Sunday, January 31, 2010

relaxing turns out to be good

Yesterday was the first day in 2.5 years that I've entirely just relaxed, done things for pleasure, and just enjoyed myself.  Darn it felt good.  I recommend trying that.  Now, back to schoolwork...

And 2day is 2 days before 2-day!  (think how you write dates)

Friday, January 29, 2010

big courage sometimes comes in small packages

Check out this territorial feline.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

I HAVE RECOVERED

So I've blogged before that I've physically recovered (and since gone well beyond), now I will claim I HAVE ENTIRELY RECOVERED.  I useda joke that I wouldn't make this claim until I had both a job and a girlfriend-- I have neither, but so what?  I'm doing durn well in school and meeting TONS of folks who even if they don't become girlfriends are welcome to be friends who happen to be girls.  And, I don't drive-- but SO WHAT?  The more I ride buses, the more it sinks in that there are a ton of "normal" folks who don't drive.  This comes up since I went to meet someone recently that I'd "met" through eHarmony.  And she said that if, before we met face-to-face, I hadn't told her over email the "car almost killed me" story, she would never have guessed.  That speaks volumes to me.  It means our hard work is starting to pay off.  SWEET.  That means that even my ever so minor speech issues aren't really obvious.

So Jrox.blogspot.com was started as a Carepages.com thing from the hospital to give y'all some feedback as to how my recovery was going.  Now I'll claim that "recovery" is no longer relevant-- from now on, it's just plain ol' progress-- not from anything, but toward something.  This blog will be used to keep ya updated on Jeff 2.0's major life events still, sure, but it'll really move away from being recovery-oriented, and migrate to mostly just sporadicly odd musings.  So if you're "watching" this blog by email (all 17 of you), no offense will be taken if you click on the link following "To stop getting this spam" below this.  Now, I do hope that in the future, when I think "that's blog-worthy", it'll be something humorous-- well, at least to me, and that's a whole different ball-game.

Monday, January 11, 2010

random foods for thought re: English

Why is it that monosyllabic is more than one syllable?  And along the same lines, why is the word that means fear of long words, hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, so doggone long?  Why does 'lisp' have an 's' in it?

I awoke from the coma in a strange world.  I awoke from last night's rest in a strange world.  And it'll be even stranger tomorrow.  Looking forward to it.

Monday, January 4, 2010

the facts of life AND the facts of almost-death

You know, at lunch the other day at the Flat Rock Grill (thank goodness that sweetness is right on a bus line), I overheard two guys at the table next to me chatting about health insurance. Since health insurance is playing such a large role in my life, my ears perked up, "Huh!" I thought, and when one fellow said outright "long term disability's a sucker bet, I mean, look at the figures", I cut in with an "Excuse me, but..." and laid out what it's done for me. It allows me to afford an apartment next to the bus station, and let me tell you how key THAT is to my regaining independence, and let me tell you how key *THAT* is to my sense of self-esteem & self-worth. I made sure I ended with "thank goodness I had long-term disability insurance" to these 2 guys.

They were taken aback and one gave me a look that ever so subtly said "Yeah... I'LL never need it". Please, be smarter than the general public. It's a LOT like gambling in Vegas-- sure, you might squeak a lucky night out, but TRUST ME, the house wins in the long run. Which means yeah, you probably won't use it, but the price for not having it is so dire, don't even go there, girlfriend, nuh uh uh.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

I can do this, and I just learned I have an audience

Today's success taught me a very important lesson: I CAN DO THIS. I took the bus to the movie theater to see Avatar in 2-D (intense raised to the power of intense) & had a meal at a restaurant I hadn't been to before (well, Jeff 2.0 hasn't).
Now, since it was all done by bus, it took more work ahead of time to plan out my bus-ride schedule, but I'm betting that's 'cause it's just a newish thing to me, that'll get more second-nature over time.
Now, I also learned today that sometimes, buses run a tad bit early. 1) I had figured out which bus would get me to the theater in time (they run once an hour here), and I was walking to the bus station with like a minute to go. As I passed the station, I could see inside through windows with bars. "My bus is still here, good." I open the door to the inside, and my bus is moving. "NO!" I try to catch it before it leaves the building, and just miss. As they're turning the next street corner, I'm running (well, Jeff-2.0-wants-no-more-head-injuries "running"), pointing at the bus driver in the hopes he sees me. Whew, he does and pulls over. Got there in time. 2) Then, after a movie & a meal, I start heading for the bus stop with not much time to spare (I tend to enjoy my meals-- I was meant to be obese but I'm stuck in this thin-ish body). I'm looking at my watch as I go, thinking "I'm good, I've got two whole minutes, and buses are never early... except that one that's loading on the other side of the parking lot from where I'm walking!" But I got there as the last person in front of me loaded, and the bus driver recognized me from the trip out with a "You're just running everywhere, today!"
But almost missing 2 buses aside, the lesson that got strengthened today is that I can do this. Now, I rely heavily on tools to help with areas I'm deficient in (like memory-- what was I blogging about?), and I'll share those tools via this blog much later, as they're all Google products and very useful even for non-TBI people (and free, the Iron Chef secret ingredient).

Also, I was real surprised to find on my blog a very uplifting comment from someone I don't know on a recent posting! Go look at the comment here. Jeff Knox from Manassas, VA, thanks for the well wishes! I mean, here's someone I've never met saying "You're an inspiration to all of us." Well, dang, thanks, I hope so! I mean, to put it the basest terms, I tried to save lives & almost got killed by the attempt. But Jeff 2.0's rationally quirky brain has decided that since bad things are bound to happen inevitably, they can best be offset by everyone being as helpful and friendly as they can be, all the time. To say that succinctly: war, huh, what is it good for?

And it took over 2 years to decide this, but you know what? I'd do it again. Now, the next time, I'm sure gonna stand somewhere different, and take any and all measures continually to ensure there is no 'next time' (don't worry, mom & dad). But it's almost a certainty that I saved at least one life. Trust me, there's nothing that can compare with that feeling. No no, it doesn't feel bad, it feels good, sheesh... Now, my stop-drunk-driving efforts are limited to reminding people of the consequences of their choices.

Oh yeah, and it was cool that there was a holiday potluck for my whole sail club yesterday, and the newspaper article was the first time most of those folks have heard the story. It was nice to have so many folks I don't know want to talk to me, and remark that I'm doing really well, considering.

Okay, I am now going to end the Guinness World's Longest Blog Post. In 3... 2... "JUST END IT MAN!" Fine. See ya next time.

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In between Q & S is Arrr!

My pirate name is:
Captain Jack Kidd
Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!
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