What I learned this year

Words mean little.
Actions speak volumes.

It's twist on the cliche of "actions speak louder than words". I am sure many others have said the same thing but it's what really sticks in my mind right now.

This day before 2007, I am looking back on what was 2006.
I spent some time on the road this year. Not as much as others in my office, but I racked up somewhere around 30,000 miles. It's the lowest upgrade status, but it's better than nothing.....I think.

The company I work for, lost 1/4 of it's staff in 2006. But the CEO thinks it acceptable. I think when we begin the new year, two more will be leaving.

My wife went back to work and quickly made it to where she left last year. But her company is one of the best companies to work for in the USA.

I was able to spend a week back home after a few years away. Let me sum it up by saying the reality didn't live up to the dream. Everyone has busy, busy, busy lives. Even I do realize that. And as I tell my kids, the world doesn't revolve around you (or me).

Someone close to me has been diagnosed with end stage liver disease and is now on the list to receive a liver. Which is actually the reason for this blog. I signed up to donate my liver to the recipient but was denied for medical reasons. Three others offered. The first of these three was denied early for medical reasons as well. The second, had other pressures and declined to continue the offer and the last of these three offered but when presented with the contact info, never followed through. And still has not told us.

That last situation is one of the situations that brought me to my first point above in this post. It has resonated within my heart for these last few weeks.

I have also realized from a meeting with a psychologist (from ONE short meeting) that I may have symptoms of ADD and a "control" issue. Being retrospective, some things make sense now. I write things down. I have a questionable memory. I am easily distracted during primary tasks. Magazines versus novels. TV shows rather than movies. There are more, but that's all I can remember (or want to admit). LOL

My daughter has turned the corner in growing up. She has begun a new chapter in life. It's tough to go through. But I will sum it up this way. For the last ten years, I have prepared myself, but I am not yet ready.

Because of my inability to donate my own liver. I have learned a little about organ donation in general and the process and situation in this country. There are just under 95,000 people waiting for organs right now. It's also really tough to cull the number of people that die waiting for organs. It's also not as many that die in car crashes. According to some statistics, one person dies every 90 minutes waiting for an organ. Roughly 5,843 per year. In contrast, there were just over 43,443 deaths from car crashes in 2005. (From 6.2 million accidents). An average of 119 die per day in a crash. One every 12 minutes. Do you wear your setbelts properly? Are you an organ donor?

I have published other numbers in the past. It seems that every time you look at stats, they change. You can also twist and turn stats to benefit your own agenda. "Figures lie and liars figure" was a quote a former boss told me one time.


Look ahead:
I have told many people that I can start lots of things, but need help in followup and finishing. Because of my somewhat loose diagnosis of ADD, I am challenging myself to a LONG term project. I will be taking pictures every day of people on the street. These portraits will be to help raise the awareness of organ donation. I will blog some results here and post the images on flickr.com. Hopefully tomorrow I will have my first portrait to post.