i love stories like these...

Tue Sep 11, 8:38 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - A British couple have shacked up in a budget roadside motel for more than 20 years because they love never having to do the laundry or cooking, they said Tuesday.


David Davidson, 79, and his wife, Jean, 70, first tried out a Travelodge hotel while visiting a sick aunt in 1985 -- and were instantly hooked.

Their room -- near Grantham, east central England off the A1 trunk road from London to Edinburgh -- overlooks a car park, but is also within sight of a slip road that trucks rumble down day and night, jazzing up the view.

"We get great rates because we book well in advance and we even have our own personal housekeeper. All our bed linen is laundered, too. It doesn't get much better than that, does it?" said former Royal Navy sailor David Davidson.

The couple have spent around 100,000 pounds (200,000 dollars, 150,000 euros) renting rooms which cost them as little as 15 pounds (30 dollars, 22 euros) a night.

The motel is renaming their room The Davidsons' Suite and mounting a plaque in the reception to mark their 10-year anniversary.

The couple, who initially lived in a Travelodge in nearby Newark before moving in 1997, have kept their old flat in Sheffield, northern England, and return every fortnight to collect the post.

The Davidsons exchange Christmas presents with the staff, dine out at a roadside eaterie across the car park and watch the traffic go by.

"There is always something outside our window. Our room looks out to the car park and a busy slip road where lorries pass through the night," David Davidson said.

"We do have to be a bit choosy about what we keep in our room as it can fill up easily."

His wife added: "We don't get hit with huge heating bills over the winter and its safer than a lot of places these days."

The couple do go for trips abroad -- but stay in a Travelodge.

"Some will think David and Jean Davidson bonkers to have spent the last 22 years living in a hotel," said the Daily Express in its editorial.

But their room rates are "not more than many people's mortgage payments, the housework is done for them and they do not pay utility bills. What's not to like?"

isn't that the greatest?!!!! not a bad idea either... hehe.

more writing, more work, more back massages.

my grandmother always tells me all these interesting little stories about our family and how she could write a book, but she never writes them down. :( i told her she should email me a page every day and then i'll put them all together.

gma: where do i start???
me: as far back as you can remember...
gma: i can remember things from when i was three years old...
me: well then you'll have a lot to write!!

hopefully this will inspire her to start typing soon. (*hint *hint)

yesterday aldo took rick and i to IKEA (it was my first time) and i bought some frames and something really kewl for my grandmother and one for andrea as well. (i can't tell you what it is because they read this). last night i finally finished editing an environmentally-friendly-how-to craft video i filmed this weekend while rick was at his parents' house. i'm pleased with the results and will post the final product on youtube. more info about it later. :)

as for work, i'm seeking a more reliable part time job. (as you've read, i sometimes have issues with scheduling/my boss). my boss told me yesterday that i can assist him at weddings, but he can't pay me because i don't produce enough quality images. ouch!! i would take this as conscructive criticism because i KNOW i could use more experience on the technical aspect of photography, but i don't think i was ever fairly represented. first off, i've only assisted him three times and twice i was handed a camera i've never used before. during my third assist, there wasn't a flash for me to use and we were shooting people dancing in a dark venue... so i was pretty much useless. i was always hesistant and weary to shoot reactions to what my employer was capturing because i could never predict his next move. i assisted two of his colleagues on seperate occasions and had a much better experience because neither ran around like a nervous gazelle. i'm not quite disappointed because i know i'm not cut out to be a wedding photographer anyway (too much ass-kissing), but i was still pretty bummed. luckily i've been receiving some awesome compliments in emails from people who are fans of the work i post on flickr. :) i'd much rather receive credit for my photography than to take wedding photos and not be attributed in somebody's wedding album. so onto bigger and better things...

cute story: i woke up with rick's alarm the other morning (6 am). Rick got up, showered, got ready for work and then came over to the side of the bed i was sleeping on, leaned over and challenged me to a game of scrabble (to be held that night) loser gives the other person a back massage!! hahaha. very random, but i loved it. and guess who won by 49 points... ME. :)

my progress report.

don't you ever wish you were a lollipop sculptor???

NEED SOMEONE TO SCULPT 10-20 LOLLI POPS
I need someone to sculpt 10-20 lolli pops, they will be one sided, in clay or wax 2-3 inches long and 2-3 inches wide,they will not have a lot of detail, i am looking to pay 100 dollars each item, please send me some pics of your work and a name and number, i needed to start ASAP

hmmmmm...

frustrated.

this morning i got up early because i spoke to one of my employers yesterday and he told me he would have work for me today and to be at his home office "the earlier, the better." so i get to his gated community this morning and they say i'm not on the list to enter. i call him to ask him to clear up the situation and this is the conversation we have:

him: what?! i don't have work for you today.
me: um, you told me to come over the earlier, the better.
him: i know i said that. but then i said 'i'll talk to you later about it' and you never called me back.
me: i thought you just had to get off the phone...
him: yeah, i did. but then you never called me back.
*after discussing how he doesn't have any work prepared for me*
me: so, should i just go back home then???
him: yeah...

arrrrrrrrrrrrg. :( i don't understand and i don't feel at fault. i think what happened was he forgot (or didn't have time) to set up work for me because when we were talking on the phone his 'i'll talk to you later' really just seemed like an 'i'll talk to you later.' not an 'i'll give you a time for tomorrow but if you don't talk to me later about it, i'll have no work for you.' :(

the tuesday that felt like a monday.

my goal was to clean. i didn't get very far, but i managed to put away all of my clothes, make some room in my closet, sort through a bunch of my papers that were covering rick's desk and almost finish my little photo project i started on the fridge. i also found a 1950's blonde wood desk on craigslist that will soon become my craft space. so now... desk :: craft space as kitchen table :: food space. (finally). i also cleaned the cat box (one of my not-so-favorite activities) and watched the hills online.

funny story: this weekend when rick and i went to my favorite spanish food store, we were in the checkout line when i remembered i wanted a head of iceberg lettuce, so rick ran back to get one... fast forward to tonight's dinner: i made the veges and rick was in charge of making the salad. he shredded the lettuce; cut up the cucumbers and the tomatoes; got out the olives, croutons and the walnuts. (we make a goood salad!!) so i walk over to grab some lettuce and notice that it's CABBAGE. he had accidentally grabbed a head of cabbage instead iceberg lettuce... which isn't a uncommon mistake for guys to make in a grocery store, i'm sure. ;) so now we're stuck with a fresh head of cabbage that neither of us will eat. so i walk over to our neighbors' to see if she could use it. she says "oh sure. i can't remember the last time i had cabbage!! and i hate to see food go to waste," so she takes it. then she says, "hey, wait. do you want some lettuce?!" then hands me a HUMUGOUS head of really nice romaine lettuce she bought at a organic farmer's market. then she asks, "do you need some tomatoes too???" just thought that was one of the nicest things ever. she also told me she'll food-swap whenever i wanted, hehe. moral of the story: one small act of kindness brings back double.

during dinner, rick and i watched A Simple Plan which i HIGHLY recommend. i can't recall a time when i wanted to describe a movie as "gripping," until now. the plot is very suspenseful and will have you guessing until the very end. the plot is very comparable to something Andre Dubus would create. and since most well-written scripts were adapted from a novel, novella or short story, i was not surprised to learn the movie is the screenplay version of the novel A Simple Plan by Scott B. Smith. according to imdb.com, brad pitt was asked to play the main character, which would have ruined the film. you could roll brad pitt around in mud, but he'll still look too "pretty" and not rugged enough to portray a farm-raised working man. the casting in this film is right on and the acting is highly believable.

around 9:30 pm, rick and went swimming. :) it was a warm night and the pool was even warmer. i haven't been swimming at night since last summer.

tomorrow: work for michael. early.
friday: pick up my "new" desk. :)
saturday: promo.

labor day weekend.

saturday afternoon: rick and i went swimming!! we wound up playing frisbee in the pool for a looong time. surprisingly, there were only three other people at the pool for the majority of the day. rick and i watched The Manchurian Candidate while we were eating an early dinner. it was a decent movie, but predictable with every stereotypical character for its genre - the obscure older man/scientist who gives the protagonist the necessary meds; the female stranger who (has an interest in the protagonist) and switches sides to help him; and the whacko (who dies mid-movie) who is really telling the truth but no one believes him. it was definitely watchable, but i don't think it lives up to the 6.7 it received on imdb.com. the original Manchurian Candidate (with frank sinatra) received an 8.3 - VERY high for on imdb.com and sounds like the wiser option to watch, so rick and i are going to try to find and rent it.

saturday evening: i got my first taste of a rolling blackout when we lost power for 35 minutes. i really wish the government (the californian government especially) would subsidize solar power instead of SUVs. (a point my boyfriend brought up when we were discussing the matter). just shows you what the government deems more "important." gas. oil. owning energy. depleting our natural resources. i firmly believe the government killed the electric car and that if people just let the government continue to be as corrupt as it is, we are all screwed. so now i'm feeling inspired to write to my congressman. :) or i think you have an option to call them.

saturday night: rick and i watched Butterflies are Free while playing scrabble. the movie (starring Edward Albert and Goldie Hawn) is about a blind man who moves out and gets his first apartment, neighboring Hawn who becomes his friend. Hawn is 27 in the movie, but looks and sounds MUCH younger. definitely rent the movie if you are a fan of hers just to hear how high-pitched her voice is!!

sunday morning: went over rick's parent's house. we were going to go to church with his sister, but she's sick :( so we hung out with his parents and ate breakfast instead. then we stopped over tim's house and went to the dollar store (to buy a beach ball) and then went to my favorite spanish super market (to buy produce). after we got back, rick and i watched The Holiday with his mom. had to have been my sixth time watching it, but it's a really well-made romantic comedy. definitely the last relatively recent movie (besides The Simpsons that i actually enjoyed.

sunday afternoon: we picked up rick's neices...

and took them back to rick's parents' house. after eating some BBQ, we colored and painted these cute little ceramic animals rick picked up on our way there. after we returned the girls to their house, we were EXHAUSTED. they didn't want us to leave. isabel (the oldest) was hanging on my leg and Daniella kept wanting to be picked up and called me "her" jena.

sunday night: after finishing some laundry and checking out rick's mom's photos from hawaii, we headed back to the apartment. (oh, p.s. rick also showed me the blood stains that are still in the parking lot of the store he was in when he cut his hand. eww!!)

monday morning: we bummed around in the heat. i wrote a short story (see my blog from yesterday). rick and i walked to the store so i could buy pretzels (of course).

monday afternoon: we went swimming. the pool was SO warm that it was not-at-all refreshing, but it was still fun. there were A LOT of people there. i was being quite the "pool pest" to ricardo which entails hanging on someone when they're trying to swim and trying to dunk them under the water constantly. it's fun, try it. ;) note: it's important to know your boundaries because your friends might never want to go swimming with you again. my tip: in between pestering, leave them alone for sparatic intervals of 5 minutes. that way, you won't seem as relentless. after we got back, we lost power for 30 minutes which sucked because i was just in the middle of creating something really kewl (and unsaved) in photoshop and i lost it. :( so now i'm saving projects after every significant addition or edit. during the blackout, we started cleaning the kitchen since we couldn't go online. hehe.

monday night: we ate a late dinner and started watching People I Know (with Al Pacino and Tea Leoni). about 15-20 minutes into the movie, we finally had to read the back of the box because we still didn't know what was happening or what the movie was supposed to be about... it was that awful.

rediscoveries.

lately i've been rediscovering things...

such as 43things.com: a website i discovered a few years ago that allows you to create a list of 43 goals, posting your progress and have the satisfaction of checking off the goals you've already accomplished. you can see how many other people have the same goals and you can comment on other people's items/goals. there are millions of goals to select, or you can create your own.

but don't worry, there's already a "learn to control animals mind, set a whole bunch of animals free, and have the tigers guard my secret base while i have the monkeys and gibbons steal gold at fort knox and then start a fake buisness as a front for my revolt of the animals to reclaim the world" goal. the funnier part is... 40 people have listed this as a goal.

here's are my 43things. i encourage you to make your own account. it's a fun site. i've already started to swim more and write more short stories. :)

there are also sister sites like 43places that allows you to list places you want to travel. you can also keep track of and comment on places you've already visited.

ever decide to throw some old cds in your rotation???
here are albums i've rediscovered and am currently listening to:
tonic's "sugar" (great to listen to at work).
stone temple pilots's "tiny music" (ditto).
dave matthews band's "under the table and dreaming"
next, i'm moving on to the beastie boys. :)

peanut butter and oatmeal.

friday: i worked a cosmetic promo. below is a descriptive, factual account of what happened as told in a present tense short story to fulfill one of my goals to write short stories more often.

Peanut butter and Oatmeal

As the world’s oldest couple moves in slow-motion past me, both of equal shortness, I wonder how they will manage to load their car with all of those heavy groceries. If I were that old, I doubt I’d buy in bulk.

An older man in his late 60s sees I have samples of lotion and chats me up about his razor burn. For some reason, there seems to be a plethora of senior citizens in this store.

“I just started growing this fuzzy button,” he says. “I used to have a bushy moustache. After I shaved it off, I looked forty years younger.”

It’s hard to imagine him forty years younger, but I try. He’s wearing a tropical print shirt with the first two buttons undone, allowing his chest hair to stick out – but not in a sleazy way. He reminds me of how my friend Kyle will act and look like when he's seventy.

He asks my name and thanks me for talking to him. He says he’s glad he finally had an excuse to stop over and talk to me and mentions something about my blue eyes. Since it’s my first time working in this store (and my eyes are green), I figure he's talking about one of the other girls or maybe just a young girl in general. He thanks me again for the lotion. It’s amazing how a small act of seemingly insignificant kindness seems to have made an impact. This trend continues until I finish my shift at 5 pm.

An older woman is interested in the makeup. She’s depressed she recently had to have cataract surgery. As she’s reading the back label on the lip liner lipstick duo, she tells me she buys makeup as a “lifter.” Based on her mannerisms and the deep creases in her expressionate face, I assume she implies a wrinkle lifter. After I realize she means “lifter” as in a “pick-me-up,” I dig through the cabinet for one of every sample I can find.

I only keep a handful of different samples on the counter and stash the good ones for costumers I deem as more deserving. (This method also discourages grubby freeloaders from hoarding them).

“Thank you,” she says. “I can’t wait to go home now!”

The older man returns with the razors he uses. He wants to call Gillette because the razors are making certain areas of his face red. He’s already called Pur – the water filter company.

“Keep all receipts,” he tells me. “They really appreciate knowing when you bought things. I bought that filter and it didn't work properly so found the receipt. It cost me eighty dollars. I called the number on the box and they sent me a new one. Then that one broke and they sent me another one.”

He changes the subject by telling me I should buy a box of Coach cookies.
“They’re so delicious and they’re right down there on the left at the end of the aisle.”
He won’t buy himself a box because he’ll finish them in one sitting. He seems to have stumbled upon a subject near to his heart – food. He tells me he’s a “Quaker Oats baby” who eats oatmeal every morning. Sometimes he adds a teaspoon of peanut butter.
“You like peanut butter, right? Try it – just a teaspoon. It tastes really good.”

After the cookies and oatmeal talk, the old man says good-bye again.
“It’s time to get my exercise.”

Throughout the day, I make a point to smile and say hello to every passerby, even the customers who could care less about the cosmetic line I’m supposed to be pushing. A forty-something-year-old man wearing work boots and shorts pushes a cart past my post. He gets flustered after I say hello, but coolly responds with a “How-are-you?” that sounds more sophisticated than he appears. I answer and return the question. Nearby, his mother and brother are waiting for him. I catch them grinning at me as if we were both fifteen. His bald brother can’t wait to tease him – “I look over and you’re picking up a girl!”

The old man returns once more, this time to say good-bye for real, he’s leaving the store. If not for the lotion samples he’s thanked me for numerous times, his cart would be empty. Even the razors were returned to their self.

“You’re not getting anything?” I ask.
“Oh no,” he says. “I only come here for the exercise.”