Friday by Numbers and SPEED RACER

1. 5th: Iteration of "the Fast and the Furious" franchise I watched.

2. 12: Time I woke up (post meridian). Also the cost (in dollars) for my movie ticket.

3. 4 1/2: How long it took me to donate blood (in minutes).

4. 85+: SPF (Sun Protection Factor) sunblock I used.

5. 2.50: Cost (in dollars) of Saba sushi (Mackerel, six pieces).

6. 10: Number of tacos I received from Taco Bell when I ordered a 12 taco party pack.

If there was a theme for this past week, it would be speed. Obviously, watching Fast Five was a pretty swift (and furious if I may add) way to end my week. Most notably, however, I donated blood in a record time today which shocked the nurse who was "sticking me" (her words, not mine). She scolded me for it, saying something about how donating blood too quickly could be unsafe. What does a registered nurse know about donating blood? MY BLOOD DOES NOT PLAY GAMES, LADY. In any case, I forgave her because she let me take some Cheez-Its home along with some blood donation stickers and an ugly "blood bash" t-shirt.

A couple of kids I tutor were also smitten with the speed demon this past week. They were attempting to blaze through their math homework with no regard for the careful logic math requires. Problem after problem, I had to explain to each of them that it was their obsession with speed, not their lack of knowledge, that was causing them to make repeated errors. It was a pretty frustrating week for tutoring.

That said, I value those struggling students more than my gifted ones (to some extent) because I was am certainly one of those people who haphazardly attempts to finish tasks with little attention for quality. My dad's criticized me on multiple occasions about how I try to do everything as fast as I can without any logical motive or destination. Gosh, I still remember all the times I'd try to eat my pizza faster than the rest of my family just for competition's sake (Papa Murphy was probably shaking his head in disapproval). It was fun I suppose, but it probably wasn't worth all the coughing fits I had from the pizza crusts I stuffed down my throat.

Dealing with reflections of my past self is difficult and sometimes aggravating, but I'm pleased that it forces me to consider whether I've actually progressed at all since I was trying to sprint past my math problems and beat my family at nonexistent pizza-eating contests. Perhaps four and a half minutes is a blood-donating record I shouldn't break.

Have a nice day,
-Matthew