jalapeno hands and other such things

I'm feeling kind of blah...I have a week off before crazy busy time starts and I'm feeling very ambivalent about life. and about writing. on the blog. I have much and little to say, and finding the right words to convey my blah is a little overwhelming at the moment. as much as I love some down time from crazy busy time, I feel much more productive when I have a lot going on. now I just sit around. and zone. out.

I slept until 11 today.

and I didn't even enjoy it. well, I mean, of course I enjoyed the sleeping. but then I woke up and was very upset that I no longer had time to do all the things I wanted to today. haircut will have to wait. shopping too.

but before I forget, I need to brag a little.

yesterday dad and I went to register the replacement vehicle (to this) at the DMV. while up at the counter, a gentleman came up next to us and needed to register his new car. the worker handed him the form he needed, and the man went to go fill it out. the worker said he could do it there, but the gentleman refused and went to sit down. the gentleman was Hispanic, and though he spoke english well, I thought he may have trouble with the written form.

about 5 minutes later, as we were leaving, the gentleman was still working on his paperwork. I went over and asked him if he needed help, noticing that he had only filled in two boxes. he very gratefully accepted. I filled out the form for him, while chatting in english.

a few things come to mind with this incident:

1. I'm glad I helped him. who knows how long he would have been sitting there, staring at the form, before someone else offered. I wonder if the DMV workers would have helped...

2. one of the biggest anti-immigrant complaints I hear is that immigrants need to learn english.
clearly, this man had. but READING english is much different from speaking it. many of the immigrants I have worked with do not know how to read in their native language, so imagine how difficult it must be to learn to speak AND read a new language.

3. so many times, I'm in situations like this and just walk on. ok, most times, and I really have
been brewing on this fact. I consider myself to be a compassionate person who cares for all people, yet, how often do I take the time to do something simple like helping this gentleman? I feel like a bad person. I complain about the lack of community I feel here, the isolation from my neighbors, yet what do I do to solve that?

I'm glad I helped. this is the beginning of a new era for me -- rather than thinking about how that person over there needs help, I'll help.

finally, on a lighter note, on saturday I made salsa and cut jalapenos without gloves on. my fingertips burned for hours. and now I am sometimes known as jalapeno hands. but the salsa is AWESOME.