Dependent

I had a rude awakening this week. I found out that I am dependent on a dumb little piece of plastic. My cell phone stopped working yesterday after I got done with my first job. It stayed on to let me know that I had four messages, but it wouldn't function at all, so I had no idea what they were. Anyway, I was thoroughly disappointed in myself. I found stuff to do, but the whole day, I had that impatient feeling in my gut like I wanted to hurry somewhere or get something done, but I couldn't do anything about it. Needless to say, my second job made almost no progress for the day.
I went and got it taken care of that night. The old phone was hopeless so I got a new one. Now I can function again. I just lost some self-respect given the fact that it affected me that much. I would love to always be a person that is patient and can deal with the flow. I usually am, maybe that's why it upset me so much. I really like a quote from Elder Maxwell when he teaches that patience is trusting in the Lord's timing, and pride is essentially the opposite. Oops. Note to Shawn: chillax.

Running Dead

So I had an interesting experience the other day. I went running... but that's not the interesting part. On my run, I ran on a sidewalk that had powerlines above it. That's also not the interesting part. Both times I ran that stretch of road, the birds on the power line were making fun of me (this is the interesting part). Really, they were laughing at me. It wasn't audible, they were mocking me. I wasn't sure the first time I ran that stretch, but there was no mistaking it on the way back. They would be perched on the power line, and then as I ran by, they would, one at a time (not joking), swoop down at me, swoop back up, and then repeat. The reason I became sure on the way back was because they were getting so close that I thought they were going to get me. Not only were they swooping me, but they were following me. There were only two or three of them, and they would swoop progressively the whole way down the power line. I must've looked like a fool on the side of the road because when I realized what was going on, I would sideways, while running, to meet them and throw my hands in the air trying to scare them off. If you're wondering why I know they were making fun of me, here's my theory: They weren't vultures, but they were swooping over me like they were, as if to say, "you look like a dead person." I don't claim to be a good-looking runner, but I don't think I look dead when I run. Sheesh. I'm trying to not be offended, but when someone or something, like a baby or an animal, which shouldn't be able to make fun of you, does, it hurts a little more. I'm trying to convince myself that I was running so fast that they were simply seeing if they could keep up.