Oh, you didn’t know? It snowed on New Year’s Day. It snowed to the point where tons of people were either cancelling parties or rescheduling their party to use up all the stuff they’d gotten. I’m going to one of those tonight! So the snow started on New Year’s Day, and my plan that night was to go to the Volpe house for Mike and Liz’s party. The “brick wall” was the snow storm. So, as Mr.  Randy Pausch said (my hero…besides Batman of course), brick walls are in our place for a reason. They’re not there to stop us, but to let us know how much we want something. I had made my decision already. I wanted to be at that party instead of by myself in my apartment all night. I wanted to be with Liz for the start of the New Year. So…that’s where I was going to be, brick wall or not.

Mike had previously asked me to come over for around 1:00 to help with the setup for the party, so given that it was an hour long drive, I left around noon and figured the snow storm would only set me back a little. On the highway, traffic was moving anywhere between 10-30 mph. Clearly, this hour long drive was going to take a bit longer. I had to stop on the side of the Rt. 195 twice just to pull the sludge off my windshield wipers so that I could see. The thought DID cross my mind once to turn around, but I had already put enough time into the trip, so I was committed (or should have been committed, I’ll leave that up to you).

Anyway, fast forward about 4 hours and I’m still on the road. Thank god for Howard Stern keeping me company on the long trip. According to the GPS, I’m about 3 miles from my destination. The road leading up to the Volpe house is VERY hilly and windy, which is really not good on a day like this. I’m slowly coming down the hill when my car starts to slide to the right. As I’ve done many times in a snowstorm, I slowly started turning the wheel to get out of the slide, but it was wasted effort as my car barely adjusted. Now I could see the pole coming closer and had to do something to avoid going head first into it. Instead of turning to get back on the road, I did what I had to to protect the car, and quickly spun the wheel in the opposite direction to turn my car sideways. I slid into a snow bank, stopping my car about 5 feet in front of the pole and avoiding any damage.

Fortunately for me, there were lots of nice people out on the road that day, and 3-4 cars including a highway dept. truck stopped to try and help me out. It was no use as my front bumper was on top of a pile of ice and my tires were freely spinning without any ground to cling to. I ended up calling AAA and signing up for a new year of service because I wasn’t aware that it had expired on Nov. 15th. They came back fairly quickly to pull my car out of the snow bank and get me back on my way.

So, that’s that. Sure, I spent a good amount of time on the road, but it was just time. No damage to my car, myself, or anyone around me. I was where I wanted to be for New Year’s Eve. Brick wall conquered. I think that’s a good pace to set for the new year. Bring on the brick walls…I’m ready.

So far today I’ve received two compliments from co-workers on the shirt I’m wearing. It’s not the first time I’ve worn it, but I guess it’s still relatively new enough to where some people may not have seen it yet. The reason I mention it is because it reminded me of how uncomfortable I am with receiving compliments. Sure, I like hearing them as much as most people do, but for some reason my initial reaction to them is embarrassment. I don’t know where this comes from. I know my dad has the same issue, whether it be embarrassment or something else, not sure about the rest of my family. It’s something I picked up on awhile ago and have since tried making an effort to remedy. If someone’s going to be nice enough to give me a compliment, the last thing I want to do is make them feel like I don’t care because I’m not reacting in a more appreciative fashion. As I’m currently in the midst of a huge personal growth period in my life, this is one more thing to add to the list of things to be aware of and improve on.

Seether – “Rise Above This”

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Take the light, and darken everything around me
Call the clouds and listen closely, I’m lost without you
Call your name every day when I feel so helpless
I’m fallin’ down but I’ll rise above this, rise above this

Hate the mind, regrets are better left unspoken
For all we know, this void will grow and
Everything’s in vain, distressing you though it leaves me open
Feels so right, but I’ll end this all before it gets me

Call your name every day, when I feel so helpless
I’m fallin’ down, but I’ll rise above this, rise above this
Call your name every day, when I seem so helpless
I’m fallin’ down, but I’ll rise above this, rise above this doubt

I’ll mend myself before it gets me
(i’ll mend myself before it gets me)
I’ll mend myself before it gets me
(i’ll mend myself before it gets me)

Call your name every day, when I feel so helpless
I’m fallin’ down, but I’ll rise above this, rise above this
Forty eight ways to say that I’m feelin’ helpless
Fallin’ down, fallin down’, but I’ll rise above this, rise above this doubt

Watch your words; they become your thoughts.
Watch your thoughts; they become your actions.
Watch your actions; they become your habits.
Watch your habits; they become your character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.