Well, more like Small Balls On Fire, but more on that later.
Some prayers are repetitive. The Litany for example, and of course, the rosary. During confession, the priest gives you penance in which you usually have to recite so many Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and/or Act of Contritions to atone for your sins. My question is: is repeating the same prayer several times when you are more or less just murmuring the words, more effective than one fervent one where you put your whole heart into it? It seems like repetition is some sort of sacrifice that “makes you put in your time” so to speak.
During my half marathon birthday walk,
I contemplated my fear of offering one of my kidneys to my brother. I had been
thinking about it for awhile and it has become more important now because he
may have some donor compatibility issues (his blog about kidney disease). I wish I could be courageous and just
do it because it's the right thing to do. Even if I was brave enough to do it,
how do you coordinate the healthcare system of the U.S. with that in the
Philippines as far as organ donations go? I emailed the National Kidney and Transplant Institute
customer service in the Philippines but they haven’t responded.
I used to do errand runs to squeeze in a
workout where I ran to the bank, video store, grocery store, and/or pharmacy,
but ever since my ankle tendon and myopathy problems, I have resorted to errand
walks. One of last weeks’ workouts went like this: very brisk walk to the bank
to withdraw money from the ATM, then proceed to the 99 Cent store to buy a
couple of bottles of lemon pepper seasoning, then it was off to Rite Aid Pharmacy (well I’ll be darned because
I forgot what I bought there, old age, you know), and the last stop before home
was Von's Grocery to buy some oatmeal raisin walnut cookies. Then I headed back
home. How did I manage to carry all the things I bought. No I didn’t bring a
reusable bag with me but brought a backpack instead. Total time = 55 minutes.
And then there was The Pepper Incident. I’m
addicted to hot stuff and nary a meal which doesn’t include hot sauce (Sriracha
or Tapatio), raw jalapeno peppers microwaved for a minute or so, or pickled
jalapeno peppers. Well, this one time, I sliced open a raw jalapeno pepper and
took out the seeds with my fingers. Then I scratched or rubbed my forehead,
after which I went to the bathroom to pee. All that without washing my hands
first. Guess what happened? My forehead was burning, my eyes were burning, and
worst of all, my cojones were burning. Despite repeated washings of the areas,
they remained aflame for several hours. No, I didn’t have any milk which I hear
relieves the burning better. The experience gave new meaning to the Jerry Lee
Lewis song - Great Balls of Fire. Lesson learned. I now wash my hands right
after handling peppers. Goodness Gracious, I hope you weren't expecting any pictures!
I understand that sometimes workers
have to listen to music or watch videos to relieve boredom during the night
shift. What I don’t understand is why they have to use earphones in both ears
so as not be able to hear patients knocking on the door or commotions on the
unit. Just common sense -it is a safety issue.
Flies, flies, and more flies, and
not the dumbbell workout kind either. I began to have a gathering of flies
inside my screen windows last week and they didn’t fly anywhere inside but
rather just stuck themselves to the screen. My first thought was that – did anything
die indoors? I didn’t smell anything rotten. Then I checked my pulse just to make
sure. Turns out, one or two managed to sneak through tiny holes on the screen
and invited their friends to the party. Only they couldn’t find the way back
out. A little bug spray did the trick along with patching the holes. It seems
to have worked. Now to deal with occasional spiders, ants, and cockroaches…
Jeez, what’s next? Locusts and pestilence?
And
lastly the
consequence of last year's traffic ticket. Remember my blog about being No Longer A Traffic Ticket Virgin? Well, that moving violation didn’t only cost me
a $400+ fine but also a $200 increase in car insurance rate for at least the
next three years! As if I didn’t have too many expenses already…
Public comments below, private comments: E-mail Me!
