Good People

As much as People (capital 'p' to emphasize the group rather than the magazine) say that the world is spiraling downward, and that people as a whole are becoming more and more selfish, it is good to know every once in a while that People can be proved wrong.

I was working on Halloween (it never ceases to amaze me how busy my work tends to be that day... there is something so wrong about that) doing a blood drive at the Valley Fair Mall, in Salt Lake City. Where me and my crew were located was a sort of dug out courtyard in the center of the mall. It was different.

Now, there is over two thousand pounds of equipment that we need to use in order to do a blood drive, and out of everyone that I was working with, I was the only one who could lift. One of my crew members could not carry anything because he strained his back doing something, and the other has mono and is not suppose to but any undue stress on her liver or spleen for fear of it rupturing. Getting stuff down into the pit was easy, gravity really does help in situations like that. However, when it came to cleaning up and trying to get stuff out of the pit I was presented with quite a difficulty. I could not lift three hundred pound stations up the stairs by myself.

Luckily, I did not have to. Since we were in the mall, and it was Halloween, there were a lot of people around trick-or-treating. Two very nice Latino gentlemen saw me standing at the bottom of the staircase contemplating the best way for me to do it, and came down and just picked it up like it was nothing and carried it to the top. They did this not only for that station, but for the other three stations I had, and a cart that we use to carry stuff. It was amazing. After how busy the day had been I was honestly on the point of tears with gratitude. I thanked them and they just smiled and rejoined their families.

Later that day (in many ways it was an ill-fated day, but so many miracles came of it that I'm sure it all balanced out) The van I was driving, towing the trailer with all of our supplies, ran out of gas. This was entirely my fault since I know that it had been a busy week, and I totally spaced checking out the gas situation before I left Ogden to go to the drive. Still, knowing that it was my fault seemed to vex my mood even more than if it had been a freak accident. Anyway, we manage to suck on fumes and limp to a gas station. We get enough gas to get home, but in the process, I managed to get the van and trailer thoroughly stuck in this tiny corner gas station. It had a whole bunch of those stupid little cement barriers, that no matter how hard I tried to maneuver, I could not get around. I felt so stupid, pulling forward than backing up then accidentally torquing my trailer. It was terrible.

On the side of the gas station there was a guy who had been watching me struggle for like twenty minutes, and after a little chuckle asked if he could help. Crying because of sheer frustration at my complete and utter inability to back up a stupid trailer I said that he was more than welcome to it. Within a matter of minutes he had me out of the gas station and onto the road pointed in the direction of the interstate. As I professed my gratitude, he just chuckled and said that something similar had happened to him a week ago and that he was glad that he could help someone get out of a similar situation just as someone had helped him.

So there you have it. I met three very extraordinary guys all in one day. I do not know any of their names, but I know that they helped me out of situations that I never would have found a way out of on my own. It only took them a couple of minutes, and they have most likely already forgotten about it. But I will not forget. I doubt they realize what an impact they had on me, or how much they really saved the day. I never thought when I woke up that morning that I would have to opportunity to meet three heroes before I went to bed that night.

Because of their example I can remember to not be in such a rush. I can remember to take a couple seconds out of my day to help someone. Even if it is something simple, you never know what impact you could have on those around you.

The People who say that there are no good people, are obviously those individuals who do not interact with people. There are many many astounding people in the world that help improve our living conditions and enrich our lives on a daily basis. It is all a matter of recognizing it and then giving it back.

Project - Get Happy :)

With all the hard times we are going through as a country and individually, it's becoming increasingly harder to get happy. No one likes being stressed and depressed, so I am proposing a plan to make the world just a little bit happier. This plan won't take care of all of life's problems, but I really think it can make a difference, so here is one idea to get started on...

1- Mail note cards to all the people you can think of that have made you happy at some point in your lives, no matter how long ago it was. Text messages and Facebook comments are nice, but the world is need of a little more personal touch and effort.

It's not much, but than again, you never know what can make a difference.

More to follow (hopefully :P, but you all know how inconstantly I post) Any ideas for another step would be great :)

Tagged

So I'm doing this so that my beloved family knows that I am not dead....

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to...(in no particular order)
1. Going on Vacation!!!
2. Going on my mission
3. Getting overtime at work
4. Reading whatever I want to for the first time in 2.5 years
5. New Hires at work, I love meeting new people, an fresh blood is always nice before they get sucked up into the drama of the workplace.
6. Running tomorrow morning
7. Hanging out with my sister
8. And... Uh... Something else

8 Things I Did this Week:
1. Depeche Mode Concert!!! It was awesome!!!
2. Went to this totally awesome/amazing/astounding/fantastic/stellar/expensive/classy restaurant where I ate duck for the first time. It was totally golden.
3. Work
4. Went to Institute
5. Started my mission papers
6. Got kidnapped my high school friends... it was a little different...
7. Hung out with Nate who just got back from his mission.... it was a titch awkward because he didn't look at me while he talked to me... yay for return missionary-ness!!!
8. Went to the movie theater and saw a totally depressing yet awesome movie

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Fly!!!
2. Lose weight
3. Go to school
4. Make pon-pon chicken sauce from scratch
5. Have mad drawing/writing skills so that I could retell and illustrate fairy tales for children
6. Sew and design clothing
7. Speak Spanish fluently
8. Own an entertainment store such as FYE or Barnes and Noble

8 Places I'd Like to Travel to:
1. Barcelona Spain
2. London England
3. Dublin Ireland
4. Sydney Australia
5. Alaska
6. Hawaii
7. San Paulo Brazil
8. Antartica

8 Shows I watch:
1. Battle Star Galactica (New version, not the old weird ones)
2. Scrubs
3. The Simpsons
4. Eureka
5. Lost
6. Alias
7. Robot Chicken
8. And something else I'm sure

So yeah.... thats about it

In These Moments

After the events of today, my brain has brought to the forefront of my mind a conversation that I has with my sister not to long ago. We were talking about how I really never go anywhere or do anything. I mean, I'm always busy and stuff. Just not ever with anything that is really important. Where most people in my family would leave and visit friends and family (usually in the same person) during the summer, I would always stay. I always thought if I just took one more class that it would get me ahead, or if I picked up an extra shift at work that I might have enough to get through the school year without working so hard. As a result of that mind set, I have missed out on things like getting to know my family better.

The really sad thing about this all was, that I realized it months ago and I still didn't change anything. I didn't change my priorities or anything. I kept working and I kept going to school (summer included). I keep picking up that extra shift at work in hope of something. Nothing ever did.

Until today

I didn't really think that today would be a day of note or be a day that could make a difference. I mean its a Wednesday. I've never had much luck with Wednesdays. I came home from work to finish an assignment I had due tonight, and Bonnie asks me if I was ready to go to the movie tonight. I had been promising her for several days now that we would go as soon as I had a day where I got off early enough to without staying out too late because of school in the morning. I told her I couldn't go because as soon as my assignment was done I had to turn around and go cover a shift for so-and-so.

This wasn't the first time that something like this has happened to me. I mean I disappoint friends and family for work on a regular basis. I've lost track of how many times I've totally bailed out on doing my sister's hair because I have to end up staying late for work. This was the first time though that I did something about it.

It wasn't Bonnie's yelling at me and telling me how much she hated me for bailing out on her yet again that got me to call my work and let them know I couldn't make it. It was the look on her face. Her quiet comment of how she had been looking forward to it all day.

I know that what they say is cheesy, but it is also true. It is in the small moments that life is made. Not in how much you earn or how smart you are, but what you make and who you do it with. The movie wasn't that great, but the memory was.

It's Called a Cruel Irony

... like my dependence on you (The Emperor's New Groove 2000)

Or another quote that works for my situation, "You exist to continue your existence, what's the point?" (Equilibrium 2002)

As I have worked pretty much for the last four hours on homework, I cannot help but wonder and ask myself
"Self, why I am ruining my weekend with something as pointless as this?"
And I answered myself saying "Other self, I was too busy to do it during the week."
Which surprisingly enough was actually true. I work full time.
So this brought to mind the thought, "Self, why am I killing myself working full time if I live at home and have relatively no living expenses?"
Answer "To pay for school."

After going back and forth several times between myself and myself I came to the conclusion that my life is a cruel irony. I work so that I can afford to go to school, but I work so much that I do not succeed at school.

Its awesome, and I can't help but chuckle to myself. *chuckle chortle chuckle*

Life is the greatest!!!

Hi, I Guess

"Blogging - Never have so many people with so little to say, said so much to so few"


If you were to ask anyone who truly knows me, they would tell you this quote summarizes to perfection my views of blogging.

Perhaps I am just vain enough to believe that I could say something profound or life changing. Or perhaps since no one reads it anyway, I feel that it is a good way to express thoughts and ideas without burdening those around me. What ever the reason, I have officially joined the ranks of the bloggers.

I know that as my sisters read this they will be sniggering if not laughing out loud at the irony of the situation. Still.... never hurts to try anything once...

... except drugs....

... and alcohol....

... and all that stuff that parents say that you shouldn't do, which they would know because typically they tried it once and they know from experience that its not worth it to try it once...