"The Power Red Donation"

Okay, first off I've got to give credit where credit is due. In my random internet adventures I stumbled upon "Walk off the earth" This band rocks! And this takes serious talent. It's a good thinking song, very calm but at the same time there is a strong passion..


On to the real stuff, today I went and donated blood. Now I'm doing power red (twice the regular amount) so I can only do it 3 times a year. I hate needles and blood but it's the good thing to do so for three days out of the year I'll ranger the fuck up. Well...imagine a crimper for plastics.. 1. I'm not really sure if that's spelled right, I'll wing it. 2. I'm not sure if it's the right tool to describe this, still winging it. Okay, so imagine a tool that heats plastic tubing together to close it up essentially. I was doing my donation and the nurses went to crimp and cut the first bag off and apparently the crimping tool didn't fully close the tubing. After the nurse cut off the first bag, my blood started spurting out of the semi-crimped tubing. Whenever I donate blood I'm a little light headed and I don't really look at the blood anyways.. But when little patches of my own blood gets on my pants and a packet I was reading.. I, with good reason, start to freak out a bit. I'm a bit loopy at this point, seeing as I already lost blood from donating, and more is dripping around me. I plug up the gap with my hand and ask the nurse, "Uh... ma'am, is all this me?" Not looking at my arm, she says, "Yes thank you for your extra donation, you'll live" (she was just talking about the power red, not my donation to the floor) It continues to spurt. Now I'm just wondering if I'm in some kind of nightmare.. The nurse looks down to my arm and flips, says "let's fix this" and gets to work. Just had to run through it again with the crimping tool. We all had a good laugh about it.. So that's my exciting story about donating blood!

-T

"Golden Rules"

We had a pathophysiologist come visit us in LLab this morning. It was a good friend's relative so we all took what she said seriously. Basically, she preached an organic approach to life. She made us all feel like we're going to die of a painful disease and go to hell within the next five years for eating burger king and drinking out of plastic water bottles. But jokes aside, she did make an impact on us.

I'd like to share with you, my favorites of Dr. Joni Olehausen's "Golden Rules for Good Health"

-Stop putting poisons/toxins in your body.
-Exercise regularly for the rest of your life.
-BALANCE... and simplify.
-Get Plenty of quality sleep (6-8 hours)     (HAHA!!!)
-Spend time in nature.
-Maintain a spritual connection.
-Worry less...and enjoy more.
-Have less anger...and more laughter.
-Want less...and give more.
-Meditate regularly.
-Get frequent massages (ha!)
-Be grateful every day.
-Listen to music.
-Do something you enjoy every day.
-Help someone every day.
Above all...Take responsibility for yourself!

Another point worth mentioning. I can honestly say I hate nearly all lazy people. Not disabled, not incapable, just plain lazy people. I have a kid in my history class that fully recognizes his laziness and has no problem with it because he's waiting for the day when magically, life figures itself out. In college, we wake up wondering if we'll have homework today. In third world countries, children wake up wondering if they will eat today. I just wish that people would realize that. I almost wish it was mandatory for people to serve two or so years in the military, but then the military would be just "another job". However, I love the fact that we're currently pushing people away at the door because we're only taking the top of the top and those that are dedicated to serving our country. /rantover

Do something awesome tomorrow!
-T

"Belief"

Getting back to the grind.. Feels good, but I'm definitely ready to get the hell out of here! I want to go out and explore the world, work in various locations on the globe, meet new people! I generally fit in better with an older crowd, hell, I've even befriended some people that are older than my parents. I've just always been more mature than my age group. But when I'm speaking to older friends and hearing their tales of adventure it just makes me want to leave even more. Hell yes, I have tons of stories, more than the average of my high school graduation class. But I want to get out and experience what else life has before it's too late.

Damn, I spent a good hour writing after that last paragraph and it didn't save.. I'll make a short version.

I haven't told many people why I really joined the Air Force. I remember watching a lot of Army commercials when I was a kid. And one of the phrases that stuck with me from my childhood is "be all you can be" So I went and joined the Air Force. And I'm damn proud of that decision!

I have found the secret to a successful life. Belief. You can believe in your religion. Believe in your cause. Mainly, I want you to believe in YOU. And keep in mind, you want someone to write about you one day. So go out and do something amazing!

-T

"Color Guard, Oh Yeah!"

School's kicking back into gear and I am ready for this semester! I'm loving all of my classes except one because I can't understand a thing that professor is saying.. And I just spent about 200 bucks on books, meh.. Other than that, life is good. I'm working out on a regular basis again and this time around PT is challenging me, I love it! Hmm what else? I bought a nice speaker system with a big sub-woofer, I'm stoked! I should have that in by the end of the day. Man, this PT is really getting me sore and tired all the time.. In other news, I made some awesome posters for CG for this semester, pretty sweet.. and we're gonna be working a CG detail for Supercross, I'm really excited for that. It's awesome doing huge events like that because for 5 minutes, my team is in the spotlight, everyone is watching us. Whether it's friends and family in the stands or complete strangers, we have their undivided attention for those few minutes. It's a good feeling. I'll try to get back into writing every day, see ya later!

-T

"2012"

Here we are. 2012. I can already tell this will be a good one. At 11:45 last night I sat here on the same bed. Watching Netflix. Ready for the new year to blow right past me. I got a few early calls from friends and family wishing a happy new year. Then I sat back and thought "who the hell spends new years eve alone?" Definitely not me. I threw on some pants and ran out to the car. I must have drove 60 miles an hour just to get there but I made it to one of my best friend's house just before midnight...and that kids, is the story of how I almost spent new years 2012 alone.



Man, so much has happened over this winter break.. I almost got kicked out of ROTC and school. Slipped in and out of a deep depression. Had and dropped a potential "girlfriend". Woke up with no idea what happened the previous night. Made some good friends. Regained the trust of a very good friend. Broken laptop. Got an old best friend back. Bought an iPhone. Went shooting, a lot. Went four wheeling. Got attacked by trees ad cacti. Took down a shed with best friends. Almost spent new years alone. Shot my bow again. Worked out a lot. Cooked steak almost every night for a week straight. Learned just how awesome I am. And so much more..

-T