Curve balls of life

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]It's been awhile since I saw a thread dealing with tragedies or what the effs that happen to you at times in life, so I thought I'd start a thread about them.

The biggest event that happened in my life recently was the destruction of my family's home on December 06 of last year. My parents and I went to eat lunch on that sunny Sunday (apt weather for that day) around noon. We came back at 1:05. We exited our vehicle. My father opened the door into the house from the garage and a black plume of smoke came out.

Two hours later, our entire home was destroyed. I had lived there for my entire over two decade life. I watched it go in well less than that. The fire took almost all of our possessions either by combustion, smoke damage, or water damage. The entire event is incredibly difficult to convey in words. The street was shut down by police officers, there were fire trucks lining it, dozens of firefighters, dozens of neighbors.

Like I said, it's hard to convey in words the smells, the feelings, the thoughts of it so I'll leave it to the picture and your imaginations. Myself, my old car, my friend Larry (who helped us in the aftermath to try to find anything salvageable), and many parts of my old house are in these pictures.

After spending two weeks living in a La Quinta Inn, my family moved into a for lease home and we've been there ever since. Our house is rebuilt and we'll be fully moved in by this weekend, hopefully.

So, yeah. What curve balls have you dealt with recently?[/color] Edited June 2, 2010 by DeathKnight

[chibi-master]

I don't think it's very fair to ask what curve balls we've been thrown after you had your entire house burned down.

But yeah, I'm going to have to give up my beloved dog. He's like a son to me, but due to many factors and circumstances, we have to find him a new home. That's about all I can explain without getting so upset that I spend hours in my closet sobbing.

[DeathKnight]

[quote name='chibi-master' date='02 June 2010 - 05:15 PM' timestamp='1275516921' post='694307']
I don't think it's very fair to ask what curve balls we've been thrown after you had your entire house burned down.

But yeah, I'm going to have to give up my beloved dog. He's like a son to me, but due to many factors and circumstances, we have to find him a new home. That's about all I can explain without getting so upset that I spend hours in my closet sobbing.
[/quote]

[COLOR=CRIMSON]That sucks. One of my dogs died recently. Susie, my border collie, passed. She was like 14 or so, haha. She was a good dog. It's hard to watch someone who you consider part of your family to go.

Butttt, in other goods news, we got a new dog - Fenix the Corgi![/color]

[chibi-master]

[quote name='DeathKnight' date='02 June 2010 - 06:23 PM' timestamp='1275517438' post='694311']
[COLOR=CRIMSON]Butttt, in other goods news, we got a new dog - Fenix the Corgi![/color]
[/quote]

Dude, you're not helping. My dog is a Pemproke Welsh Corgi that has the same coloring as yours. I think I'll go take some ibuprofen now...

[DeathKnight]

[quote name='chibi-master' date='02 June 2010 - 05:32 PM' timestamp='1275517945' post='694312']
Dude, you're not helping. My dog is a Pemproke Welsh Corgi that has the same coloring as yours. I think I'll go take some ibuprofen now...
[/quote]

[color=crimson]Oh, my bad - haha. Small world. I love corgis (have a corgi calendar and everything) and I made my parents hunt out one in our area to buy. Sorry to worsen your sorrow. [/color]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[font="Comic Sans MS"]I'm trying to construct a desktop computer for a senior project. My deadline is Friday. Today, I was told by the store that my order was late and they expected it Monday. After that little piece of panic, I got a call about an hour later saying that the store had some spare parts they could loan to me for my project. I got home and assembled them all as per the instructions.

Now it won't turn on.

Did I mention my ability to graduate hinges on this? Because FML.[/font] Edited June 3, 2010 by Aberinkula & Fitch

[eleanor]

Not really an event but since the beginning of this year I've just been aimlessly living. College and all its activities were just part of the "daily crunch." Getting goods grades no longer made me happy, it was just something I made myself think of as mandatory and nothing to congratulate. I still have no idea what I am going to do after college, despite knowing I hate actually being in school and therefore would probably hate graduate school. It also doesn't help that I hate my undegrad school and most of the people who go there. However I'm set to study abroad in Scotland this semester, but there's a good chance it won't work out depending on my financial aid package. :|

tl;dr college years =/= best years of life, and I hate going to school with a bunch of ridiculously rich kids Edited June 3, 2010 by eleanor

[The Spectacular Professor]

[font="Comic Sans MS"]UPDATE: Turns out the power supply that the store lent me was scrapped. I borrowed the power supply from my parents' dinosaur to finish the computer and now it's running like a dream. I'm just waiting for the OS to finish installing now.

IMMD.[/font]

[Pumpkin]

[size="1"][color="#000080"]On the positive side, you were not in the house and nobody got killed. Also no animals died right? I'm glad to see you weren't inside that house, it must have been very scary to watch that. On further note, I guess I've had a really heartbreakin year. My bf and I of five years broke up and no longer speak to eachother. My whole life has turned completely upside down. Ummm....I lost alot of friends that I thought really loved and cared about me and lost even a sister. But I gained new ones. I changed. Not sure how I'm rockin this new me but we'll see.

Oh yeah, and my cat did die last month. He had a heart murmur and was taking medication for it for years, but one day we woke up to him screaming. He was having a heart attack and we rushed him to the pet hospital and he had to be put down. He was the baby kitty in the family (we have like seven cats i know) and he was only five years old. He always sleeps wit my kitty (the big fat one) every second of the day. They are like best friends so when he left, my cat wigged and actually cried tears.

He's doing better now, but I always wonder what he thinks we did with him prob thinks we did something awful lol....below I have one picture of him. He's the one in the orange, his name was Rufus. And Harley is the cat thats still alive next to him They were best friends.

[b]R I P Rufus 04/2010 [/b]

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/PurpleFire/tiny.jpg[/IMG][/color][/size] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/PurpleFire/hrI.jpg[/IMG] Edited June 3, 2010 by Pumpkin

[pooperson]

[color="#4169E1"][size="1"]I just very much dislike my life sometimes.

[spoilerblock]I was molested, & that sucked.[/spoilerblock][/size][/color]

[Korey]

[color="#000080"][size="2"][font="Garamond"]Probably the biggest curve ball in my life this year has been our move to Germany in February of this year. I pretty much grew up in Texas (I've been there since I was four). El Paso was my home and I loved everything about it. The people, the culture, the mountains, the desert air, everything. Then in January, after I've completed two and half years at my university, my dad tells me that we're moving to Germany in less than three weeks. I was devastated. I had to move away from all my friends, my school, my job working at the newspaper (that I loved), and I'd have to move further away from my girlfriend. My life pretty much went into a nosedive.

Living here in Germany for the past few months is not what they advertise it to be. When we arrived at Frankfurt, we were stuck in the Airport for 5 hours since the buses were late. I hadn't slept in over 24 hours and I wanted to hit the sack so much that I would have fell asleep on the ground if they let you. The first night we were there, I was wide awake at 11 PM and didn't get back to sleep until mid-afternoon...when my dad calls and says he's found us a temporary apartment for us to live in until we can find a house, because unfortunately for us, all the military housing is full. So, as we lived there for a month while my parents struggled to find a house and all of our possessions basically still on a boat, we entertained ourselves as best we could. Fortunately, we had internet and a Wii.

When we finally found a house, I was so skeptical of it. I couldn't be excited about somewhere that wasn't my home. This place isn't my home, it's just where I live at the moment. For those who know me, I'm not a big supporter of change in my life. I'm really stubborn about accepting change because it causes turmoil that I neither want nor need in my life. Needless to say it caused a lot of friction in my family, especially with my mom. To her, everyone is dealing with problems and mine are no exception to the rule. But to me, in my somewhat selfish mind, I thought "You have a job, and you're able to meet people and get out of the house on a daily basis. I'm cooped up at home all day doing nothing. How do you expect me to be accepting of change when I don't get to experience new things?"

We've had the chance to experience some of the German culture and see the sights (castles, ruins, big German cities) , but Germany isn't what I'm used to at all. I was raised in an environment where we got 335 days of sun on average. Now it is either mostly cloudy or raining 80% of the time. I can't really go out of my home during the day since I don't speak the language well enough to help myself if I was in trouble and my only mode of transportation is my parents. I feel like, even though I'm 21, I'm living like a high schooler who doesn't have a driver's license. So yeah...that's my life right now.[/font][/size][/color]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Korey:

Wow, man, I didn't know that you moved. Or that you moved far away. Way far away. That sucks.

Thankfully, I imagine that learning German might be easier than you think with a background in English. You planning to go to a university there?

Change of that level would be difficult for anyone to deal with, yeah? El Paso to Germany is like Earth to Mars, haha.[/color]

[eleanor]

@taperson

Don't really know what to say to you, other than I hope you're OK now. That's such an awful event. Don't be afraid to go to counseling if you want to. Best of luck.


@Korey

I don't want to make you feel worse about the situation, but that sucks. It seems like you're handling it OK, though. If I were you I'd probably still be acting 12-years-old and giving bitchy comments to my parents every other hour. Also because I hate learning foreign languages with a FIRE, having gone through two of them and sucking at it immensely. But since you're living there I'm sure it will come quickly.

Are you going to uni in Germany? You've probably already thought of this but have you looked into going to a UK school where English would be the primary language?

[Korey]

[quote= DeathKnight]Wow, man, I didn't know that you moved. Or that you moved far away. Way far away. That sucks.

Thankfully, I imagine that learning German might be easier than you think with a background in English. You planning to go to a university there?

Change of that level would be difficult for anyone to deal with, yeah? El Paso to Germany is like Earth to Mars, haha.[/quote]

[color="#000080"][size="2"][font="Garamond"]Yeah, I guess you weren't around when I made the annoucement, lol. As far as the Language goes, there are a lot of cognates with English and German, so I'm able to understand what my landlords and some people are saying. Fortunately, I took a basics class so I can order in restaurants and such. All the places we've went people can spot that we're Americans (somehow) and they all speak English to us. So it's nice that they appreciate us trying and help us out.

Yeah no kidding, lol. El Paso and Germany are like apples and oranges. At first I felt like an Alien when I was here.[/font][/size][/color]

[quote=Eleanor]I don't want to make you feel worse about the situation, but that sucks. It seems like you're handling it OK, though. If I were you I'd probably still be acting 12-years-old and giving bitchy comments to my parents every other hour. Also because I hate learning foreign languages with a FIRE, having gone through two of them and sucking at it immensely. But since you're living there I'm sure it will come quickly.

Are you going to uni in Germany? You've probably already thought of this but have you looked into going to a UK school where English would be the primary language?[/quote]

[color="#000080"][size="2"][font="Garamond"]Actually the Military does offer some schools that are American based (University of Maryland, University of Phoenix [wtf, these things are everywhere], and Central Texas College) , but they don't offer a bachelor's degree in Journalism. So right now I'm at an impass on whether to change my degree program or just go somewhere else for school.[/font][/size][/color] Edited June 4, 2010 by Korey

[eleanor]

[quote name='Korey' date='04 June 2010 - 11:43 AM' timestamp='1275666237' post='694554']

[color="#000080"][size="2"][font="Garamond"]Actually the Military does offer some schools that are American based (University of Maryland, University of Phoenix [wtf, these things are everywhere], and Central Texas College) , but they don't offer a bachelor's degree in Journalism. So right now I'm at an impass on whether to change my degree program or just go somewhere else for school.[/font][/size][/color]
[/quote]

[font=trebuchet ms] University of Maryland? They offer journalism as a major, they have a college of journalism and everything. Is it that the military only offers their college of arts/sciences?

If you're really set on journalism, it's heard from a lot of people it's fine to major in other subjects. Actually at my school newspaper none of the editorial staff were journalism majors, we're all pretty much English/history/political science or business[/font]

[Korey]

[quote name='eleanor' date='05 June 2010 - 07:58 PM' timestamp='1275760686' post='694664']
[font=trebuchet ms] University of Maryland? They offer journalism as a major, they have a college of journalism and everything. Is it that the military only offers their college of arts/sciences?

If you're really set on journalism, it's heard from a lot of people it's fine to major in other subjects. Actually at my school newspaper none of the editorial staff were journalism majors, we're all pretty much English/history/political science or business[/font]
[/quote]

[color="#000080"][size="2"][font="Garamond"]To clarify, the college is officially called "University of Maryland University College". With the degree programs they offer, there isn't any that are in Journalism specifically. They obviously can't import their whole degree programs over here, given the isolated nature of the bases. So they offer basic, cookie-cutter degrees like Criminal Justice, Buisness, Foreign Language, Communications and so on.

The thing is though, none of the subjects they offer really interest me, and I feel like it'd be a moral defeat if I switched my degree program and the universities over here may not necessarily honor my journalism classes as credits towards a degree program over here. Most of them require that you have to take at least 60% of your schooling through their specific degree program to even recieve your degree. [/font][/size][/color]

[Ninja Spoon]

@DeathKnight - Christ man thats rough. I had to help my friend Amys parents salvage their posessions a few years back because of a house fire. Its not a nice thing to go though. Glad things got a bit better though.


As for me, well it was at the start of the year i think. i got kicked out of my flat because i accidentally spilled some beer and it leaked through the floor boards. My landlord lived in the flat below and he was one of those smug egocentric artist types who think they are good at art and have high standards, but are just as common as the rest of us. Anyway the beer dripped on his newest painting and wrecked it a bit so he flies into a rage and kicks me out. (This is the kind of person he is, he used to complain about noise levels and leave notices on my door WHEN I WAS ON HOLIDAY!)

I stayed with axel for a bit then with my friend guy, then adam until I managed to get myself a new flat which was (Youll love this) owned by my previous landlords son!

[chibi-master]

[quote name='Ninja Spoon' date='06 June 2010 - 07:30 AM' timestamp='1275823802' post='694729']As for me, well it was at the start of the year i think. i got kicked out of my flat because i accidentally spilled some beer and it leaked through the floor boards. My landlord lived in the flat below and he was one of those smug egocentric artist types who think they are good at art and have high standards, but are just as common as the rest of us. Anyway the beer dripped on his newest painting and wrecked it a bit so he flies into a rage and kicks me out. (This is the kind of person he is, he used to complain about noise levels and leave notices on my door WHEN I WAS ON HOLIDAY!)

I stayed with axel for a bit then with my friend guy, then adam until I managed to get myself a new flat which was (Youll love this) owned by my previous landlords son!
[/quote]

OUCH.

Hmmm... I think I like this thread. There's nothing like hearing about others' woes in order to downplay your own. I feel so lucky every time I read through this thread...

[Skye]

I don't feel like mine lives up to this. =/

On our 10 month anniversary [I know; nothing compared to years], my [now ex] boyfriend decided to tell me that he thinks it's time we break up because he's not ready for a relationship. On top of this, he's also broken by it - or he was - and I had to spend one more night with him before he went home. Which makes me unsure as to whether or not I feel better about it, because it meant I could spend time with him. We both cried and I'm still confused because since then he hasn't talked to me except maybe... once? See, I'd think the him crying was to make me feel better but he sucks at lying and he doesn't cry unless something REALLY bothers him. I mean like someone dying kind of thing. =/

On top of that, I can't find a job and my family may end up having to sell our house because my parents keep almost losing THEIR jobs. I lost HOPE for next year and I'm honestly no longer motivated to try getting it back.

=/ So I'm kind of in hiatus right now. It sucks. Badly.

[pooperson]

[color="#4169E1"][font="Book Antiqua"]I just posted about this in the padded room party.[/font][/color]

[quote name='I']
[color="#4169E1"][font="Book Antiqua"]
My left thigh is numb & has been for 7 months. It also feels sporadic & horrible pain at random times. I went to a neurologist on Friday & came to find that there isn't anything they can do about it. It might go away on its own. I have a 25% chance of full recovery.

[/font][/color]
[/quote]

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="#4169E1"]In addition, every cobweb from my past is making an appearance in my life right now.
Summer classes are hurting me.
I am jobless, still.
My depression is back in full, full swing.
I miss boyfriend so much, & the distance is killing me, & as a result, I've been completely unpleasant.
& I am horribly lonely.

Life, as a general state of being, is horrible right now.[/color][/font] Edited June 6, 2010 by DisrespectWomenEarnALiving

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='chibi-master' date='06 June 2010 - 11:51 AM' timestamp='1275850318' post='694748']
OUCH.

Hmmm... I think I like this thread. There's nothing like hearing about others' woes in order to downplay your own. I feel so lucky every time I read through this thread...
[/quote]

[font="Comic Sans MS"]There's a word for that.

[center][youtube]YtYzsRMaQpo[/youtube][/center][/font]

[Selene Shri]

[font="Tahoma"]Well we didn't lose our home to a fire or anything like that. But we [i]are[/i] losing it cause my dad's job changed to a new location four hours south of where I used to live. So now I'm staying with my older brother and sister in law while the new house has some construction work done and our old one has everything boxed up since it's up for sale now.

I like getting to visit my brother and Indi but I hate that I won't get to go back home again. I'll get to see my friends again but by the end of the summer I'll be living in a whole new state. Oh and because of all the stuff going on our pets are with my grandparents. I miss my cats and dog.
[/font]

[chibi-master]

[quote name='gallowsCalibrator' date='06 June 2010 - 07:00 PM' timestamp='1275865233' post='694756']
[font="Comic Sans MS"]There's a word for that.

[center][youtube]YtYzsRMaQpo[/youtube][/center][/font]
[/quote]

I think you just might be my new favorite member on this site. (Sorry, CaNz.) Edited June 7, 2010 by chibi-master

[DrixDZanth]

I'm a medical student, so many of my curve balls involve the lives of others. A few notable kicks in the gut:
-I wasn't able to tie off an artery that was bleeding in a woman who needed an emergency c-section. Normally the resident or physician would do it, but her abruption was traumatic, so they were trying to control different bleeding. I think they (and I) underestimated how shredded the artery was. Her baby survived the procedure, but he and his two older sisters will now have to grow up without a mom. I can't help but feel that if I was just a little bit better i could have saved that woman.

-I had to tell a lady who had two successful bouts of chemotherapy/radiation and a perfect tumor-removal that the cancer has metastasized. What was supposed to be a well checkup turned into delivering the news that she had months left.

-Yesterday I was in on an operation of a thirteen year old girl in a boating accident. She and her sister were on jet skis when they collided with a speedboat piloted by their friends (all under the age of 16). The speedboat's propeller chopped her up so badly that we couldn't spare either of her legs. What's worse is that when she wakes up, she'll have to learn that her younger sister died in the accident.

Days like this make me appreciate every damn second I have.

[Skye]

[quote name='DrixDZanth' date='10 June 2010 - 01:38 AM' timestamp='1276144730' post='694988']
I'm a medical student, so many of my curve balls involve the lives of others. A few notable kicks in the gut:
-I wasn't able to tie off an artery that was bleeding in a woman who needed an emergency c-section. Normally the resident or physician would do it, but her abruption was traumatic, so they were trying to control different bleeding. I think they (and I) underestimated how shredded the artery was. Her baby survived the procedure, but he and his two older sisters will now have to grow up without a mom. I can't help but feel that if I was just a little bit better i could have saved that woman.

-I had to tell a lady who had two successful bouts of chemotherapy/radiation and a perfect tumor-removal that the cancer has metastasized. What was supposed to be a well checkup turned into delivering the news that she had months left.

-Yesterday I was in on an operation of a thirteen year old girl in a boating accident. She and her sister were on jet skis when they collided with a speedboat piloted by their friends (all under the age of 16). The speedboat's propeller chopped her up so badly that we couldn't spare either of her legs. What's worse is that when she wakes up, she'll have to learn that her younger sister died in the accident.

Days like this make me appreciate every damn second I have.
[/quote]

Dear gods. O_O Yep, officially thankful for my life right now. I am so sorry, Drix.