Last resting place for a frog

Today a frog, in a panic, jumped onto my mower, and climbed inside the belt compartment to hide. 2 minutes later there was a horrible smell, and when I blew the grass out of the mower, I couldnt find anything. Sad, but true.

Moving

We moved to a new apartment recently. We had a lot of help. Here is a picture of me motivating the workers:

Yay Daddy!!

Two women and a testimony

Today as I was mowing, a woman passed by me closely followed by an overwhelming cloud of perfume. I wondered why. Does she smell bad? Or think that she smells really bad? It reminds me of the joke - why do women wear perfume and makeup? 'cause they are ugly and they smell! (that's Bens' joke, btw)

But seriously, I can understand a little perfume, but to have it wafting down the street after you? I came to the conclusion that it must be an attention seeking device, unless she had some terribly poor sense of smell. It is natural for everyone to want to be noticed and appreciated. In fact I saw a quote along the lines of "recognition is one of the greatest motivators", which is true. But the method of gaining recognition is a great indicator of the maturity of the person.

What kind of person is she trying to gain recognition and approval from? I guess it must be a subset of the Bling culture.

The second woman was the mad bunny woman. She stopped my crew from mowing a patch of grass because "there are baby bunnys there". She even threatened to lay down in front of the mowers if we did! This job does have its amusing incidents.

The testimony: I slipped on a slope while mowing, and was able to stop the mower 2 inches from a car. After what I did to a car yesterday, I am very thankful to the Lord that I didnt damage one today. I could have been fired! Jorge was right on the same patch of grass too, which was a blessing, because I couldnt have stopped the machine without letting go of it, which would have made it hit the car.

God is good!

Sunflower

Rachel takes very nice pictures. Here is one of a sunflower that she and the kids planted at grandmas.

I set it as my computer desktop background.

Team Leader

I know its a long time since I posted, but a couple of thoughts came to me. One you will read below, and the other is this. Since March, I have moved jobs twice, and we are now living in our own appartment.

My second job is grass cutting, and I have been made up to team leader. I am not expected to work any harder, as I was telling one of my team the other day. I am only paid extra for two reasons. First, to stay awake while driving between jobs, and secondly, for the boss to have someone to shout at when things go wrong!

(which happened today)

Communism in the USA

I think I have worked out the difference between capitalism and communism in the USA. Its quite simple really. When the government gives money to rich people, that is capitalism. When the government gives money to poor people, that is communism.

When I first thought of it, it just seemed a funny truth. But there is more to it than just a funny truth. People over here believe in their right to become rich, and wealth is a great motivator in the US. There seems to be a perception that society owes something to the wealthy, rather than the European thought of the weathly owing society.

With that in mind, it seems that the measure of the nation here is not in how it treats the poor and those unable to help themselves, but in how it treats and rewards the rich. Hence, so little political outcry at the millions of dollars spent on banks, but the great protests about plans to government fund some healthcare.

Back on the Job Hunt

I have arrived back in the USA after a three week visit to England.  I visited my sister for her wedding, and Paulie for his wedding celebration.  I have never been happier to arrive in the US, as this is my home now.  I missed my family.

But now I am back here all the old problems of not having a job and squishing two families into one house have come back again.  Not helped, of course by the headlines on the BBC proclaiming 8.2% American Unemployment!  So, now I have to prove myself in the top 91% of workers in the USA.

So, keep me in mind.  TTFN

A telling off

I just had an email telling me off for not posting to this bog in a while.  So here you are, a post.  Christmas was nice, and we are halfway through January.  Still no job, so that is getting a little frustrating.  The kids are happy in the snowy weather, and I'll post a couple of sledding videos to youtube soon.  Rachel is still happy to be home and so we are doing pretty well all told.  If I dont have a job by the end of January I will make plans to travel to England to Dawns wedding.