Fantastic Fictions - Roger Keyserling, Roger Keyserling (best ereader for pc TXT) 📗

restaurants. As cooks, we have to get the food out as quickly as possible while re-cooking food that the servers forgot to ring in or the customer was not satisfied with. This leads to a lot of chaos and yelling amongst co-workers. Even though there is a certain level of comradery, the stress and headaches far outweigh the pay in most cases.

Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by cars. By the time I was around twenty, I built up the courage to begin working on my own cars. I certainly did not have enough money to pay someone to fix them for me so this was the only option. As I grew into my teenage years and into college I developed a talent for writing. I obtained a degree in English however, there are not many decent job options for writers. At least not where I live.

I was around twenty-five before I finally had enough of the service industry. I will not get into why the last restaurant I worked for did not work out but let's just say they did not treat their employees very well. I quit the restaurant and was left unemployed and with very little money. I did not know what to do but I did know that this would be the perfect opportunity to follow my passions: cars and writing.

At the time, shows about flipping cars had become increasingly popular on the internet and after googling ways to earn money from home I found out that I can write articles and get paid for them online. When I first got started I did not have enough money to purchase a car to resell. I did have a talent that would enable me to very quickly earn an income and save up enough to buy my first flip car over time. Freelance writing is not the best way to get rich quick but it can be a good way to save a few extra bucks if you are willing to put in the work.

It took me about five months of writing before I had saved up my first $1,000 to spend on a car. Keep in mind that I still had bills to pay and needed to feed myself so most of my money from writing went there first. The first car I bought was a 1989 Toyota Corolla GT-S coupe. I paid a total of $450 for the car because while it ran, it had rusted brake lines that needed to be repaired as well as body rust that needed to be cleaned up before I could resell the car.

My mechanical skills are very limited and I have never had any certified mechanical training other than what I see on the internet. What I did have was determination. I kept telling myself that if someone else can do it and make a video doing it, surely I could as well. How hard could it be?

I dumped all of my remaining $650 into tools, parts, paint, and other supplies that I thought I would need to get my Corolla in tip-top shape. I taught myself how to sand and cut the rust out of a body panel and weld in new material. I taught myself how to paint and a lot more about tuning old cars. This was just the beginning. I sold that Corolla a month later for $3,900 and did not even use the total $1,000 from my initial savings.

I took the money I had made and took $1000 out of it for the next car and put the rest in savings. It is now six years later and I continue to use writing as my main source of bill paying which has proven to be working for me. I also get to play with cars as much as I want! I have no formal business training other than a few classes in college. All I did was combine my passion, talent, and determination to enable me to do what I finally decided that I want to do with my life.

Anyone can live their own life as long as they believe that they can. It will not be an easy road to drive down but the hard work will pay off as long as you do not give up. What are you waiting for? Go live your life!

 

Catherine and Her Best Day Ever

 It was wonderful. Everything about the day was wonderful. The sun shone, the birds sang in the trees and the grass was as green as it had ever been. It was going to be the Best day ever. Catherine knew she would win. She won the flower competition every year and this year was no exception. Her roses were better than everyone else's and her violets were stunning.

"I see your garden is as beautiful as ever. Why don't you enter the sewing or baking competition so other people can win a prize?"

"You know I can't sew or bake to save my life, besides why shouldn't I win a prize if I'm good at something?"

"The answer's simple. Nobody enters the competition because you've won every prize for the last ten years."

"So, what's wrong with that?"

It was no use. Everyone had tried to tell her the real reason they never bothered to enter. Apart from her tiresome attitude to winning at all costs, everyone knew she cheated. No one had bothered to tell her they knew she used chemicals that had been prohibited years before she'd entered her first and favorite plant into the competition.

The competition was as fierce as ever, or rather, Catherine was as determined as ever to win. Her plants were stunning and she let everyone know it was the Best day ever. Catherine always had the Best time ever when she showed the judges how healthy her plants were. 

"You cheated again didn't you Catherine?"

"No, I didn't. I admit I cheated the first time; however, I didn't realize the chemicals I'd used were illegal. I soon discovered what I could use and I've never cheated since."

"How do you explain the vast difference between your plants and everyone else's?"

"That's easy. Everyone else needs to work. I don't.

Catherine realized she'd said too much. She knew she'd told them what they'd all wanted to know for years. Her Best day ever would end in tears. I haven't worked in years because I wrote a few books that were successful. I received royalties for them about fifteen years ago.

It was the best day ever after all. Catherine still won all the prizes; however, she was humble and thanked everyone for their efforts which were the last thing anyone thought she'd do

How It Rolled Out

I have never been one for wanting to succeed in life, but that is because I was always told I couldn’t. Growing up in the area where I am from, and being a male you only have two choices: go to jail or die. Since I didn’t want to do either I decided to enroll in college, but only to get away from all the drama in my city; not to become something great. I figured if I get a degree in computers I can easily snag a job as an IT guy and make some easy money. When I first arrived on the college campus it was nothing that I thought it would be. I saw all types of people from all over the world, and from all types of ethnic groups. I mostly stayed to myself since I was always a big loner growing up. I was taught that was the only way to be if you wanted to stay alive. At night I wouldn't be caught outside unless I wanted a death wish so I made sure to be in way before the street lights hit. My first day in my classes was normal for me. They reminded me of high school so it was easy to adapt to. As I left my first class I passed a sign that said Garden of Your Dreams; Come and Make A Wish, but I kept walking paying it no mind. I went to my other classes and then to my dorm room. A few of my roommates asked me if I wanted to go to a party with them, but I wasn’t into any of that, so I politely declined. As I laid on my back looking up at the ceiling I began to wonder what this life had for me. Did I really want to get a degree in IT? Was I going to go back to my hometown to get a job? Or was I going to leave and go as far away as possible to start a new life? Wherever I went I was going to make it count.

I always enjoyed cooking, but I was told a chef makes no money so I decided to do something else; something that made money I guess. The next day I did the same thing: get up, get dressed, and go to all of my classes. They were so boring, yet informative for somebody that enjoyed computers. I walked past that sign again Garden of Your Dreams; Come and Make A Wish, but I kept walking. I did this for like a month, just waking up each day and walking to class like I was a zombie, feeling like the only purpose in my life was to live until I died. Until one day, when I decided to take a reroute to my second class leaving my first. I was beginning to get tired of taking the same route over and over again, doing the same thing every day, so I went a different way and got lost.

I began to look all around me to see if I could find a familiar landmark, but I couldn’t. Where in the world was I? I decided to go into this building and ask for directions, but I spotted a garden. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, but then I began to realize I was in the garden I pass by every day. “Can I help you,” an older lady asked, holding a pot. “I just need some directions that’s all.” She smiled at me and asked me where I was going so I told her. “Oh, so you like computers?” “Not really,” I said. “Then why are you going to a computer class? Is it a freshman course?” “No, my major is in computers.”