Quiz: Be Positive

Rewrite these sentences with a more positive tone. There’s more than one right answer—you can scroll below to compare our answer to yours.

1. You’re not allowed to use the cafeteria after 2pm.
2. My partner is not able to attend the conference.
3. The N575 form is not the same as the N555 form.
4. Since you didn’t include the receipt, we can’t give you a refund.
5. I have no experience other than pumping gas at my father’s gas station.
6. We cannot complete the transfer of funds without an RRSP account in your name.
7. We often receive applications with deficient information.
8. It’s impossible for us to process your employment application because we don’t have enough references.
9. I will be out of town from November 13 — 18 and will not be able to meet with any of you till then.
10. The roof isn’t guaranteed for life.
11. Few sensible people would not accept vaccination against smallpox.
12. If you aren’t vaccinated you’re not at serious risk but it’s socially irresponsible not to get vaccinated.

Answers:

1. The cafeteria is open until 2pm.
2. My partner is unable to attend the conference.
3. The N575 form is different from the N555 form.
4. As soon as we receive the receipt, we’ll be happy to give you a refund.
5. I have experience pumping gas at my father’s gas station.
6. As soon as you set up an RRSP account in your name, we’ll be able to transfer the funds to you.
7. We often receive incomplete applications.
8. As soon as you provide us with three references, we can process your application.
9. I am available to meet with you after November 18.
10. Your new roof has a 15 year guarantee.
11. Few sensible people would decline vaccination against smallpox.
12. Without a vaccination, you have low personal risk of contracting the disease, but declining the vaccination is socially irresponsible.

Excuses, excuses

With cold and flu season upon us, here are some classic blunders to avoid when you write notes explaining your children’s absence from school:

“Please excuse Mary for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot.”

“Please excuse Tom for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.”

“Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father’s fault.”

“Please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.”

“My son is under the doctor’s care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.”

“Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hips.”

“Maryann was absent December 11 – 16 because she had a fever, sore throat, headache, and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore throat. Her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn’t the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be the flu going around school, her father even got hot last night.”

“Please excuse my son’s tardiness. I forgot to wake him up and I did not find him till I started making the beds.”

We Moved

This blog has been temporary—we’ve  now got a new website/blog located at www.brunerbiz.com.

It combines our website content with our blog. We’ll be posting there only from now on.

Come on by!

Best, Jody