Docs Warn:

Texting Distracts !

Thursday, July 31, 2008
Chicago (AP)

The American College of Emergency Physicians warned this week of the danger of more serious accidents involving oblivious texters.

The ER doctors cite rising reports from doctors around the country of injuries involving text-messaging pedestrians, bicyclists, Rollerbladers (sic), even motorists.

Most involve scrapes, cuts and sprains from texters who walked into lampposts or walls or tripped over curbs.

Still, ER doctors who responded to a recent informal query from the organization reported two deaths, both in California. A San Francisco woman was killed by a pickup truck earlier this year when she stepped off a curb while texting, and a Bakersfield man was killed last year by a car while crossing the street and texting.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has no national estimate on how common texting-related injuries are. But among the reports it has received: A 15-year-old girl fell off her horse while texting, suffering head and back injuries, and a 13-year-old girl suffered belly, leg and arm burns after texting her boyfriend while cooking noodles.

being nothing

On Sunday, the pastor, or, as I like to call him, Dad was talking about Psalm 8:4. David asks,

"What is man, that Thou art mindful
of him? And the son of man that Thou visits him?"

Everyone is in the fast lane anymore, trying to be something - anything - in their job, relationships, or in just their lives. But what we forget is that we are nothing and all of our perceived good works as just as good as filthy rags.
But we don't understand this. We think that the further up the corporate ladder we can get, the better life will ultimately be.
Dad mentioned Moses. This guy had it all going for him. He had to be absolutely nothing -less than nothing even- before God could use him. Now that I think about it, the reason why Moses could to enter the Promised Land in the end was because he exalted himself above God.
Robert E. Lee, one of the most devout men in history, said,

"I tremble for my country when I hear of
confidence expressed in me. I know
too well... that our only hope is in God."

I just wish that more people, myself included, were content with being nothing.

tired of life? m-a-a-ybe...

... but i doubt it. i'm fed up. but thats my fault?

this morning, at people's, i worked with a new waitress. wait - not new. she was a waitress at Denny's....and a place called Garfield's....and Al La Mode... and another place that i hadn't head of before...

but that didnt bother me... the thing that bothered me was that she was a morning person... at 4:30 am...the woman would not sit down. she took every customer, every order, cleared every table and vacuumed every freaking crumb.

i usually use the time between 5:30 (when i finish setting up the restaurant) and 6:00 (when the restaurant opens) to read, listen to music, or, better still, get another 15 minutes of rest. not today, not next monday and not the one after that...

she was so high-strung, i was breathing for her. We split tips, so if she wanted to grab everything and run herself down, i didnt argue. i sat and sudoku'd, watching the clock. and i thought about something...

i am so gonna have to force myself to chill... thats my new goal. i'm not gonna freak over the stupid little things, i'm not gonna get mad if things aren't done my exact way and i'm not gonna do everything at once.

If you don't believe me, i dont blame you. i dont think i can either. but i'm sure as heck gonna try...

In the back

when ur a little kid, you ride in the back seat. always. no question. "Kids, get in the back" or, as abby likes it, "In the back, crackerjack."

it's a good feeling. as charlie brown says, 'the safest place to be is in the back seat.'

dad's driving, mom's there and ur surrounded by ur family. granted, they are prolly screaming, or pulling someone else's hair out... but they're there.

something else is that you know ur gonna get to where ur going. you dont know how long it's gonna take, you dont know where ur going, and sometimes, you're not sure what's wedged in between the seat cushions. but ur gonna get there.

A year ago, I was in the car with Dad. it was raining really hard and you could not see too far ahead of you. Mom was kinda uptight and it showed in the conversation she was having with Dad. The kids in the back were fighting, as only kids do... but Dad kept driving. He knew where he was going and that was okay.

So, yeah. I usually sit in the back...because I know the driver in charge.
... another reason is that I broke my mom's front seat to her car. But I rarely mention that fact.

the past three weeks in a nutshell

The idea of someone always being there for you is a novel idea. Bon Jovi reinforces this in his song, "I'll be there for you." The Lord of the Rings' characters epitomize loyalty, friendship and company. And, of course, who can forget Mark Wahlbergs unforgettable Bob Lee Swagger who is at just the right place at just the right time for just the right person? We simply accept the fact that eventually, we will have that someone or we will be that someone. My little confession is that these seemingly small declarations of loyalty are enough to arouse my vaguely feminine emotions. (Yes. Sometimes, I cry.)

But reality is not the box-office hit or the top-album compilation. Reality is having someone, who you regarded as your best friend, have their life turned upside down/inside out by someone with whom they trusted the most important thing they had. Reality is losing your friends. Reality is your sister -- I can't really continue except to say that if you know whats going on, then you know what I mean. Reality is knowing that others expect you to do the same, and that you think you might too. So much for free-will.

I'm also learning an aspect of loyalty through my college education. You could prolly tell that i was upset when I came to VA - not because of the workload or anything, but because, when i left initially, I was scared of losing my friends. Time proved that to be true. I never heard from or saw alot of the people I was in daily contact with before I left. In a sense, this is one reason why I don't want to leave this time. Some friends - i don't want to lose. For my own sake, I can't afford to lose.

It's kinda hypocritical, isn't it? The loyalty I crave for in others, I can't even provide - if just to myself. College can be the most rewarding, successful, and spiritually amazing time a person can have. On the other side, it can be, at times, lonely, make one self-dependant, and downright struggling. I can't even be a stable person for myself. I'm not bipolar, or manic or anything. But sometimes, at random times, I remember this and... idk. I'm upset at what I can't be.

I am so glad for my friends - my old friends who have stayed with me, my newly discovered friends who remind me that I am not who my sister is, and for just the people who appreciate me for who I am.

So, thanks, guys. Thanks for the support and I understand that sometimes, the best thing to do is to not get involved with other people's problems (like mine), so to you, I say, thanks for your time that you have set aside and given to me. You mean more than you know. I'm really struggling and it means so much to know that i have a force behind me, ready to push me through my issues, even if it's just for a short time. =)

John Wayne

. I . Love . John . Wayne .


I think he is the most amazing guy ever. Like, ever ever.

Every movie he was in, he was a character who kept to moral standards.

Some people tell me they have a couple of his movies. Or they have heard of him, but never saw a John Wayne movie. Or, worse yet, they have never even heard of him.

This is a problem. What the heck is wrong with a society that idolizes people like Brad Pitt or Matt Damon over men like John Wayne?

Coping

Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to realize that you are not in control. Lately, so many things have happened and I feel that if I can't fix it, I can be blamed for it. Don't ask. Thats how I am. It's how I've always been.

I guess I could try to fix it. In fact, I have. I am trying to pay off the fine. I have tried to call her. I even started tracing her to find out what exactly has been going on down there.

But I can't fix it. I have no money. She won't talk to me and even if i do trace her, what then? A road trip to Alabama?

No, I cant fix it. Maybe it was my fault to begin with...

Maybe I could have been there for her more, ya know? I was always the one that would angrily try to fix the problems she's caused. I got upset every time I knew she was on the phone with him. Maybe there was a time she just wanted to talk and I wasnt there to listen.

I guess my only option is to ignore it, as i sit here and eat pringles and drink my last snapple...