It's That Time Again

The weather out side is nice, well except for a few treacherous storms here and there, and it's once again time for F2K to begin. For those of you who are unfamiliar with F2K, it is a free online writing course for aspiring writers. The course is a seven week course sponsored by Writers' Village University and is staffed by writers who volunteer as Mentors.  It is a great place to learn, get motivated, and network with other writers.


At last count, we had like 400 students enrolled for the April session of F2K. It looks as if this is going to be an awesome session with lots of opportunities to make new friends who aspire to write.


The course starts this Wednesday; so as a mentor, I will be spending the next few days roaming around the online halls meeting the new students and helping everyone get oriented to the site. 


I always look forward to the F2K sessions because it allows me the opportunity to spend time working with others who have a passion for writing. Writing is a time consuming art, but for those who aspire to write it is time well spent.


Before I go I thought I'd share a little writing humor with you.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell.


She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.


"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."


A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes.


"Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!"


"Oh no, it's not," replied an unseen voice. "Here, your work gets published."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have a great day,
Granny

2010 Stella Awards

Here is the list of 2010 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.

 

Here are the Stellas for 2010

*SEVENTH PLACE*
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son

Start scratching!
  
* SIXTH PLACE *
Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

Scratch some more...

* FIFTH PLACE *
Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish Keep scratching. There are more....

Double hand scratching after this one..
 
*FOURTH PLACE*
Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.

Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot..
  
* THIRD PLACE *
Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?

Only two more so ease up on the scratching...

*SECOND PLACE*
Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.
Ok. Here we go!! 
* FIRST PLACE *

This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich.

Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set.

The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down?
$1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home. 

If you think the court system is out of control,

You wouldn't be the only one! 

They walk among us!

How much do you really know

"How much do you really know?"  Every day thousands leave their homelands to settle here in the land of the free.  Before they become citizens they are required to take a citizenship test and score 80%.  Could you pass this test if you took it today? 


Try it! 

Do you still place your hand over your heart when you hear the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance?

The Fix

The Fix

There recently was an article in theSt. Petersburg , Fl. Times. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on: "How Would You Fix the Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President,

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the "PatrioticRetirement Plan":

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new AMERICAN Car. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that!!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their taxes..

Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sounds like a plan. :)

Social Networking Can Earn You Money

Advertising is a multi-million dollar business. Now you can get a share of that revenue using Social Networking.
Check out this Bloomberg TV Spot.

To check it out and see how it works click here. 

Good Advice

I received this list from a friend. I hope it will help you get a good start on a new year. HANDBOOK 2011 Health: 1.       Drink plenty of water. 2.       Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar. 3.       Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.. 4.       Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy 5.       Make time to pray. 6.       Play more games 7.       Read more books than you did in 2010 . 8.       Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day 9.       Sleep for 7 hours. 10.    Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile. Personality: 11.    Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 12.    Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. 13.    Don't over do. Keep your limits. 14.    Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 15.    Don't waste your precious energy on gossip. 16.    Dream more while you are awake 17.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.. 18.    Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness. 19.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others. 20.    Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present. 21.    No one is in charge of your happiness except you. 22.    Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.  Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime. 23.    Smile and laugh more. 24.    You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree... Society: 25.    Call your family often. 26.    Each day give something good to others. 27.    Forgive everyone for everything. 28.    Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of  6. 29.    Try to make at least three people smile each day. 30.    What other people think of you is none of your business. 31.    Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. Life: 32.    Do the right thing! 33.    Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 34.    GOD heals everything. 35.    However good or bad a situation is, it will change.. 36.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 37.    The best is yet to come.. 38.    When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it. 39.    Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy. Last but not the least: 40.    Please Forward this to everyone you care about, I just did.

Out With Old In With The New

Gosh, where did 2010 go? It flew by so fast I feel like I'm spinning in circles from the aftermath. I embrace the beginning of 2011 with a new frame of mind and a new attitude. The question is how long will it last.  LOL Like most resolutions after the first few weeks we fall back into our normal rut and there goes our best laid plans.

I have a lot of goals for 2011. Although it's questionable how much I will fully accomplish. Getting organized and using my time wisely has certainly got to be at the top of the list. January is always a busy time for me. Both my online writing class, where I mentor other writers at F2K, and my normal teaching job starts this month. Then of course, there's the grand babies. Boy am I going to miss them when they leave. I'm wondering what kind of withdrawal symptoms I'll face. Will I need rehab to get over the addiction?

It will be time to pick Jack up from school soon and not a lot gets done after that, so I best run and accomplishwhat I can. Still another filing cabinet drawer to sift through, copies of my teaching manuals to make,  wash to be done, and oh yeah, what are we going to have for supper?  :D

Have a wonderful day and a super weekend.