Ten Years

Well its hard to believe its been ten years since 9/11. Like most people, I remember that whole day pretty well. Christy and I had just come home from early morning seminary. There was about half an hour we could spend at home eating breakfast and getting ready for school. Mom was up and eating with me. I had Trix, but it was tasting funny because I was taking liquid penicillin for an ingrown toenail problem. Christy came down and said that some hijacked planes had been flown into some buildings in New York and the Pentagon.

I knew it was a big deal, but as a 15 year old (well, a week shy of 15) I couldn't conceive of what had just happened. As we drove to school we listened to the radio and they were describing the scene. I just remember mom saying something like "this is a war." The rest of school day was odd. The teachers had a meeting to decide if they were going to send us home. They decided to try and have a normal school day, but you could tell they were upset. I still hadn't seen any images, all I knew were what others were saying. When they said the towers had collapsed, I again couldn't imagine what had really happened.  I just assumed that only a small part of the buildings collapsed.

When I finally got home, I was able to see all that had happened on the TV and on the internet. Mom had been glued to the TV all day while she was making paper bag angel centerpieces because she was in the Stake Relief Society presidency.

It was a strange new time that began 10 years ago. I had just started high school. Just started seminary. everything was changing. My first youth conference was the week following 9/11. I remember on the way home there were people on the corner of mission and walnut waving flags and cars honking as they drove by. The air traffic that usually crosses the sky above our house was gone for a while. I remember dad was up one morning as we left for seminary and pointed out to us the combat jets that were patrolling the sky. I also remember the next month during General Conference when president Hinkley announced that he had just gotten word that the US had begun dropping bombs in Afghanistan and the comfort he tried to bring to us.

It is even more strange to look at photos from that time. In my memory, I'm the same person so I don't imagine me or others really as they were. I just remember everyone as they are. But here are some pictures from the summer of 2001 and my birthday 7 days after 9/11

Time sure flies! Of course if you think of all the good times and bad times that happened in between, it seems a bit easier to believe that its been a decade.

Jimmy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I remember mom used to read me this book when I was little, probably because I was never really a morning kid so my days didn't always start out smooth. But last Saturday, 8/27, started out bad and only got worse.

It was my first full day back in Sacramento. I had orientation at 9am so I was sure to get to bed early. I woke up, showered and was running late as usual so I skipped breakfast. I hopped in the car and had 20 minutes to get to campus. Plenty of time. But then I realized the that front tire was flat. Crap! So I ran upstairs, grabbed my bike and rode off to school. I got there 10 mins late and I was all sweaty, but I made it.

The rest of orientation went well, although it was somewhat awkward since everyone else was already friends so I had to sort of break into different cliques. But it was finally over so I went to the book store to see if I could buy a parking permit so I wouldn't have to be late for classes on Monday. I got to the front of the line and then they announced that the system was down so they were only taking cash purchases. Crap! So I went back home to await the tow truck that would bring me and the car to the tire place.

He showed up and instead of towing the car, just put on a spare. I paid him $85 and went off to the tire place and got there 2 minutes before closing. They were pleased to help me though. But instead of just replacing the tire he told me that the tires were at the legal limit of how worn a tire can be so they wanted to put 4 new ones on. $500 later he takes me over to the car and wants to know the mileage. Its a digital meter so I put the key in the ignition and turn on the electronics to see the mileage. Then the guy distracted me and I ended up shutting the door with the keys locked in. So I wasn't going to get the tires changed today and I was stranded all the way across town in a crappy neighborhood. So the same towing company came to my rescue again.

He noticed the previous receipt and asked what that was about. I just said I was having a very crappy day, and he agreed and said he'll be needing $75. I pulled out my debit card and he asked if I could pay in cash because he was out of credit card slips. Luckily there was a bank just across the street so I went over and pulled out four 20's and he then told me that he has no change. What t he crap?! So I said keep the $5 because I just want to go home and sit in my room and not touch anything. I grabbed some groceries at Walmart, which was maybe not the best idea because I really wanted to mow everyone down with my cart. It takes a lot of patience to shop there and mine was all used up that day.

But I finally made it home and was so glad to be able to rest and not have something go horrible wrong. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't thw worst day anyone has ever had. I often remember this thing my brother Cory said about bad days. He said something along the lines of "its hard to have a bad day after going through chemo therapy." I would certainly rather learn that lesson from him than on my own, but I also feel like some of the bad things that happen to me happen for a reason. Not that I cause them or I'm being punished, but I think you can learn from some things and it can make you better. As I've looked back on that disaster of a day, I think it did a pretty good job at preparing me for what is sure to be a tough semester. I am going to have to deal with bad luck and interacting with strangers and make new friends and I'm going to have to be able to stay calm.

The days since have gone pretty smooth in comparison, although I did lose the car in the parking garage for a bit lol, and I think its in large part to me being mentally prepared for something to go wrong. We had to give a presentation for our second day of class, and while everyone else was freaking out, it just didn't phase me much.

So all is well now, but I feel like it might have been more enjoyable had my first day been more like this childhood story book: