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January 30, 2013

Farewell friend: Sarai Slaughter

Sarai at prom

 
Yesterday evening one of my best friends, Amy, contacted me via Facebook chat to inform me that she found out via Facebook a high school friend of ours had passed away. At first I was thinking, "what?" I just stared at the screen because it wouldn't sink in.. 



Freshman year


Sarai was an amazing person and an awesome friend. My memories of her range from her unique fashions to fascinating conversations. I'll never forget for our senior high school trip (during Spring Break if I recall) a group of us (10 I think) decided we wanted to go to Disney World. By the time it came to purchase tickets for airfare and make reservations for the hotel, it was just down to Amy, Sarai, and myself.





We were so excited and I finally was going to live out a life long dream to meet Mickey Mouse. After settling into our hotel once we arrived we did some sight seeing, but we waited until the next morning to go to Disney World. I'll never forget we had Breakfast with the Stars and you were able to take pictures with them. We took in so many rides, took so many pictures, just had so much fun overall. It is still one of the highlights of my life.

Amy & Sarai meeting a Stormtrooper


I still can't believe that after such a great time in our lives, finishing high school, and getting ready for college, that a car accident caused by a careless individual would change her life forever. I'll never forget when my mom woke me up and told me she had just talked with someone (Amy's mom I think) and they informed her that Sarai had been in a severe car accident and she was at Barnes Hospital. I remember shooting out of my bed still in my pajamas and putting on my shoes and looking for my car keys. My mom had to calm me down and tell me to take a shower and get dressed and she would drive me down there. I was so nervous I couldn't believe this had happened.





All I can remember from when we arrived at the hospital was my stomach being in knots. I was walking/running to get to where we were suppose to be, my mom's voice behind me telling me to slow down. I honestly don't remember who else was in the waiting area near Sarai's room except seeing her mom. I remember giving her a hug and she is preparing me for what I'm going to see when I go into Sarai's room. I tell ya till this day....I still get goosebumps recalling that memory. I remember her telling me to be strong and try not to cry. Hell I had already been crying up until that moment. I honestly thought when I saw Sarai in her hospital room that I was going to faint. I saw all the wires, machine hook ups and I'll never forget the stent that had been put into her head to help with the swelling to her brain. I remember going over to her and saying her name and telling her I was there. I was touching one of her hand's and her hair.


Gen and Sarai at Prom, I always did love Sarai's unique facial expressions


I honestly didn't know if she was going to survive. When I heard the details of the accident and what happened later on, I just kept thinking, Why? and why her.... As time went by more information kept coming through and Sarai did come out of her coma. Yet the price she paid for it was far too high. Gone was the friend who used to scare the mess out of me when I was at my locker by sometimes running at high speed then stopping right when she got close by. She was now confined to a motorized wheelchair, with severely limited physical mobility and could no longer talk. I remember visiting her when she had been transferred from the hospital to a healthcare facility (Bethesda, I think). It took everything in me not to cry when I would visit. I honestly didn't know if she remembered me.


Gen and Sarai at prom


I can't say enough about Sarai's mom. That woman is a warrior and God only knows she has been through the fire and back with all this on her shoulders.  Not once do I recall her being angry. Her only focus was Sarai and making sure that she was able to take care of her.

Throughout the years our lives have gone on. Sarai and her mom moved to Colorado. I had lost touch with them unfortunately but when I found out they were on Facebook I immediately sent out a friend request to Ms. Slaughter. I was so happy to see recent pictures of Sarai that I didn't even realize I was crying at first. 


Retreat time


From time to time I still think about that day and even now almost 16 years later I can still find information regarding the accident here and here. The man that did this to her is Richard Weith. From what I heard a phone call he was on distracted him from paying attention to the road and unfortunately Sarai paid for his carelessness. I remember someone telling me that he was a part-time firefighter and I thought how ironic. Here is someone who is suppose to be about public safety yet you can't practice what you supposedly preach. For a while I was obsessed with what this guy looked like, I prayed that some type of bodily harm would befall him. Hell I was praying I could be the one to do it to him. I don't know if he ever received jail time or was even sued by Sarai's family. Over the years I wonder if he ever felt guilty or had any remorse for the lives he changed. Not only of Sarai's but her mom, her family, and her friends.

Rosati-Kain Prom 1997


When I found out that she had passed, I went home yesterday evening and cried in my bedroom. I miss her but part of me is thinking her suffering is gone and now she is in a better place. But even in the end I still think damn such a life with so much promise and it's just not fair.

I miss you Sarai. I know you are in heaven stirring up all kinds of ruckus with your red  horns, wings, and pitchfork.


One of my favorite pics of Sarai ;)







 
 Side note: I'll upload some pictures to this post hopefully today and later on this week.

Side side note: pics are uploaded. 
 

Until the next episode....


 All That MsJazz

January 29, 2013

Get me off this Merry Go Round


What can I say. I have issues. My mind is a constant merry go round. I'm 33 years old and I still live at home. I don't have any view of where my life is going. My sister has gotten further in her life than I have. sometimes I honestly don't think I have a purpose. I feel like I should plan more of a bucket list than anything else. The only thing I have on it, is to just clean up my credit and that be the end of it. My attention span is short. I can't seem to stay focused on things. I guess I am a victim of instant gratification instead slow and steady wins the race.

January 27, 2013

STL Lose to Win Spring 2013 Challenge: Week 1




Well this past Thursday I had my first official weigh in for the STL Lose to Win Spring 2013 Challenge. I was quite nervous because I unfortunately have not been to the gym on a regular basis since the week of December 6th 2012. I had hurt my left hand and needed some time to let it heal. I also had not been able to partake in my regular weekly walks because of the change in weather. So I became lazy in my routine and then unfortunately old bad habits started to resurface in my eating and had become full blown by the end of December and carrried through into the New Year even with my resolutions to myself.




So when I went to my Curves location to weigh-in it was more with a sense of dread  than with  excitement. I felt like I was walking to the gallows when I approached the scale.  When the employee instructed me to get on the scale I even closed my eyes and turned my head away from the numbers so I would not have to see them.

So I waited for the verdict and in the end I have gone back up 8.6 pounds.  Now I have mixed reviews on this. At first I was like "huh?" I thought I had gained back more than that especially with my eating. So I was happy that I hadn't ballooned all the way back up. Yet I was like damn, that is nearly a 10 pound gain in almost two months. So I went home Thursday evening and just thought, OK, so I got that part out of the way. Now I need to get back to my workout habits mentally and physically. 

Well yesterday I went to an Inaugural meeting that my friend Trenton had set up in regards to helping people with losing weight. Originally there were suppose to be about (I think) 5 people in this study, but in the end besides Trenton's wife, only myself and another friend of his showed up. Now earlier Saturday morning I had watched a series of videos that Trenton had instructed us to watch before the meeting. 





 So during the meeting he was bringing up some of the same points from the videos. I could definitely relate with them and my struggle with losing weight. So our meeting went from 1pm to around 3:15pm. I can't wait for our next meeting but I do plan on watching the videos again. They are definitely an eye opener.


Update with my other contest:  

 


This contest hasn't gone off to a good start because its been so bloody cold outside I haven't been able to get back into my walks yet. Not sure if there are any indoor track facilities in Saint Louis. Wish I could find one.



Have I had these thoughts before? Sure, every now and then but then I'm like, I don't want to be skinny, I just want to be healthy, just brickhouse & toned healthy. Not to mention if others can put in the work to get their results, then I have to do the same.


Until the next episode....


 All That MsJazz

January 22, 2013

Side Rant: I can't stand incompetent FOLKS



As of right now it's 4:15pm as I start this post. I have sick student in my office and a requested a cab for my student back at 3:10pm. I first called the cab company which is protocol but they informed me that by 2:30pm any calls made AFTER that time for a cab have to be requested through VICC (Voluntary Inter-district Choice Corporation)

So I called VICC and they inform me that I had to call the cab company to make the arrangements. I inform her SWIFTLY that I already had done that and that they informed me that I had to call THEM and that THEY had to make the arrangements. So the VICC representative makes the arrangements, takes down the information she needs on the student and myself and lets me know that a cab will be there, but is not sure of what time since it is after school hours. I told her that was fine and proceed to wait........and wait.....until I decide to call by 4pm to see what the status was especially with us having received about 2 inches of snow today.

I call the cab company and they inform me that the cab driver had already been by the school and left about 10 minutes ago, that would be around 3:50pm - 3:55pm-ISH. I was like WTF!!!! I asked why he didn't come by our main door because I have a camera that allows me to see who buzzes the doorbell before they are allowed entrance. I told the lady furthermore he did not attempt to call my office because IF HE HAD, I would have clearly had told him that he was not where he was suppose to be.

Needless to see I was heated and the heffer on the phone wasn't making the situation any better. So to further piss me off she states that I have to call BACK to VICC  and that THEY need to RESEND out the request because the other request had been canceled out and considered a No-show. So I can feel my temperature starting to rise through my neck and up to my head...... So the lady keeps repeating "MA'AM I already said blah blah blah" and starts raising her voice, so I raised mine because by the time she got to the blah blah blah (oh by the way she didn't say blah blah blah, I was just done listening to her by that time) part I just tuned out. So asked, "So there is nothing you can do?", She responds "No, you need to call..." So at that point I just clicked on her and called back to VICC and informed me of the damn problem ALL OVER AGAIN. 

I told the VICC lady I didn't receive a phone call from the cab driver and told her I had also given my phone number for my job the first time I called so I don't understand why he didn't call. So she puts in another request and as of this post at 4:35pm I am waiting on cab number 2. Update, cab driver number 2 showed up at 4:45pm, so now I can shut down and get home and try to avoid the nutcases on the street who can't drive with all this freakin snow.

 

Until the next episode....


 All That MsJazz
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