The 11 Dollar House!

I recently went by the 11 Dollar House and checked out what it was all about. It's amazing! For people who don't know, the 11 Dollar House is a house that was supposed to be condemned but two people, David and Esther, were kind enough to save it. Now they are fixing it up and giving it away. Yes, an entire house. For free. True story. I would not lie to you. I went and saw it with my own eyes.

The house is three stories: main floor, upstairs for bedrooms, and the attic, which could be another bedroom or a den. AND the basement. The entire house has been gutted and is in the process of being redone. David does, well, pretty much all of the work and it's pretty much a full-time hobby. He's there from 9-5 every day of the week working away at completing the house.

The interesting thing is this: David is a lawyer, not a carpenter or a tradesman. He has learned everything from books or from his dad. When I visited him at the house, he was putting up siding. Honestly, how many people actually know how to do this?!

Here's how the contest works: you, YES YOU, any random person, sends $11 to David and Esther along with reasoning for why you deserve the house. No job? Need more space? Whatever your reason is, David and Esther want to know. Now of course, people are going to think, "why waste my time? I won't win it." WRONG. The winner isn't just randomly placed in a draw. The entries are all taken into consideration individually. They vary from videos to letters to songs. Whatever you can think of, do it! A lady entered and said that if she won the house, she'd use the basement as a studio to teach people how to do flower bouquets. What would you do with the basement?? ENTER! and tell David and Esther.

They need to have 25 000 entries by December 31, 2008. If they don't get it, the deadline may be extended and if that doesn't work, the house will be sold. Honestly, how often do you get to pay $11 for a house? That's it!

I just think it's crazy that these people have worked on this house for more than 2 years and they're just going to give it away! I don't think I'd even work on my house for 2 years. Seriously. So enter. And tell me if you win the house so I can come visit!!

http://www.the11dollarhouse.com/

DO IT!

CFR=Not Okay

Let's start out by saying that rodeos disgust me.  I watched recent footage of the CFR and couldn't handle it.  First of all, what's the whole point?  How is it fun to go and watch someone tighten a saddle around a horse and watch him buck until someone almost gets injured?  Not that I feel sorry for the people who do get hurt, because it's their own fault.  But what is this proving?  The worst part of it all was watching the cattle roping.  A small, innocent calf goes running out and two cowboys come after it, rope its feet, and pull it in two different directions.  WHY?  This is sick and twisted.  Then, another calf comes out running and a single cowboy follows him out, throws a rope around his head, jumps off the horse, picks the calf up and throws it to the ground then walks away while the poor calf runs for its life.  How is anyone sick enough to do this to an innocent animal?  And if that wasn't enough, Taft wants to make the rodeo Alberta's official sport.  WHAT?  So we can see more people torture cattle?  Yeah, that's a real good idea.  It's bad enough that the CFR rolls in once a year.  Making it Alberta's sport will just be a cruel, year-long reminder.  Don't tell me the animals aren't bothered by all of this happening.  Do people really know that the calves don't mind this?  I don't think so.  They're scared out their mind and are running to try and get away, not running so someone can catch them with a rope.  For those people who take part in these activities, you should be ashamed.  If you want to play a sport, go play a real sport where you play against other humans who can equally hurt you back.  Leave the animals alone.

American Election

If I have to hear one more thing about Barack Obama becoming the new president, I'm probably going to puke. Sure, he beat out McCain and became the first African-American president. And yes, I did want Obama to win and I am happy that he was voted in. But that's it. That's as far as it goes. I will not rant and rave about how he is going to fix everything and be the greatest thing that ever happened to the US. After each Canadian election for a new prime minister, I barely heard anything about who won or how great it was. Yet when the US election was over, everywhere I went and every radio station I listened to talked about how Obama won. How much coverage do Canadian elections get in the States? Next to none, because if you head anywhere down south, how many people know who the Canadian prime minister actually is? Hardly any, and most people think we have a president as well. People who made ecstatic phone calls to their friends when they found out Obama won need to relax. Calm down because a week from now you'll have forgotten all about it.