A Senseless Tragedy

By now, I am sure the news of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech campus has reached far and wide. How sad it is. The (killer) looks nothing like one who could commit such an act. Numbing news indeed. But what causes one to reach this 'point of no return'? It is so baffling, horrifying! An exchange student from South Korea wrote an email to the International list at Duke to which I receive emails, apologizing for the tragic event, on behalf of all Koreans, as if, somehow, he felt personally accountible simply because of his ethnicity. His broken english still very effective and penetrating. So terribly sad. I will certainly be praying for unity, love and compassion, and for all to have the strength to overcome test and difficulties in their lives.

Washed Out Weekend

Well a crummy weekend comes to an end. And the only day that Kelly had off in the past 10 days, and for the next two weeks, was not time well spent.

This morning was ok. I had eggs, bacon and a pork bun for breakfast, and my usual coffee. There was nothing usual about the bacon though. In fact, it surprised me that we had any in the freezer at all.

But my day just seemed to go downhill after that. We all pilled into my tiny VW GTI and made our way to CarMax in Raleigh. I am trying to sell my car since it is smaller than what our current needs require. It is a 2 door sport car, and getting a baby car seat in and out of the back is quite hard.

But it is only three years old, sparingly used, still under warranty, and the "market value" that I've been told for my car is way less than I would ever care to sell it for.

What to do?

We saw two much larger vehicles at CarMax: (1) Ford Explorer and (2) Ford Expedition. I was hoping to make a direct trade (i.e. no money out of pocket, just what I can get for my car) and since we are moving to a more mountainous region come July, and the fact that I use my current small car to transport many items to accommodate my many "projects" (DIY, gardening, etc..) I was thinking an SUV would be what our new found situation will need. (and domestic SUVs - well Fords - seem to be the most affordable if I am looking at purchasing one no older than 2000).


But our trip to CarMax did not end well, and this, unfortunately, got me so grouchy and thinking so negatively I quite literally shut myself away from everyone for about three hours (maybe four).

And it is not that I even care for an Explorer versus an Expedition. I just feel one way or another I am going to lose a lot by trading in my current car, and at the very least, I want to get the "most car" I can in a trade.

So that was my crummy day. (the watered-down version of course).

But it got me thinking of a poem I memorized in high school or that I wrote (??) in high school. It goes:

to think a thought,
one single thought,
to think it through,
and then...
to savour each and every word,
like the last days of a dying friend.
to treat it as an ocean breeze,
caught on the burning sand,
like a ship-wrecked soul,
aboard a plank,
when morning brings the land,
now it's here,
then it's gone,
then it's back again.
as fragile as a child's forgotten paper boat,
caught in the summer's rain.

Back to counting down the days until your next day off, Honey...