Today is my oldest son's birthday. He is 25 today, so I am going to talk about birthday traditions.
In America, children's birthdays are usually quite festive, with a party for the birthday child. Those invited include friends, relatives, and neighbors. There is some debate amongst parenting experts on how many guests are appropriate for the age of the child, and also for how long the party should be held. Younger children don't have the ability to go for hours, plus the changes a party brings to one's daily routine might only be tolerated by young children well for a short period of time.
Adults, though, can find that their entire day is a reason for mini-celebrations. There might be breakfast in bed, made for them by a significant other, or even a roommate. Then there might be a small party at work, or plans for one after work. Then at home, there might be another celebration. Either might even be a surprise, and unknown to the person until everyone jumps out and yells 'surprise!!'
One tradition in America is that the person with the birthday pins a dollar to his or her shirt before leaving for work. Everyone who meets that person face to face and who has an extra dollar, gives it to be pinned to the shirt with the original dollar. Of course, this is most profitable for those who work with the public and meet many people during their working day.
What are some birthday traditions from your country or culture?
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Dating Around
Guest post of the week by Deangelo Spencer
Ever since I moved to Austin I have been dating like crazy. I moved here from Miami about a year ago, and I have been on so many dates that I can’t even remember all the guys. Unfortunately, I can only remember the weird ones. One of the first guys I went out with worked for directv Austin. I figured since he went around installing satellite dishes in people’s houses he was probably pretty normal. When we went out I found out he was obsessed with vampire movies, books, and shows. He was 30 years old but had read the whole Twilight series and seen all the movies. It was all he could talk about. I know this is mean, but I only sat through dinner so that I could have a good story to laugh about with my friends. Most of the other guys have been pretty normal. There was the guy who was a professor at UT, and the other one who was a PhD student. I’m loving the single life and dating different people. I didn’t know Austin would be such a great town for it.
Ever since I moved to Austin I have been dating like crazy. I moved here from Miami about a year ago, and I have been on so many dates that I can’t even remember all the guys. Unfortunately, I can only remember the weird ones. One of the first guys I went out with worked for directv Austin. I figured since he went around installing satellite dishes in people’s houses he was probably pretty normal. When we went out I found out he was obsessed with vampire movies, books, and shows. He was 30 years old but had read the whole Twilight series and seen all the movies. It was all he could talk about. I know this is mean, but I only sat through dinner so that I could have a good story to laugh about with my friends. Most of the other guys have been pretty normal. There was the guy who was a professor at UT, and the other one who was a PhD student. I’m loving the single life and dating different people. I didn’t know Austin would be such a great town for it.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Days of the Week in English with Pronunciation Videos Embedded
The days of the week are:
Sunday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Please note the spelling for Wednesday. It has a silent 'd' included. The first 'd' is not audible, and is often left out of the word by accident, resulting in a misspelled word.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Spending a Saturday playing dress up with my clothes
Guest post written by Hannah Bateman
I know that it sounds a little silly to play dress up in your own clothes, but a lot of the time that's the only way that you can really get some new great outfit combinations going. You just never know how something is going to look unless you try it on for yourself to see. Well, I like to do that every now and then because it keeps me from having to feel like I have to go shopping every so often. It's the ultimate shopping your own closet, but also like playing dress up when you were young. I used to really love dressing up when I was little. So it probably helps me get more wear out of my existing wardrobe and saving me money in the long run.
I get all kinds of inspiration online with my wireless internet Winter Park and some of my favorite fashion blogs. I think that I really get all of my fashion ideas from fashion blogs now anyway. I love seeing how people put themselves together anyway.
I'm not sure if people would care to see what I wear on a daily basis, but I dress for me anyway.
I know that it sounds a little silly to play dress up in your own clothes, but a lot of the time that's the only way that you can really get some new great outfit combinations going. You just never know how something is going to look unless you try it on for yourself to see. Well, I like to do that every now and then because it keeps me from having to feel like I have to go shopping every so often. It's the ultimate shopping your own closet, but also like playing dress up when you were young. I used to really love dressing up when I was little. So it probably helps me get more wear out of my existing wardrobe and saving me money in the long run.
I get all kinds of inspiration online with my wireless internet Winter Park and some of my favorite fashion blogs. I think that I really get all of my fashion ideas from fashion blogs now anyway. I love seeing how people put themselves together anyway.
I'm not sure if people would care to see what I wear on a daily basis, but I dress for me anyway.
Friday, September 23, 2011
I've left Facebook
I'm not sure if it will be permanent, but after finding that the changes they've made will require me to do a lot of work, and I do mean a lot, for each person on my friends list, I'm not interested. I made a note when I was deactivating my account that when they change it back to how it is, I'll come back. I don't need Facebook, really, but it was a nice little relationship while it lasted.
I'm not the only one who is disappointed by the latest 'improvement' and along with the others who feel the same way I do, I can't understand those who think the new changes are beneficial. Less control over what I am exposed to is not beneficial, at least not in my opinion.
Some of the people who say we just have to go with the flow because we don't pay for the service forget that we users do, in a way, pay for Facebook's operation, through ad revenue. The majority of people who posted about this latest change are not happy. Those that leave might, in the long run, make things better, IF Facebook changes things back. The ones who complain and then stay, I think of them as sheep. Big Brother Facebook says 'here, read this story and that post, and you will be happy, we decide now what you will read, unless you tell us about each individual who posts.'
Another thing I found is that everything you post is ok, it's still public, private, however you set that part up, but when your post hits someone else's page, and their friends who aren't on your list, well, they do get to read your posts, even if they are private. There really is no 'private' any more at Facebook. That, right there, was the last straw with me.
What do you think of Facebook?
I'm not the only one who is disappointed by the latest 'improvement' and along with the others who feel the same way I do, I can't understand those who think the new changes are beneficial. Less control over what I am exposed to is not beneficial, at least not in my opinion.
Some of the people who say we just have to go with the flow because we don't pay for the service forget that we users do, in a way, pay for Facebook's operation, through ad revenue. The majority of people who posted about this latest change are not happy. Those that leave might, in the long run, make things better, IF Facebook changes things back. The ones who complain and then stay, I think of them as sheep. Big Brother Facebook says 'here, read this story and that post, and you will be happy, we decide now what you will read, unless you tell us about each individual who posts.'
Another thing I found is that everything you post is ok, it's still public, private, however you set that part up, but when your post hits someone else's page, and their friends who aren't on your list, well, they do get to read your posts, even if they are private. There really is no 'private' any more at Facebook. That, right there, was the last straw with me.
What do you think of Facebook?
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Phone Tree
This guest post from Lenny Mcknight
When was the last time that you spent thirty minutes on the phone holding and trying to work your way through a phone tree? Today everyone has them. Some are worse than others. They phone trees that are the worst are the ones that cut you off, don’t call you back, and don’t have an option where you can speak to an operator. I was surprised to hear a phone tree when I called the gas station to track down my lost credit card. I even think I would pay an extra dollar a month to be connected to a live person when I call somewhere than having to navigate an impossible automated system. Luckily, for some of the businesses that I call often, I have memorized the navigation choices and am able to cut at least five minutes out of my wait time. I did have a good experience when I called about a television package . direct tv customer service was much more streamlined than the natural gas company that put me on hold for forty-five minutes even after I had been cut off twice! Maybe I should start billing these places for my time!
When was the last time that you spent thirty minutes on the phone holding and trying to work your way through a phone tree? Today everyone has them. Some are worse than others. They phone trees that are the worst are the ones that cut you off, don’t call you back, and don’t have an option where you can speak to an operator. I was surprised to hear a phone tree when I called the gas station to track down my lost credit card. I even think I would pay an extra dollar a month to be connected to a live person when I call somewhere than having to navigate an impossible automated system. Luckily, for some of the businesses that I call often, I have memorized the navigation choices and am able to cut at least five minutes out of my wait time. I did have a good experience when I called about a television package . direct tv customer service was much more streamlined than the natural gas company that put me on hold for forty-five minutes even after I had been cut off twice! Maybe I should start billing these places for my time!
Monday, September 5, 2011
For My ESL Readers Doing Business in Canada
There is a site I found that has several products listed, that you might be interested in using to buy Canadian-based items. It would save you money on shipping over sites that are USA-based, which is where I am. eBay is just getting too complicated, and isn't very user-friendly, especially for Sellers.
This site is good for finding office supplies at excellent prices, and for those teaching ESL classes, there are school supplies also available. The first page is pretty bare-bones, but I've found that the search engines on the site return several excellent products. One of the search formats is a comparison guide that works rather well.
One thing about this site that several of my readers might be interested in knowing is that you can sell your products to other users here, as well. eBay is just getting too complicated, and isn't very user-friendly, especially for Sellers.
Office supplies are not the only category you can list in, either. There are several, including fashion, books and other media, and even musical instruments.
Take a look around, and let me know in the comments section below if you found this site helpful. ESL isn't just about reading, it's about writing, too!
This site is good for finding office supplies at excellent prices, and for those teaching ESL classes, there are school supplies also available. The first page is pretty bare-bones, but I've found that the search engines on the site return several excellent products. One of the search formats is a comparison guide that works rather well.
One thing about this site that several of my readers might be interested in knowing is that you can sell your products to other users here, as well. eBay is just getting too complicated, and isn't very user-friendly, especially for Sellers.
Office supplies are not the only category you can list in, either. There are several, including fashion, books and other media, and even musical instruments.
Take a look around, and let me know in the comments section below if you found this site helpful. ESL isn't just about reading, it's about writing, too!
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