A student today asked me to help him complete a form given to him at the Job Centre.

It included the question (I may be paraphrasing slightly, my memory isn't what it once was)

"Before joining the course where you on Youth Training?"

Wow. I bet they want literate applicants, too!

Last night David Letterman (a national TV talk show host and comedian, for UKers) read supposedly-true newspaper clippsings. One was an ad for "Insurance adjuster. Some semblance of intellignece required."

Damn. Now I know why I'm not still in that business.

Asa the long ago insurance claims adjuster

Co-worker said he once worked as a funeral director. The nice thing about the job was after three days you could bury your mistakes.

I worked as a garbage man one summer in college. Business was really picking up.

I worked one summer when I was barely of working age in a local camera store. Besides camera equipment, they also sold picture frames of all sizes and shapes. The boss told me to arrange a large assortment of frames on a shelf domino-fashion. Mistake.

After I placed the last one in front of the others, I turned away and my elbow hit the first frame. It fell on the second, that on the third, and so on. I am happy to report that the first frame's glass did not break. Sorry I can't say that about all the others.

A TV ad has been around for some time offering good deals on foreclosed homes and repossessed cars. The announcer says, "An inventory of homes and cars are available by calling...."

I don't think that's grammatical here in the US but will it fly in the UK? Here it would (should) be "inventory ...is available."

Or am I wrong on all counts?

quote:

"An inventory of homes and cars are available by calling...."

No that wouldn't work over here. It would work if they said "An inventory of homes and cars that are available (can be obtained) by calling...."

quote:

Originally posted by neveu:
I worked as a garbage man one summer in college. Business was really picking up.

If you had singed up for a course in urban anthropology you could have gotten college credit for it.