Florida Weekend

Last Friday, I left cold, snowy Michigan and was on my way to catch a plane to Naples, Florida. The last place I had flown to was China, which was three years ago, so I was sure what to expect at the airport. Security was much stricter than last time. I was hoping for a weekend of warm, nice weather, but didn't get exactly what I wanted. Once I arrived off the plane at Fort Myers airport, I stepped outside to be "greeted" by 65 degree weather. To make matters worse, it was raining. Right then, I found out this would not be the weekend I was hoping for, or the weather I was expecting.

I would be staying the weekend at my grandparent’s condo with my older sister. Saturday morning, we went out for breakfast and attempted to walk down the pier at the beach. Halfway down we had to turn around because the wind was so strong. I couldn’t even see where I was going because my hair was blowing across my face. After a walk down the beach and collecting sea shells, it was time for some shopping. We went to the mall and stayed there the afternoon, followed by a nice dinner.

Every night we were there, we watched the Vancouver Olympics, beginning with the night of the opening ceremony. Sunday morning we went to a market and out to lunch. Later, we took a walk to the pool and layed out at the pool. I was hoping to go in the water, 60 degree weather outdoor temperature just didn’t sound too appealing. Later that night for dinner, we went to a pizzeria where they served just about every type of pizza ever invented. Next, we went to an ice cream place called “Sweet Treats.” You picked an ice cream and any other add-ins you wanted.

Finally it was Monday, the day I’d be coming back home. We began our day by going out to breakfast, then out for some more shopping. I got a Florida sweatshirt, and then went to a nice jewelry store. We went home and packed up our suitcase, and it barely fit the weight limit. My grandparents dropped us off at the airport three hours early, and we waited and waited until they finally began to board our plane. Although I didn’t get to go in the water at the beach or in the pool, I had a good time. I was on my way home after a disappointing but enjoyable weekend in Florida.

A Near Death Experience...

Snowboarding. Who knew that this one sport could cause so much pain to the body.

Today was the day I had been waiting for four weeks, the day I'd finally try to begin to learn a sport I had always wanted to, snowboarding. First, I put on all of my "gear." As I made my way out to the bunny hill to begin my rough day, I looked up at the hill in shock. Little did I know, this was the hill that would take me to the emergency room days later? This was the hill that if it wasn't for that one $8 choice of renting a helmet, could have killed me...

So here I went, my first attempt up the bunny hill. I placed one foot on the snowboard, my left front foot, and strapped the binding. I placed my right foot on top of the board, and let the toe ropes slide through my freezing hands. As I slowly grasped the rope, I made it roughly five feet, then I fell. Being the kind of person that doesn't give up, I kept a positive attitude and decided to try again. Attempt two, I finally made it half way up the tow rope and got off like my instructor told me to. As I slid to the center of the bunny hill, I was about to take my first run down the bunny hill. After numerous tries, I got up and was just about to make my way down. If you think getting up with your snowboarding boots snapped into the binding of your board, try again. It's like getting up off the ground without using your feet, just your upper body.

"Im doing it!" was my first thought. But ten seconds later, I took my first fall. As my body hit the ground, my head hit first. Anyone watching could hear it a couple feet away. My head slammed into the ice, followed by my body. I layed there on the hill not wanting to get up, fearing what would happen when I did. I "shook" it off and went for another try. Over and over, my body would slam against the hill as I lost my balance and every part of my body started to hurt. I could feel my whole legs bruising, my head aching, and to make matters worse, I couldn't move my kneck. I fell face first hitting my head, back first hitting my head, and side to side hitting every part of my head possible. Barely being able to walk, my dad decided I needed to leave.

The next couple days were followed by headaches and constant pain in my head and whole body, and my parents decided a doctor’s visit was necessary immediately. I heard my mom talking to my dad about certain skiing and snowboarding incidents regarding closed head injuries with brain bleeding that resulted in death. The doctor rushed in an appointment and requested I come in immediately. I arrived barely being able to keep my eyes open, and focus on anything. The doctor said I would be rushed next door to the emergency room. Tears began to run down my face in fear of what could happen. I hadn’t had the best experiences with emergency rooms in the past two years, taking in account that I’d paid the nurses there “quite a few visits.”

I arrived and was placed into a wheel chair. I was rushed to a room and layed there on the stretcher bed as they began to hand me the strongest type of Tylenol they had. After laying there for close to two hours, I had to have a CAT scan. My body was layed on a small “stretcher” and went into a machine that took pictures of my head. Doctors came to the conclusion that I had feared since the beginning. I had suffered a concussion, a closed head injury. The headaches could last for weeks, and the doctors spoke the words I was hoping not to hear: “Looks like the season is done for you, kid.” They began to explain what could have happened to me if I didn’t have the helmet on. All of this was from serious falls on a bunny hill with a helmet; they explained after the first fall, I would have been out and completely unconscious, and if I would have continued and been lucky enough to not have been unconscious, I could have died. Who knew snowboarding was this dangerous? Out of this experience, all I have to be lucky for is that I was wearing a helmet.

China's Food Safety

China needs to pay closer attention to it's countries food safety and inspection because "tainted milk" should not be an issue.

Recently, China had another scare with tainted milk products currently on the market. As you may remember, in 2008 there was an issue with the tainted milk, or a trace of something harmful in the products. More than 300,000 fell sick and six children died. So as you may think, when traces of tainted milk were recently found on the market, people must of started to worry, along with China's food safety department and dairy product companies.

For those of you who don't agree with my take on this, if China promised "changes for the country's food safety" after the 2008 scandal, why is this happening again? After the first issue, they promised us that this wouldn't happen again. Think, if you were a consumer of the milk, wouldn't you be afraid now? China needs to take action immediately and "crack down" on the health codes to prevent this. In my opinion, I find this unacceptable. People should not have to be concerned when they want a nice, cold glass of milk.