Birthday Ramblings

As of January 30th I am no longer in my mid-20s. Yep, that's right, I entered my late twenties a few days ago when I turned 27. However, it does give me some joy to imagine the reactions of my older brother and sister who must face the fact that their baby brother is two years into cheap car rental age.

Last year I posted a list of 26 random things about me. But this year, i'm afraid I'm too tired to conjure up 27 new and interesting things to say. So, you're going to be subjected to a blog of my somewhat aimless birthday ramblings. Really, what follows is probably more like a list of blog ideas that never made it to the print room and are now condensed into little tid-bits for your enjoyment. There's no connection between them.

You might ask yourself, "How can he get away with posting a bunch of random gibber-jabber?" Answer: Because it's my blog, and it's my birthday, so "ha!"

1. Learning to be a chaplain is at one level learning how to listen. There are 4 basic methods of communication: speaking, reading, writing and listening. In school we are formally taught 3 of these. And since I have become a chaplain I have learned that 99% of people DON'T KNOW HOW TO LISTEN! People interrupt often, or simply don't hear you and just say what they want to say. Listen up people: it's time to start listening better.

2. Here's an interesting segment I found in a SC journal recently:

The most significant finding was the discover of mirror neurons, a widely dispersed class of brain cells that operate like neural WiFi. Mirror neurons track the emotional flow, movement and even intentions of the person we are with, and replicate this sensed state in our own brain by stirring in our brain the same areas active in the other person. Mirror neurons offer a neural mechanism that explains emotional contagion, the tendency of one person to catch the feelings of another, particularly if strongly expressed.

3. My sister and I have been having a riveting theological discussion, which would be cool to turn into a book one day. It's an honest conversation between a Christian and an "atheist/agnostic/humanist/whatever." Anyone who suggests a great book title gets 10 points. So far, it is up to 50 pages, single spaced! Click here for a better overview of it.

4. I was born during the third quarter of the Super Bowl, and the TV was never turned off. I never knew why. Countless times I have visited with patients who never turn off the TV unless I ask. I'm always a bit surprised to hear Jay Leno in the back ground during a Code Blue (CPR on a patient who's dying in the hospital), because no one has time to worry about the TV. Though, I often walk in an turn it off now.

5. My wife was in a car accident recently (not her fault). She was ran off the road by an 18-wheeler and now has whiplash. Luckily, it wasn't any worse. The insurance aduster for the trucker's company is a jerk; so, we wanted to seek some legal counsel, and then I remembered that lots of attorneys are jerks. Dang it.

6. On my birthday we stopped at a friend's house to celebrate their daughter's 1st birthday. It was loads of fun though we couldn't stay long. The picture is of the two birthday kids. Our ages add up to 28! Lydia put cake on my nose.

7. I've been keeping a list of words that are fun to say. Here's a few: Asclepion, Bamboozle, Discombobulate, Flabbergasted, Hippopotamus, Nincompoop, Schnitzel, Tchochtke, Tomfoolery, Zamboni.

8. I also keep a list called "Quotable Quotes:" anything I hear or read worth writing down. Here's a few highlights.

“My phone ringer just told me it was on medium high which reminded me it was the best way to order New York Strip steaks!” - Erin Miller (the vegetarian)

“You know what they say, ‘It’s better to be fast then half-assed.’” -Jerry Toth

“I hate when they try to make you think, and you’re just trying to read through a book.” -Heather Keyes

"I’m really glad we have clothes now." -Vicki Hesse

Here ends the birthday ramblings for this year. I hope you enjoyed, learned something new or just got a chuckle out of it .