Rarely does our school pay for us to go to conferences anymore. They expect us teachers to get our Professional Development (PD) right here at home. (Boooorrrring.)
But, once in a blue moon, they release us out into the wilderness of the world to acquire new knowledge. This was one of those times.
My friend and co-worker, Laura, and I had been approved to go to a writing conference. It was only one day, but our district had agreed to pay for the conference, our hotel room, and our meals.
Laura and I (of course) had all good intentions to leave as soon as school let out because we had a 4 hour drive in front of us. That did not happen (surprise, surprise). So...finally, at 4:30 pm, we headed out.
We drove for 2 hours. By that time, my insides felt like they were going to eat their way out. We opted to stop for dinner at Applebee's. After flirting with the guys at the next table and ending up giving them the food we did not eat, we were ready to pay and get back onto the road.
The guys had other ideas. They wanted us to come join them at the bar. So as soon as our receipt was on the table, Laura and I threw down the cash to cover it and high-tailed it out of there!
A half an hour later, we realized (in our haste) we forgot our receipt. (Did I mention that the school was reimbursing us? But only if we had our receipts for proof??)
But, once in a blue moon, they release us out into the wilderness of the world to acquire new knowledge. This was one of those times.
My friend and co-worker, Laura, and I had been approved to go to a writing conference. It was only one day, but our district had agreed to pay for the conference, our hotel room, and our meals.
Laura and I (of course) had all good intentions to leave as soon as school let out because we had a 4 hour drive in front of us. That did not happen (surprise, surprise). So...finally, at 4:30 pm, we headed out.
We drove for 2 hours. By that time, my insides felt like they were going to eat their way out. We opted to stop for dinner at Applebee's. After flirting with the guys at the next table and ending up giving them the food we did not eat, we were ready to pay and get back onto the road.
The guys had other ideas. They wanted us to come join them at the bar. So as soon as our receipt was on the table, Laura and I threw down the cash to cover it and high-tailed it out of there!
A half an hour later, we realized (in our haste) we forgot our receipt. (Did I mention that the school was reimbursing us? But only if we had our receipts for proof??)
In teacher world, that's a happily eaten $20 meal...now causing mucho sadness.
So...Laura and I came up with a plan.
Get a new receipt!
How you might ask?
You know how when you are part of a youth group and they send you off on a scavenger hunt to look for random items that mean nothing to the average joe...
So...
Get a new receipt!
How you might ask?
You know how when you are part of a youth group and they send you off on a scavenger hunt to look for random items that mean nothing to the average joe...
Yeah...well...Laura had never done one of those.
...and I couldn't allow her to go through her whole life without experiencing thatembarrassment joy!
...and I couldn't allow her to go through her whole life without experiencing that
So...we decided to stop at the next restaurant that we came to and tell them we were on a scavenger hunt and needed a receipt in the $20 range.
Our first stop...Dominoes.
The cashier laughed, "Yeah...I did one of those once." He promptly printed up a receipt. The perfect amount~$22.50
Only problem is ... it said that we ate 2 large pizzas and a bread bowl...now anyone that knows Laura and I, knows we can eat... but there is no way we could have eaten that amount!!!
Onto several other restaurants... none giving us exactly what we were looking for.
Finally, we happened upon another Applebee's. Again we gave our schpeel, but this time we added specifics ~ WE needed a receipt in the $20 range with NO alcohol.
The hostess looked at us and laughed, "That's a tough one!" But away she went and returned with 3 receipts for us to chose from. We almost hated that we got what we wanted. We were having so much fun!
As we headed back out to the school minivan, we perused through the items on the receipts... and because we weren't familiar with the vehicle, nor were we paying the tiniest bit of attention, wemight have definitely got into the wrong vehicle.
<---NOT our vehicle!!!
Finally, we happened upon another Applebee's. Again we gave our schpeel, but this time we added specifics ~ WE needed a receipt in the $20 range with NO alcohol.
The hostess looked at us and laughed, "That's a tough one!" But away she went and returned with 3 receipts for us to chose from. We almost hated that we got what we wanted. We were having so much fun!
As we headed back out to the school minivan, we perused through the items on the receipts... and because we weren't familiar with the vehicle, nor were we paying the tiniest bit of attention, we
<---NOT our vehicle!!!The new car smell hit us. That is when we knew things weren't right!
Frantically, we jumped out of the pristine mini van and ran into our own. We tried to calm our racing hearts as we took in the familiarity of stale old minivan smell and sank into the worn down seats.
With that, we decided we had had enough adventures for one evening! Plus we still had an hour and a half of driving to do... our four hour trip had turned into six.
I'd like to say that our conference was just as exciting as our trip up... but really, who would I be kidding???
oh that is just too funny.
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