Defining2008/ For Better Or For Worse

///2008///

I must say that this has been the most eventful year of my life. I have had my Best and Worst experiences this year. I will make top ten of each just for fun.

WORST

10. On the day of my accident I had to go to training… we had a two minute survival drill. I had to fight off two Beastly guys, and well lets say they left me with quite a headache. They kicked my butt

9. After my accident I filled out and dealt with all types of paperwork for Social Security but still didn’t get approved… jerks

8. Over the course of the year I had gotten 6 traffic violation tickets… hee hee oops. I can’t even remember what they were for

7. My stupid and selfish self decided that I wanted a cool bike so I sold my only car for it. The Mustang GT… Oh well things happen for a reason and I would not be where I am now if I hadn’t

6. Because of obvious circumstances I lost my home with my brother Daniel… had to move back with my parents for the third time

5. Plain and simple…. Osama won the election, oops I mean OBAMA

4. This one is a biggie for me personally… I gained twenty pounds of FAT all in my stomach. YEP I have a gut

3. I lost my job at NASA… they didnt care

2. IKE hit the coast… It took my family’s home, my backup car, my other motorcycle, and thousands of dollars worth of other belongings of mine.

1. NUMBER ONE!!! the most obvious of all, the motorcycle accident which has left me starting the new year crippled.

BEST-

10. I started a cool collection of canes. My two favorite would have to be the glass one and the one with flames

9. I have gotten a better relationship with my in-laws through everything that has happened.

8. I got a computer, a MAC to be more precise. I love it I have spent a lot of time making fun music

7. When I worked for the mall I got promoted to a Supervisor =) That is really good for a resume

6. Even though there a bunch of “little” things that could be fixed, I got a really cool car 1987 Camaro IROC-Z. It has a nice big 350 V8 engine… “Manly Chuckles” >=D

5. Through one of my Wife’s friends we were led to a home Church.

4. Through all the things in my life especially this year I had all my closest friends there for me whenever I needed them. Except when I lived with Daniel, he was never home. HA!

3. God blessed me greatly! I had almost $80,000 in medical bills and God took it all away! I owe nothing. Thank you Jesus =D

2. I went on my first cruise! It was for my honeymoon, and we had a blast! YAY I love boats!!!

1. The Number ONE best thing that has happened for 2008, is that I got to make my best friend and the love of my life, MY WIFE. I can’t be without her

“A roller-coaster year”

///Clay///

I Am Clayton And I Approve This Message

I find myself struggling to stay positive.

This past week I have made an improvement to the bending of my leg. It was at 35° on the 4th, then this past week I made it to 50°!!! That same day I fell onto my bad leg, which has no muscle strength to support the weight. I came crashing down like crippled old person, my leg buckling under me. It caused intense pain and I screamed bloody murder for at least 5-10 minutes. Ever since that day my femur, where the screw is bolted in, is sore and hurts every time I move my leg. I have lost progress, setting me back to about 40-45°. I can’t wait for the doctor to tell me I can start putting some weight on it again so I can start building that leg strength back. Not sure exactly how that works though….

I just sent in the last bit of information to the Social Security people, for them to review my case. Now I just have to wait 2-4 months for a reply. I also still have to take defensive driving for the ticket from the day of the accident. I believe its due sometime in October, “sigh”. The life-flight people are harassing me as well. They want money, blah blah blah! I just sent them a form with my information on it hoping that they will back off and give me to make money before I pay. I’m just so tired of dealing with all this financial, state, government crap. I need a vacation! Speaking of, I am still going on my honeymoon no matter my condition. A cruise into the Caribbean! I pray that I will be able to walk at least with a cane by then.

“no more paperwork”

///Clay///

Climbing Mountains with the Handicapped

It seems God has prompted me for some moderation. Within the last week I have had a $64,000 debt to the hospital erased with the help of a “charity balance”. I made another visit to the hospital and was told the news of signs of bone growth. Then I had been outfitted with a new leg brace with a hinge, and have started the very painful process of trying to get my leg to bend again. Also my parents have gone on their trip to Maine and gave me the master bedroom for the time being. Last but definitely not least, my Fiance and I are starting to turn our focus on wedding plans.

It seems that for the wedding, most of the preparations will be done by Kathryn and I alone. It will be difficult to find ways to pay for it all but we can be self efficient and will do it. Help is always appreciated but the ones who offered to help from Kat’s side of the family have backed out, and put us back to the drawing board. Times continue to grow stressful but I remain vigilant with my love at my side.

My life is far from perfect, but none the less with all circumstances in front of me somehow I’ve found this peace that God is controlling it all. Probably the best part about living a simple life, is the fact that when God wants to make a change we are open to it. There are no plans that will hinder God’s will. I don’t know what to expect from the next day but I have a faith that keeps me happy with where I am, and where I am going.

“I can do all things through Christ”

///Clay///

Forcibly Resigned

This has been a tough month for me. I’ve sold my precious muscle car, I had a horrible accident and have had to lay still ever since. I’ve got all of these new financial and medical problems to worry about. The worst of all is this, my job (NASA security) does not look kindly upon the part-time wounded. After calling them multiple times I finally get a hold of the security HR lady. She sadly informs me that because I have not worked there for at least a year, I have no type of leave available. Her only alternative was to terminate me. So here I am a broken, unemployed, unable to take care of myself individual, who is staying at his parents house.

I put a lot of effort into getting that job. I asked around and researched the job to figure out what the job requirements were and then set them as my goal. I attended school for a week to obtain the license necessary to get the job. I applied three times, called twice, and emailed once to show my persistence. After about a month they finally contacted me for an interview I had learned that I must run a mile, be able to do push ups and sit ups, and qualify at the gun range. Of course I put in effort so I would be ready for these test and in the end I passed! I worked there for a little over a month and have already been kicked out with the cold request of the return of my uniform. Who knows why this has happened? Only God does. Maybe my time in the security field is finished, or maybe its not. Only time will tell. I just know that my Provider will be there for me.

“Unemployed”

///Clay///

6A Room 12

It was a cloudy Friday afternoon and I geared up, sliding on a shiny new helmet. I climbed onto my new 2-wheeled beast (2006 Suzuki GSX-R 750) and decided to take the rest of the day to learn how to move in sync with the machine. I had been riding for about an hour when I had became impatient with a slow-turning vehicle. I took the advantage to give a little extra gas and go around the slowpoke. Once cleared, i began to coast and noticed a cop to my right. I looked down at my speedometer and realized that I was going 69 in a 45. Without delay, the cop on his bike chased after me and pulled me over. Not only did i get a ticket, but I also discovered that someone had stolen my license plate, and received another penalty for not having my proof of insurance yet, even though it was in route via mail. They didn’t just take the license plate, but the entire license plate holder which also had my registration and inspection on it. This was not how I wanted to spend my first day with my new toy. I ended up going to the courthouse a couple blocks away in hopes to get a new license plate. I stood in line for about half an hour, the whole time reminiscing about my old V8, which I had sold just that same week. Of course by the time it was my turn, the lady said there was nothing I could do at that point and time. I didn’t want this to ruin my day, so I decided to shrug it off for the moment and continue to ride. I ended up in the town that my parents live and wanted to show them my new ride. Of course, when I got there, it appeared no one was home. I sighed, continued about my journey, and then five minutes later, saw my father on his motorcycle heading home. I waved trying to get his attention, but I didn’t think he recognized me, so when he passed, I turned to look, but he did not look back. As i looked back in front of me, it had come to my realization that the black pickup truck in front of me had come to a complete stop. I don’t exactly remember how much space was between me and him when I realized this, but I took the only action necessary and leaned right as hard as I could, trying to make it to the shoulder. Almost to my goal, I hit the edge of his back bumper and was sky-rocketed off of the crotch-rocket. After the first hit on the pavement, I see the bike barrelling past me, flying into pieces. After a couple more skips across the ground, I come to a dead stop into a street sign. Within seconds, immense pain takes over my body. I lift my head up to look at myself and see that just above my knee, my leg had folded against itself to where my ankle was wedged between the sign and my hip. It had shattered my femur with bones protruding out of the skin. Witnesses come rushing over to the accident to try and help me, and then call 911. It wasn’t long before they realized I was losing too much blood, and had to life-flight me to the hospital.

My stay at the hospital was not the most pleasant and not on the end that I would want to be on. It was a very long week, but I had many people come out to show their support. Feeling for all the people that cared for me brought me to tears and helped keep me happy. And the best of all was that my loving fiance stayed every night with me. After my release, my parents took me in to keep watch over me and I’m glad to finally be out of there. It’s going to be a long way to recovery and to be honest, I’m scared, but I can’t focus on this Goliath that is facing me. I must focus on God.

“It sucks to have to lay still”

///Clay///

The First Paycheck

I have finished all my new hire training for NASA and have been on my own for a week now. I still really don’t know the job that well but I am in the process. I am now hoping to get a full time position as soon as possible. Part timers are only aloud to work 31hrs a week. Lucky for me I am filling in for a full timer and am getting 40hrs for the next two weeks! The only downside is the fact its the overnight shift. What makes it worse is its the same week Kathryn is moving in. Hopefully when I get a full time position it won’t the overnight shift.

I’m very excited that Kathryn will be moving in with me. I know that I want to be with her forever, and we are slowly working toward that. Kathryn’s father was kind enough to give us a dresser for us to put a lot of Kathryn things in. It was kind of out of date looking but I went out and bought new knobs for it and it looks ten times nicer. I am happy with the way things are going.

“Together through the end”

///Clay///

Government Security Clearance

I took all the tests at NASA this past Wednesday. It was pretty easy. I had to complete a mile run, push-ups, sit-ups, firearm qualifications, drug test and a physical. I was relieved to know I was finished. It didn’t end there though. The New hire trainer said, “good job, now take home this packet and complete it by Monday”. I opened up the packet to see what I had to do. This freaking thing was 30 pages long and required extensive information from 10 years ago. I was only 12!! Its hard to provide them with the information they want when I was just hitting puberty. It also asks for every ones middle name and date of birth, including all my old Boss’s. Ive spent quite a bit of time tracking down the information they want, and hope that it is good enough for them. Once they feds receive it they are supposed to contact every person I listed in the packet; relatives, close friends, and past co-workers. After it is all finally cleared I will then have government security clearance.

“TMI”

///Clay///

Currently Disconnected ///Unplugged///

NASA! Yes I got the job working security for NASA. I am very excited about working there, not to mention I will be making some really good money(considering I wont go to college). My last day at the mall will be April 15th. I’m glad to be getting away but at the same time I feel bad for my boss because everyone seems to be leaving.

I have officially become computer-less. My worthless virus infected wannabe laptop quit on me. That’s okay though; for soon I have decided I will build my own computer. This way I know it will be up to my standards on how a computer should work. Now with my new job it shouldn’t take long for me to get it up and running. My computer will also be my “system” for video games. No longer will I spend lots of money on expensive consoles. In the end it will be the better deal.

“plug me in”

///Clay///