Basketball Injury

so its been like 4 yrs since i've twisted my ankle. but just two weeks ago i was playing at a church, 3 on 3 at a half court sized gym that pretends to be full size. wasnt very competitive and so i wasnt driving like i normally do, just shooting jumpers. but the very last game, for some stupid reason, i decide to take this guy off the dribble and sure enough, end up stepping on some dude's foot as i go up for a layup. didnt even get off the ground, just stepped on it on my way up. but i was going full speed and all my weight was shifted to that foot as i prepared for takeoff (yes, some people have described my going into flight for a layup as a jet taking off- beautiful yet catastrophic). as soon as it happened tho i knew it was bad. i've twisted my ankle many-a-times before and its never hurt that much. right when i did it i simply hopped right out the door to sit down on the couch in the lobby for the next 10 minutes. i almost felt a little nauseous. meanwhile it totally swelled up to like twice the size my foot normally is. the next couple days it got all bruised and nasty looking. even my toes turned purple!

the next day i found some crutches in our house, so i decided to employ their services as i went to campus for classes. problem was they were about 3 inches too short, so all my weight was on my arms. after 2 blocks i was dying! how the heck do people use those things? and never before had i noticed people on crutches on campus, but for some reason that day i saw at least 4 people using 'em. we'd walk by each other and give a little nod, as if we belonged to some exclusive club and therefore had an immediate connection. it kinda felt like when your driving a motorcycle and you wave at other bikers. i dont know why people do that, but i like it. makes you feel cool, like they got your back or something. anyways, i guess i kinda had that feeling with my fellow gimps on crutches.

so today i decided to go in and check it out since it still feels rather tight and stiff. he checks it out and says i have a partially torn cfl, or calcaneofibular ligament. i posted a picture so you know what i'm talking about and not think i'm just making up some random word to make it sound cool.

he said to rehab it and give it another month to see how it feels. he also said to wear a brace to stabilize it in the meantime. so i'll be the only moron wearing an ankle brace while NOT playing any sports. i can hear it now:

"watch out for the stairs buddy, wouldnt want ya to slip and twist an ankle!"

"dont be jumping around on the way to your next class, you dont want to come down on someone's foot!"

"hey nice brace man, that looks really cool. should i wear one just for fun too?"

but if thats what it takes to get back to my d-wade type of game, then so be it. the doc even said as i'm leaving, "try and stay away from the 360 dunks for awhile." i know he was being sarcastic, but i'm not. even with only one good foot i can still throw down a mean 360 windmill!

one thing he did say that bothered me is that sometimes the swelling in the ankle wont go away. ever. as in it'll be there the rest of my life. that sucks! i dont want a fat ankle till i die. its still a little swollen, but i'm hoping it goes down. if not i might have to buy a size 11 shoe for my left foot and a size 12 for my right from now on!

but here's what it looks like: (notice the discolored toes in the second picture. very attractive when i wear flip-flops)

My Latest Reads

the last couple months i've finished a few books that i thought i'd share, since i know your all dying to know about what i read.

Einstein: His Life and Universe. a little long and somewhat repetitive it was still quite interesting. the minds of geniuses has always been intriguing to me. what makes them tick? how does their mind work? why are they considered a genius? he was a bit of a loner and had some troubles dealing with problems in his own family. yet he was passionately humanistic. he believed in a supreme being, so to speak, yet was not religious in the sense of being church-going. he looked at nature in awe and his reverence for its simplicity and beauty inspired him throughout his scientific career. here's a quote i like from the book:

"the value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think."



His Excellency: George Washington. in this book he's described as a man worried about his reputation in the ages to come. very meticulous in his detailed management of affairs, both at home and in the military. a born leader, he was one who had the ability to inspire those around him. a very humble man, yet one who could also be somewhat indecisive. never sought for power or appointment. had an amazing characteristic to keep himself composed under any circumstance. a highly admired and respected man in all arenas of life, for good reason. a quote that aptly describes him i think:

"i did not seek the office with which you have honored me... (and now can show) only the grey hairs of a man who has... either in a civil or military character, spent five and forty years- all the prime of his life- in serving his country... (who only wanted to) be suffered to pass quietly to the grave, and that his errors, however numerous; if they are not criminal, may be consigned to the tomb of oblivion, as he himself will soon be to the mansion of retirement."



1776. the story of the revolution during that pivotal year. after learning more about the absolute desperate plight that faced our country during that time, one can only attribute its outcome to the hand of God. we had no good reason to win that war. everything pointed (and worked) against those early revolutionaries in terms of success. if this was not a land destined to be one of promise, then we would have lost. to be so vastly outnumbered while at the same time being so inexperienced, i cant believe they prevailed. divine intervention really is the only plausible explanation for our gaining independence.

"the reflection upon my situation and that of this army produces many an uneasy hour when all around me are wrapped in sleep. few people know the predicament we are in." (george washington)

Shars Wedding & Reunion

so here's a little taste of our family reunion up in washington the other week. first time everyone in the family was together at once in 5 years. caught dal and shars off by themselves. way to be social guys!the festivities started with each family marching out with their flags to show off. they turned out pretty well, good job you guys
all the kids and their spouses. except of course for....... well you can see the only one without someone next to them, haha
me and shars. i cant believe my little sis is married now. kinda weird but i'm really happy for her. she looked so pretty
all the guys with the bride(zilla). haha, jk shars! what a bunch of goofy lookin dudes
the entire family on both sides. sheesh, quite the spectacle. good thing it cooled down just a bit that day (instead of the ridiculous over 100 degrees it had been that week)
the bro's and pops after some heated games of bball. its been awhile since i've played with all of them, it was awesome! the competition was a little weak for me, but it was still fun. haha jk. (please put on a shirt next time jason)

thanks to everyone who helped plan and make it possible, it was a blast! cant wait to do it again

A Rant

this really has nothing to do with my life but i still think its crap. can someone please explain to me how the heck a guy gets 24 days in jail for manslaughter while under the influence AND has marijuana in his system, while a guy gets almost 2 yrs in jail for being involved with killing some dogs? tell me how thats fair

donte stallworth got off easy if you ask me. he took a human life, no matter what the circumstances are. throw in he was drunk way past the legal limit and had illegal drugs in his system. just b/c he has some money to throw at the family (which is another tangent i wont get on. why put a price tag on your family members death? make the guy pay the consequences by spending a long time in jail to think about what he did) he gets away with manslaughter? thats crap if you ask me. but since your not asking and this is my blog, i'll write about it anyways. even tho he's suspended from the nfl this next year without pay, thats not nearly enough punishment.

yet michael vick spends almost 2 yrs in a prison b/c he funded (and may or may not have actually killed dogs himself) a pit bull fighting ring? that guy got screwed. totally made an example of. i'm all for not giving celebs any leeway when they mess up just b/c they have money and fame, but this dude caught a raw deal. at least he got a second chance to play in the nfl again, but he lost all that time in his life for something not nearly as serious as what this other guy completely got away with, in my opinion.

anyways, like i said, this has no bearing on my life directly. but it makes me mad when there is complete unfairness in punishment between two crimes that are so vastly different, yet the more serious offender gets a much more lenient sentence. doesnt make sense to me.....

Roomates

for those of you who dont know, i live with some real winners. in the 4 months i've lived with the present guys i've literally said maybe 25 words to all of them combined. and that is no exaggeration (as i'm prone to do). mine is the only downstairs room and we have a back door to our parking lot. so unless we happen to pass each other in the hall or coming or going we never see each other. not that i mind, and i'll tell you why. they're EMO. for those of you who arent familiar with the term or who it describes, this comes straight from wikipedia:

Today emo is commonly tied to both music and fashion as well as an inspiration toward the emo subculture, and the term "emo" is sometimes stereotyped with tight jeans on males and females alike, long fringe (bangs) brushed to one side of the face or over one or both eyes, dyed black, straight hair, tight t-shirts (usually short-sleeved and/or v-neck) which often bear the names of emo bands (or other designer shirts), studded belts, belt buckles, canvas sneakers or skate shoes or other black shoes and in some cases thick, black horn-rimmed glasses.

thats pretty dang close to the guys i live with. the only thing i would add to that list are scarves. yep, its 102 degrees outside but they'll still wear the tight jeans and little scarf to accentuate their outfit. some of them even have the little fag-tag ponytail on the back of their head. others sport a nasty mexi-stache. still others feel inclined to own (and wear) little pink shirts. anyways, thats just a little taste of who i have to share part of my college experience with. a bit ago i came home to find the following note in our kitchen right above the sink:

wash your dishes a**holes. leaving them in the sink is acceptable never. it takes 30 seconds. dont be lazy, it makes the kitchen smell like a**

mind you, the censoring was done by me. and these are the same people who have no problem leaving their shoes, scarves, shirts, socks, glasses and whatever else laying around the house. live like slobs but apparently dirty dishes are where they draw the line. too bad they still never clean their freakin dishes!

Petty Pranks

is this some kind of sick joke? come on people, there are pranks and then there is vandalism! i can appreciate a good joke at my expense, but not when its straight mockery like this.

i looked outside my window one morning and saw this and got very excited thinking the girl of my dreams had come into my life and was already planning our future together. i thought to myself "wow, that was easy. i thought i had to find a girl first, woo her and then buy a ring and all this other stuff. but i dont have to do any of that!" but come to find out, such was not the case. there was no note explaining the act. no name for me to call my new wife by. no hint as to who the culprit was. just a brief moment where my hopes were raised only to be dashed when i figured out there was no wonderful girl in the picture for me. ah sucky!

the worst part was trying to get all that crappy paint stuff off. took forever!!! i actually had to drive like that for a day or two till i could get around to cleaning it up. yeah, felt like a real winner those days..... all the stares, the glares, the flares, the cares, the bears, the hairs, and the where's. (what the?...... so the first "air" word was legit, then i just got carried away with rhyming the rest. sorry about that).

but hats off to the girls in my ward who pulled it off. they did it when i was home! had i at any moment gone to the kitchen and looked outside they would've been in a tight spot. but they got me good, well done

Coed Kickball

for those of you who have never heard of coed kickball, allow me to introduce you and you can thank me later. okay so its not that cool, but this is one of our summer activities here in provo. from the following images you'll be able to see what your missing out on :)

i was usually the pitcher. if there was a perfect form for throwing a nice ball this probably wouldnt be it, but it was close enough to get the job done. and since you pitch to your own team, any strikeouts are not to be proud about. i'm pretty sure i was throwing my slider on this one, but i cant really tell. coulda been my changeup.


here is shars taking her best shot at my wicked pitches. interesting form if you look closely. cant you just hear in your mind her making the sound "hiiiiiiyaaa!!!!!" (i can). it almost looks like she's running backwards based on her motion and arm movements. this particular memory is a little foggy, but i think she flied out to the pitcher. haha, waste!

and yours truly taking a hack at it. you cant even see my foot i'm swinging so fast! i'm like honda from street fighter when his hands move all fast and you cant see him hitting you, you just all of the sudden got the crap kicked outta ya. only in this case it was a harmless groundout to second base, or a popup, or a miss altogether. i'll admit, kickball isnt necessarily my best sport.

alas, our team made it the championship game, but lost. so i guess 2nd place isnt too shabby. i suppose you could say we came, we performed reasonably well, and will never play again. now softball: thats another story.......