money wasters/ proust.com/ laughing about death

Jul. 28 Money wasters: I found this article on Yahoo about what you waste money on. If you have a pet and you buy stuff from the pet store, it costs 15-20% more than if you went to a discount retailer like Wal-Mart.

In the article it said: "People who pride themselves on being frugal often are "penny wise, pound foolish" in that they focus on the "bargain" aspect of a purchase rather than the "use" aspect of a purchase. An item is not a bargain even if it is advertised at "50 per cent off" if it is never used."

I do like the closing argument: "What five to 10 things do you waste money on that don't bring real value to your life now, but could significantly impact your happiness later? There is nothing we can do about what we wasted yesterday, but what we do today will have an impact on tomorrow."

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/10-common-money-wasters-forbeswp-82369541.html?x=0

Proust.com: I found this on Globe and Mail. It's kind of like a blog and forum. I like the "Contemplations" questions:

"Describe what you learned the 'hard way.'"

"What is the most valuable piece of advice you ever received?"

Jul. 29 Bad ads: I was reading the Globe and Mail and it talked about these offensive Summer Eve ads. It sells wipes to clean your lady parts. You watch the commercials and you will notice the racial stereotypes. A white hand that pretends to be a vagina says she will hit the gym and a black hand talks about clubbing.

It reminds me way back in like 2002, I was on Fametracker Forums talking about racial stereotypes in TV and films.

Little Master T: And black people? They're sassy, mmm hmm!

I burst out laughing at that. I watched the commercial with the black hand and she did say "mmm hmm." Here's the ad:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/28/summers-eve-ads_n_911939.html

Jul. 30 Laughing about death: I got some flashbacks. This was from gr.11 English class and this guy Eric was eating a sandwich.

Kendra: Who made your sandwich? Your mom?
Eric: My mom's dead.
There is this awkward pause.
Eric: I'm just kidding.

Then in 2004, I had met my friend Sonia through work. She talks about her mom and little brother. She's East Indian, and I thought her dad may be dead. So I was sensitive in asking: "What about your dad?" She says they're divorced which is interesting because I have never really met anyone who's East Indian and their parents are divorced.

In 2005, I was working at a clothing store and this new Asian girl was there. I think her name's Mary.

Mary: My mom moved my little brother and I here when I was 4 and he was 1 because there are more opportunities in Canada, then in China.
Me: What did your dad say?
Mary: Nothing, he's dead.
Me: I'm sorry.
Mary: That's okay. I don't really remember him.

I thought it was kind of weird where I think one person's dad is dead, and it turns out he's alive. Then when I think one person's dad is alive, it turns out he's dead.

Lawyer: I was talking to my dad today about this guy at work who has a psychology degree so he could get into law school. He's on the waiting list.

Dad: I don't know if he's going to be a really good lawyer because if he does get into law school, it's because he barely made it in. Though it could help him by pushing himself more like: "I'm not really supposed to be in here, but I will prove to myself that I am supposed to be in law school by working really hard."

Staffing agencies: I got this email through my blog. It's an article about staffing agencies. There were good tips like there are scammers out there like charging you $200 to rewrite your resume which is probably not helpful. The agency makes money from the employer. Like say a agency got you a job at ATCO, ATCO pays the agency.

If a company hires a agency's employee, that that would be a more expensive hire than a regular applicant who dropped off her resume. I would say don't go to staffing agencies.

Here's the email:

Hi Tracy,

I’m a writer for Bestcollegesonline.com and we just published an article “What Every New Grad Needs to Know About Employment Agencies” I think you’d like, since your blog often covers the same subject matter. Feel free to share the article with your readers if you have a place for it in upcoming post schedule.

(http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2011/07/26/what-every-new-grad-needs-to-know-about-employment-agencies/).

Thanks!

Tim Handorf

Here's another one. This is a helpful article about using LinkedIn to get a job:

Hi Tracy,

I’m a frequent reader of your blog and wanted to let you know that I just posted an article on my site that I thought you might find interesting, “48 Essential LinkedIn Tips Your Teachers Won’t Tell You”. If you think your readers might like it, too, would you consider sharing or mentioning it on your blog? I’d appreciate it if you have time to check it out.

(http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2011/07/24/48-essential-linkedin-tips-your-teachers-wont-tell-you/)

Thanks!

Jasmine Hall

Jul. 31 Writer's block: I was watching Degrassi and Eli has writer's block in the school's computer lab. In a burst of anger, he threw the computer monitor on the floor.

Me: Damn it!

This girl Imagin runs in and says the computer teacher Ms. So is coming.

Imagin pretends to trip and throws herself on the floor in front of the monitor.
Ms. So: Are you okay?
Imagin: I tripped over the wires.