Panhandlers

The Shell station on the corner of 9th street and I-30 access road in downtown Little Rock is not one of my favorite places to stop at night but I had to use the bathroom and knew if I didn't stop for gas there I would likely be walking several miles to the nearest gas station. I looked around and pulled up to a pump; everything seemed to be clear this time so I get out, lock my door and go inside to the restroom. Before going back outside, I stop at the register and pay for $14 in gas, all of the cash I had on me. This was on purpose, remembering the last time I stopped at the gas station. 

"Nice jacket, can I have it?" a man asks me as he approaches me next to my car. In my head: "Is he serious? You know, it is cold out here, maybe he does need it." It wasn't long before he said, "just kidding." Did my surprise show on my face? Regardless, he continued talking to me. "I'm from Missouri and I don't have any place to go. The Mission only lets you stay one night. I tried to steal some vienna sausages earlier but I got caught. Can you spare any change, even a dime would help." In my mind: "There are multiple shelters in Little Rock and I don't think that any of them have a one-night policy. And if you were caught trying to steal, how are you standing here?" What I said, "I just spent my last cash to buy gas. Let me finish pumping and I will go inside and buy you something to eat." I place the nozzle in my tank and begin (or think I begin) pumping gas and notice by this time a second person is standing five or six feet behind me. At this point, I have become nervous. The first guy continues, "Thats. OK, I am meeting a friend and hes got some KFC for us..." I realize I haven't flipped the gas pump on and say, "I guess this works better when you turn it on," I say to the two of them with a slight laugh. The second guy agrees. The first continues, "But you could buy me a pack of Marlbro cigarettes. I could sell them for 50 cents a piece and make a little bit of money."

"I'm not going to buy the cigarettes," I tell him. "I'll buy you something to eat but no cigarettes. The first man continues to try and convince me, but I'm not giving in on it. Again in my mind: "What if I did buy these for him and he sells them to a minor? Plus, you probably have to have a license to sell cigarettes and thats just going to get you in more trouble." The second guy starts talking and telling me how he had been in prison and liked it there becasue all the white people kept their distance. "All I had to do is show them this," he said as he pulled the front of his shirt up to reveal a scar. 

It is eventually the second man who takes me up on the food and he begins to explain that he wants one of the hot jack links sausages being very specific. "You might want to come in with me," I tell him. He sends the first person in with me who wasn't much help in choosing the correct one and then he picks up a bag of chips for himself. At the register he begins pointing to the newspaper and talking to me again as I try to run my credit card completely blocking out the cashier who was apparently asking, "debit or credit?" The man continues talking and asks me what I think about the Grand Jury's decision in Ferguson. At that point I am thankful I can honestly say I have purposely remained ignorant on that current event. Yes, I know it was about excesive force by law enforcement, but the remainder of the case I have remained out of the loop on. That is one news quiz I am happy to fail tonight as I could answer that I hadn't been following the story and couldn't answer the question.

We walk out of the store and I hand him the bag of chips and speed up to hand the other guy the sausage. "Only one?" he questions. "I'll take one." I then head toward my car, wanting to get in as soon as possible. "I love you brother," the second man shouted as I opened the door. "Likewise," I yell back.

Now, safely at home I am left to ponder...did I do the right thing(s)?

• I've been reading a book, "How to help the poor without hurting them or yourself." One of the main points it makes is that by simply giving 'handouts' we are actually making things worse for them and even ourselves. Instead we should work alongside them, building relations and helping them grow to be self-sufficient. What kind of harm might my buying the food have caused?
• Matthew 5:40, 42 says, "And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well...Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." Should I have immediately taken my jacket off and given it to him? What might God have done if I had?
• Was my fear/nervousness obvious? When the second person approached and stood behind me, I have to admit my thoughts were going toward, "I really hope I don't get stabbed/robbed." And having these thoughts made me wonder, "Am I being judegemental?" Forgive me.

Winter Masterpiece

I'm not much of a morning person, nor am I much of a cold and icy weather person but I have to say the drive to work this morning was a treat. The sun had risen to my right but it was still early enough it cast a grayish pink hue in the clouds ahead of me. The evergreens and bare trees all frozen over sparkled in the sunlight. It was like the scene straight out of a painting. It was one of those times I really wished I could pull over and take a picture. Of course, my good camera was at home. But that made me think even more about the "painter."

Many artists look at a picture or a subject and paint what they see. But either way they are painting the second or third version of it at minimum because God was the original author. He is the one who created it all from nothing. He is the best artist in the world.

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen,being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

Unexpected Outcome from Doctor Visit

Almost the first thing that I did after dinner tonight was take a call from my grandmother who inquired about how my doctor visit turned out. I told her, "The doctor said 'some people make a new years resolution to lose weight but for you its doctors' orders.'" I proceeded to laugh and told her it was only have true when she began to question about the diet. The thing is I've known I needed to lose weight and I've wanted to lose it for a while. I was thinking today of the Facebook status I wanted to post: "One of my new years resolutions for 2014 was to make myself drink more water. I cannot leave the office until I have drank a minimum of 28 oz of water. This is for every day I am at work and, so far, I have kept it. The thing is, if drinking more water and less soda doesn't help me lose weight, maybe the extra 500 steps back and forth between the other end of the building will add up!"

I went to the doctor after my headache, neck ache, back pain and some chest pain lingered for too long. Friday I came home exhausted and had a 102 degree fever. Luckily by Saturday it was low grade and by Sunday I didn't appear to have a fever at all. I returned to work Monday feeling much better than Friday. But the other pain when it hit made me wonder if I was still sick and what I had, although I continued to suspect sinus headaches for part of it. But just to be safe, I went to the Little Rock Walk-in Clinic on North University Avenue in Little Rock after work today.

What I didn't expect was for the nurse to take my blood pressure, ask me if it was always that high and then tell me to monitor it because they may need to put me on blood pressure medicine. I am 25 years old, too young to be on blood pressure medicine. Later the doctor also expressed concern about my blood pressure. He didn't put me on a diet, but it looks like its time.

I had set out to make one small step at a time with 2014, starting with more water and gradually building up to less calories, better balance and more exercise. Instead, it looks like I am going to have to tackle head on and drop the weight. Not that it is a bad thing, but there is definitely a difficult road ahead.

An Expensive Meal

I don't eat at many expensive restaurants but when I do I always try to order the least expensive foods off the menu. I think the restaurant I dined at last night in Little Rock was by far the most expensive meal of my life.

As I looked through the menu, I found the prices were ridiculously high. Eventually I asked the waitress what the least expensive meal was and she told me an item that was on special for $30. I accepted. All was well through the meal with my friends. All seemed to be well after the meal. I handed my credit card to the waitress and signed the bill for $30 when she brought it back.

The next afternoon I received a call from the restaurant saying there was an error with my payment and asking me to stop by the restaurant. When I got there the waitress went over my order again and told me I owed $7,000. I was outraged and began arguing with the waitress who told me it was because I paid with a credit card instead of cash. The menu said the price was $7,000 but the meal was on special for customers paying cash. Her comments didn't make me feel any better. I continued arguing and refusing to pay. Then the manager came and told me to calm down. But he told me the same thing she did.

I told them I was going to call some people and that I knew a lawyer. Then I walked outside into the hot summer air and thought about what I was going to do. Seven-on-your side maybe? Legal fees would cost just as much as the bill itself. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't in much better shape when I woke up at 5 a.m. this morning to realize it had been a bad dream -- a bad dream it took a while to recover from and fall back asleep for another hour before I had to get up for work.

What strange and annoying dream will I have tonight?

Haunted House

Throughout college I wanted to go to a haunted house or haunted corn maze with my friends. In four years, we never did go. But this past Friday I finally got to go to a "haunted house," in Little Rock. My mom and I took my niece to the "Old Haunted Warehouse" in Little Rock, located right behind the Pulaski County Jail.

I wanted to go as soon as I saw the flier at Spirit Halloween Store and the clerk said it was well worth it. Not only is it a "haunted house," it is in a bad section of town, behind the county jail and visitors have to walk from the parking area to the warehouse. I loved it. Of course, I am almost 24 years old and male. I'm not stupid, I know nothing is really dangerous inside and that people in costumes are going to be jumping out at me. I was never scared, never even jumped. But I did laugh the entire time.

My niece is 10. It was dark inside but my eyes had adjusted. I could tell where there would likely be people hiding and I kept my eyes on all of the figures. When I walked around a corner, I put my back to the wall so that I wouldn't be surprised. In another room I was watching my surroundings -- that is all I can say because I don't want to give away the surprise. I will say my favorite part was the strobe lights. Again, I won't say more than that.

I think I may go again with some other friends. If the staff will let me, I have a few tricks up my sleeve (or at least one) that I would like to pull to further scare my friends since I already know the layout and whats coming. Anyway, if you are looking for a good haunted house in the Little Rock/Central Arkansas area, the "Old Haunted Warehouse" on Brown Street (off of Roosevelt) behind the jail is one good option.

Guardian Angel

Two times in less than 72 hours, I have narrowly escaped nasty accidents. Both times, if I were alone in the car, I probably would have been dead or in a hospital. But I wasn't alone, I'm sure of it.

The first time was Friday evening after I got off work. I needed to fill my car up with gas before going to Jonesboro the following morning. The best way for me to get gas is taking exit 7 for Pratt Road off of I-530. It had rained some that day and the road was damp and oily. The exit is short and involves a very sharp turn. Of course, I was going 70 when I hit the off ramp. I tried to slow down but began to hydroplane. "I'm about to crash and it is going to be ugly," I thought to myself as I let off the break and tried to gently turn into the curve so that I would be on the inside. I felt the back end sliding. I made it around the curve and stopped by he end of the ramp. But I knew that I was about to go flying off the road at 50+ miles per hour and into a tree.

The next one happened this evening. I didn't have any problems going to Jonesboro, but the trouble was on the way home. For some reason, there always seems to be a wreck around the I-40/I-30 interchange. Tonight was no difference. I had to speed up to 70 to get into the lane I needed, as a car was letting me in, even though they were speeding. Probably 20 seconds later, everyone was slamming on their breaks, including me. I wasn't slamming hard enough and swerved into the far left lane, narrowly missing the car in front of my by mere inches. That would have probably been at 50+ mph as well and been a multiple car pile up.

Those stories said, I am very thankful to have avoided both accidents and firmly believe I was not alone in the car.

Por que no pueda dormir?

Parece que siempre cuando mas necesitemos dormir, no podamos. Estuvo mi caso anoche. Prepare para dormir a las 10:30 pero no podría hasta casi 1:30 de la mañana. A pesar de no dormir bien, tuve un día bueno. Llegue a la oficina a las 7:30, leí un poquito antes de ir dentro. Las primeras horas fueron aburridos a causa de no tener ordenador para trabajar con tareas simples. A las 9:45, mas o menos, recibí mi gafete de identificación/empleo. Después, a las 10, recibí la información sobre mis cuentas. Por fin, reuní con la jefa y luego la vicepresidente. Cumplí tres tareas hoy y empece dos mas. Estaba ocupado durante todo el día, justo como me gusta pasar el tiempo de trabajo. 

The Packing Begins

The only thing worse than packing is unpacking, shortly followed by folding laundry. The time for all of these tasks is upon me. I received all of my papers from Houston on Thursday. That night I promptly finished my airline research and found a ticket for about $650. And, if the airline hires its pilots all to the same standard, it should be a safe flight. I still remember when one of their pilots, Sullenberger, crash landed one of the U.S. Airways planes into the Hudson River in New York City. Everyone survived.

After I got home from work on Friday I began washing laundry so that I could begin packing. I did that today. Before packing a suitcase an idea of what should fit and how is in my mind. But why? It never works out that way. I still have a long way to go packing but hope to be able to get most of what I need packed. I will only carry one large suitcase, a small carry-on suitcase and a computer case. Hopefully that will minimize some of the stress once I arrive.

I have researched transportation when I get there. Wednesday morning my flight leaves Little Rock at 7:25 a.m. I arrive in Madrid at 6:40 a.m. on Thursday. There are only two busses from the airport to Huelva and they leave late in the evening. I decided I will probably spend the next 17 hours at the airport, catch the midnight bus and sleep on the eight-hour trip to Huelva. I didn’t want to arrive at 11 p.m. or 5:30 a.m. I am sure this will all change when I get there too.

But the latest update: The real adventure begins Wednesday.

Doctor Visit

Trying to find time to do anything in the working world is difficult. I work from 8-5 each day Monday through Friday. That is the same hours as most government offices and many businesses. There are a lot of things I have to get done on lunch break and still need to get done.

I need to get a new social security card. I need to get hold of the Spanish Consulate in Houston; that will take a miracle. I need to get some documents approved by the government. And after Saturday I really needed to get to a doctor after swimming.

I have had a problem with stopped up ears after swimming for the past four years. If I swim, I can expect to have water in my ear for a day or two after. I finally called the doctor in hopes I could give my supervisor a little notice. I gave her five hours notice. Luckily it fell in a week where I needed to take a long lunch break anyway.

I took off about 1:15 p.m. and made the 30-minute drive to Jacksonville Medical Clinic. I arrive about 1:30 and see the doctor about 1:50. I am done by about 2. The doctor took a look at my ear and said there was a little bit of ear wax built up in the back. He washed it out (ouch!) and I could finally hear again. I heard so well out my left ear it made me feel like my right ear was stopped up. But the piece of was looked far from small to me. It looked more like a rock. But I averaged the price out and it came to almost $20/minute. Five minutes equaled $90, but at least I can hear. Next time I will try the process on my own.

But it was just in time too. I made it back to the office after stopping by the drive-thru of McDonalds and grabbing a bite to eat on the way. I made it back in perfect timing to complete my 40 hours this week. We had to work late today because we had interviews from 5:30-6 p.m. I was very glad to be able to hear out my left ear. Hearing was difficult enough as it was because of the music playing there at the Peabody Hotel. On top of that it was in a foreign language; I interviewed the country director of Heifer Honduras in Spanish.

It is nice to hear again. It is something very important in the communications field. Now if I can work on communicating better in Spanish I will be good.

Busy Week

This was a busy week! Starting Monday I had very little free time. I posted on Facebook that I wished every day were like that Monday was. I got one comment back from a friend that disagreed and thought I was crazy. But working from 8-5, Monday through Friday, and sitting in a cubicle bored is no fun. I rather be busy.

It was nice. I took photos. I took video. I edited video. I edited stories. I posted stories. I edited photos.I attended meetings. In one week, I was using pretty much everything I learned.

And, I received my new diplomas that had Cum Laude on them. Things are going good. I love my internship and definately hope that they have an opening sometime in the future.

The worst part is living so far from Asuka and all of my friends. Hopefully, I will be visiting next weekend.

I am still waiting to hear from Spain. I would really like to get it wrapped up. If I don't hear anything by mid to late June I will just have to give up and start searching for a regular job or see if I can get my internship extended.

I got the job...well, the internship that is!

I was awoken from my nap a little after 5 last Friday when my phone began ringing. I had left it on the other side of the room which isn't a normal thing when I sleep. I usually keep it by my bed with an alarm set, but this time I didn't even set an alarm. Usually, if my phone rings while I try to sleep I will ignore the call and call or text the person later (unless of course they leave me a text or voice mail, then I might respond a little more quickly). But something important caught my attention on that call.

The area code was 501. I didn't know who the caller was but I had an idea before I answered and thought to myself it would be in my best interest to answer, so I did. And I was right. It was good news, the news I had been hoping to hear.

I went to Little Rock a week or two before that for a job interview with Heifer International. It is a humanitarian organization that I actually would love to work for one day and they had a summer internship position open for journalism majors. I quickly applied when I found out it was also a paid internship. I didn't want to get my hopes to high, but was even more excited when I found out they wanted me to come for an interview.

That Friday, I got ready after my 11 a.m. class and drove to Little Rock. The interview lasted about an hour and included an editing exercise along with questions. A few days later I send a thank you email and two links, one to a website I designed in internet communications (click here to view), and my Youtube account.

Then the wait was on. Of course, I had applied earlier to a different organization for an opportunity to intern with an Arkansas Newspaper. I heard that I might be able to work at one in El Dorado or Pine Bluff. I said Pine Bluff would be the best option because it is close to my family. But I still hoped to hear back from Heifer International.

Thankfully I did receive that call from Heifer telling me I got the job. I look forward to being able to work with them and getting to help make a difference in the world.

Spring Break Loop

Spring Break this year was more than I originally expected. First, Asuka and I went to stay with my mom and Step-dad in Sheridan. The next morning (Friday) we got up and went to Hot Springs for the day. Saturday morning we got up and helped them with moving a little before heading to Memphis to pick up Asuka's mom at the Airport. The next three days I spent driving around Jonesboro and we also went to Little Rock.

Tuesday night was a night without much sleep. We had to leave for Memphis by about 4 am. I didn't intend to sleep at all but decided to take a nap. I reset an alarm (or so I thought) and then I get a call from Asuka. I look at the clock and it says 4:30. I start scrambling around and rush out the door leaving pillows, blankets, a hairbrush, and other items that I would need for the next three days camping, only to get to my car and find out it is 3:40. Oh well, too late now...


View Larger Map

The adventure would soon begin. We dropped her Mom off at the Memphis International Airport about 6 in the morning. Then we started off toward Petit Jean State Park near Morrilton, AR. We stopped at a rest area in Arkansas and slept until about 9:30 in the car. It was one of those places though-- I couldn't go into a deep sleep. I always felt like someone was watching me. We got to Petit Jean and set up camp before hiking to the waterfall. The weather was amazing, probably in the upper 70's or lower 80's. We got back to camp and cooked dinner, went to shower, and went to bed by about 9 p.m. Then I woke up at midnight. The temperature had dropped about 40 degrees in the past four hours. I was shivering.

Finally 7:30 came around and I got up and stumbled into the cold morning air, with a cotton blanket wrapped around me. Two and a half hours later we were on the road to Oklahoma. We had a picnic at the visitors center; I found a geocache and we visited the log cabin of Sequoya, before heading back in to Arkansas.

We drove to the University of Arkansas, enemy territory, so that Asuka could see their campus. It was rather large, and I have to say I am glad I chose ASU over UA. I paid for an hour and a half of parking and the meter expired before we made it back to the car. I was beginning to think we might have to call campus police to help us FIND the car. We finally found it and headed to the store to buy more groceries for the camping that night at Hobbs State Park. Timing had other plans.

When we drove through the park, I had no clue where camping was and the visitors center was closed. I searched points of interest with the GPS and found a camping area not far from Eureka Springs which was to be the first stop for the next day. We arrived and it was a safari park with a lot of big cats, and an RV park. I decided it wasn't the best tent-camping spot and headed on into Eureka Springs for Lake Leatherwood. When we got there, it was abandoned. No one was in the cabins or the campgrounds. The office had a sign "will return at 9am." So we went to a campsite with water but no electricity. We got out and the bathroom had a sign that said, "closed for cleaning; use other side." I went to look and it was dimly lit and dirty. Another aged sign said "please shut the door so the pipes don't freeze." That was too much; it gave me the creeps. It looked like the scene from a horror film. When I got back to the car, Asuka was being cornered by the geese and quickly agreed to find somewhere else. We ended up in a Hotel. The attendant there said he worked at the BCM in Fayetteville at one point, so I asked him if he knew Arliss. Small world.

The next day I showed Asuka the Crescent Hotel, Christ of the Ozarks Statue (from the Hotel), and downtown. Then we headed to Branson. We camped at Tablerock Lake State Park. Finally, a place we could have a camp fire. We set up, paid, and then went into Branson. We got back and cooked in the dark which was an interesting experience. We'd planned on cooking the night before so our fish was soggy. It was cold so we weren't really in the cooking spirit. We ended up with Teriyaki rice, green beans, corn and mushrooms mixed together, and Teriyaki fish ticks. The fire didn't do much to keep us warm. We gave up and went to bed.

At about 6am cold turned to cold and wet. I began seeing white flashes and knew it was a storm rolling in. About 6:20 it got loud with thunder and rain. It was time to evacuate the tent and head for the car. We slept for the next four hours in the car with heat and soft chairs, until the rain stopped. When I went to check the tent I found our clothes, and sleeping gear soaked. There was at least one pool of water.

We cooked and broke down camp, knowing that it would be a long night of cleaning up when we arrived back in Jonesboro. We went to eat at a fish and steak restaurant at Branson Landing, with a little fear of being turned away for the clothes we were wearing. There was no problem, with the exception of being cold. We ate and headed for Jonesboro.

When we got back I unloaded the car. Later Asuka and I set the tent back up in the living room of my Collegiate Park apartment (luckily, all of my roommates were still out of town).  We dried it, inside and out. We washed the dishes. We washed the clothes and towels and pillows. Finally at midnight it was time for bed. Spring break would soon be over.

[I will add photos as soon as I have a chance to get them on my computer.]