Church Architecture

Whenever I travel new places I always keep an eye out for local buildings and churches.

Here is a good one in Laramie, Wyoming:

http://boots-on-dirt-roads.blogspot.com

I’m A Working Bee

I am very much a working bee of late. I was very happy to find a temporary job for the local Croc factory for a couple extended weekends. The factory is unfortunately closing and laying off all its workers to move to California where, I am assuming, people are more apt to buying pricey Crocs for the sake of brandname. I say this because of all the copy cats out there that sell for a mere $5-10, as opposed to the $30-40 originals.

Anyway, all that to say I am working 10 hour days, 5 days this week and 4 the next, for this huge Closing-The-Factory Sale, Everything-Must-Go  type fiasco. And I have to tell you, being on your feet, walking, running, and generally cleaning up after wave and wave of hungry shoppers is hard work. Ok, so maybe not as hard as some blue collar jobs, but still harder than one might think.

By the time I make it home at 9pm, all I can do is take a quick shower and go to bed, just so I don’t have to get up again to get myself to bed latter on.

I’m a working bee for sure. And, a grateful one at that for this temp job.

I’ll worry about next month next month…

Looking For A Job

I have been looking for a job this January and getting a little frustrated, if not somewhat concerned.

I’ve applied left and right from everything to temp job to retail in grocery stores and restaurant waitress… nothing, no calls, nada…

What gives?

Am I not qualified for anything?

I have excellent references, education, I am mature and stable, I am willing to work for low wages… what else do they want?

Yesterday I went for a substituting orientation for the local public school district, so at least I can do that. I called into the system and there were no positions available for today. I’ll keep calling everyday to try and pick up something… bills are due at the end of the month no matter what… those don’t stop, that’s for sure.

I figure if I can manage to sub 3 days a week, I can probably make due for a while, until I get hired as a teacher again.

Tough times. Never been unemployed before.

Save On Gas -Tips

One chore I really could do without is filling up the gas tank. For some reason, I put it off as much as I can without making myself too nervous about that needle getting too close to the empty side on my dashboard. I’m not sure what it is, and it’s not about having to pay too much either, I just do not like messing with the gas station.

I did have to fill up this week, however, and this time I was actually cheerful about it. Want to know why? For the first time in a very long time, it took less than a $20 bill for a full tank!

How exciting is that? 

Even though the price per gallon is indeed down, it’s still always good to be aware on how to save on gas consumption.

Here are a few tips to Save on Gas:

• Avoid iddling more than 30 seconds. If I have to wait more than 1 minute (except at stop sign or red lights, off course), then I turn off the car. It takes more gas to iddle than to start the car again in 5-10 minutes -not speaking about less air polution.
• Avoid aggressive driving. Speeding, rapid accelerations, and hard breaking all decrease gas mileage by up to 33 percent.
• Use cruise-control on highways. Maintaining constant speed saves on gas. Your foot is not as reliable on long trips.
• Clean out your car. No need to carry around excess weight, or all those books you keep meaning to take to Half Price Books, or the bag of dirt for Mom’s garden beds.
• Keep tires inflated. Check the pressure recommendations on your tires and keep them there.

**info in part from US Dept of Energy

New T-shirts and the Holidays

With the holidays and family being around for Thanksgiving, I do not have as much time to make the rounds of my various blogs and other online ventures… though I did manage to upload a couple images into the Zazzle gallery and add some fun T-shirts and bumper stickers.

Sloth illustrations, to be precise. Curious? Check them out here:

http://www.zazzle.com/riverbynight

and off course…

Happy Turkey Day!