[Apparently I do this a lot, you know, cry out something in surprise while we are driving to which S has to calmly remind me that for all he knows something bad just happened (like he just blew a tire out or something) and that one day it might actually cause an accident.]
I had good reason to be excited though! Anyone who knows me well knows I tend to be a fan of any German engineered automobile. The Phaeton is a luxury car built by Volkswagen for only a couple of years. Too pricey for the typical VW follower, they only sold a few thousand and went out of production in 2006. (After all, if you're going to spend 80 Grand on a car, why not buy one of it's more prestigious cousins?) This is only the second one I've ever seen outside a dealership. It's a shame more of these beauties aren't on the road...
Not to fear though. Those brilliant Germans have just released the less-expensive, equally luxurious CC and will soon re-release the Scirocco . Now I just need to work on my timing when I first see one of these on the road...and hope that S isn't driving.
[Note: this portion of the blog is inpsired by my BIL's airplane blog. If he can blog about airplanes, I can blog about cars.]
~
I love random things in life that make me laugh. Here are a few from this week that I thought I would share:
The first is actually more ironic than funny, but as I was parking my car to come into work one day, I went for a spot only to realize that there wasn't enough room to fit my car because the SUV in the spot next to it had taken up a foot or so past its alotted space. (Not a biggie because there was a spot across from it that I took instead.) Now for the irony. This SUVs plate spelled out MOVEOVER (Minus a vowel or two.)
The second is a billboard I saw for a local piano store which is, apparently, having a large sale on pianos. I'm not sure who came up with this marketing campaign, but the slogan "EMERGENCY PIANO BAILOUT" might give the wrong impression. My first thought was the image of a piano falling towards the earth and landing on Wile E. Coyote.
The last is by far my favorite. I followed a car into work today with "NKOTB: Forever Fans" painted on it's rear window. Cute, maybe, except the driver and passenger were 30-somethings. I wonder what their husbands think...
~
On a more serious note, I've been thinking a lot lately about the topic of self-reliance. I think it is such a valuable lesson that our society is straying further and further from.
I am reminded of the stories I heard growing up where someone would stop to offer a homeless person an easy job to earn some money and the homeless person would turn them down. It was much easier to just sit on their corner all day and wait for a free handout. While this is a little extreme of an example, I believe that we as humans have the tendency to be lazy because, well, we like to take the easy road. This will eventually be our downfall, though.
While I don't like crazy, busy days, there is something so gratifying to be able to go home and know that I worked my hardest and made a difference in my life and maybe the life of another. Work is a valuable lesson I learned while growing up. While I never worked a demanding job throughout high school, my parents certainly taught me the value of hard work and doing my best. I believe that these lessons carried me through some challenging circumstances in college and still help me every day on the job.
I cannot understand the individual who is comfortable with him/her self always accepting handouts from family, neighbors, work and the government. Even if they are merely working the system they are certainly harming the people around them and, even more troubling, harming themselves. This isn't to say that I've never had to rely on someone else at a time in my life. We all have circumstances arise which are beyond our control (many are seeing such circumstances right now from the poor economy.) These are even a blessing in a way because it teaches us humility and provides the opportunity of service to others around us. The important thing, though, is that we need to stand on our own feet again as soon as it is possible, learn from the experience, and progress from there.
(Note 2: if you are an individual or you know someone who needs/wants help, the LDS Church has a great resource.)
3 comments:
Hey, Emily. I'm glad you told us (email to Drew) your blog address! I liked reading this post. I never heard of that car but it is beautiful. I thought the piano bailout billboard was weird, too. Since the time I worked at Riverton Music, I have noticed that there are really a lot of "huge" piano sales. If a person misses one, there will be another great deal later.
Chris will like that you mentioned his airplane blog, I keep telling him he needs to do other things on it more often. I completely and totally agree with you about the self reliance issue. There are far too many lazy people in this country that rely on others to pave the way for them. A lot of people have forgotten how to work. It's pretty sad.
Are you saying I need to do more at work? Because, you know, as I sit here reading your blog and thinking of a witty response, you are running at least two tests and bringing in platelets. I think I am simply helping you in your quest to be self-reliant.
Post a Comment