jcs

1. Either when I was in elementary school or early middle school, I was pushed from behind into the deep end of a pool (~10 feet IIRC) not knowing how to swim. I didn't have the chance to take a breath, so I wasn't buoyant and struggled to make any more progress than ~3 feet below the surface. I was underwater long enough to get tunnel vision and start to pass out; I was pretty upset at the kid that pushed me in and why it took him so long to help me out. Sure, not really life or death, but enough to get me exhausted and have memories of my young life flash before me.
2. While working at a grocery store, I was nearly hit by a car driven by some dick kid flooring it in the parking lot while I was bringing in shopping carts. To this day, people zooming through parking lots really aggravates me.
3. Heard and felt a ricochet from a .243 Winchester FMJ round next to my left ear when sighting in a scope as I shot a target pinned to a round hay bale ~50 yards away. The round/shrapnel was estimated to be within 2 inches of my head. I'm unsure how the ricochet traveled at almost the same angle of incidence. I just know that I felt it whiz by.
4. Fell 8-12 feet while free soloing the King and Queen Seat in Maryland and managed to turn during the fall and blindly catch my arm. I estimate that I caught myself 35-40 feet from the ground.
5. Had a gun pulled on me a couple times.

Mitosis gone wild

Worst dates? How about bizarre ones? I'll omit my actual worst dates because I suspect they'd be too intense or bring down the mood, and I'm guessing that may not be the intention of the post.

I briefly dated this one girl in Portland, Oregon. Let's call her Marie. I planned everything for the first date, drove all the way across town for the sake of meeting at a memorable place on a pleasant day - effort I put in when I think there's a chance for something with real potential.

We met up at a farmer's market, awkwardly scooted around looking at various produce and tasted spicy chocolates while talking about who knows what. Positive, light-hearted conversation. Cool, Marie passed the vibe check, so I took her to my favorite bakery in the area. Better conversation this time - enough to want a second date. We started walking maybe two blocks until she excused herself and dipped out - no hug, kiss, or handshake. Huh. Well, it was less than a 90-minute date. OK, bye bye.

A few days passed as we kept in touch over text and agreed to another date. I, again, made all the plans; I don't remember what they were exactly but do recall that it was a very thoughtful and cute idea based on some cute thing that we bonded over when we were last together. Marie said no, she'd actually prefer to go to a book signing at Powell's (which is downtown, across the city for me) in the middle of the week at, like, 5pm. Hmm, OK, I'll give it a shot. I appreciated her proposing a date idea and hadn't been to a book signing in a long time, anyway.

The day came. I scrambled after my last meeting for the day to shower and prep and whatnot, hopped in my car and enjoyed a ~45 minute drive in heavy traffic toward the heart of the city. I eventually found paid parking about 4 blocks away, tossed a few coins to my Parking Kitty, and rushed off to the bookstore.

I composed myself while looking around but saw no sign of Marie. 5 minutes until the signing, whew. I texted her to say I'd arrived. I started to meander, peeking around the stacks to see if she's browsing but stayed to the entryway. It's cold and drizzly outside, enough where people weren't loitering around, so I didn't think we'd miss each other that way. 0 minutes until the signing. 5 minutes late. I texted again. 10 minutes late. Then there she is - there's Marie! A brief "hey!" later, we scurried upstairs and, thankfully, saw that the group was seated but the crowd was still murmuring, so the event hadn't yet begun.

We grabbed our seats and enjoyed the event, after which I anticipated that we'd walk and talk around the bookstore or do... something date-y, but she said "OK I'm gonna head out." Uh. "Alright, can I walk you to your car?" She nodded, and off we went. We made it about two blocks and only chatted for maybe 2-3 minutes before reaching her car. "OK, bye!" she said as she got in her car with a timid wave.

After I got back home, I texted Marie, asking if she was OK because it felt like we only shared a few sentences before departing and I'm not used to that kind of communication, especially on dates. No response. I waited two days, still no response, so I told her that it was nice seeing her but I need better communication with people I'm dating.

Does the 21 year old need a father figure at that age? Is their biological or step-father not around? I don't see the need for the 21 year old to accept an 18 year old as a father figure since they're already an adult. Express personal boundaries but let them live their own life.

I'd consider it a significant advancement. Phones have much tighter regulations than many consumer devices and this may not necessarily align with Valve's long-term business objectives, however, so I have some skepticism but would be pleasantly surprised if they pursued such an endeavor.

Who else zoomed in on the screen to figure out what game they're playing?

Agreed. A few of my physician/nursing friends mentioned that they see these kinds of injuries on rare occasions and have always been attributed to patients in serious mental/emotional distress, so this level of desperation is unfortunately still out there.

It was the DOD long after I left, so however you want to interpret that. :)

It could be a desperate suicide attempt. The magnets get trapped in the bowels by sticking together at various points, necrotizing or rupturing the intestines or other tissues, which can cause peritonitis or ultimately sepsis, which can be fatal.

Dear DHS,

These are just cowards with guns. Do better. Become an agency with dignity, honor, and basic human decency.

With all the respect you deserve,
An ex-DOD civilian

Musk, Voldemort, and Trump, I'm sure.

"Yes I bopped you, and I'll bop you again!" -- not an actual translation