Day 127: 2.5 million dollar project (2)

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 127: 2.5 million dollar project (2)

There was a time when I woke up to the sound of silence, or birdsong, depending on the time of day. When I wake up at 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. I hear nothing at all, but when waking up around 6:00 a.m. (which doesn’t happen very often) I get greeted by a cacophony of birds all competing with each other with tweets, chirps, and songs.

Nowadays I wake up to a different loudness. With the parking project in full swing, the construction workers create their own kind of noise. A jackhammer, a type of mini bulldozer and two other machines all fight with one another over who can create the biggest racket.

Then there are the men. Most of the time they go about their job in ‘silence’ but every now and then they need to communicate with each other which is not as easy as you might think. When Marcel is having fun with the jackhammer, Renee has to shout and whistle quite a few times to get his attention.

When they talk to each other, they don’t really talk as such, they shout. Understandable as one man is on one side of the parking lot and the other is on the other side. So, communication goes in the form of yells, screams, and hollers.

How the men manage to work in this heat is beyond me. Yesterday's temperature was 28 deg C (82.4 deg F) but they don’t seem to be bothered. Dressed in jeans, T-shirts and a helmet, they sit in the tiny cabins of their machinery and tirelessly scoop up the soil and deposited it in the container. Judging by the mountain of soil it’s going to take them days if not weeks to get through it.

Someone asked me the other day if I was a construction worker, which job I would prefer. Would I want to be a builder, a glazer, or did I have something else in mind? I didn’t have to think long. If I was to be in construction, I would want to be a crane man, okay to be correct a crane woman. I quite fancy the idea of sitting high and dry in my own little cabin, several meters above the ground. There’s a problem though … I have a fear of heights.

Anyway, back to ‘my’ construction workers. Around 12:00 the noise usually stops when the workers kill their machinery for lunchtime. They eat, they have a cup of coffee or tea, followed by a well-deserved rest. From the looks of it, the one on the left is contemplating life, the middle one is busy with some stretch exercises, while the one of the right is conked out. For his sake, let’s hope there are no birds in those trees.

I can’t wait to see what they get up to in week three.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 124: 2.5 million dollar project (1)

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 124: 2.5 million dollar project (1)

In addition to my own 365 creative writing prompts project, I would like to keep you up to date on another project. A $2.5 million project.

The works involve replacing the membrane of the parking garage of our condo building. Four members of the board of directors were in favor of this project, one was against it, so this was a no-brainer … with 4 to 1 the majority won.

The quotes that were presented for this project ranged from $2.5 million to $4 million, or so we were told. I contacted a construction company on my own and received a quote for $1.3 million. Why the difference? Who knows, draw your own conclusion.

Anyway, the works started last week by ripping up the asphalt.

While Charlotte and Gabriel couldn’t give a flying leap about what’s going on outside, for Holly and Halley this is great entertainment. The works usually start at 8:00 a.m. at which time one or both of them sit on my bedroom windowsill. Once I’m up and about and the balcony door is open, they move to the ledge and keep an eye on the workers from there.

 (Halley clearly has her doubts)

I should mention that this particular project is set to finish in November. Then next year phase two will start, followed by phase three.

In the meantime, I would like to keep you up to date on the progress by means of a weekly report. Since pictures are worth a 1,000 words, let the pictures do the talking …

 www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 63: How to fix the economy

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 63: How to fix the economy

Over the past few days, I’ve been spending time with the rich and famous, the very rich. Well, not actually spending time ‘with’ time as much as helping them decide which yacht to rent or buy by way of describing these superyachts. It was an eye-opener, to say the least.

Usually, I’m not interested in yachts. If I can’t afford them, why go to exhibitions where these ships are on display or watch TV shows that feature these things. However, on this occasion a number of writers were required to give a detailed description of several yachts and since the job paid well I decided to join the team.

I just about fell in love with the first ship I did, the Northern Star. On the outside, she’s just about like any other ship, but on the inside ... OMG like I said, it was love at first sight. It didn’t even look like a ship, it looked like a home. A beautiful, tastefully decorated home. Writing about it was a breeze.

The Northern Star

One of the dining rooms

One of the sitting rooms

One of the bedrooms

One of the decks

Unfortunately, I will never have the pleasure of vacationing on such a ship because, while I have no idea how much the Northern Star costs to purchase, even renting her for a week is way out of my budget. Just in case you’re interested, renting the Northern Star will cost you $768,000 per week. Per week!!!

Following the Northern Star, I wrote about several other ships. Also beautifully decorated, but not quite too my taste. Too modern.

And then I came across the Al Salamah, a mega yacht previously owned by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. If you’re interested in buying this ship you better come up with $300 million. For this price, you and 39 of your friends can revel in the lap of luxury and be waited on hand and foot by a crew of 92. 

And then this morning I came across a plea for a donation from a man whose daughter has blood cancer. He is working, but he can’t afford the treatment for his daughter on his salary.

Now isn’t this ironic? On the one hand, there is a man who can spend $300 million dollars on a ship, and several more millionaires who can fork out over $500,000 to spend one week on a yacht. Yet here is a man who can’t afford to keep his daughter alive.

And he is, no doubt, not the only one.

My guess is that there are tons of people who can’t afford the medical care they need. And I’m not just talking about cancer treatment. Here in Canada for instance, medical care is free, but dental, eye care, hearing, and medication must be paid. Thus, lots of people forego going to the dentist, do without glasses, without hearing aids or without medication.

Others have it even worse. The can’t afford housing, warm clothing, or even decent food.

Where it comes to money distribution, the folks who waste their money on million dollar homes, luxury cars, yachts and other outrages expenses should be forced to share their wealth with the less fortunate. And I’m not talking about the poor people in Africa (although they too can do with some help) or those on welfare. I’m talking about the average working class. Folks who go to work every day and still struggle to make ends meet or who barely get by.

Wouldn’t it be nice if those rich wasters were forced to donate an equal amount of money to what they spent on frivolities? If they pay $300 million for a yacht, they should be forced to donate $300 million. If another waste $40 million on a house, he should contribute $40 million to the people fund. If another still spends $2.2 million on a car, $2.2 million should be donated, etc.

Not only would the rich think twice before wasting their money, the economy would benefit from their donations. Do you know how many people live in million dollar mansions, drive luxury cars, and vacation on superyachts ... tons of them. 

With more money to spend, the working class would be able to afford a house/condo, a car, furniture, clothes, groceries, and anything else they might want or need. With more items needed production the economy would go up and unemployment down. Even the crime rate might go down.

Then again, who would oversee such a donation fund? Charitable organizations have notoriously sticky fingers and with millions coming in it’s only a matter of time before someone or several someones would nibble on the fund for their own gain.

Still, fixing the economy this way is a nice thought, isn’t it?

www.connymanero.weebly.com

$418 million payout

Some woman in Los Angeles just received $418 million for allegedly having contracted ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson baby powder.

As part of her personal hygiene, she adopted the routine of taking a bottle of baby powder and sticking it … well, need I say more.

Who in their right mind sticks a bottle of baby powder in their privates? As one woman said, she’s been using Johnson & Johnson baby powder for years, but she wouldn’t dream of using it inside her.

So, ladies, all of you who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, why not unite online and start a lawsuit too?

But why stop there. Cancer patient everywhere, no matter what type of cancer you have, let’s all unite and sue someone. I’m sure we can all do with some money.

Perhaps I should start the group. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. I had surgery followed by radiation. Nobody gave me a dime. Worse, I had to pay for my own transportation, which I could ill afford.

Maybe I should have sued a deodorant company, then I too would have received millions. 

She says she wasn't looking for a payout, she just wanted to draw attention to protect other women. Okay, then why not just write to one or several of the major newspapers? 

And why not hold the FDA responsible? They're the ones who approved the baby powder. 

And what about the lawyers? Did any of them look into the sexual habits of this woman? How many partners she had.