jessteronimo

Under Pressure

So many things are happening suddenly and all at once to people I love and care about. The what is not important; it's the fallout that concerns me. I'm struggling to help them, but I'm afraid now that I can't help enough while keeping my own life together. Where are the others in their support systems? Are they all dealing with similar lifestorms and cannot therefore afford to extend their hands? It absolutely amazes me how people react when those who are supposedly close to them find themselves in trouble. You would expect to be able to count on your closest friends and family members to rescue you when your need arises, but I'm here to tell you that my observations in life have definitely not supported that expectation. It seems like people run from those who need them most. Those who could help the most actually help the least--and sometimes they become part of the problem! It's supremely disappointing to see the smallness in character that ensues in these situations. As human beings living our messy and surprisingly complicated lives, we can pretty much count on having troubles strike us. How confident are you that your support system will be there for you? If I were you, I'd get a backup plan in place right now. I'd hate for you to be disappointed the way my friends and family have recently been. In the meantime, take comfort or warning in the truth that what comes around, goes around.

Road Rage

I can now say that I actually know someone who was a victim of road rage. One of my friends was with his girlfriend who was driving home him home on Friday night in metropolitan Salt Lake City, Utah. They were stopped at a red light when the car behind them started honking at them. Since the light was still red, they didn't move, but the car drove around them and pulled in front of their car to cut them off. Then the guy got out of the car, approached the passenger side where my friend's girlfriend was sitting, and started yelling at her. It's still unclear what the couple did wrong, but the guy obviously wasn't going to stop, so my friend got out of the car (in hindsight, probably not a great idea) and went around to confront the other driver. At that time, the other guy spun around and stabbed my friend in the back between the shoulder blades, knocking him to the ground with the force and the pain. Then the adrenaline kicked in, and my friend got up and proceeded to kick the crap out of the other driver while his girlfriend called the cops, both of which scared the stabber off. So a small group of my friends spent the night at the hospital while my friend went through medical observation and a series of tests to determine the extent of the damage. Lucky for him, the wound didn't cause lasting or potentially fatal damage, and he was released later the next day to recover at home. He's still hurting a ton today, and the wound was deep enough that it couldn't be stitched and is still bleeding slightly. What the....? This ain't Philly. This is Salt Lake City! And not far from my workplace. Un-freaking-believable, huh? It seems that no where is safe anymore. I am soooo glad for my karate training, but I really want to kick up my weapons training now!

By the way, if you're local and interested, I can get you a free month's pass at my studio. ;)

Tough Times

Many of the people I care about most in the world are going through some of the biggest trials of their lives right now. You know who you are. It seems to be an epidemic of sorts. My heart goes out to you, and I'll help you however I can. (I've been told I'm pretty good at healing hugs, if you need it.)

To all who are suffering, I say: Don't be afraid to ask for help from the people who love you and whom you love, because if you can't call on your support system during times like these, then what good is having a support system? Besides, it's important to feel like you're able to help others. It bolsters confidence and self-worth and helps divert your own troubles. So if you don't reach out and ask for help, you could be denying those you love that helping opportunity. If you can't do it for you, do it for them! ;)

We need to band together to get through all this haze and confusion, strengthening each other in our relationships, so we can get back to the good times.

Fuel Surcharges

In the last several months, several of the companies to whom I pay money monthly, either personally or for my work, have added "fuel surcharges" of anywhere between $1.00 to $12 per month to their bills "to cover the rising cost of gas," they claim. The problem is, gas is back to under $2.00 per gallon, yet these companies aren't retracting their monthly fuel surcharges. Shame on them! Has anyone else noticed this? I think I'll start including notes in my payments asking when they'll remove their gas surcharges--and if I get ignored and start feeling really bold, I'll start deducting the surcharge from my payments.