Man I hate stupid cars. I just got back from another ride and while out there there was a car was a little in front of me and turned on his turn signal so I slowed down so he could make his turn. He was slowing down too and we got to his turn and he had plenty of room to make his turn and I was stopped on my bike so he could go. He didn't. He was waiting for me. So I went even though I was letting him go. He shouldn't've gotten in front of me and turned on his signal. I know that he was being nice and if I were a car he did the right thing, but at the time he pulled up right in front of me and turned on his signal. Most times cars don't really see me and so I'm the one who has to watch out for them. Another reason why it was frustrating is because I was pretty tired and has some good momentum and this guy completely robbed me of it on my way up to another hill. It was a good ride otherwise.
A couple of days ago I finally beat Resistance: The Fall of Man on my PS3. I had the game for a while now and it finally got done. I was a little proud of my self but it was a lonely victory. I would tell people and no one cares. I really don't expect them too, really, but it was something that took me months to do, not working consistently on it, but I did it. I also bought another game from the playstation network. I think it's called rub a dub. What you do is guide a rubber duck around a pool to where baby sized rubber ducks are who are in bubbles which are suspended where they are. Once you're duck touches the bubble the baby sized duck is in it will follow you around where ever you go. The more bubbles you touch the more ducks you have following you, and you need to lead all the ducks to a drain where they get sucked down. The catch to this game is that you control your duck by tilting the pool and you do that by tilting the controller, so you don't push any buttons. Your duck jumps too by pulling the controller up quickly like flipping a pancake. So this game is a time game. It seems really laim but it's addictive. Come over and try it.
I've been playing guitar hero a little bit too. But the more I play the more I want the rock band game to come out sooner. I comes out the 20th of November and should be about $200 for the game, 1 guitar, drum set, and microphone. I think it's a great deal. A really crappy electronic drum set, the cheapest I've seen is about $200. All games for the PS3 are $60, normal wireless guitars for GHII are about $70 I think, which comes to $150, and that meas that the drum set and mike come down to $50 for the both of them. I think it's a great price for the peripherals. Although it is a lot of money just to play a game, but if the experience is that much better than the other guitar hero games, which I really think it will be, it'll be worth it.
I also watched some Ultimate Fighting over the weekend at the Buffalo Wild Wings place downtown. I think that stuff is awesome. I mean two guys go into the octagon and one of them gets beaten so much that he has to give up or the ref makes him, usually. The main event for Saturday night's was this 44 year old guy against a twenty something year old from Brazil. the Brazilian got his nose broken up disgustingly good. His nose was bleeding all over the other guy's back. It was gross. and after he had his nose broken he didn't fight with as much zeal. But it was fun getting to see his butt getting kicked.
that's about it for now. Your stay classy, internet blog readers.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
What am I trying to say?
Not a whole lot has been going on here, just things changing slowly to where they need to be. Here at the house we got rid of cable tv. We feel that tv sucks creativity out of life. It's so easy to turn in on and be entertained and that's what we're culturally programmed to do. We are living in a day of entertainment where everything has to be entertaining or we don't pay attention to it or don't even like it. I hear people complaining about things they don't like and don't want to do it. Sometimes in life you do things you don't want to do, actually all the time. I wonder sometimes if there is more pain in life that we would accept it better.
There is another blog that I stumbled on and keep reading because I think it's interesting. The writer is a young mother who became pregnant at 19 and was forced to marry the father, which wasn't a terrible thing, but parents made them choose to get married right after they found out that this girl was pregnant. This blog describes the joys of being a mother and dealing with money issues in their happy lives. The father is going to school so the mother is doing much of the house work as well as taking care of the child. In there also is a very open minded person who is finding the best way to do what she needs to do without following the norms of the culture around her. She is very strong and is a great mother. When I read the posts on her blog I see how she deals with all the trials that she goes through in her own way. She wishes things were better but she does the very best she can. Life for her is very consistently painful and she is still very used to and and very happy. Sometimes she compares herself to others or where she wants to go and when she does this it brings her down a little bit. Her strong self reliance is why I like reading her blog.
I really don't know what I'm writing. I'm actually a little bored now. Normally I would be sitting in front of the tv and let that trance wash over me and let my brain take a little break, and I'm glad I'm not there because I can use my time more effectively doing something else. I've been reading more which I like to do and I've been playing my guitar more, I've also been playing my playstation too. There a game called Lair that's coming out soon that I'm looking forward to. It's set in the middle ages and you ride and fight with dragons. It looks cool so go check it out. I think it comes out September 7th I think, which a few weeks later than posted on their advertisements.
Yeah. So we put the tv downstairs as well as a couch and a chair. One of my friends in the house also bought a couple of turn tables and dj mixer. She's going to be kickin it as a dj soon, as soon as she figures it out. It's cool that other people besides me will be hanging out in this level, but it's also kind of sad because I had been the only one doing stuff down here and now there's some ugly furniture here and more people. It's better though.
Yesterday I went up to the outlet mall they got up here. It's pretty big it was hard to find anything good. I guess that's how it is at every outlet mall. Someone told me that Gap makes clothes exclusively for their outlet store which seems weird to me. It seems that outlet malls are selling some of the stuff that stores couldn't sell in their normal stores which isn't bad in any way, but what trickles down to the outlets are a bunch of clothes that I couldn't wear. I try to have my own style and express myself in what I wear and the stuff I saw yesterday doesn't even come close. In my mind there are certain levels of fashion that the normal person shops at: for instance one level is buying clothes at the trendy places where it doesn't really matter what they're selling as long as it has the trendy name brand on it. Another level is buying clothes at those same stores but only the sale items to still fit in but not buying the stuff that you really want to buy because you don't have the money. Another level is shopping for clothes at Walmart or Meijer or Target. And I'm not judging anyone for shopping at any of these places. Everyone has motives to shop where they do for their own reasons. But there is the point of self expression. I think everyone should do it and not be afraid to do it. I know many people are and just want to fit in. I went through a faze like that and I think that most people do. And getting to my point that the more people shop at the outlet stores the less expressive they can get with their clothes. I don't extend that only to outlet stores but to the big chain stores that are in every town and city from coast to coast. I also know that it's how a person wears the clothes that dictates who they are as well. Getting more into my point: I see people becoming faceless consumers caught up in what the big companies are selling and not thinking. I also think that not watching tv helps a great deal with this.
Is anyone reading this? I'm surprised if you are. I feel like I'm rambling. I am actually, but I'm also thinking about stuff and not letting my brain slow its mental capacity by letting it watch tv. So I like where my life is heading. I will, however, miss some programs.
There is another blog that I stumbled on and keep reading because I think it's interesting. The writer is a young mother who became pregnant at 19 and was forced to marry the father, which wasn't a terrible thing, but parents made them choose to get married right after they found out that this girl was pregnant. This blog describes the joys of being a mother and dealing with money issues in their happy lives. The father is going to school so the mother is doing much of the house work as well as taking care of the child. In there also is a very open minded person who is finding the best way to do what she needs to do without following the norms of the culture around her. She is very strong and is a great mother. When I read the posts on her blog I see how she deals with all the trials that she goes through in her own way. She wishes things were better but she does the very best she can. Life for her is very consistently painful and she is still very used to and and very happy. Sometimes she compares herself to others or where she wants to go and when she does this it brings her down a little bit. Her strong self reliance is why I like reading her blog.
I really don't know what I'm writing. I'm actually a little bored now. Normally I would be sitting in front of the tv and let that trance wash over me and let my brain take a little break, and I'm glad I'm not there because I can use my time more effectively doing something else. I've been reading more which I like to do and I've been playing my guitar more, I've also been playing my playstation too. There a game called Lair that's coming out soon that I'm looking forward to. It's set in the middle ages and you ride and fight with dragons. It looks cool so go check it out. I think it comes out September 7th I think, which a few weeks later than posted on their advertisements.
Yeah. So we put the tv downstairs as well as a couch and a chair. One of my friends in the house also bought a couple of turn tables and dj mixer. She's going to be kickin it as a dj soon, as soon as she figures it out. It's cool that other people besides me will be hanging out in this level, but it's also kind of sad because I had been the only one doing stuff down here and now there's some ugly furniture here and more people. It's better though.
Yesterday I went up to the outlet mall they got up here. It's pretty big it was hard to find anything good. I guess that's how it is at every outlet mall. Someone told me that Gap makes clothes exclusively for their outlet store which seems weird to me. It seems that outlet malls are selling some of the stuff that stores couldn't sell in their normal stores which isn't bad in any way, but what trickles down to the outlets are a bunch of clothes that I couldn't wear. I try to have my own style and express myself in what I wear and the stuff I saw yesterday doesn't even come close. In my mind there are certain levels of fashion that the normal person shops at: for instance one level is buying clothes at the trendy places where it doesn't really matter what they're selling as long as it has the trendy name brand on it. Another level is buying clothes at those same stores but only the sale items to still fit in but not buying the stuff that you really want to buy because you don't have the money. Another level is shopping for clothes at Walmart or Meijer or Target. And I'm not judging anyone for shopping at any of these places. Everyone has motives to shop where they do for their own reasons. But there is the point of self expression. I think everyone should do it and not be afraid to do it. I know many people are and just want to fit in. I went through a faze like that and I think that most people do. And getting to my point that the more people shop at the outlet stores the less expressive they can get with their clothes. I don't extend that only to outlet stores but to the big chain stores that are in every town and city from coast to coast. I also know that it's how a person wears the clothes that dictates who they are as well. Getting more into my point: I see people becoming faceless consumers caught up in what the big companies are selling and not thinking. I also think that not watching tv helps a great deal with this.
Is anyone reading this? I'm surprised if you are. I feel like I'm rambling. I am actually, but I'm also thinking about stuff and not letting my brain slow its mental capacity by letting it watch tv. So I like where my life is heading. I will, however, miss some programs.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I almost died a few minutes ago, no joke
I just had one of my closest death defying nde that I've ever had with only walking away with a little scratch. So I was riding my bike and I came to the intersection of parckard and state, I was traveling up packard and turning onto state. At this intersection there's this third street leading to a residential area and I would be passing at the mouth of this street to get to state street. At this intersection cars go pretty fast so I take the sidewalk for precaution. And as I was coming off the curb at the mouth of this third street a car comes screeching past and I end up running into it. I get thrown off my bike by the bounce of us hitting and land on my back. The first thing I think of is what hurts so I can tell how injured I was. Geez, I ran into a car again. The last time that happened I was in the hospital for a week and recovering for a year. It turns out that I only had a lightly scraped up left elbow. My left hand would've been scraped up too and my butt if I weren't wearing cycling stuff. I next check my bike and miraculously it's okay too. I did find some kind of jelly on the tire but the wheel was fine. After I ascertained that everything was fine I notice that the car that I hit had stopped so I went to go talk to them. When I step up to the passenger side window a huge dog in the back seat starts barking at me and lunging its head out the back window. There was an old guy, well, about 50 driving and young teen girl in the passenger seat. They were pretty worried but I put their worry to ease by explaining that everything was alright. They drove away with nothing more than a good story.
It felt kind of weird to get back on my bike after that but that's what I did. I was on my way to return something to my old roommate in my old apartment. After I had gotten there and left the thing I was standing around outside the place letting the accident sink in. If I had been a tiny second faster I would have been seriously injured. But to have that happen, me being thrown off my bike, and walking away with a scratch was miraculous. I really feel like should've had an ambulance ride today.
it was here btw:
http://maps.google.com/maps/mm?q=Ann+Arbor,+MI,+USA&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=42.270878,-83.740245&spn=0.001937,0.003648&t=h&z=18&om=1
It felt kind of weird to get back on my bike after that but that's what I did. I was on my way to return something to my old roommate in my old apartment. After I had gotten there and left the thing I was standing around outside the place letting the accident sink in. If I had been a tiny second faster I would have been seriously injured. But to have that happen, me being thrown off my bike, and walking away with a scratch was miraculous. I really feel like should've had an ambulance ride today.
it was here btw:
http://maps.google.com/maps/mm?q=Ann+Arbor,+MI,+USA&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=42.270878,-83.740245&spn=0.001937,0.003648&t=h&z=18&om=1
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
At the daily grind
So today was one of those rare days that I worked. Weird. Okay, so now you're wondering what I'm doing with my life. Well, here I go: if you've read any of my blogs you know that I was in a bike vs. car accident and was out of the workforce for over a year. I also relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan where I've been looking for a job other than food service. It seems that others have had that plan here because there are very few. While looking for a job a good friend of mine (I will call her Ellie to protect her true identity) has a father who owns his own business and they've let me do some office work there till I could find something else. Really nice people who I am very grateful to. So I was doing stuff there until I had the opportunity to work at Urban Outfitters for two weeks while there was an art fair where the streets downtown are blocked off and the art dealers go crazy selling art. Urban sells a lot of clothes then too so they need help. I was one of those helpers (peons) but this was done in the hope of getting a job later on. You see lots of people wanted a job there and having poor people jump through hoops to see who can jump the highest will separate the kangaroos from the turtles. I happened to be a kangaroo but they are busy at the moment in a transition period in the store after which I was promised a job. During which time the office job that I do was running out of money to pay me so they let me work only on Tuesdays. That gives me plenty of time to walk around naked around our house (knock before entering [for your sakes {I don't mind}]) and ride my bike.
Back to why I mentioned this: I was working on a project for a few hours and the stupid computer decides to end the program that I was using, and no, I did not save my work before the computer kicked me in the balls. It also made the decision to log me out too. Well I tore that Mother F@#ker a new one! Actually my boss said that it was okay and that she won't make me redo it. Phew. Don't you just hate computers?
I forgot to mention that a few days ago that I got my reverend card in the mail. That's right, I can legally marry people. My little card says so. All you have to do is go to a website, type in some info and you're a reverend. You have to pay for any kind of proof like a certificate or wallet sized card, but it's real. I'm a reverend. It says Rev Eric Smith right on the card. Go ahead and let me know when you want to get married. Go on, I'll marry you. Just you wait.
Oh yeah, and my lawyer wanted pics of my scars and my friend, "Ellie" is borrowing it while also being on the other side of the continent. So at work I had a co-worker take some pics. Here are my favs:
You can see the titanium plate on my collar bone.
this one shows that the scar tissue on my arm has adhered to the muscle and there for it dimples now.
It's all pretty disgusting isn't it? Oh and the farmers tan is from wearing cycling jerseys when i ride my bike. No laughing. I'm serious.
So that was my day. How was yours?
Back to why I mentioned this: I was working on a project for a few hours and the stupid computer decides to end the program that I was using, and no, I did not save my work before the computer kicked me in the balls. It also made the decision to log me out too. Well I tore that Mother F@#ker a new one! Actually my boss said that it was okay and that she won't make me redo it. Phew. Don't you just hate computers?
I forgot to mention that a few days ago that I got my reverend card in the mail. That's right, I can legally marry people. My little card says so. All you have to do is go to a website, type in some info and you're a reverend. You have to pay for any kind of proof like a certificate or wallet sized card, but it's real. I'm a reverend. It says Rev Eric Smith right on the card. Go ahead and let me know when you want to get married. Go on, I'll marry you. Just you wait.
Oh yeah, and my lawyer wanted pics of my scars and my friend, "Ellie" is borrowing it while also being on the other side of the continent. So at work I had a co-worker take some pics. Here are my favs:
You can see the titanium plate on my collar bone.
this one shows that the scar tissue on my arm has adhered to the muscle and there for it dimples now.
It's all pretty disgusting isn't it? Oh and the farmers tan is from wearing cycling jerseys when i ride my bike. No laughing. I'm serious.
So that was my day. How was yours?
Monday, August 13, 2007
Bad things happen in and around the dmv
I went to the DMV today. I hate going to any DMV and this time doesn't break the mold. So this is how it went: I woke up up an 8 or so with the determination to go around the opening time which is at 9. Let's just say that I didn't make it over there till around 11. When I really don't want to go I'll come up with excuses and procrastinate by doing stupid little things. But I really needed to go. My license expired on June 21, my birthday of course, and I had been putting off for a long time. I ride my bike everywhere so I didn't see the need to hurrying in getting a new one. But I know it's an important piece of identification and I do drive occasionally. So I check the internet where it's at and I try to find out what I need to bring and what I need to do. All the DMV's or Secretary of State buildings that I've been to have been government buildings. I drove around a little bit looking for such a building but I came to find that there were strangely a lot a cars parked at one end of a strip mall. Yeah, they put the dmv in a strip mall. Weird. I walk in and there's a line of course and just a few seconds after I get in line a lady who works there came up to me and asked if I had all the documents I needed, i showed her what I had, and she tells me that I need another form of ID. I had my other drivers license and my passport which I though would be sufficient but I had to go home and get an old student ID card to prove who I was. The drive there and back sucked. I just wanted the whole thing over with as soon as possible, and the more time that I spent driving the more time I could have been in line widdling it down. So i get back in line and wait more that two hours or so till I get to the front of the line. And when it was my turn to get helped I felt like I had been on a journey and I looked around at all the other people still in line, they were looking back at me with some jealousy, and I was happy for a second.
One thing about dmv's that I don't like is that no one is happy to be there, that is till the get to the front of the line. No on likes to go, the people working there have to deal with people who have been waiting hours to see them, so the employees morale isn't that high, and what gets done there is all just a formality to what people do everyday of their lives. It's all lame.
Something weird that I should have noticed a long time ago but hadn't was that my birth date on my old drivers license off by a few days. I found this out when I went to open a checking account at a bank and they where taking in my info and the license wasn't congruent with a form I filled out. Here at the this dmv they made a little stink about it. I ended up waiting a while till they could confirm the right date of my glorious birth. The lady was a little bitchy too. I got a terrible picture taken for my little driving card and I was on my way.
To try to cheer me up I stopped at a deli that I love. It's called Dimo's. If you haven't tried it, go! They're only open for lunch and they're on E. Stadium. The food is great and you get a ton of it. I ate half for lunch and the rest I had for dinner. It's run by a family from New York so you get that demanding New York attitude with your sandwich. It adds character to the place. I highly recommend going.
Once again I did my ride to Dexter to get my frustration out and I had a near death experience (nde). It happened on my way back to Ann Arbor on Dexter road just in sight of the Maple traffic light (near the dmv, might I add) and some idiot coming from the opposite direction was making a left turn. He first veered into the other lane of the two lane road before completing his turn and just before he turned all the way in he sees me and slams on his breaks. Good thing too cause he would've ran me over. This was a lot like the accident I had a year ago. Stupid drivers. Just look where you're going. I know most of you don't think of looking for cyclists but just try to, please.
One thing about dmv's that I don't like is that no one is happy to be there, that is till the get to the front of the line. No on likes to go, the people working there have to deal with people who have been waiting hours to see them, so the employees morale isn't that high, and what gets done there is all just a formality to what people do everyday of their lives. It's all lame.
Something weird that I should have noticed a long time ago but hadn't was that my birth date on my old drivers license off by a few days. I found this out when I went to open a checking account at a bank and they where taking in my info and the license wasn't congruent with a form I filled out. Here at the this dmv they made a little stink about it. I ended up waiting a while till they could confirm the right date of my glorious birth. The lady was a little bitchy too. I got a terrible picture taken for my little driving card and I was on my way.
To try to cheer me up I stopped at a deli that I love. It's called Dimo's. If you haven't tried it, go! They're only open for lunch and they're on E. Stadium. The food is great and you get a ton of it. I ate half for lunch and the rest I had for dinner. It's run by a family from New York so you get that demanding New York attitude with your sandwich. It adds character to the place. I highly recommend going.
Once again I did my ride to Dexter to get my frustration out and I had a near death experience (nde). It happened on my way back to Ann Arbor on Dexter road just in sight of the Maple traffic light (near the dmv, might I add) and some idiot coming from the opposite direction was making a left turn. He first veered into the other lane of the two lane road before completing his turn and just before he turned all the way in he sees me and slams on his breaks. Good thing too cause he would've ran me over. This was a lot like the accident I had a year ago. Stupid drivers. Just look where you're going. I know most of you don't think of looking for cyclists but just try to, please.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
things to get excited for
I'm not that big of a gamer but I do own a PS3. It came about mostly through my little brother who's in high school who's into that sort of thing. But there is a game that I'm a little excited for: rock band! It from the guys who made Guitar Hero I and II. The developers got off that train, gave the reigns to others to make the third in that series and went on to make a new better creation. Rock Band is Guitar Hero expanded. It incorporates other instruments to make up a band. So it's got guitars, of course, but also drums and vocals to make it a complete band. I just saw a video of it being played, wait, here it is:
It's kind of long video but it got me excited about it. If you don't really know me then you probably don't know that I've dabbled in music. I've been playing guitar for a while, played in a bunch of bands since high school, learned the drums on the way. I even started my own music club at college (I teach guitar too). So making a video game out of it rocks in my mind. that way I can rock with my friends who don't really play. I'm a huge fan of the Guitar Hero games too. So yeah, it comes out on November 20th so come over to my house after that so you can come play.
And how am I going to finance this purchase, you may be wondering? No, not the credit card. I've been in contact with my lawyer in Hawai'i (you've gotta separate'em) and I think the settlement thing/money should be done soon. Hopefully by this month. I got a letter from him the other day and he's asking for a lot of money. Six figures of course, and the lawyer gets a third of what I get cause he's doing the work and I probably wouldn't get nearly what he's asking had I not gotten a lawyer. But yeah. I'm getting some big cash soon. It might make it worth getting run over by a van, maybe.
Another fact that you might not know about me is that I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). And I got a new calling today. I'm going to start teaching a class for our Sunday school, gospel principles, starting next Sunday. I'm excited for this too. I don't think of myself of much a teacher so this is going to be challenging and fun.
Another more journaly thing I'm adding now. Yesterday I saw the Hills Have Eyes II for the first time, it wasn't that bad or scary, really. My friends and I went out to rent it, but this rent came about in a round about kind of way. I DVR'd what the cable stating said was the new version of the Hills Have Eyes II, so I gathered a few people around the TV and the movie turned out to be the old one. It wasn't scary at all. It wasn't very good either, so you can't just call it quits when you're about to watch a scary movie, you're all prepared and ready to go. So we had to rent it. It wasn't that scary, but it was put in the "fun" movie category.
that's about it for now. Just enjoying summer.
P.S. No one here seems to have a digital camera. I actually have one, but I lent it to a friend who is on vacation at the moment. My lawyer asked for pics of my scars to help in the settlement thing. People, got get a camera and capture memories. You'll thank me later.
It's kind of long video but it got me excited about it. If you don't really know me then you probably don't know that I've dabbled in music. I've been playing guitar for a while, played in a bunch of bands since high school, learned the drums on the way. I even started my own music club at college (I teach guitar too). So making a video game out of it rocks in my mind. that way I can rock with my friends who don't really play. I'm a huge fan of the Guitar Hero games too. So yeah, it comes out on November 20th so come over to my house after that so you can come play.
And how am I going to finance this purchase, you may be wondering? No, not the credit card. I've been in contact with my lawyer in Hawai'i (you've gotta separate'em) and I think the settlement thing/money should be done soon. Hopefully by this month. I got a letter from him the other day and he's asking for a lot of money. Six figures of course, and the lawyer gets a third of what I get cause he's doing the work and I probably wouldn't get nearly what he's asking had I not gotten a lawyer. But yeah. I'm getting some big cash soon. It might make it worth getting run over by a van, maybe.
Another fact that you might not know about me is that I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). And I got a new calling today. I'm going to start teaching a class for our Sunday school, gospel principles, starting next Sunday. I'm excited for this too. I don't think of myself of much a teacher so this is going to be challenging and fun.
Another more journaly thing I'm adding now. Yesterday I saw the Hills Have Eyes II for the first time, it wasn't that bad or scary, really. My friends and I went out to rent it, but this rent came about in a round about kind of way. I DVR'd what the cable stating said was the new version of the Hills Have Eyes II, so I gathered a few people around the TV and the movie turned out to be the old one. It wasn't scary at all. It wasn't very good either, so you can't just call it quits when you're about to watch a scary movie, you're all prepared and ready to go. So we had to rent it. It wasn't that scary, but it was put in the "fun" movie category.
that's about it for now. Just enjoying summer.
P.S. No one here seems to have a digital camera. I actually have one, but I lent it to a friend who is on vacation at the moment. My lawyer asked for pics of my scars to help in the settlement thing. People, got get a camera and capture memories. You'll thank me later.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Blogger here I come
So I'm going to try and do the journal thing with this blog and I hope I don't offend anyone who reads it. No one's forcing you to read this so I don't apologize if it's boring.
It's Friday today with no plans and the first thing that I like to do a day like today is ride my bike. I've started to ride more distance rides to get back into shape, or more closely to where i was before my terrible accident. What accident, you ask? I guess now's as good a time an any to type it out again. It's been a while since the last time I tried and I think I've figured out a bit more:
I was on Oahu, Hawaii, just a few weeks after classes had finished and I was waiting for commencement a few weeks after that. I was riding my bike sort of far, probably about 150 miles a week on rides from 25 to 50 miles a pop. I was on such a ride on June 5 on Kam highway headed North. It was in the morning and the high school/elementary/middle school complex they got over in the next city was being fed kids from the many parents dropping them off. They got one traffic light over there that's at the mouth of this school. The time was 7:30, school starts around 8 and there were cars backed up pretty far from this light. What do I care? I ride on the shoulder so I don't have to deal with stupid car drivers. I'm going along, kind of fast, and a car coming from the other direction turns left and I ride into the side of it. I later learned that there was a preschool that the car was turning into, it was actually a Honda Odyssey, and a truck had made a space for the van to go through and had actually waved the van to make the turn. So when the van gunned it to make the turn so the other cars in back of them wouldn't get mad, the driver did that right when I was getting to the same spot.
So now you're asking what happened. I'm gonna tell you but it's not for the weak of heart. As I see this van getting in my way I had the time-slowing-down-thing happen and I know I didn't have time to touch my brakes and I remember thinking of the acceptance I had that I was going to hit them. After that I don't remember the events the occurred directly after but I do know that I was conscience. I do however have the accounts of some of the many people who saw what happened, or I've pieced together most of the story, I think. I ran into the side door of the van and from what I can tell I think my head broke through the window (I had a helmet on) and got cut up on my face, all over my right shoulder, and my right arm. Now I don't remember this but people tell me that I was sort of panicky but dazed. I even stood up after the impact but fell straight back down. I don't remember any of this but when my memory does kick in it's when I'm on the ground at the site of the accident with the paramedics surrounding me. It felt like coming out of a dream and entering a horrible nightmare and a flood of pain clouded everything. I soon got into the ambulance and was on a long ride to the hospital about 45 minutes away. At the hospital I learned that I broke my neck, shattered my collar bone, severed my radial nerve at the bicep on my right arm and deep lacerations on my neck, right shoulder, and right arm.
I was in the hospital for a week, then released to family, and eventually went to recover at my parents house in Salt Lake City, Utah where I didn't grow up or really know anyone. I wore a neck brace for about 4 months, a full arm brace for 3 months, I couldn't move my wrist for 4 months due to the severed nerve, and lots and lots of painful physical therapy.
It's been over a year now and I'm still not back to normal: I don't have my hand working as well as it did, but that might eventually come back, very very slowly, and my right arm is still weak. but no one can really tell anything is wrong, but I have some awesome scars on my neck and arm that everyone asks about. It's like having tattoos with cool stories behind them; great conversation pieces.
Back to what I was saying: I just barely started riding again. I'm living in Ann Arbor, Michigan and am exploring. I found a short trip that I've started going on regularly, from here to Dexter, which is only about 9 miles away. It has a nice shoulder and it isn't too busy with traffic. The only road worthy bike that I have now is just a single gear road bike. I like it a lot. I bought it mainly for commuting around town but it's a great bike; simple and fast. It's a Specialized Langster if you were wondering. It's a great little ride to try and get my endurance going again. I'm trying to do it a least three times a week.
You may be wondering if I'm scarred to be riding a bike. The answer to that one is "yes". I know how little a mistake it takes for me to get me severely injured again, but I love to ride.
One great thing about the accident is that I'm going to get a bunch of money from it real soon i think. I just moved to this house close to downtown and I need to get some furniture for it. I want to get a good bike, and who knows what else. So I spent some of the day planning how I want things. I'm living with two other girls who had lived here before I move in, both of whom are friends, who occupied the upstairs and now that I moved in we have opened the whole house up, both floors. And they're used to living upstairs and they both spend their time up there but we have a whole house, not just one floor. They have some ratty furniture that's up there too but I don't really want it down here. I sort of want to life in a nice place, not so college anymore.
After that I sort of hung out. I still don't know many people here. One of the girls is out of town for a while and the other one has a boyfriend with whom she spends a good deal of her free time with. So it was a quiet evening for me. I really don't mind it though. I like the quiet of just me.
well, this is my first blog here and hopefully i keep it up. thanks for reading.
It's Friday today with no plans and the first thing that I like to do a day like today is ride my bike. I've started to ride more distance rides to get back into shape, or more closely to where i was before my terrible accident. What accident, you ask? I guess now's as good a time an any to type it out again. It's been a while since the last time I tried and I think I've figured out a bit more:
I was on Oahu, Hawaii, just a few weeks after classes had finished and I was waiting for commencement a few weeks after that. I was riding my bike sort of far, probably about 150 miles a week on rides from 25 to 50 miles a pop. I was on such a ride on June 5 on Kam highway headed North. It was in the morning and the high school/elementary/middle school complex they got over in the next city was being fed kids from the many parents dropping them off. They got one traffic light over there that's at the mouth of this school. The time was 7:30, school starts around 8 and there were cars backed up pretty far from this light. What do I care? I ride on the shoulder so I don't have to deal with stupid car drivers. I'm going along, kind of fast, and a car coming from the other direction turns left and I ride into the side of it. I later learned that there was a preschool that the car was turning into, it was actually a Honda Odyssey, and a truck had made a space for the van to go through and had actually waved the van to make the turn. So when the van gunned it to make the turn so the other cars in back of them wouldn't get mad, the driver did that right when I was getting to the same spot.
So now you're asking what happened. I'm gonna tell you but it's not for the weak of heart. As I see this van getting in my way I had the time-slowing-down-thing happen and I know I didn't have time to touch my brakes and I remember thinking of the acceptance I had that I was going to hit them. After that I don't remember the events the occurred directly after but I do know that I was conscience. I do however have the accounts of some of the many people who saw what happened, or I've pieced together most of the story, I think. I ran into the side door of the van and from what I can tell I think my head broke through the window (I had a helmet on) and got cut up on my face, all over my right shoulder, and my right arm. Now I don't remember this but people tell me that I was sort of panicky but dazed. I even stood up after the impact but fell straight back down. I don't remember any of this but when my memory does kick in it's when I'm on the ground at the site of the accident with the paramedics surrounding me. It felt like coming out of a dream and entering a horrible nightmare and a flood of pain clouded everything. I soon got into the ambulance and was on a long ride to the hospital about 45 minutes away. At the hospital I learned that I broke my neck, shattered my collar bone, severed my radial nerve at the bicep on my right arm and deep lacerations on my neck, right shoulder, and right arm.
I was in the hospital for a week, then released to family, and eventually went to recover at my parents house in Salt Lake City, Utah where I didn't grow up or really know anyone. I wore a neck brace for about 4 months, a full arm brace for 3 months, I couldn't move my wrist for 4 months due to the severed nerve, and lots and lots of painful physical therapy.
It's been over a year now and I'm still not back to normal: I don't have my hand working as well as it did, but that might eventually come back, very very slowly, and my right arm is still weak. but no one can really tell anything is wrong, but I have some awesome scars on my neck and arm that everyone asks about. It's like having tattoos with cool stories behind them; great conversation pieces.
Back to what I was saying: I just barely started riding again. I'm living in Ann Arbor, Michigan and am exploring. I found a short trip that I've started going on regularly, from here to Dexter, which is only about 9 miles away. It has a nice shoulder and it isn't too busy with traffic. The only road worthy bike that I have now is just a single gear road bike. I like it a lot. I bought it mainly for commuting around town but it's a great bike; simple and fast. It's a Specialized Langster if you were wondering. It's a great little ride to try and get my endurance going again. I'm trying to do it a least three times a week.
You may be wondering if I'm scarred to be riding a bike. The answer to that one is "yes". I know how little a mistake it takes for me to get me severely injured again, but I love to ride.
One great thing about the accident is that I'm going to get a bunch of money from it real soon i think. I just moved to this house close to downtown and I need to get some furniture for it. I want to get a good bike, and who knows what else. So I spent some of the day planning how I want things. I'm living with two other girls who had lived here before I move in, both of whom are friends, who occupied the upstairs and now that I moved in we have opened the whole house up, both floors. And they're used to living upstairs and they both spend their time up there but we have a whole house, not just one floor. They have some ratty furniture that's up there too but I don't really want it down here. I sort of want to life in a nice place, not so college anymore.
After that I sort of hung out. I still don't know many people here. One of the girls is out of town for a while and the other one has a boyfriend with whom she spends a good deal of her free time with. So it was a quiet evening for me. I really don't mind it though. I like the quiet of just me.
well, this is my first blog here and hopefully i keep it up. thanks for reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)