So I've been meaning to write this post since the middle of February, but vacation and now a full time job have greatly diminished my "free" time. Better late than never. These are just a couple things I have "learned" lately.
Lesson #1
Have you ever driven around a parking lot only to find the row you selected does not in fact lead out? I find myself doing this often - especially in larger parking areas, where there may only be one or two entrances/exits to the street. I was driving in such a lot the other day (ahem...in mid-February) when I had a genius! realization [of which I am sure most people are already aware]...drum roll please...Follow the Fire Lane. Every parking lot has red fire lanes throughout - and they always lead to the street!!! Genius I tell you. Long gone are the days of guessing which "aisle" I should use to get out. Granted, there's always the other genius idea of going out the same way you come in...whatever.
Lesson #2
I'm constantly amazed at the vast experiential knowledge that Brad has - I guess that comes with the extra 20 years he has on me. Anyway, the other night (ahem...in mid-February) we were sitting around watching the Discovery Channel - a typical night in the Reid house. We were watching one of many shows about pawn shops and the interesting things they collect. So a man brings in a lottery ticket signed by George Washington and the employee says "Would you like to pawn it or sell it?" At which point I asked Brad "What's the difference? I thought pawn shops were just like resale shops?" Well, needless to say, that was an incorrect assessment on my part. So Brad explains to me the wide/wild world of pawning. You give a pawn shop an item (jewelry, etc.) as collateral for a small cash loan, the value determined by the item. So if I had a watch worth $100, most likely the pawn shop would give me about $50 for it. I would then be required to pay back that loan, plus interest (at varied rates) to "buyback" my watch. If I default on the loan, the watch becomes the property of the shop and can be sold. Amazing - I thought if you took something to a pawn shop it was gone forever. With a little internet research, I also learned that the majority of pawn shop business is repeat customers who borrow against the same item. Fascinating. I guess that's why they make TV shows about it! Again, I'm sure every other person already knew that pawn shops worked that way, but I guess I was just a little slow on the uptake.
Good thing I have Brad around. I'm constantly learning from him and he's constantly teasing me for learning "new" things - like when I realized that pickles are just cucumbers that have pickled! I know, believe it or not, it's true. Yeah, I just got that one a few years ago. At least I'm learning!
