SURPRISE FROM NADYA

About 40 years ago I sold real estate for a short time. But when I quit, I continued to keep my license in hopes that I could on occasion make money with it. In fact from 1996 until the “no-call list” went into effect, I called owners who were selling their homes, to recommend good realtors I knew, in order to earn a referral fee. It was a lucrative little endeavor as I made a few thousand dollars a year for just making some phone calls.

This winter I decided to try again. And so in January I began calling homes that were advertised as “For sale by owner”. However, lately since I am having no success I have been feeling very discouraged. And so, I am trying to come up with a new idea to change my luck, as I certainly won’t quit.

But hooray!!! Today I received a great surprise -- an email from Nadya a realtor I am working with. She just listed a condo I referred to her for $185,000. That means I could earn about $500. Not bad for sitting at my dining room table making some phone calls. Here’s hoping in this poor real estate market, the condo sells, as I won’t receive a check until it does.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

SURPRISE FROM NADYA

About 40 years ago I sold real estate for a short time. But when I quit, I continued to keep my license in hopes that I could on occasion make money with it. In fact from 1996 until the “no-call list” went into effect, I called owners who were selling their homes, to recommend good realtors I knew in order to earn a referral fee. It was a lucrative little endeavor as I made a few thousand dollars a year for just making some phone calls.

This winter I decided to try again. And so in January I began calling homes that were advertised as “For sale by owner”. However, lately since I am having no success I have been feeling very discouraged. And so, I am trying to come up with a new idea to change my luck, as I certainly won’t quit.

But hooray!!! Today I received a great surprise -- an email from Nadya a realtor I am working with. She just listed a condo I referred to her for $185,000. That means I could earn about $500. Not bad for sitting at my dining room table making some phone calls. Here’s hoping in this poor real estate market, the condo sells, as I won’t receive a check until it does.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

MY SPRINT BILL

When I opened the letter I received from the Sprint Telephone Company this morning, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The letter showed I owed $102 for two past due bills and the current month. But I pay my bills as soon as they arrive and so the letter thoroughly surprised me. In the past I would put my bills in a drawer when they arrived and then a week or two later pay them all at one time. However, occasionally, I forgot about the bills and ended up paying them late and incurring an overdue charge.

But the letter from Sprint also warned me that they would terminate my service if I didn’t pay promptly. I certainly didn’t want to lose my service as I’ve had it for close to 10 years and still pay the low $35 I paid when I first purchased my Sprint phone. And so I looked in my checkbook and discovered that I had in deed not made a payment since Jan. 5^th. How could that have happened I wondered? The company must not have sent me a bill in February and March.

Thus, I immediately called to ask why they hadn’t sent me a bill. The representative didn’t know and suggested I call back in the beginning of Apr, if I did not receive my next bill. At that time they would follow-up and investigate the problem. Thus, I marked my calendar and then quickly called Sprint to make a payment over the phone to make sure I didn’t lose my service.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.c

LASER EYE TREATMENT

In February, my eye doctor scheduled laser treatments to “tweak” my cataract surgery. At the first appointment, my doctor treated the right eye and everything went fine. But at the second appointment, the doctor asked if I would let her student perform the treatment. I felt uncomfortable, as I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. And so I came up with an idea.

I said to the doctor, “How about if you do half and he does half?” But I wish I hadn’t, because now my eye is worse than before the procedure. I have a follow-up appointment in a week and I sure hope the doctor can fix it.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

NEW PORTABLE PHONE

My daughter stopped by yesterday with the two new portable phones I asked her to buy for me. In the last month, my portable phones, have died twice in the middle of a conversation and in the process caused all the other phones in my house to stop working. Thus, I knew I needed to replace them and yet, it hasn’t happened again for two weeks and so I thought, “Maybe the problem will go away.”

As a result, I said to my daughter, I better keep the sales slip, in case I decide to return them in a couple weeks if my phones seem trouble-free. But she suggested I keep them anyway, as eventually portable phones do need to be thrown away and I will need new ones. As I was concerned about the batteries wearing down, she said, “No problem. Don’t place them in the phone and charge them until you want to start using them and you’ll be fine.”

But then when she proceeded to open one of the boxes to show me, she discovered the box on the seal had been broken, the battery was already inserted in the phone, and it was obviously a used product. Wow…. I’m so glad she discovered this error. We immediately called the store where she purchased the phones and gladly heard we could exchange the used portable for a new one!!!!

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

THANK YOU NOTES

Today when I collected the letters from my mailbox, I found two small envelopes with my daughter’s address on the backs. I couldn’t imagine why she had sent them to me. To my delight, each of my grandson’s had written a thank you note to me.

Recently I gave them each a good “chunk” of money to invest in their college funds. Two years ago, I inherited money from my Mom and it has been “sitting” in one of my investment accounts. When I received the money, I immediately decided to earmark the money for my grandchildren’s education. And so I haven’t spent any of it. But it occurred to me that, heaven forbid, if I land in a nursing home someday, my grandsons may get nothing. Since I own my house and have several IRA’s, I feel confident that I will have enough money for my future. And so I thought it would be wise for me to start giving the boys $13,000 a year, the amount the government allows as gifts without tax implications.

And in the meantime, my wonderful grandsons thoughtfully remembered to send me a thank you note. I am sooooooo proud of them. And my Mom, who loved her great grandsons dearly, would be so pleased to be contributing to their education.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

MY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE GIFTS

Last Saturday when I went to the bridge club, I took two batches of my chocolate chip cookies with me. I planned to drop off one batch at the gas station to show my appreciation to Jim, the owner, for unlocking my car doors a week earlier. I had locked myself out while pumping gas and Jim didn’t charge me a penny for opening the doors. But as I was driving, I decided to call the gas station first to find out when Jim would be in that day. “Oh, he doesn’t work on the weekends,” I was told. Oh well, I would just take the cookies home and put them into the freezer and try again later.

The other batch was for Mike, one of the men who played bridge weekly, at the local bridge club. After our game the previous week Mike had done me a favor. He had mentioned he was on his way to the library. So I asked if he would return my books at the same time. He did and I decided he also deserved some cookies. But when I got to the club, I learned Mike had gone out of town. I could hardly believe I struck out twice in one day.

But not to worry. I had extra cookies at home that I had planned on giving to Barb, a neighbor who helped me take in my groceries recently and another batch for Alisa a new neighbor who was moving into my 4-unit townhouse in another week. Thus, as I drove home Sat. afternoon, I decided I could easily drop off one batch to Barb, which I did. And lo and behold when I pulled up to my garage, I saw Alisa moving some items into her new condo and so I was able to give my second batch of chocolate chip cookies to her. “All was not lost!” I had successfully delivered two batches of cookies after all.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

THREE-LEGGED DOG

For the past six months I have noticed a new man in my neighborhood walking his dog – a small sandy-haired canine. Because he started walking the dog during the winter months, I could only see the dog’s head and top of it’s body as the snow covered his legs. I watched mesmerized by the dog’s jerky gait.

But one day when the snow had melted and the man walked past with his pet, I finally saw the dog hobbled by on only three legs. It broke my heart. Although, I know it’s not unusual for owners to amputate an injured dog or cat's leg and the animals do just fine, it makes me terribly sad. And so today, when once again I saw the man and dog, a little pain tugged at my heart-strings.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

MORE TELEPHONE PROBLEMS

It happened again this morning for the second time in exactly two weeks. While talking on the portable phone in my upstairs bedroom the phone died in the middle of a conversation. When I picked up the phone in my other bedroom to call back my friend, I only heard a crackling noise on the line. This was the exact same thing that happened previously.

The telephone repairman said he thought the problem originated from the base of the portable phone in my living room. So sure enough when I unplugged that phone, my telephone problem disappeared just like last time. And when I then plugged the phone back into the wall socket it once again worked just fine.

But obviously, this problem will continue to occur and so I have no choice but to buy two new portable phones!!!

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

EMAIL ADDRESS SIMILARITY

The ladies in my high school graduating class are planning a luncheon in April and I am in charge of sending out all the emails. Initially, I simply sent out an invitation, but so many women sent back, not only their response, but some “news” about themselves. Because I enjoyed reading their emails so much, I decided to forward the emails to the others.

Thus, in the last few weeks, my classmates have received quite a few messages from me. But today, I received a very interesting response. A guy in California, Mike, wrote, “Please remove me from your list. I graduated in 1983 in California . Thanks.” Wow … you can imagine how surprised I was! Although, I immediately noticed he shared the same last name as one of my classmates. And so, I called Natalie, told her what happened, and asked her, “What IS your email address?” Sure enough. Their addresses were identical except for one letter. Natalie’s email starts with the letter N followed by her last name, whereas Mike’s email is limited to just their same last name.

I immediately wrote back to Mike, explained the situation and told him I corrected the error. And what a nice guy he must be. Within a few minutes he wrote back, “Not a problem. I appreciate your timely response. Hope your reunion is enjoyable. Mike.”

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

FIRST PLACE AT BRIDE

I could hardly believe it when the director announced the winners. My partner, John, and I had won. For years, when my Mom was alive we played duplicate bridge once or twice a week and often came in either first, second, or third. But over the past three years, I have not played as often and do not have a steady partner. And so, most of the time I come in last or near the bottom.

But today we won. Actually, I think luck played a big part. We only had to compete against four other pairs and many of the best players were out-of-town at a tournament in Louisville, KY. Nevertheless, it was fun to be the winners.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

T.D.S., MY TELEPHONE COMPANY

Shortly after I woke up Tuesday morning. I called my insurance company. But after just a few minutes of conversation, the phone went dead. I went into another room to place the call again. However, when I picked up a different phone, all I heard was static. Of course, I quickly went downstairs and tried my other phones, unfortunately, they also emitted a static sound.

Thank goodness for cell phones. I called the phone company and they told me that a service repairman would fix my phone later that day. Then they asked if I had paid for a repair service plan. Since, I had not paid the $3.00 a month charge, it would cost me $60. Oh well, I have lived in my house for 31 years and never had any trouble before. Thus, I rationalized that I had actually saved money. The cost of $3 a month for 31 years would have totaled $108. So I got a deal after all.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARTY

Every year, the health club I belong to hosts a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day party at a great restaurant. The food -- corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, rolls, brownies and chocolate chip cookies -- is delicious and better yet, free to all the members. I have attended each year and have always enjoyed myself. Although, the first year I joined the club, I hadn’t planned on going as I assumed that most of the attendees would be young singles.

However, my Mom always loved corned beef and cabbage and so I decided to take her. Surprisingly enough when we sat down, my Mom at 85 was not even the oldest person at our table. There were several in their 90’s!! This year I attended with another member of the health club whom I met in the swimming pool when I first joined. We arrived at the party at 2:00 and after eating we continued chatting away. I checked my watch a couple times and about 4:00 I said it was probably time to get going.

But what a surprise I had when I got home. It was 6:00. How could it have gotten so late? I only live 3 blocks from the restaurant. But, I discovered it happened very easily. The last time I wore the watch that I put on today was ten days ago, before day-light savings time took effect. So all afternoon, I was looking at a watch that was an hour behind.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

WONDERFUL NEIGHBOR

Yesterday, when I drove home from the grocery store, I had 14 bags of groceries in the trunk of my car. As I pulled into my garage, one of my neighbors happened to walk by. And when she saw me begin to unload my groceries she offered to help. I didn’t want to bother her and so I said, “Oh, thank you but that’s not necessary.” Nevertheless, she protested, “I would be glad to help.”

Since my garage is in the basement, I have to drag them upstairs to my kitchen on the first floor and she knows it is not easy for me. Because she so sincerely wanted to help me, I said yes and was really grateful that she did. This is not the first time she has offered her assistance and I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful neighbor.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

SHIRLEY SWEET

I seldom attend Friday night services. In fact, I only go for Mom and Dad’s Yarhzeit and the High Holidays. But this year I went to Friday night services two weeks in a row. When I was at services for the Yarzheit service, the Rabbi announced that the following week he would be honoring my cousin, Shirley Sweet, for working in the Temple’s office for 50 years.

Well, of course I wanted to attend. In addition, there was a special dinner before hand that I knew I would enjoy. A friend agreed to go with me and so we went. When the Rabbi began reading the Torah portion during the service, I immediately recognized it as the same Torah portion read at my son’s Bar Mitzvah. What a coincidence that I had been at this very same service 30 year’s ago.

The Torah portion was about sacrifices and I remembered that Rick had been playing hockey that year and had to miss a hockey game the night he was Bar Mitzvhed – his example of a sacrifice .

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

EXCHANGING MY NEW CD PLAYER

What a bummer. It’s such a hassle for me to get to Best Buy. And I’m frustrated because I was just there this past Tuesday. And now I have to go back again this week to exchange my new CD player.

When I bought my new machine I bought a smaller one with out a tape player. But I had one important question for the salesman. “Does it display the minutes for each track on the CD?” I asked. He replied that it did and so I bought it. Unfortunately, when I unpacked it and placed a CD inside the display on the outside only showed me which track I was listening too.

It made me furious. But what can I do. I only wish I had just bought the same kind of CD player that I had before

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

NEW CD PLAYER

About ten years ago, I started listening to audio books recorded on tapes and CD’s. Because I live alone and am retired, I have lots of time to listen – when I’m getting dressed, cooking, cleaning, etc. It’s a wonderful pastime plus I never feel alone, as all day long I have someone “talking to me,” well at least telling me a story.

On the other side of the coin, my CD/tape player gets used so much – often four or five hours a day -- that my machines don’t last long. And sure enough, last week, I pushed the play button and it popped down into the machine. Luckily, every time I have purchased a new player, I have also paid about $10 for the store’s warranty program. And so, when I took my CD/tape player back to the store, I received a new machine for free. Not bad, even though I paid another $10 to make sure I once again obtain another free machine when my new one breaks.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

MY LOCKED CAR

I can’t believe that I did it. I have pumped my own gas for over 30 years and never locked myself out of the car when I filled the car’s tank. But on Tuesday, I must have accidentally pushed down the lock button when I closed the car door. And so when I attempted to get back in, I discovered all the doors were locked.

Oh well….not to worry. I have Triple A Insurance and I would just go inside the gas station and call. Although, I did have the problem that my AAA car was in my purse and sitting on the front seat. Nevertheless, I entered the gas station and described my plight. “No problem,” the attendant said, “we have equipment to unlock the door.” Although it took a little longer than they expected, they released the lock on my car and I was on my way. But before I drove off, I told them, “I owe you big time and next week, I will come back with a batch of my chocolate chip cookies for you!” My grandsons say that I make the best chocolate chip cookies of all. Then again, what grandchild doesn’t think his/her grandmother makes the best chocolate chip cookies.

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.

CATHY’S VIDEO

Recently my daughter, Cathy, posted an extremely funny video on her Facebook page. Along with it, she wrote, “I laughed so hard, I cried.” And though I didn’t cry, I too belted out a big laugh. In fact, a couple days later when I tried telling a friend about it, I could barely finish, as I burst out laughing just as I began delivering the punch line. The video is titled, “You Better Know How to Spell” and began with a man calling 911, yelling desperately, “Please send an ambulance immediately. My wife is badly hurt.”

“What is the address?” the dispatcher replies. “I live at 837 Eucalyptus,” says the man. “How do you spell that?” asks the dispatcher. After a lengthy pause, the husband says, “I’ll drag her to Elm Street !”

By Hannah www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.