clown car

Last night I gave 4 people from the bar a ride home at bar closing.  All of them were too drunk to dive, and I really really had to work to convince each one of them that getting a ride (instead of driving) was the right choice.  The first lady showed up at the bar at about noon, drank for the entire afternoon, and into the night.  She told me at least three times (in about an hour and a half) that this one would be her last drink, then I should kick her out.  So with each drink she ordered I reminded her that the last one was going to be the last.  Each time she told me that the new one would be the last.  Anyway, she was way over the limit, so I offered her a ride.  She said that she would be fine to dirve.  So finally I told her I would only serve her if she agreed to take the ride.  Seriously, she had been drinking for about 14 hours!  The next bar patrons were a couple that needed to get a ride.  It was about 1 am and they had been trying to leave for about 3 hours.  They could not leave because new people would come in and want to chat, and they were just having a good time.  So I offered them a ride too, I figured that I was already taking 1 why not add two more?  So these two did not want to get a ride either.  The man thought it was a good idea to sleep in the basement of the bar on a cot.  The basement is just gross, cold and filled with spiders.  It took some work to convince both of them that it was not a big deal to just get into my car and sleep at home.  The last guy actually did not need a ride, he just wanted to come along and enjoy the entertainment.  It took me about twenty minutes to get them all into my car, then about another hour to get them all home.  It was quite a ride with all of them squished in the back giving me driving instructions, trying to tell me where each of them lived.  They were debating which one should be dropped off first, and which roads I should take.  The entire nite was quite entertaining, but I did not enjoy getting home at 3:30 in the morning.  I was glad that I was able to get them home safely.

Civic

So I bought my new car last week.  I went with the Honda Civic.  I did the entire deal by myself, and I am pretty proud of that.  When I was married my husband took care of purchasing and maintaining the vehicles.  Since he is no longer a part of my life I am forced to do this on my own.  About two years ago I helped my daughter purchase a used truck.  That has not worked out very well for us.  She loves it, but it spends alot of time in the repair shop.  So when I bought the new car they offered me $100 for my old car.  What the heck is that?  The local gives $150 even if the car is not running (which mine was).  So I kept the old car, and am planning on giving it to my brother.  This is somewhat ironic, as he gave me that car when he bought his new car a few years ago.  When he was working out the trade in deal they had a push pull and drag sale.  He did not like the price they offered him, so he came to me with this great deal.  He took my old beater car in as a trade, and left me his old car.  He still got the same money in the trade, and I got a much nicer car out of the deal. All I had to do was switch the title of my car to his name.  I am sad to leave that little car, but there is no way it would withstand the miles that i now have to put on everyday.  I also cannot afford to have it break down so many miles from home.  I am happy with my new car.  Probably because I have not made a payment on it yet. 

English 102 carseats

I had a conversation with a woman this last weekend who was upset at the fact that she had to put her grandchildren in carseats.  Another woman was stating her case regarding our right and responsibility to vote. The first woman did not see a reason to vote, but still complained about the use of carseats.  This caught my attention.  Why on earth would someone be upset about carseats?  She was mad that the state had made this law, and she had to follow it.  She stated that the busses did not require child safety seats, why should she have to?  The second lady tried to tell the first that if she had voted she would have has a say in the matter (either way).  The first woman refused, and carried on about the carseat law.  The whole conversation was quite amusing, as the second woman tried to simply explain to the first woman.  The first woman did not care about anything else, she just wanted to be able to drive around with her grandkids in the car with out safety seats.  By the way her grand kids range in age from 8 years to 23 months.  The whole time I was thinking what difference does any of this make?  Why would you drive your grandchildren around in a car with out carseats??  This reminds me of a time when my children were in the car with my Mom.  My Mom refuses to wear a seatbelt, because she never had to in the past.  When my kids were with her they questioned her about not wearing it.  She told them that Grandmas did not need seatbelts.  Then my kids questioned me, asking why dont grandmas need to wear belts?  I am alright with my Mom making a choice not to wear her belt, but I was not alright with her lying to my kids.  I asked her to clear this up with my kids.  Then they wanted to know why she chose not to wear it.  Ugh!

Next assignment

In the course of my studies I have taken several classes in race and ethnicity.  I am currently taking a class on gender.  So my sensitivity to this issue may be a little more than an average person.  Anyway I went to a store today, and couldn't help but notice how the store clerks treated the Hmung people differently than they treated me.  There were two separate families in the store, one older woman shopping by herself, and another family with a small child. Both workers were middle age white women.  The worker was eager to help me in any way she could, but was short and annoyed by the other shoppers.  I found this to be quite offensive, as I did not even want to converse with the worker in the first place.  I just wanted to get my things and go.  The other shoppers needed help, and wanted to talk to the worker. They had to repeat themselves several times, and ended up just agreeing to what the worker was saying.  I somewhat understand where the worker may have been coming from, as the older lady was hard to understand, but still.  A second worker at the check out gave the two Hmung families the same treatment as the first worker.  She was very short, and did not even make eye contact!  I spent like $5 at the store, and the older lady spent $80.  This really makes me sad it has probably been going on forever, and I just have not noticed it.  I wonder what these workers think?  These shoppers are not going to just disappear if you treat them poorly, their money is as good as any ones.  I wonder how those employees would feel if they lost their jobs because everyone boycotted the store because of the poor service?

Assignment 3

I need to purchase a new car next week.  I am torn, because I have always owned american made cars.  About two years ago I was let go from my job of 20 years because of the economy.  My job was sent to Mexico and I was sent to the unemployment line.  A large portion of our business was printed automotive plastic parts.  Radios, consoles, and dash boards.  I am looking at buying a Toyota, because I have done some research and this car looks to have the highest resale, lowest maintenance, and best price.  I have always had american made cars, but I feel that with my lack of funding because of the economy is forcing me to buy the most economical.  In buying a foreign car I will likely cause more people to become unemployed like myself.  If I were to buy American it probably help the economy somewhat.  People left at my old printing company would have another week of work.  But I just dont have the funds for that.  I am looking forward to having a new car, it will be my first new car ever.  I however am not looking forward to making the payment for the next 5+ years.  I am also in a situation where I cannot afford to have a car that may break down and leave me stranded.  So I do not have the option of purchasing a used car.  My mechanic will likely be disappointed that I no longer need his services regularly.  I will like that fact that my payment will be the same each month.  Not the auto repair bills that come up randomly now.   I wanted to hold off buying a car until I graduated, but that plan did not work for me either.  It looks like I may have to have my parents cosign for an auto loan.  I have never had to do that before.  I really will be glad to have a diploma, and be able to rejoin the workforce.