Don't Cell & Drive!
I survived my first official day of the semester yesterday! I use the word "survive" in a figurative and literal sense. For one, I endured a 12+ hour day on campus. I'm happy with my Tuesday classes; I have one course in theories and practices of counseling and my other class is for my practicum (one step before doing an internship). The professors I have this semester, I've taken courses from them in the past and I know they're excellent teachers and will definitely challenge their students to grow and develop personally and professionally. I like that.
The second part of my survival refers to my ride home from the University. I live about 30 to 40 minutes away from campus on the eastern side of Oahu, in a town called Kailua. I won't reveal details of my transporter (all I'll say is it was a company specializing in providing transportation for persons with disabilities), just to maintain privacy and to avoid turning my entry into a public forum of negativity. As we're going along the highway, we essentially travel along a mountain; a nice view! I began to doze off (fall asleep), until I felt something drop on my foot. I then hear a cell phone ring. By this time, I'm up and alert. The driver realizes the phone had dropped and was ringing/vibrating, so the driver proceeds to unbuckle the seatbelt! The driver then reaches down to retrieve the phone...we're drifting off onto the shoulder of the highway at a pretty good rate. We were approximately 10 feet from a rock wall covered with meshed fencing, basically we were going to crash into this wall if we continued our path, The driver finishes retrieving the phone and realizes that we're close to hitting the wall, so the driver swerves at once! The swerve took us clear across into the second lane (this being a 2-lane highway), meaning we cut across traffic. As we're crossing the lanes, in the corner of my left eye I could see headlights approaching us (this happened to be a huge delivery truck)! I thought to myself, "Ok! This is not going to be good!" Finally after a moment, the driver regains control of the vehicle. All of this happened in mere seconds, but it felt as if everything happened in slow motion. A very surreal experience, but one that will leave a lasting impact in my mind. After this all happened, I know the driver was shaken up, and to the driver's credit I was asked a few times if I was all right. I'm not sure what an appropriate answer would be at such a time, but I nodded in confirmation but thought to myself "Just get me home in one piece!!"
There was still about 10 to 15 minutes left for this ride until we reached my destination, but I did a lot of thinking and I felt a greater sense of appreciation for the many positives that I have in my life. I also appreciate the little things in life a bit more as well! And this may sound a bit odd, maybe border on sounding egotistical, but I realized that I'm not invincible. I am NOT saying that I ever believed I was invincible; what I'm trying to relay is the sense that I saw how close we are to not being alive and well. So, I feel that this will be a life-altering event in some way.
My dinner on Tuesday tasted just a bit better than usual, I was that much happier to see my parents, I was happy to chat with my sister, etc.
So, what do I hope that you, the reader, gain from this entry. For one, I urge you NOT to use a cell phone while driving; I know that's unrealistic because for some it is an essential part of daily living! So, if you use a cell phone while driving, use a hands-free device. But most importantly, should ANYTHING drop on the floor while driving, please DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PICK IT UP! Whatever it is can wait, trust me, it is not worth risk of accident, injury, or a really, really bad injury like death!
What a way to start a semester! The excitement has just begun....I'm eager to see what the rest of the semester holds for me!
Randomness for the midweek:
A cool iguana figure made from aluminum cans,
an awesome Christmas gift from a friend!
It needs a name, so feel free to leave me
suggestions in the Comments!
Until next time....drive safely and remember not to reach down while driving!! Here's the address to the website I composed and am maintaining for the National Institute on Multicultural Competence Newsletter: http://www.geocities.com/nimc_newsletter/nimcnewsletter.htm
A very successful and positive launch; I am happy!
I survived my first official day of the semester yesterday! I use the word "survive" in a figurative and literal sense. For one, I endured a 12+ hour day on campus. I'm happy with my Tuesday classes; I have one course in theories and practices of counseling and my other class is for my practicum (one step before doing an internship). The professors I have this semester, I've taken courses from them in the past and I know they're excellent teachers and will definitely challenge their students to grow and develop personally and professionally. I like that.
The second part of my survival refers to my ride home from the University. I live about 30 to 40 minutes away from campus on the eastern side of Oahu, in a town called Kailua. I won't reveal details of my transporter (all I'll say is it was a company specializing in providing transportation for persons with disabilities), just to maintain privacy and to avoid turning my entry into a public forum of negativity. As we're going along the highway, we essentially travel along a mountain; a nice view! I began to doze off (fall asleep), until I felt something drop on my foot. I then hear a cell phone ring. By this time, I'm up and alert. The driver realizes the phone had dropped and was ringing/vibrating, so the driver proceeds to unbuckle the seatbelt! The driver then reaches down to retrieve the phone...we're drifting off onto the shoulder of the highway at a pretty good rate. We were approximately 10 feet from a rock wall covered with meshed fencing, basically we were going to crash into this wall if we continued our path, The driver finishes retrieving the phone and realizes that we're close to hitting the wall, so the driver swerves at once! The swerve took us clear across into the second lane (this being a 2-lane highway), meaning we cut across traffic. As we're crossing the lanes, in the corner of my left eye I could see headlights approaching us (this happened to be a huge delivery truck)! I thought to myself, "Ok! This is not going to be good!" Finally after a moment, the driver regains control of the vehicle. All of this happened in mere seconds, but it felt as if everything happened in slow motion. A very surreal experience, but one that will leave a lasting impact in my mind. After this all happened, I know the driver was shaken up, and to the driver's credit I was asked a few times if I was all right. I'm not sure what an appropriate answer would be at such a time, but I nodded in confirmation but thought to myself "Just get me home in one piece!!"
There was still about 10 to 15 minutes left for this ride until we reached my destination, but I did a lot of thinking and I felt a greater sense of appreciation for the many positives that I have in my life. I also appreciate the little things in life a bit more as well! And this may sound a bit odd, maybe border on sounding egotistical, but I realized that I'm not invincible. I am NOT saying that I ever believed I was invincible; what I'm trying to relay is the sense that I saw how close we are to not being alive and well. So, I feel that this will be a life-altering event in some way.
My dinner on Tuesday tasted just a bit better than usual, I was that much happier to see my parents, I was happy to chat with my sister, etc.
So, what do I hope that you, the reader, gain from this entry. For one, I urge you NOT to use a cell phone while driving; I know that's unrealistic because for some it is an essential part of daily living! So, if you use a cell phone while driving, use a hands-free device. But most importantly, should ANYTHING drop on the floor while driving, please DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PICK IT UP! Whatever it is can wait, trust me, it is not worth risk of accident, injury, or a really, really bad injury like death!
What a way to start a semester! The excitement has just begun....I'm eager to see what the rest of the semester holds for me!
Randomness for the midweek:
A cool iguana figure made from aluminum cans,
an awesome Christmas gift from a friend!
It needs a name, so feel free to leave me
suggestions in the Comments!
Until next time....drive safely and remember not to reach down while driving!! Here's the address to the website I composed and am maintaining for the National Institute on Multicultural Competence Newsletter: http://www.geocities.com/nimc_newsletter/nimcnewsletter.htm
A very successful and positive launch; I am happy!
3 Comments:
At 4:54 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hi Brian!
This is Elizabeth from EDCG 610. =) I'm posting as anonymous because I'm not registered at this site with a sign-in option. I just wanted to say how much I love your site and feel like I know you as a result of your posts.
As for the supercool iguana (you must have awesome friends), I like the name Indigo, to match the eyes. I'm fond of alliteration and "Indigo Iguana" has a nice ring to it.
Also, I share your love of clouds. I took meteorology as an undergrad just so I could learn the names of the different types of clouds. Have you seen the new cloud stamps from the post office? They're beautiful. I'll try to bring some to class on Tuesday to share with you.
Have a great weekend! See you next week.
Aloha, E =)
At 6:39 AM,
Anonymous said…
Brian I'm glad you're alright!! Wow, that's a horrible experience. Thankfully, here in the District it's illegal to use a cell phone while driving. But then there's still VA and MD to worry about. Have a great semester!
Taron
At 7:22 AM,
Anonymous said…
Brian,
Oh my! I could envision the scenario vividly from your description. I was in there shrieking!
So thankful that he got control of the vehicle in the end.
Here's my suggestion for your Iggy (which could be a name) but I like Leroy. I didn't know that it was made of recycled aluminum until I read that. Maybe the name could point to the very important idea of and cool approach to recycling. Scrappy? Luminum? That's my fav: Luminum short for aluminum. Try typing it in your talkbox, because I can imagine that voice saying in a fun way.
hugs,
Lissa Joy
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