Hotel Guests in L.A. Complained About Low Water Pressure . . . And It Turned Out There Was a Dead Body in the Hotel's Water Tank:
Earlier this week, guests at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles were calling and complaining about low water pressure in their showers. So maintenance workers went to check out the water tanks on the roof.
And they quickly figured out WHY there was low water pressure. It's because there was a DEAD BODY inside one of the water tanks.
Which means guests staying at the hotel showered, brushed their teeth, and even DRANK with water from a tank in which a body was decomposing.
Police have identified the body as a 21-year-old woman named Elisa Lam of Vancouver. She was a student at the University of British Columbia, and visited Los Angeles last month. She was reported missing on January 31st.
Surveillance cameras at the Cecil Hotel saw Elisa acting strangely on the 31st . . . she was pressing buttons, running around, and flailing her arms. Then she disappeared. The police are investigating.
(CTV)
A Guy Found His Dog in a Shelter 10 Years After Losing Him in a Divorce:
In 2003, Jamie Carpentier of Nashua, New Hampshire got divorced from his wife.
His ex-wife ended up with their basset hound, Ginger, who was three years old at the time. And in the last 10 years, Jamie lost track of her.
Last month, he decided to adopt another dog, and went online to search local animal shelters. He found a dog that matched Ginger's age and description. They sent him a picture, and Jamie KNEW it was Ginger.
It turns out his ex-wife gave Ginger UP not long after the divorce, and an elderly couple adopted her. They took care of her for 10 years, before they became too old and gave her up. Ginger had been in the shelter for about three months before Jamie found her.
Ginger recognized him right away, and the two have been reunited.
Five Habits to Help You Get Out of Debt:
If you're struggling with debt, chances are it didn't happen overnight. Which means you can't make it go away overnight either. It takes lifestyle changes, and a long-term plan. And MSN Money has five good suggestions for new habits that can help you . . .
#1.) Have a goal and a deadline. You need to start with an overall goal, and a time frame to reach it. From there, you figure out how to reach the goal in the time you have. It sounds simplistic. But if it was easy . . . you probably wouldn't be in debt.
You divide your main goal into smaller goals, each with its own deadline. So if you want to get out of debt within two years, take the whole amount, figure out how much you have to pay off each month, then force that into a monthly budget.
#2.) Be realistic and honest. The goals have to be doable. You'll stay more motivated if you set goals that you can actually meet consistently. If you try to do too much, you'll end up giving up right away. And nothing will change.
#3.) Hang out with like-minded people. If your close friends are all spending more money than you, you're probably not going to get out of debt. You'll keep spending money that you should be saving, just to be included in what they do.
#4.) Keep track of all your expenses. There's no substitute for seeing numbers on paper. When you record every dollar you spend, you'll notice more areas where money gets wasted, and you'll save more.
#5.) Take one balance at a time. Pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first. Then the next highest, and so on, until you're done.
It's a simple formula . . . spend less than you make. Then it's just a matter of time.
