Reunion Weekend

I spent this last weekend in Santa Barbara for my 10-year college reunion at Westmont College. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

My hotel room at the Montecito Inn.

The prayer chapel on Westmont's campus.

Birds of Paradise are everywhere on campus.
East Beach on Saturday morning.

Totaled

Well, Babe the Blue Ox is totaled. I am turning over the title, etc. on Tuesday night before I leave for California. I am going to miss that truck. The first I ever bought for myself and paid off early. Now I am in the process of finding a new truck. Yes, I am going to get a newer version of what I had. I am looking at 2009 and 2010 F150 SuperCrews. The fun part is that now I can get all the bells and whistles that I couldn't afford as a resident. State Farm is paying me more than I ever thought they would for my truck and I am thankful to God for that. It makes buying a new truck much easier. I actually will have something for a down payment.
I am still quite grateful to be alive. I have driven over that bridge a few times since the accident and I still shudder slightly. It is sort of weird to see a pile of glass and know that it once was my front passenger window. I am much more cautious now. I hope it will last for awhile. I was definitely getting too reckless. Well, I am off to bed. Have a great week!

P.S. Once I have my new truck I will post pictures and I will probably need help coming up with a name so stay tuned for that.

Wear your seat belt!

I am grateful to be alive today. This morning I was driving to Billings to work for the residency. I hit a patch of black ice and lost control of my truck. According to a snowplow driver who saw some of it, my truck did something like a 360 and then went off the right side of the road. It then went down on the passenger side and then set back up again. I was wearing my seat belt, and because of that, I can write this post this evening. I know God had His hand on me as well. There are so many other things that could have gone wrong or been worse. I have a few bruises and a small bump on my head, but I was able to climb out of my truck and take some pictures. So if you ever think you don't need your seat belt take a look at these pictures.

This is the driver's side. Doesn't look too bad.

Front passenger window is out.

Both passenger-side tires are totally destroyed. The inside doesn't look too bad.

As I said, I am grateful to be alive. God definitely had His hand on me. Since I am okay, I am hoping that my truck won't be totaled. I am not ready to give up on Babe the Blue Ox yet. It is the first car I have ever bought on my own, and it is completely paid off. But all of that is just stuff. And as I am reminded frequently, people are more important than stuff and if I have to get a new truck I will deal with that. So be safe out there and wear your seat belt no matter where you are going or how short your trip will be.