lacy's blog

I heard somewhere that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession. I wonder why that is? Is it just so mundane, sticking your gloved fingers in and out of different mouths all day? Maybe it's the slow, smooth background music. Or maybe some dentists sit and think about being a doctor that doesn't save lives, just teeth.
I wonder if it's true. If I had an iPhone like Ned I could look it up right now. I am tempted to ask the glassy eyed punk next to me to look it up on his iPhone, but I decide against it. Good call, I think. Iphones are lame. The lamest thing about them is that apparently I can't sign off “lacePhone” because I have an lg chocolate phone. By the way, calling a phone a chocolate is so stupid. Anyway. If I really wanted to know the accuracy of the statistic I could call my sister. She has a blackberry and it is so handy because she almost always answers my calls and she doesn't mind looking up asinine facts for me. She is my personal Ben Stein and we love each other. She is my favorite buddy on this planet, or any planet for that matter.
I think there are beings on other planets. There's gotta be. I wonder if those other alien beings have pets. Domesticated animals. Dogs with 9 names.

Tonight I saw a movie called The Hurt Locker. (Trust me when I say that it pains me that I cannot figure out how to underline that movie title. Grammatical errors are gross!) It is actually pretty impressive that I have blogged for this long without mentioning a film. See, I love movies. I love movies almost as much as I love books and that is ALOT.
Anyway. I had originally planned on skipping this "war film" because I do not like "war films" as a general rule. However, I was offered a chance to see it and after listening to my buddy laud its merits, I decided to check it out.
Wow. Stunning. I cannot stop thinking about it. The movie takes place in Iraq in 2004, but it really could be taking place in Afghanistan, 2009. There are E.O.D men and women who spend countless hours day in and out saving lives by dismantling bombs. This is something I do not think about on a regular basis. This is something that I have never really thought about at all. I do not think about the people who literally risk their lives every day for a rush of adrenaline and heroism. Should I be thinking about it more? The director said that in general she has received a positive response from the military and that the E.O.D. squads have a sense of pride about their lives being dramatized for civilians to see. They want us to know a little bit about what it's like and maybe even be impressed or awed. Or maybe I am projecting.
See the film. Think about a life that is so very different from your own. And maybe say a prayer or two.

Today I found myself sitting in the lobby of the Tom Waddell Free Clinic down on Lechwalesa Street near the Civic Center. Lobby spurs visions of comfy couches, a small table strewn with People magazines, and a small, but colorful fish tank. In real life, that is what most lobbies look like, so maybe I should have used the words “waiting room”, but even that gives off an inaccurate impression of my surroundings. Even a waiting room is generally more inviting than the cell I stewed in for 2 hours.
Yep, 2 hours.
I was there for an obligatory TB test, required by the Boys' Home I start volunteering at next week. I called ahead yesterday, and the nurse was so very pleasant and told me to drop in between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 for the quick procedure. I showed up with a book in hand, my I.D., a smile, and very little expectations.
First and foremost, do not expect eye contact when entering such an establishment. Scratch that, do not expect eye contact from any of the overworked nurses fluttering about; avoid it at all costs with the characters lurking in the waiting room. Characters. When your Mommy tells you to watch out for “stranger dangers”, these are the people to whom she is referring. You know how you ride MUNI to work every morning and every few days a crazy person boards and tries to get confrontational with the driver or with the passengers? Ok, maybe this occurs more often for some, depending on the time of day or your route, but you know what I mean. The tiny, dingy, stark 9 chair room was teeming with such people. All in one room and all trying to catch your eye or your ear or both, somehow being louder or more worth watching than their neighbor.

On Saturday the 12th, my dear friend Rachael married my dear friend Tim and I stood up there with them, tears in my eyes and a bouquet in hand. There was nothing special about the location, but there was something so special about all of the love emanating from every corner and every bench. The wedding was in soCal and they had guests from all over the country fly in to celebrate, including a slew of NYC buddies they have made over the past year of living there. At the reception, the dance floor was teeming with friends and family who could barely contain their smiles on their faces. I danced with buddies and strangers alike, and people joined together as if we all shared the same history that Tim and Rachael share, because that is what it felt like.
Every person I talked to said the same thing about the darling couple, and that was that it was obvious how in love they are and that they really complete each other to make the perfect couple. Rachael's smile did not falter once and Tim rarely took his eyes off of his beautiful bride. They could not stop touching and kissing and loving on each other all night. It was so sweet and heartwarming and encouraging. The deacon even said that weddings are a great reminder to long married couples, an encouraging reminder to the promises made long before.
Not only did I leave the night (let's be honest--it was morning when I left) with a redemptive feeling of hope, but I also walked away with a horde of new friends! I met so many fun, incredible people and we clearly had at least a few things in common (i.e. an adoring love for the couple). I am still on the wedding high and cannot stop smiling thinking back to all of the dancing, the joking, the antics, and the happiness I shared with my new friends.
To Rachael and Tim, I will continue to pray for you and love you and support you! Blessings.

Soul mate. Soulmate. A mate for life. I wait.
Hold my hand, and listen to me, and I will talk to you for the rest of my existence.
Your existence. When we graduate to the next plain, I will be there, as well.
Spread all five fingers of your left hand and touch the tips to the tips of the fingers on my right hand. Power. Touch. Love.
Walk with me and we will succeed. Continue.
Connect.
Find me by the light of my smile.
I wait.