The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Goofyernmost said:
The camper pictured is almost exactly what my dad bought a couple years into his camping craziness. The difference was our pickup was baby blue and he being a person of detail, had painted the stripes on the camper to match. Relatively recently I wrote a mini-novel to give to my family entitled "What is a Queue, and why do I have to stand in it." The title is a little misleading because most of it didn't include a queue, but, did outline our mis-adventures in camping (i.e. vacationing) through the years. It is way to long to post the whole thing, but, I will put in a few small sections of the pickup camper from hell to give you an idea, albeit a small one, as to my unabashed hatred of camping. The title of this chapter is:

Florida in July
Or is it possible to have your underwear actually melt and become part of your skin?

"My sister and I were relegated to the camper for the long awaited trip. We had a view of everything on the right hand side of it. That’s the only side with windows. We also could climb up in the bunk that overhung the pickup cab and lie on our bellies and look out the front, bug splattered, window to see actually where we were going, instead of just what we were along side of. One of the modern conveniences in the mansion on wheels was an intercom system that connected us with our parents in the front of us. My sister took this opportunity to whine constantly in an effort to get me in trouble and also score herself a place in the cab of the pickup.

We drove endlessly through the rest of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. We did, or at least I, managed to see a lot of the right side of the states. We drove through mountain roads that I doubt anyone had been on since they built them as part of the New Deal. I have no recollection of where we spent the first night, but it would have had to be a pull off on the highway because it seems like I remember being terrified that someone would break into our little house and kill us all in the night.

It is probably time to discuss another miscalculation. Heat! We were from the north and our imagination of what southern heat was like was off by a very long way. Our blood was thick as tar and it was hot enough to melt tar. Turn on the AC you say? OK, but there wasn’t any. While on the road we could crack the windows a little and get a little breeze to hit us on the face, but at night all we had for the four of us was a 6 inch stationary fan pretty much pointed at Dad. That was only if we were able to plug into a 110 volt outlet someplace. I don’t think I need to be descriptive about just how grumpy four people in a small room with the heat in the 90’s and nothing more than a 6 inch fan to keep us feeling fresh can become.

Driving through Georgia pre-interstate highway time, was also a never ending trek. I do remember stopping at a roadside stand and Dad bought us a fresh Watermelon that we absorbed directly through our skin in an effort to re-hydrate. Finally after what seemed like we were following Moses through the desert for 40 years, we crossed into Florida. The most pleasant part of the trip started there at the Florida Welcome Station where they had cold, fresh Orange Juice that they gave to all of us happy little tourists. Man, I can still taste it. I have never had any Orange Juice that good since then.

I have very vivid memories of stopping at Silver Springs and riding the Glass Bottom Boats, crossing over the Swanee River as in way down upon the, fame, but the sequence escapes me. I do remember finding a campground somewhere not too far from Silver Springs, I think. It was mostly sand and palm trees and it was along side a lake. I couldn’t wait to get into that lake and cool off. My mother, however, had a different idea of what would be a good time considering that there was always the possibility of Alligators living in any lake in Florida and she wanted to return to the North with the same number of complete children that she left with.

While fueling up at a small gas station in Florida some old timers were sitting out front and talking about how this was the hottest they could remember it being. Of course that could just have been a way to scare tourist away, but we had no reason to doubt it. It was Hot. How hot? As Robin Williams said in “Good Morning, Vietnam”… Damn Hot! Our little 6 inch fan was working overtime but still not able to produce enough airflow to alter the flight path of a Gnat."

And if you think this was long, you should see the whole essay. The outcome of that trip was we never made it to Key West which was our original target. This took place in 1962 long before WDW even existed. We got as far as Daytona Beach before my parents came to their collective senses and pointed the thing north for a fast trip back to breathable air. This was just one of many adventures that almost never came out good if the word "camping" could be associated with it.
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Ha! That was great!! Burst out laughing over the Moses in the desert reference. :p
 
Gabe1

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
MySmallWorldof4 said:
Ha ha! Sure. I took this picture of my current 6 year old last May at EPCOT in the UK. It is in the maze area. Apparently there is or was maybe(since it has been almost a year), a spot where there is a literal hole in the bushes. My little one found it and to quickly catch her other siblings ran through it. I just thought it was so funny that I got a picture of her climbing through it.
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How fun
 
FutureCEO

FutureCEO

Well-Known Member
StarWarsGirl said:
I decided to get Amazon prime. I could still get it for the student price, and I decided to get the store card to build some credit. I figured now that I'm working and I'm not five minutes from Target and Best Buy with hour-long breaks like I was in college, it would save me time.

Whelp, my sunglasses broke today. It's only the second day of work, and I could have gone to one of the shops across the street after work to pick up a new pair.

And...nope. I'm already to lazy to walk into an actual store. New sunglasses from Amazon will be here Monday.
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It's people like you times millions that are killing all the retail stores which actually has cheaper prices than Amazon.

Laziness and Robots.


Though sometimes you do have to buy online cause they don't have in stores.
 
donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
ajrwdwgirl said:
It is still super windy here. It was a long flight home last night. First we were delayed about 40 minutes for a mechanical issue, then we spent a couple extra hours in the air because of the storm. It was a rough landing. The pilot said we flew an extra 1000 miles waiting to be diverted back to Minneapolis. It was tough today at school because we landed at 12:45 am and got home at 2am. Finally got to sleep at 2:30am and got up at 6:30. I think it will be an early night.
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Sympathy like for the delays and late night, but, glad y'all made it home safe...! :)
 
donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Gabe1 said:
10986935_10153075456290132_1399536191445374384_n.jpg
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Hahaaa...!
Yea, never gonna' "ketch" ;) me putting ketchup on a hot dog.
Mustard all the way...!!! :hungry:

image.jpeg
 
donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Gabe1 said:
My former next door neighbors son has this car. It was given to him by his Dad for his 15th Birthday-so he could anticipate for a full year being able to drive it-he only got to work on it and restore it properly and they did. His Dad was a drag racer and found a pretty cherry car for its age. They fixed some mechanical things and then had it repainted and redid the upholstery. That, a new camaro and his Dad's Dodge race car was in the garage when there was an electrical fire in the garage. (my son called the kid, a young adult at the time at work to tell him the garage was on fire and fire department there.) Being an electrical fire there wasn't flames but lots and lots of white smoke. All three cars made it but needed work and they unloaded the new camaro. The boys Dad passed in 07 but the old red car lives on. Doubt the kid is going to ever sell that one. Nor Dads Harley.
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If that car is indeed a fully restored '70-ish model Chevy Chevelle SS 454 it is worth a LOT of :greedy::greedy::greedy:...!!!
 
StarWarsGirl

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
FutureCEO said:
It's people like you times millions that are killing all the retail stores which actually has cheaper prices than Amazon.

Laziness and Robots.


Though sometimes you do have to buy online cause they don't have in stores.
Click to expand...
The reason why many retailers are doing poor is a multifaceted problem. Online consumer spending is just one of many trends, but companies are learning to adapt to that trend. There's a new term that's popped up called omnichannel marketing, which is basically integration of the online and in-store experience. Best Buy is a prime example. They have an option to find items in the store via their website or to order online and pick up in store. Best Buy also has WiFi in their stores, and their products in-store have QR codes so you can scan them on your phone and see more product information. Companies that are successful with omnichannel marketing tend to do better.

Walmart is a major reason for the downfall of so many companies. They came in long before Amazon and other major online retailers, and they still surpass Amazon in revenue. Personally, I really hate Walmart stores and won't shop there unless I have to, but many take advantage of their prices, which are always consistent. Walmart rarely does sales in favor of always having their prices low. They also sell basically everything, so they took down many stores at once. Amazon took down bookstores, but other than that, they're still new to the game.

Many retailers are also failing to be innovative. It's one of the reasons department stores are failing; they think the same methods from 20 years ago will work today. Failing to change and move along with the times is a surefire way to go out of business. One of the reasons Amazon is so successful is because they strive to be innovative and they focus on improving their customer experience. They are always trying to change and move along with the times. They try constantly to deliver their products faster, to add new features, to develop new products. And yes, that means that sometimes, they have major flops (case in point: Fire phone). But it also means they're innovating and not staying the same. Whereas other than the actual clothing, does a Macy's really look that much different from 20 years ago? (I'm going with no here because I was about two years old 20 years ago, but based on what I've read and seen on TV, I'm thinking nope)

We also have a general shift in consumer spending, especially among millenials (a term I hate because of all the stereotypes that go along with it, but that is useful for marketing studies). Younger people prefer to spend less on material items, more on experiences. They buy what they need, they invest in their technology, but they're not necessarily willing to spring for all of the goods that other generations might have. Millenials are more likely to spend money going someplace for the day and doing something than walking through a mall and shopping for things.

I do have to say, though, Amazon is convenient. For me, I was mostly looking for a way to establish some credit, and a store card is a good way to start because it's easier to get approved. Amazon made sense because I do tend to purchase from them, plus my prime subscription was $49 for the entire year. And like I said, since I now have to drive at least 10 minutes to go to Target and Best Buy, it just makes sense to get Amazon and have the shipping benefits. I save time and gas money. Not to mention their prices do tend to be excellent. The sunglasses I bought are retailed at $40. They were $20 on Amazon, plus I had a $10 gift card. So much of what I buy I also can't find elsewhere. I have a power pack I've never seen in stores, and ones that are comparable to mine are $20 more than what I paid. The sunscreen we like we also can only find online and at Disney.
 

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