Valentine

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and let me say, WHAT A WEEK for Valentine's Day to fall upon. This picture is a literal representation of walking into the future, time isn't stopping, the days still turn into weeks into months into years. We have phases, seasons.

If you read last week's post, you'll realize real quick it wasn't normal; in fact, it was pretty dark. If you read last week's post, you probably wondered what in the world was going on, what could possibly inspire such a vague, somewhat depressing quip. Well, here's the story:

Last Sunday night, the 3rd of February, there was a bunch of peeps hangin' at my house. At about 10:45 pm, I wanted to show Ms. Morgan McGannon a video as well as our new "chill zone," the garage. We just recently put a few couches, tables, etc. to make the garage a SWEET spot to relax, study, play music, anything and everything you can think of. Now, our lawn has not been maintained so our grass is very overgrown. In fact, here's a picture of it:

Now, Ms. Morgan McGannon was not wearing shoes and did not want to walk through the treacherous grass to the garage. Carry her? Why not. I pick her up, take a step into the abyss of the jungle grass, step into a hole/unevenground/SOMETHING that throws me off balance, I stumble, with Morgan in my arms, and we go down. Morgan's head comes in direct contact with the ground, we both stand up, seemingly alright. She mentions her head hurt, which is normal for someone who is dropped on their head. And then she needs to sit down, and then she is immense pain, and then she can't move her neck at all. WOAH. After some initial tests, she is able to move all of her appendages, which was great, but her neck and head were basically immobile... and in a lot of pain. NOT GOOD. AT ALL. I have been around a surprising amount of neck injuries and if there's one thing to learn, it's that neck injuries are extremely serious and can occur even in the simplest situations, such as being dropped onto grass. Neck injuries need to be treated as a worse-case-scenario because one wrong move and full body paralysis becomes an option. It's one thing to break an arm and assess the situation, it's another thing to mess with the neck. We stabilized her neck as best we could, talked to a number of reliable resources, and had to make a decision: 911.

The ambulance came, and we went. Surreal. X-ray. CAT scan. NEGATIVE. Good news. Strained muscles. Pulled muscles. Time will heal, throw some pain killers in the mix, a few days of intense soreness, and we should be good. However, what should have taken maybe an hour at the ER took 10. We spent all night in the ER, waiting, waiting, waiting. Listening to babies crying, listening to people coughing, waiting, waiting, waiting, listening to beeping, beeping, beeping. It was a LONG night. Mr. Karl Holmlund saved the day by coming to pick us up. Morgan was down for the count, and she would stay out for days.

I took it really hard. I dropped my girlfriend on her head. WHO DOES THAT. I hurt the girl I care for most. WHO DOES THAT. Yeah, it was an accident, I get it. I had little to no control of the situation. I get it. I still beat myself for days. And I'm talking BEAT. And you know who came through? Ms. Morgan McGannon did. She encouraged me so much even amidst her pain. The pain that I caused her. What an example of forgiveness, grace, and humility. Throughout this experience, I was continuously reminded of promises made by my Father in heaven. Even though I mess up, Jesus forgives and forgets, encouraging all the way through. SACRIFICIAL LOVE.

It's a been a week and a few days. Morgan is still in pain. Heatpads, icepacks, medicines, massages, resting. Some days are harder than others, some days hurt worse than others. We had some GNARLY conversations this week. I had some GNARLY conversations this week. I feel like I've matured 5 years, I feel grown up.

 

But you know what? I have learned SO MUCH. It's been a growing experience beyond belief. You could sit in school for years and never even touch on the things only experience and living through this has taught me. I am legitimately a better man because of the multiple complications that came up in the last week. I've heard them called GROWING PAINS.

Unreal.

#breathe

I have a few videos for you. They're rad.

First, enjoy beautiful music.

Second, Mr. Marc Wymore asked Mr. Isaac Svensson and I to document his miraculous kidney transplant. His sister, Corri, stepped up to the plate and donated one of her kidneys to Marc, a type 1 diabetic who had 10% kidney function left. This is his story.

Lastly, a FANTASTIC trailer. So inspired by this.

And, ladies and gentlemen, that is today's blog post. PHEW. So intense. I am so thankful for Ms. Morgan McGannon. So so so thankful.

Who are you thankful for?

Fragile

Here's a picture.

This blog post is short because I honestly don't feel like talking a whole lot. It's been a BRUTAL last few days. I can't go into detail just quite yet, so I'll just put it this way:

Be thankful for everything you take for granted. For conversation, for hanging out, for walking around, for taking a stroll. Life's fragile.

Twenty-Tow Truck

Here's the deal, last week's post was the best ever, it had the most interesting content that has been posted on this here blog in it's existence, no other post comes close.  This isn't only my opinion.  The response from you, the reader, was alone enough to blow all the others out of the water.  I really don't blame you, anything that says "YOU'RE IN FOR A TREAT: gnarly car accident, craziest day of my life, R+M wedding, it can't get much better than this! CHECK IT OUT!," I'd be a sucker and click on it too.  I'm still aghast that all went down.  If you're reading this and you haven't read last week's post, you've missed history.  Luckily for you, the internet is scriviling with history, so all you have to do is click this link: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/12/story.html or simply scroll down until you hit the post labeled "THE STORY."  That's all there is to it.  Enjoy.

So here it is, this week is piddly compared to last.  Although fun and surprising, the sheer monstrosity of last week overpowers this.  I digress (Shout out to Schmidt).

We finished out the semester this week.  Un-be-lievable.  We just started, we just finished.  I'm I'm full fledged into a couple weeks of break, head back to the Bible Institute Of Los Angeles and complete an absolutely ridiculous three weeks of learning the Spanish language.  8 AM - 12 PM: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.  It shall be a memorable three weeks.  After this, the spring semester begins.  Here's my schedule:

It's going to be busy busy busy.  I guess that's the point to college right?  Stuff that brain with all the good stuff, preparing you for the world beyond.  Let's do this.


I am at home right now.  I was at home on Friday.  On Friday morning, my mother prepared a special "Brunch," a very secretive brunch.  My sister and I knew it was a big deal because bacon was being made.  My mother invited two guests over the very secretive brunch, two VIPs from the Joshua Wilderness Institute, Ms. Cheyenne Wedel and Ms. Julie Nicolas.  I was very surprised (although I figured out the surprise prior, but hey, you never REALLY know) and enjoyed the very secretive brunch very much.  The events that followed were Christmas shopping and a grand tour of the city we all know and love: Simi Valley.  It was great way to spend the first day back at home.

The next day, we set out to Oma's ("Grandma" in German) house in Walnut Creek, California.  6 hours in the Monster (our vehicle) and Ms. Cheyenne Wedel as a guest, the trip went relatively smoothly, save for the 4-lane-blocking accident on the 5.

Oma's house was fun, a good relaxation.  I destroyed my brother in chess and we never played the rematch he demanded.  Not much went on and it was great.  The epitome of "break."

Now I am at home.  It'll be a few days.  Christmas is soon.  Very soon.  Disturbingly soon.  When did December start?



I don't have much more.  Here's a video:







Yikes, I forgot how heavy that video was.  I had saved the link from a few weeks ago because I didn't have the opportunity to embed it, and now that I have; it's quite the video.  Really makes you think.









Wow, interesting ending note, huh? 



A young businessman had just started his own firm. He'd rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear busy, the young businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working. He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?"

The man said, "Sure. I've come to install the phone!"




Imagine that.  Know what you're dealing with, don't tell lies, be yourself.

Be prepared.







Have a brilliantly beautiful day today.