Mr. Garrison of Mannford

I know this one is a bit lengthy, but thank you for reading through it. I will definitely admit that life after college is different in a multitude of ways. One of the most prominent is perhaps the scarcity of day-to-day drama. Perhaps its due to the fact that adults just tend to mellow out. After a certain period, they accept the fact that you can't turn your life into a soap opera over every little topic. Besides the fact that you'd be setting yourself up for a nice, messy heart attack, you realize that the people you work with everyday don't want to hear it. Sadly, a lot of them "over-mellow" and just lose passion in anything and everything. These are the ones you see moping through the halls with coffee in hand, beaten to death somewhere along the line when an idea or philosophy they cared about was crushed and they choose to sit out of the fight rather than push on against the crowd. I hear Dani had nice words at the banquet in emphasizing that your passion sometimes may be so strong that others may make fun of you for it. So be it.

But I digress.

Today was one of the drama peaks. Sure it levels out and adults push it to the side, but somehow that becomes almost a type of repressed anger, bound to release itself in some infuriated rage rather than gradual healthy emotion. By "drama" I mean, of course, experiencing highs and lows of the spectrum all in one 16-hour period.

Start of the day, I wake up from some weird dream about College Station of all places. I was driving back to my house from a restaurant dragging an enormous pork chop from the back of my truck that my dad had requested. What? Don't your parents ever eat leftovers? Of course I pass Kyle Field, park and enter the stadium. Embarrased by the fact that I still have my umbrella open, I close it and turn the corner to see Eric Heidt doing some sort of human pyramid gymnastics. Don't ask. Whatever it was, it was noteworthy enough to make the Jumbo-Tron big screen in the stadium.

Back in reality, I make it to work on time, energized from my dry Great Grains cereal I had on the drive in. The day goes well, as Fridays usually do. Only a half-day at Basden Steel, but I serve my monthly duty of staying all day on a Friday. Get to spend some good time with my two bosses talking about an exciting new program for our company that I get to be a part of, leaving our meeting feeling that I am really starting to get a chance to show them what I'm capable of. Something that I have been missing is a clear and accessible outlet to show my passion for the team, or company in this case. I was so psyched about it that I practically drew up every detail of the plan in the next hour or so. Four o'clock rolled around, providing sufficient time to have served my "in the barrel" duties, as we refer to all-day Fridays. Off I go in my nice, gleaming 2002 Red Ford F-150, extended cab. I was fortunate enough to be given a company vehicle last October and had been reflecting on how proud I was of it. A lot different than my Escort that I had been with for 4 years.

With my mind still stirring of ideas and possibilities for the new corporate program, I mounted my trusty steed and away we went down Renfro Street. Up to the intersection with I-35W we came, finding as usual heavy traffic waiting at the light to go straight. Calmly and casually, I guided my gallant truck into the right-hand turn lane that split off from all of the traffic. But I believe it's about time for that drama to erupt, don't you? Approaching on the opposite side of Renfro Street is one Mr. Everett Garrison of Mannford, Oklahoma, waiting to turn left into the Waffle House parking lot. This is not entirely unreasonable as Mr. Garrison is approaching the century mark in his life accompanied by his walker-assisted wife who occupies his passenger seat. Sitting in the back seat are two of his granddaughters and their dog, Princess. What Old Man Everett failed to realize is that somewhere between the invention of the automobile and multi-fuel engines, they invented a little something called right-of-way. This concept revolves around the idea that two objects cannot hold the same space at the same time. Basic physics really. Unaware of this universal concept, Everett proceeds to guide his Ford Taurus between a gap in the long line of stopped cars. However, trusting too much in the car that waved him on, somehow under the assumption that no car or red Ford truck was coming around the bend in the adjacent lane, the Taurus moved into my path.

I'll spare you the details, because I'm sure you know the rest. Needless to say, they involved six startled victims, five of them human, four solid witnesses, three assisting policemen, two deployed airbags, and a Ford truck with a demolished front end.

I wasn't mad at Mr. Everett. I do however believe that age should come into consideration in reissuing licenses on the later years of life as it does with the earlier years, but I was more upset at the fact that it had happened. After I acquired a rental car, the day continued to present situations that tried and tested me. Rain and lightning gave the road a nice, slick condition which makes all drivers uneasy, but particularly those that just smashed into the side of Princess the dog's car. Pulling into my parking lot and truly pissed at the end of it all, as I was searching for about 10 minutes for the house keys I thought I had lost, a song popped in my head.

"This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Strange, yet very appropriate. Let's look at this day from another standpoint, easily overlooked by the self-consumed human mind. I am healthy and have the luxury of eating meals whenever I want. I'm comfortably employed with company-provided transportation and insurance. I've started to find an outlet for the passion I want to show at work. Angels are real and protected an old woman that was broad-sided by a truck going about twenty-five miles per hour; not one scratch on her actually. Protection continued on busy highways as hundreds of people went about their own business, with the freedom to choose where they wanted to be. I have safety and a shelter, keys or no keys. Car damage is fixable, but what a shame it would be if I didn't let it teach me that each day is God-given.

Besides change, the only other constant in this world is unpredictable circumstances. True freedom and responsibility is having the right to choose how you will react to any situation, whether it's full of drama that suddenly begins to boil over or dreaming of pork chops and a gymnastic Eric Heidt. Something to think about.

ADA Recommended

Let's just get straight to the point with my post for today: Visit your dentist once every six months. In the meantime, brush, floss, gargle, rinse, swish, whiten, sandblast, detoxify, or whatever it is that you have to do to avoid getting cavities! Inevitably, the only response to a cavity that will not drop you a class in civilized society is a filling. I firmly believe that any member of a profession which voluntarily chooses to place a drill in your mouth is not to be trusted.

You may have seen a brief mention of my dentist visit in a previous post, but little did I know the magnitude of that visit. Having felt a slight sensitivity to both sweets and cold liquid on one side of my mouth, I thought back to the last time I had visited my kind and honorable dentist. A little concerned at the fact that my most recent visit wasn't quickly coming to me, I scheduled an appointment. The teeth cleaning wasn't bad, and actually a little enjoyable. My pearly whites felt so smooth and sleak. The dentist's aid was very nice and quite attractive. As I sat in that chair, I had been gently and softly seduced into believing that my only problem coming out of that office would be enjoying my newly-found lack of plaque for as long as possible. Her caring eyes and tender touch were so powerful that even after the dentist had done his three-minute evaluation finding four cavities, I was still numbed to the realization.

As the straight-from-the-shop soon wore off of my teeth, so did the sweet anaesthetic of my last visit. I quickly came to and was ready to face the unavoidable task of filling the gaps. I settled into the chair yesterday, fully-equipped with my triple Bounty-thick bib. Sparing no expense, the dentist installed monitors attached by a metal arm to the ceiling which provided in-flight entertainment. Now playing this hour was "Shanghai Noon", starring Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan.

The whole mood of the visit changed as the dentist came wheeling up in his chair wearing some sort of mini-binoculars over his glasses. As old Six-Eyes closed in on me, my seat was lowered back and headphones given to me to hear the movie. "Raise your left hand if you need anything, okay?" they said to me. What would I be needing? A hot towel, glass of orange juice...perhaps to request that they rewind the movie a little bit so I can see Jackie Chan frantically run away from 6 Indians only to catch up with them and whip their butts with Kung Fu.

Then came the needle. They had already numbed me a little with some topical anaesthetic but the shot was what really did it. Since I was lucky enough to have one in each "quadrant", I was able to completely knock out my whole mouth with injections that I swear must have gone through my cheek. Now drooling on myself without the nerves to control my own saliva, the dentist pulled out his mini Black and Decker drill to grind away at my teeth. I was a little amused at first by the fact that I couldn't feel anything in my mouth. The whirring sound was muffled by my movie headphones. That darned Owen Wilson sure is a funny cowboy. Suddenly, I heard the motor kick into high gear and my entire head vibrated as the drill snagged the side of my tooth. My trusty numbing medicine had apparently not had a chance to reach all parts of my mouth as pain shot down my spine. I curled up in my chair, squinting and writhing in an uncontrollable urge to resist the pain. Mind over matter, I'm thinking, mind over matter. The motor spun down as the drill was taken slightly out of my mouth. As I lay there tightened by the shock and breathing a little harder, the dentist just stared at me. Of course, how could I forget.

Slowly, I raised my left hand.

"You feel that, buddy?" he said. No, doc, just showing you my imitation of bacon in a frying pan. "Oh, cause you're not supposed to." You know, I never would've guessed that. I was too off in my fantasy world of pain-free dentistry that I forgot to realize your drill was 2 millimeters from some of the strongest nerve-endings in my body!

Needless to say, I finished the procedure and did my best to not bite the side of my cheek off while it was numb. Let it be understood here that my threshold of pain is slightly higher than a dentist's drill or shot. There are much worse medical procedures, all of which I hope I am never a part of. But this was more of a personal defeat. There's not too many things that I hate worse than something that could have been easily prevented with a little bit of upfront care. I had plenty of time to visit the dentist while I was in school! I kept good hygiene and brushed all the time, but that just doesn't cut it with those back teeth. So the moral of the story is don't put off until tomorrow what you can take care of more pleasantly today. Believe me, a cute nurse beats "Mr. Fix-It the dentist" any day.

A Trip Home

I've got some serious catching up to do. There are a lot of blogs out there that set the standard pretty high on the amount of posting. I mean, seriously, do they still have class at college? It's almost upsetting when you think about our obsessions with the internet. Don't worry, I'm right there with you; I just don't have as many stories about pigs named Olivia that have devil horns or tales about Lil' Jon as my running mate for yell leader. You've set a high bar, my friends, but I'll try to keep up.

I'm proud to announce that I was absolutely right about this weekend. The weather flirted with the idea of creating a depressing Saturday and Sunday rainstorm, just in time for the weekly corporate holiday, but it changed its mind. Probably after reading my blog. Met up with a fellow Aggie, Matt Giese, on Saturday and then we made our way down to Aggieland. Stopped in at the Fox and Hound restaurant and bar for a good dinner and front row seat to the NCAA playoffs. First things first, and that's always the food of course, I have to compliment a couple of their items. The chips were tastefully salted and the queso dip delightfully seasoned. Dinner was a hard choice, because there really were a lot of nice items on the menu, and the elaborate pictures always makes it even more difficult. I finally settled on one of the "House Specialties" and that was a pulled pork sandwich, accompanied with a set of six barbecue sauces creatively carted out to the table in a Corona Light carrying case. After sorting through the choices of Hot, Mild, Tangy, etc. I settled on the Smoky bbq sauce. "Mmmm. That IS a tasty burger!" - Pulp Fiction. That just may have made the trip worthwhile right there, and I didn't even NEED the nice weather. Enjoyed the rest of the afternoon as we met up with a few more friends there, including some lovely ladies there for a Maggies reunion. Notice the polite tact as I completely skip over this as a topic to harp on, because we all know the Maggies great obsession with food. Obviously because I'm highlighting my pork sandwich over the final four game, I can relate. I did enjoy watching the game, but gotta say that I was pulling for OSU. If it was t.u. still in there, my loyalties would not lie to the Big 12, but just whoever had the best chance of beating them. Overall though I like OSU.

From there it was on to the AFC Reunion. Major props go out to any readers from the Archives committee. You should be proud of putting on a fine show. I particularly liked the t-shirt cutouts from each of the previous years. You can think my counselors back in AFC 99-00 who chose the most hideous shirt imaginable. Truth be told, the printing company blew up the font, so much so that you could literally see another AFCer from about 500 yards away. True statement. And then even though the Internet at the Garden Room wasn't working, it was a smart idea to have the laptop there to update the alumni information on the website (compliments go to the Committee of Internal Affairs on that one). I heard that Fundraising made quite a killing as they set another great record for the Golf Tournament....Anyways, about the reunion. It was good to see a lot of people that I had not seen in awhile. I loved my four years in AFC and wouldn't trade them for anything. Lessons that I learned from challenges as a fish, counselor or director are greatly beneficial to me today. But the thing I love the most is being able to see and hear where everyone is moving onto, be that new organizations, counselors, directors, new jobs, new relationships, and the list goes on. I left there to go meet my older friends (many from AFC years past) at Northgate, but I had a tough time leaving the Reunion because there was still a lot of updates that I wanted to hear from people. Fish, y'all look like you've definitely had a good time this year. I've only been involved in a few parts of your year: Fall Retreat, a football game, Spring Retreat, a random meeting, and then this weekend. But you'd be amazed at the difference and the progress I've seen between each of those times. Hope you had fun with it, and keep up with the friends you made, because it really does require an effort, no matter how close you are right now. Well that night we had a great time at Northgate, then the boys of the Speakeasy (namely Mike Ivey and Hal Denbar) were kind enough to offer Giese and I a couple of beds to crash on for the night (additional thanks to Blake Knight).

I think this post lacks any sort of a real direction, which is probably contributed to my reading of some of these other blogs. But generally, I would just say that it was great to see Aggieland again this weekend. Back in the summer and early fall of last year, it was almost dangerous to visit because I was so nostalgic about it. I was glad with this trip that I could enjoy some good times with friends, old and new, and still be able to love it for what it is. I basically lived there for 4 years of my life. You become attached to something after that long of a time. But after this trip, I realized that I get an even bigger kick out of the fact that I can see that others are still enjoying the place. Not vicariously living, just observingly admiring. After all, I'd have to say that that was one of the best BBQ pork sandwiches I've ever eaten.

Weekend Update

It's going to be a good weekend; I can tell already. The week began last Monday with absolutely gorgeous weather. Now this doesn't help me out too much when I get to basically just admire it from my office window. Sure the birds were chirping and the wind blew just enough to provide a little natural air conditioning, but none of that makes a bit of difference when you're behind a slab of bricks and drywall. But my positive prediction comes from the fact that even though waves of clouds and rain could be seen on the radar sweeping towards our area to destroy yet another streak of amazing weather just in time for the weekend, it was somehow able to change to allow the majority of the working population to enjoy the outdoors.

It started yesterday with my traditional half-day Fridays. How'd I pull that off? One of the little perks that our office has for coming in from 7 to 5 the rest of the week. Only takes 7 to 11:30 to complete the 40 hours...But I digress. After packing up a few things preparing for an apartment move to Ft. Worth, I joined my family for a nice home-cooked meal and then we headed to Dallas to the Music Hall at Fair Park to see none other than the man who asks the eternal question of "who ARE these people?", Mr. Jerry Seinfeld. Somehow my Dad was able to find seats online that were 3 rows from the stage. I mean, seriously, we were on top of the orchestra pit in removable chairs! Seinfeld is even funnier than I thought, and looks just about the same in person as he does on TV. Great material, so my review of Friday and Jerry is two thumbs up.

This morning I helped my Dad move a few things to a storage building since he's remodeling his shop. In a couple of hours, Matt Giese is coming to the thriving metropolis of Burleson to carpool down to College Station for the AFC reunion and a little Northgate fun to follow.

Sure, it could start raining at any second. Knowing my luck, God probably has my blog under his favorites and may give the D/FW area a little downpour just to keep me honest. Wow, I wonder what kind of DSL speed He gets?

In other news, I will return to the dentist in another week or so after a not-so-positive cleaning and check-up report. Take note of this: be sure you visit the dentist every 6 months and not every 2 years. Otherwise, you can be like me and get in line to have 4 fillings put in. Don't worry, I brush my teeth twice a day, and most often once again after lunch at work. But it seems that without flossing and a little mouthwash, you're vulnerable to plenty of cavity-causing agents. I knew I shouldn't have trusted that TV commercial with a guy walking between someone's teeth as a huge toothbrush sweeps overhead grabbing every piece of food in every crevice. What kind of man walks around in another person's mouth?

All kidding aside, I look forward to the rest of the weekend, and I hope yours is just as great. Grab a frisbee or football and go out to the park with some friends, because the time is quickly approaching that you may be forced to just admire it through a window. Enjoy the weather!