The Omaha Shooting

Let me preface by saying that I am a resident of Omaha to attend Creighton University during the school year.  So, yes, I was in town when this event occurred. If you are thinking, “What Omaha shooting?” Well then, here it is.  This article includes all the major details for you.

Some of the things I heard said today-

“That could’ve been me!”

“I almost went to the mall today, I thought about it.”  

“I shop there all the time…”

 ”How could this happen here?”

I feel quite detached from the whole experience and I felt the need to explain to my friends and family why my shopping habits at not only that mall but the store itself will remain unchanged.  My life continues unabated, despite the fact that 14 people died in or around the store that I spend the most time in.  The reason I am blogging about this is because I seemed to upset some people for disagreeing with their reasons to be paranoid about shopping there and lightheartedly told my worried family members with frustration- Of course I’m alive!

So here are a few of my reasons to continue your holiday shopping as planned (after the mall is no longer a crime scene). 

+ It was a fluke.  The guy had no reason to pick that particular store or mall.  He was disgruntled over losing his family, home, girlfriend and job.  He didn’t have a real motive for that particular store or people inside.  He wasn’t upset at the store, but the world as a whole.

+ Dying is dying.  Living your life in fear of it is not profitable.

+ Shit happens everywhere.  The assumption that middle sized city in the Midwest is absolutely safe is inaccurate, to say the least.  To be fair, this was the worst killing Omaha has ever seen, but that only furthers my argument that it was out of the ordinary or a fluke.

+ I’m not a mall rat.  I guess I might be more upset if I cared more for shopping.

I think that after this semester I am a lot less afraid of something happening to me.  Yes, be careful, drive defensively, lock your doors at night, but do not let paranoia rule your life.  Go buy some clothes for Christmas and get over it.  Yes, I sound harsh, but I am also right.

******

Since I left them out of the last two entries, enjoy-

#9 I hate the way cold nights in winter and early spring sound in the trees and streets.  The dark cold gives me adrenaline bursts of fear when I am walking alone.

#10 Some times I mock you when you’re not around. 

#11 Recently I’ve begun to wish I wasn’t me and was someone you wanted me to be. 

 

For the first time in a long time you brought me to tears

Written on Saturday Night I started:

 I didn’t think you had this power over me, this control and it angers me that you do.  I don’t want to ‘win’ I just want some feasible amount of control.  This dictatorship you call a friendship is not reasonable and leaves me wanting to riot against you.   

*****

I finish the entry tonight.  I don’t think ill of you.  I cried because I want to fix things, I want them to be right, but I don’t think they can be.  

You think I’m more confused than I am.  You think I’m less intelligent than I am.  Yes, I know you’re not calling me a fucker, but I must ask what you are calling me then.  An emotional bitch?  I’m not.  In fact, I’m not even upset.  I’m not upset at all.  If anything I am confused by these accusations and a bit amused at their lack of application.  I just wish you would give me a hug when you are instead walking away.  You often do the opposite of what will solve the problem.  I can’t stop you, and I won’t.  

On Saturday night I cried out of frustration, heartbreak, and hurt.  I want things to be right, and I’m tired of wishing they were different. 

This is the start of numerous things I have to say, but it is a good start, and one I will finish later. 

“Great” Minds Think Alike

Just as I published my most recent blog entry one of my best-friends, who had never spoken to me about 2girls1cup was posting an article about the exact same thing. What a crazy world of blogging we live in.  They are unique perspectives on the same situation.

He told me he had a new entry up and I finished publishing my entry and moved to his where we both shared in a collective “ah ha!”

Perhaps it is getting closer to a ‘Tubgirl Thanksgiving’ than Matt could have imagined. 

Teenage Brothers and Online Smut

So my teenage brother is obsessed with showing others 2girls1cup and insisted that I, one of my best-friends Hotchy, my 12 year old step brother, my 18 year old brother, and my 16 year old step sis + boyfriend watch it online tonight.  While most of us gagged and almost vomited, Hotchy ate a cookie and finished w/ the comment “Dominic, why are we watching this? I told you all that I had a strong stomach.”

I suppose I am just shocked by my brother and his overall intrigue by this website and sharing it with others. 

While I had watched the reactions on youtube, I must say it was a much more horrifying experience than I could have ever predicted.  So, in a way, this is my reaction to it.  It’s disgusting.  I do not recommend it but I realize that by posting this I am only increasing the propensity for individuals to look it up.  My recommendation is to watch reactions to it on youtube PRIOR to looking up the movie.  If you are that curious, it’s two girls and a glass full of shit.  Throw in some swallowing and some vomit, and you get the most hideous experience of my entire life.

 The comments of some reactions of people on youtube as well as my family:

“That’s got to be ice cream or something.”

“I think I’m going to barf.”

“You’re the worst brother I’ve ever had.”

“What am I supposed to say- ‘That’s so cool?!’  Was that real poop?”

“It’s amazing what you can do with two girls and one cup.”  “Yeah, and their feces!”

One last thought- Who shows this to their family????

Car Wreck, Pibb Zero, and a homeless man

So FWD and I traveled to several stores (four together, and I went to Walmart w/out him) tonight in order to try and track down Pibb Zero to bring home to my Dad.  Dad loves the soda and they don’t sell it in New Mexico, go figure.  While out, FWD and I were talking about life and about dating previously he mentioned a pizza place that him and I went to.I don’t remember eating at this place.  He does.  I feel that he ate there w/ someone else and is super-imposing that memory onto me.  He disagrees.  However, there were also allusions in the conversation to my bad memory and my craziness so I am in a situation of either 1. He is absolutely correct and I can’t trust my own memory or 2. I am correct and the situation doesn’t really matter at all.

Anyway, we got into a fight about it, but since it doesn’t really affect him that much, he doesn’t really care that much, which is fair.  I mean, if it wasn’t a big deal to me, I probably would be less inclined to talk about a meal I thought I had with someone as well.  I, however, got so stressed about it that I had to drop him off and continue on.  I drove to Walmart only to find they didn’t have Pibb Zero either.  

So pulling out of the parking lot after buying some s’more materials (FWD and I had talked about them), I hit another car who is pulling in.  This wreck = my fault.  However, they talk in hurried Spanish to me.  I understand it or most of it and especially the part where they call me a stupid bitch.  I let the words float around me, offering to trade information and do whatever I can.  I realize I am at fault, but for some reason they just want to get out of the situation as fast as possible.  I ask “you sure?” and they said “Yeah,” and walked away into the Walmart.  It is possible that they didn’t have insurance or were illegal in some other regard.

Climbing into my car I thought- I need a drink.

I head to Talli’s and pick up the debate-partner on the way.  Debate-partner and I have a couple of beers during poker and then drive home.  We see a homeless man on the side of the road and I want to help him out, but debate-partner doesn’t.  That’s fine since homeless guy is on my side of the car but the light turns green.  So then I circle the block and drive back, but now (due to crazy Omaha streets) homeless guy is on the passenger side of the car.  I want debate-partner to hand the guy some cash (my cash not his), but DP refuses saying something about “catching a communicable disease.”

What a fucking night.  I could go for another fucking drink. 

PS- Third roommate, (RYNO), hasn’t been home in sometime.  I wonder what he’s up to. 

“I need two people from ASO”

I was on the setup and cleanup crew for the Jimmy Eat World concert @ Creighton last night and I have something to say about the leadership.  I think that if you want a group of people to help, you should ask for the people, rather than incorrectly asking for a portion of the people.  This was exemplified last night when the CSU board kept asking for people who were in ASO to help.  While ASO had agreed to crew for the concert, they also picked up SEVERAL extra volunteers (myself included) to help them out.  So, every time ASO was asked to help… :shrug: I guess I could have opted out.  Technically they weren’t asking for crew-members, just ASO.  Why not just ask for the crew?  We are all wearing t-shirts for Fallapalooza that say “CREW” on them.  Anyway, I think that people should more carefully categorize each other. 

While I have multiple stories related to the concert, I have only one that I wanted to share now.

Ted, one of my friends, is a taller heavier guy with hair that runs all the way to his shoulders.  For some reason he reminds me a lot of my youngest brother Dominic, if Dominic were six years older.  He gets into an elevator w/ Melody.  Melody, previously a member of the Speech and Debate team, is not (to put it lightly) very intelligent and tends to get annoying as she will tell stories that last for ten minutes about nothing.  The elevator leaves and I am waiting for the next elevator ride to take my chair up to the next floor, but the elevator returns to the wrong floor (the one I am standing on) still fully loaded because Melody pushed the wrong button.  The people inside ask for directions (Melody asks, the rest look uncomfortable and awkward about asking) and the elevator looks to close again. 

Right before the door closes, Ted gets a look of realization on his face – “I’ll just get out here.  Thanks!”  He proceeds to climb over the furniture they have loaded into the elevator as Melody and others protest.  Ted sees me with the chair and hoists the chair that I am standing w/ into the elevator saying- “Here, now you have room for Nat’s.” 

Elevator closes and Ted says- “I just had to get out of that elevator!”  We walked back to the other work area laughing.

I guess I just found it interesting, because I still have managed to not interact w/ Melody very much, but even my new friends seem to end up trying to avoid her.

Highlights of the MANY comments- ”She just told me my hips are small, and that was awkward.”-Kim

:sees Melody massaging someone off to the side: “I don’t even know what’s going on!”-Julie 

”Maybe we could snowmobile over lakes, over dips and curves, through forests….”-Rob :goes off for another minute making fun of her ten minute snow mobile explanation:

”Who is she???”-Someone next to me