Landlords and tenants are sometimes at odds. Other times landlords and tenants are very close friends. I was a tenant for different landlords over a period of twelve years and I have had many different landlord and tenant relationships. I have found that the ideal relationship between landlords and tenants is friendly, but distant and relaxed and professional. This is a very difficult balance to maintain, especially when dealing with a person’s housing.

My first landlord was a duo. The two men invested in a house less than a mile away from my college campus and they offered to rent it out to five students. They were looking for female students because they did a lot of work on the house and had visions of Animal House in their heads when it came to college boys.  Our landlord and tenant relationship was ideal because we took pride in our house and they were at ease with having girls living in the home. We did have our share of parties, but many things are kept secret between landlords and tenants.

My roommates and I enjoyed our stay and we each went our separate ways. To our surprise, the landlords were not happy with the way we left the home. They had expected it to be professionally cleaned before we left. They even included this in the lease, but none of us read the lease very closely.  This is a classic example of the importance of communication between landlords and tenants. If we had known that the home was supposed to be professionally cleaned, we would have had someone do the work. As it turned out, the deduction from our security deposits amounted to the cost of hiring a professional cleaner to polish the house. It balanced out in the end, but it did cause a rift in the relationship between the landlords and tenants.

My husband and I rented from a homeowner for five years. We married and had a child and it was time to move on. Landlords and tenants usually see each other frequently, but we almost never saw our landlord and this was good. He gave us privacy and he only contacted us when he thought something needed to be done to improve our apartment.

This landlord and tenant relationship was so distant that he did not even know that I had a baby. He was pleasantly surprised and wished us well. Landlords and tenants should have a distantly friendly relationship like this. In the end, we found that he put our security deposit in an interest bearing account. He gave us the security deposit back with interest. When it comes to landlords and tenants, this relationship was the best in my experience.

If you’re a high school student, you’re going to have to write a critical essay at some point.  The odds of you doing a number of critical essays goes up even more if you decide to attend a university or technical college.  These odds skyrocket if you major anywhere in the humanities, from political science to communications to English.  You’ll be writing more than your share of critical essays over the course of your college career.  Since you’ll be writing a lot of critical essays and since a good portion of your grades will be based upon them, especially if your professors or teachers are fond of giving essay based final exams, it’s worth it to learn how to write a good critical essay.

By far, the most important component of a critical essay is the thesis.  Without a strong thesis, either explicit, outlined in the text or implicated, your essay is probably going to fall apart.  Explicit theses are nice because they give you as the writer, a reminder of what it is exactly that you’re writing about.  They give you a literary road map for the rest of your essay.  Implicit thesis are sometimes considered to be a little more stylish, but if you decide to use an implicit thesis you should write your actual, explicit thesis somewhere on your rough draft to keep what you’re writing about in mind while you setup the rest of the essay.  A thesis for a critical essay should explain what you’re examining, how you’re examining it, and what you plan to find.  This should usually be placed somewhere in the introductory paragraph.  As you get better at writing critical essays you may find it works to save your thesis for your conclusion, but when you’re starting out it’s good to start off with the thesis so you can keep it in mind throughout the entire essay.  When writing the essay be sure that you prove your thesis while not straying outside of it’s boundaries.  This sort of focus is what makes a good critical essay.

Once you have your thesis it’s important to sketch out a quick outline for your critical essay.  Though many students loathe outlines, they’re the best tool for making sure that your essay is well structured and clear.  A rough outline will give you an idea of the general flow of your essay, while a well detailed outline will make writing the actual essay a snap since you’ll only have to connect the dots you’re setup for yourself in the outline.  Just be sure that you focus on your thesis and that all of the components of your essay contribute to proving the thesis and you’ll be on your way to a solid critical essay.

My husband and I have prided ourselves in how we have raised our children. They are not perfect and at this point in their lives, they are still having financial struggles, but each of them is happy. Our youngest son has caused us the most challenges. He is the kind of person that will do something just because he can. At times this outlook has placed him in situations that risk his personal safety. He has bungee jumped, sky dived, cliff jumped and white water rafted. I have spent many hours worrying about his safety, yet I was not concerned when he said that he was going to bus travel across the country.

He was planning on going to college in our community. He had worked each summer during high school and had saved most of his money. He decided he would take the summer off and bus travel to areas that he had never seen before. He was going to do this with a friend that would go with him as far as the west coast. This friend would stay on the west coast to attend college.

We drove our son to the Grey Hound Station so he could start his bus travel. He had a cell phone, traveler’s checks and an atlas, along with his personal items and a sleeping bag. He knew that there would be nights that he would sleep on the bus getting from one place to the next. He agreed to call us at least every other day to let us know where he was. The first week he called regularly from his bus travel. He reported that the bus stopped in many small towns and that there were some strange and interesting people that bus travel. He and his friend planned to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon for hiking and rafting.

After six weeks on the bus travel adventure the boys arrived on the west coast. My son spent a week with his friend helping him to get situated and then he started working his way home. He reported that he was getting tired of his bus travel and wanted to spend a few weeks getting ready for college. We were expecting him home in a matter of days. When he did not call for two days we assumed that he was in an area where the cell phone did not work. At the end of the third day we were both worried.

We called the bus company to see if we could track him. When we would call his cell phone, he did not answer. I tried calling his cell phone again and a stranger answered. They said the phone was lying under the seat on the bus. We really started to panic, we called the local police to see if they could help. After three more days our son called. He had lost the cell phone and had missed a bus connection, which left him stranded in a small town during a bad storm. He was taken in by a family, but all the phone lines had been down from the storm.  He arrived home safely from his bus travel, filled with stories of his adventures. I truly hope he will never get the urge to do this again.

I can’t even remember how many morning after college parties, I would wake up to find empty beer bottles scattered throughout the house or apartment. Sometimes, there would even be a few leftover party goers who had had too much to drink and were passed out in the midst of the beer bottles. The parties always seemed like great fun until it was time to clean up the following morning. I don’t miss those days.

Now, years after those college days, I still find myself cleaning up beer bottles the next morning if my husband had the guys over the previous night. Why in the world guys cannot clean up their own messes is beyond me. How hard is it to put the empty beer bottles into the recycling bin? I constantly remind my husband that when he takes the time to line the beer bottles up on the counter, he is only inches away from the recycling bin. He just doesn’t seem to get it. Maybe he likes to watch me cleaning up the beer bottles. I purposely avoided cleaning up for an entire weekend one time just to see if he would take the time to do it himself. After two days of living amongst this mess, I caved in and cleaned. I had to resist the urge to throw those beer bottles at him.

One New Year’s Eve, a group of us were having a very in depth conversation over many empty beer bottles and I asked why in the world they would choose such an ugly dark color to make the bottles. One of our friends actually had an answer to my random question. He informed me the glass of the beer bottles are a dark color so that the light doesn’t spoil the beer inside of them. While that actually made perfect sense to me, I still think that the dark colored glass could be a better color than the standard brown. Heineken has nice dark green bottles, as does Yuengling Lager. I think that green should be the standard color for beer bottles from now on. Of course, no matter what color the beer bottles would be, it wouldn’t make it any more fun to clean up after parties.

My personal favorite is when you’re assuming that all of the scattered beer bottles are empty and you find one that just happens to still have a few sips left in it. It is always when I’m carrying those bottles at an awkward angle that I find the one that still has some liquid left in it that splashes on me. There’s just nothing like cleaning up beer bottles. No matter what color they are.

When I was a kid, I always thought that air tents were really neat. We would drive by an air tent every day, which held a tennis stadium inside.  I thought that it was one of the most strange and surreal things that I had ever seen. It looked kind of like a caterpillar, and was huge, stretching on for acres upon acres and rising up for many stories. I always wanted to go inside one of the air tents, but my dad asked why. After all, none of us played tennis at all, so there was no reason to go in and to him there was nothing particularly spectacular about it. Maybe he had forgotten what it was like being a kid. Whatever the reason, he could not really understand my fascination with air tents.

The first time I got to go and see some air tents was when I was in college. It was actually a complete accident, as luck would have it. There was a huge water leak in the auditorium where many of the concerts and other events of all kinds were held on the campus. The whole place was flooded and closed down for months and months, and nothing could happen there. Because it was the only campus venue for many important lectures, the deans decided to set up several air tents for the months that it was closed, and they really worked just as well. I really liked them a whole lot better than the auditorium, to tell you the truth.

The best thing about all of those air tents was that you could sneak inside easily and they were so much fun to play in. We used to stage impromptu plays in the middle of the night in the air tents, and invite all of our friends. It was sort of an open secret that anyone could get in who wanted to and so we had a whole lot of fun there without really worrying about getting caught at all. Once the air tents were no longer needed, they started to take them down, but they were so popular that the students campaigned to keep one of them around as a permanent fixture. And since they did seem to increase attendance at performances, the school thought that that was quite a workable idea. As far as I know, there it stands today.

Are you a college student? It’s true, heading off to a four year university can be a blast and a wonderful break from that high school drama. Finally, you can get that privacy from your over bearing folks and enjoy your very own apartment or dorm. It’s all about parties and staying out late, right? Okay, well maybe not so much. I mean you did come to college for an actual education. Didn’t you? Regardless of its highlights, college life can be a great deal of work.

Once you’ve delved into your first semester, you’ll certainly know what I mean. In this day and age, the concept of higher education has been taken to a whole new level. Not everyone wants the campus and party life of a young college student. Not everyone wants to search for parking places daily in order to attend classes. This is why people can now acquire a degree in education online. Yes indeed, I did say via the Internet. You have a PC or Mac, don’t you?

Have you ever come across the topic “degree in education online?” It’s actually still a fairly new one. Although many people don’t know and fully understand it yet, they can achieve a valid degree in education online, completely from the comfort of your own home. Wouldn’t that be choice? Let’s say you are a parent that works. Now, you may or may not have the time to attend a university the old fashioned way. This is where a degree in education online comes into play.

You find the college you wish to attend and read about the degree requirements. Then it’s time to inquire about their degree in education online abilities. They may have that exact degree you’re looking for, but with online courses. This allows you to continue casually with your daily regime. You can get online at will and deal with your course work. So many universities across the nation are expanding on this innovative topic. Wow, is the world becoming convenient!

If you are striving to get a college education, but don’t have the time to live the college lifestyle, then maybe it’s time to explore the concept of degree in education online. Once you’ve acquired your books and consulted with the professor, you’ll simply deal with the course from the comfort of your living room. Don’t let life stop you from getting that education you’ve always wanted.

Most of us cringe when we hear the words, credit card debt. This has been a common phrase among Americans for many years now. We simply can’t seem to stop using those darn credit cards. I mean, how often do you want something, but can’t afford it? These are times when the trusty little plastic wonders come in to save the day. Well, maybe not exactly. We’re actually just getting ourselves into trouble when we charge things that we know we can’t afford. This is not a prudent path if I may say so myself. Credit card debt is one of the last things you want at any point in your life.

When I was a student I did what most others did as well, I used my credit card when I needed something that my financial aid and student loans wouldn’t cover. Think about it, you’ll be done with school and then you’ll just pay it all off within a couple of weeks. This unfortunately is the sad misconception of many youths. The reality is that you’ll graduate with a chunk of credit card debt and struggle to find a job in the competitive world we all strive to get ahead in. At the point when you achieve a career, you will then grapple with a number of reality bills. Some being rent or a house payment, car payment, power bill, food bills and the list continues. Now for the credit card debt, but where does it fit in? Can you still pay it off quickly, or is it looking more like a long term thing? Well, most likely it is time to consolidate you debts and do the best you can.

The burden of credit card debt is one that you should simply try to avoid all together. Don’t make the mistake of charging up credit cards to get extra stuff that you desire, but probably don’t need. The trick is to get through college, then get that much awaited job and purchase things when you can afford them. As someone who accumulated credit card debt in college, I speak from experience. If you already struggle with credit card debt, there are solutions. You can hop online and see what options are available to you. There may be a grant out there to aid you in ridding yourself of pesky credit card debt, or possible a consolidation that makes your debt more manageable. Stop suffering from the typical angst that stems from credit card debts. Check out the Internet today and find a way to get yourself out of debt. Believe it or not, there are options.

When school lets out for the summer many teenagers find themselves facing a few months with nothing to do. The first few weeks of summer vacation are usually spent lounging around and sleeping in until noon, but even a lazy 17 or 18 year old will grow bored of that routine. Many kids are now looking for summer job opportunities that allow them to get outside and enjoy the warm weather while making a few extra dollars.

Any parent of a teenager can attest to the fact that their youngsters need money. If it’s not used for gas for their car it, will be used for clothing. Teenagers are often caught wishing for a new pair of jeans or a pair of sneakers that everyone has. With summer job opportunities they can make their own money which helps take some of the burden off their parents.

Although many fast food restaurants and discount stores are always on the look out for young people who want a job, there are other opportunities available as well. When summer vacation begins many parents are scrambling to find an affordable child care option for their little ones.  If a teenager has training in first aid, this can be an ideal short term job for them. They can place an advertisement in the local paper a few weeks before summer vacation is set to begin. Summer job opportunities in the child care field are perfect for many young people as it allows them to still feel young while building their sense of responsibility. They can offer either in home child care or they will baby sit if the children are brought to their house.

Along the same thread summer camps are often in need of junior counselors in June, July and August. The counselors need to be a few years older than the campers and it’s preferable if they have some experience with a camp setting. Many times these summer job opportunities will be offered to specific people because of their close association with the camp. For a teenager who aspires to be a teacher or a daycare worker this is wonderful experience.

Some communities now also offer a series of day camps for local school age children. These are much like traditional camps save for the fact that the children go home each night. These programs need young counselors as well so this is one of the summer job opportunities that would really appeal to a teenager who wants to sleep in their own bed each night.

Once a child has spent a summer working it’s likely that they’ll want to do the same thing next year. Kids love having their own spending money. It makes them feel proud and it also shows them that they are capable of holding a job and taking care of their own business. This is a priceless lesson that every teenager should learn.

The Internet has made it ideal for many of us to get access to any information desired. If you think about it, what can’t you look up online? The World-Wide-Web has aided businesses, foundations and even students with their daily work. This wonderful tool has filled a huge gap in the world of communication and often there is no price involved. Did you know that you could log into cyberspace and get a foreign language translation free online? With options like this, the possibilities seem endless.

When I was in college, I had to take the routine foreign language. If you’ve attended a University, then you know the drill. Being an English major striving for the BA, I had to take twice as much foreign language as my fellow BS students. Well, I made the ultimate mistake. I took two semesters of Spanish and then I waited two years to take the remaining semesters. If you are thinking about doing this, don’t! You will forget too much. I highly advise taking all foreign language courses back-to-back. This is ideal.

Needless to say, I got myself in a bind. After searching for a solution, but finding nothing, I turned to the Internet. One night I was struggling to write a story in Spanish. I discovered a website that offered Spanish translation free online. This was a Godsend. I would have never guessed that something like this would be offered for free. I lived an hour from campus, therefore had to commute. I couldn’t make time to get help on campus with my family and job as well. Attaining translation free online was perfect. These free websites offer the translation of a variety of languages. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to translate Russian or Greek, you will find a translation free online. You can type in English or the foreign language to be translated. It’s very simple. Punch in a word or an exact phrase to get a translation. I felt fortunate to find such a tutor from the comfort of my own home.

If you need help translating a foreign language, you should jump on the Internet and check out the sites that offer translation free online. Even if you need help with your English because it is not your native language, these free resources can benefit you. In this great world of technology, you no longer have to worry about being left behind. Try a translation free online today.

When I was in college, some of my favorite days in school were the ones that included a movie camera. I took a lot of film and video classes, and we had a lot of projects we had to do. I always had fun when we did these projects.  More than once I would give up my weekend of parties and friends in order to get projects done. I found playing around and filming to be more fun and also a better use of my time.

Itchy to film things, you may want to get a movie camera. The great thing is that even though there is the traditional and very expensive type of movie camera that is used in big movie making, you can use just about anything to make videos. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make something just for you. If you want make something to present to others, you may have to spend more money to get a quality item. Look for something professional.

If you just want to make home movies, you may be able to use your digital camera, though it’s not always practical. This can be a movie camera.  You take your clips and upload them to your computer and you can edit them together if you have video editing software.  Then save them on a CD to share with family and friends. If you want something that takes longer clips, you can buy a digital camcorder to use as a home movie camera. These movies can also be uploaded to your computer.

Want something more expensive to make better home movies or presentations, you have to do some research into what movie camera you may want. It will be up to what you want in a movie camera and what you want to do with it. Find out what features you can get, and decide which ones you need and which ones you can live without.  You can find a great prices on eBay, but make sure you are not bidding on an item that does not exist. If the seller won’t accept PayPal or a credit card, and then asks you to wire money to them via Western Union, they are trying to scam you, and you won’t get anything for your money. There are great deals there on real cameras, you just have to take your time and make sure they are the real thing.