardboard recycling bin. It’s a slow process and sometimes a painful one that causes me to feel depressed for days. Even though my folks have been gone for over four years now it is still painful and raw. I will never get over it, but am doing the best that I can with the cards that I have been dealt in this life. Living here at their house and running the family farm on my own has been a challenge and will continue to because that is real life.

What I really need right now is when I get my tax refund check is to book one of the luxury paris vacation rentals that I’ve been eyeballing online for years now. I made the mistake of sharing my wants and needs for a luxury vacation some where like Paris or Greece and now she seems to be on a mission to get me away from here and plan the “perfect get-a-way” for me before I lose my mind and health. I don’t want to go alone, but there really aren’t a lot of people that I could spend that amount of time with and enjoy before wanting to strangle them. I’ve been on my own for so long here that I don’t know how I would handle sharing myself 24/7. And trying to find someone that can get away for a week because of their job, or their kids, or their aging parents, or their health or their finances, blah, blah, blah………

 

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Interning For The Summer

My oldest nephew is heading overseas in seven weeks or so, for his summer intern job in Amsterdam. My sister has been working closely with him over the phone and by instant messengers to help him find cheap accommodation Amsterdam by using a web site called www.shortstay-apartment.com and searching their database for an apartment or even a room in Amsterdam for the month of June. They are on a shoestring budget and would much rather spend the money on activities to take advantage of being in Europe for a month rather than spending it all on some place to sleep.

Last year the same nephew spent the entire summer as an intern for a big law firm in Philadelphia. He agreed to take the position without knowing much about the actual job function. He just trusted his college liaison to place him in a company that would further his interest in helping the environment. Philadelphia is a great city for young people. It has a lot of history, culture, and professional sports to keep people active and stimulated. The cost of living is high because of its location on the East Coast and so near to New York City. But for a lot of people, Philadelphia is a lower cost alternative to living in NYC or the north Jersey area. This year he is traveling to Amsterdam and working with an engineering company. He is looking forward to learning about the European approach to generating, using and saving energy.