Hand Gash in Dallas

Last week, I was traveling for work… First stop on Monday was Bentonville Arkansas for 2 days, followed by Dallas, Texas for 2 days… Needless to say, it was a long, taxing week.

On Wednesday evening, we took out some clients to dinner (with an Evander Holyfield siting - and yes his ear is pretty messed up)… After dinner, I went back to the hotel and got ready for bed. Before getting into bed, I thought, “you know what, I should really hang up my shirt for tomorrow…" So I went to the glass closet door, put my hand on the nob to open it and pulled. In an instant, the entire mirror panel shattered in about 50 pieces. I was obviously scared out of my mind and jumped back (and dropped my shirt). The next thing I know, I look down at my hand, which is pretty much covered in blood… and not stopping. So I grab a towel, rap it firmly across my hand. I then call downstairs… security comes up about 10 minutes later. Within this time, I check out the rest of my body… I have some cuts on my feet and arm, but for the most part – the one large gash on my hand is the only major injury…

I won’t go into all the details that follow, but let’s just say that I (with the help of Hotel security) decided that going to the emergency room at 11:30 PM with a cut on my hand will probably be the last priority there…So I went to sleep with a bandaged hand… I woke up and it was still bleeding. So I got dressed, packed my things and drove to the hospital (primarily via confincing of a co-worker). This meant I was going to certainly be late to my meeting… The whole process took a little over an hour – which wasn’t too bad. They cleaned the cut and then “Stitch glued” it (new form of stitches). They also gave me a Tetanus Shot, which has provided me with a lovely dead-arm all week…

Anyway, fast forward, I race to my meeting and was only about 30 minutes late… I couldn’t shake anyone’s hand (which has been somewhat awkward all week), but everything went fine…

I tell this story for 2 reasons:

1. If I run into you – and give you a weird left-handed fist pound as a greeting, please understand
2. Atleast every other person I tell this story, their FIRST reaction is: "Are you gonna sue them. You should." And my answer is always "No, it's not my style."

Do I wish that the hotel was a little kinder to me, asked to move me to another room, and comped me the room? Sure -- but they didn't. When I called two days later to complain, they offered to pay any medical bills associated to it...
So, why am I anti-suing in this instance? Because first of all -- it could have been MUCH worse and I'm grateful that it wasn't... Secondly, too many people who get injured abuse the right to be financially compensated for thier injuries. And lastly, God forbid something worse happens to me in the future - I definitely don't want a previous suit to be held against me in that case - just because I thought I could end up with a little extra cash.

Through this experience I will end up with a minor scar on my hand and possibly a small fear of hotel glass closets... Other than that - I'm hopeful that I walk away from this annoying experience with my head up.

Ball Park Derby

My buddy Salis and I have a competition of sorts I felt worthy of sharing. Neither of us is the biggest baseball fan in the world - but we both found an intriguing commanality within building a resume of visitied professional baseball parks. It makes for a fun summer "thing to do" (especially with my frequency of business travel schedule and his lack their of business travel). It is with this I thought I'd give an update. Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending my 13th professional baseball stadium (Ameriquest Field) -- towering over Andrews' 11.

For future reference (because I think we've asked each other for one anothers list at least 10 times) here are the 13 stadiums I have been to (in no particular order):

1. Yankee Stadium (Yankees)
2. Shea Stadium (Mets)
3. Dodger Stadium (Dodgers)
4. Skydome (Blue Jays)
5. Old Tiger Stadium (Tigers)
6. Fenway (Red Sox)
7. Wrigley (Cubs)
8. US Cellular (White Sox)
9. Pac Bell (SF Giants)
10. Camden Yards (Orioles)
11. Pro Player Stadium (Marlins)
12. Miller Park (Brewers)
13. Ameriquest Field at Arlington (Rangers)

Here are the 11 that Salis has been to:

1. Shea Stadium
2. Yankee Stadium
3. Fenway
4. Old Pittsburgh Stadium (Pirates)
5. Turner Field (Atlanta)
6. Oakland (A's)
7. Pac Bell
8. Wrigley
9. US Cellular
10. Veteran Stadium (Phillies)
11. Olympic (Montreal Expos)

As we get older, I'm looking forward to visiting ball parks with Salis and checking off stadiums (with or without corporate marketing names) off our list...

Why are Smokers Exempt?

I'm no "liter policeman" (like Steve Coleman), but I'm curious to know why smokers are exempt from the traditional public courtesy of giving a hoot -- and not pollute-ing.

Now, I'm not an over-arching "anti-smoker" kind of guy. Do I think it's a gross habit, that is clearly life-limiting, and makes you smell? -- Yes. But as long as you are a respectful public smoker, than I'm not going to judge you. I could elaborate on what this entails, but I think I'll save this for another post. Generically, though, it's just about being conscious on the "second hand" effect that smoking has on people other than you...

So, getting back to the subject, why is it socially acceptable to flick your cigarette on the street or outside you car window, but not acceptable to just drop your empty Starbucks cup on the ground in mid-step? Did I miss the "cigarettes are bio-degradable" lesson in 2nd grade Science class?
Furthermore, if the cigerette is still lit when you flick it -- that lovely smell is going to linger for the people behind you to smell. I mean, what if people had this mentality for public toilets? (cuz we all know how good public toilets smell)

Anyway - I don't really have the balls to call someone out on it on the street, so thought I'd vent this way. If you're a smoker, please think twice before flicking your cigerette butt on the street. Put it out with your foot and treat it like a used tissue. Thank you.