Last Leg

Today, I drove further than I have ever driven in my life. 180 miles to be semi-exact. I also drove faster than I have ever driven in my life, I finally hit the stretch of highway that is 70. I was driving this long way to meet my brother, and give him and his friend a ride home from college. One of their friends had driven them part way, and I was the "last leg" on the journey home. Everything went fine, and it is nice to have my brother home.

Mall Musings

Today, I went to the mall. Well, more like I went in the mall. I didn't even go in a single store, I sat on a bench while I waited for my sister to finish her shopping. Now, I must admit, I am not a big mall fan. It is just too hectic. And, a lot of times it is rather depressing to think of so much money being wasted on pointless things.

As I sat on the bench, I saw person after person walk by weighed down with bags full of stuff. Now, I like the Christmas season, and gift giving, but I feel like it has taken over, and evolved into a monster. I wonder if the people have enough money to afford the things they buy. Sitting on the bench contemplating all these things must have been the reason the old man stopped to mumble some incoherent nonsense to me about needing to be happier, maybe I had a bewildered look upon my face, or maybe I just wasn't doing a good job of waiting patiently for my sister.

My sister did make a nice purchase, I just thought I should throw that in.

Penny Pursuit

Today, I learned the value of a penny. Many people will not even take the time to pick up a penny if they see an abandoned one on the street. I usually will, but I will admit, I don't always. There are even some groups of people who say the penny has become obsolete, and should stop being produced. Yet today, when we were buying dinner, we needed 30 cents. 20, 25, 29 almost there, but we were one penny short. One penny. So for all the times I pass a penny by without even giving it a second glance, hear the stories about how the penny is obsolete, I will remember the time I was one penny short for dinner. Long live the penny.

Author's side note: If you ever see a 1943 penny, you may be rich. That year, for war conservations efforts, they minted the pennies in steel. When people see these "silver" pennies, they think these would be the ones worth money. No, the original 1943 copper penny is the one worth money, over $100,000 dollars to be exact. Even though there were only a handful of these ever made, quite literally, the next time you see a penny on the ground, just think, it may be worth 100 grand.

Pickleballing

Today, it was time to dust off the old pickleball paddle and don my pickleball uniform. Yes, I could finally return to those hallowed courts. You see, Tuesday and Thursday are pickleball days, yet my schools haven't seemed to realize this. But now I am finally on break, so I can play to my hearts content.

I must admit, it showed that I hadn't played for a couple months. My game was a little rusty. Although, I think it helps that I am the youngest one there by 50 years. Youth is on my side, but don't get me wrong, those "old" guys can ball. In the first game, being a little over zealous, I pulled a muscle in my leg overextending on a dink shot. This was nothing major, and yes I did return the ball over the net, but it eventually hindered my game. So did being low on water, oxygen, and energy. After 2 hours straight of battling, it was time to call it a day. And what a glorious day.

I was glad to finally be able to play the sport I love so much again. Rustiness aside, I made quite a few good shots. The best news of all, the next pickleball battle is just a few days away.

Glorious Day

Today, was a glorious day. At first, I was really nervous before my Spanish Final. After I took it, I was a little anxious about how I had done. Then, reality sunk in. The quarter was over. I am now completely free, what a glorious feeling, and an even more glorious day.

What You Don't Know...

Sometimes, it is almost better not to know certain things. But that being said, I don't believe the saying "what you don't know can't kill you", I couldn't disagree agree more with that statement. What you don't know can/will kill you. Germs, bacteria, viruses, amoebas, toxic gases in the air, carbon monoxide/dioxide, the list goes on. Yet, I think there are times a version of this statement is true. Such as when you have a Spanish final you need to take tomorrow. You heard it was really easy, so you have had trouble convincing yourself to study for it. This is one of those cases where it would have been better not to know. As for the killing part, maybe my grade could get "killed", but I don't think my life is in danger.

Lesson Learned

Today, I learned an extremely valuable life lesson. Over the past few days, I have had some issues with someone I was letting fester inside. Once I final actually told the person how I was feeling, I felt a lot better. It took a lot of courage to do so.

Actually, the things I was troubled over, I myself had blown out of proportion. Both parties actually wanted the same solutions, and were feeling the same problems. I learned that it is good to be a good communicator, if you don't tell someone your problems, they won't be fixed. It is hard to get up the courage to talk to someone and apologize, but it is worth it. In the end, you may find you were mad because you misunderstood someone, or they misunderstood you. You will also feel a lot better when you do so, that is a guarantee.