It all started innocently enough. I woke up minutes before the alarm, made my bed, and headed downstairs for breakfast. My French press grind coffee from Red Horse (Black Label... excellence in a brown bag) with stevia, and organic half and half was perfectly smooth and rich. My steel-cut oats with yoghurt and fresh raspberries was delectable. And I enjoyed all of these while reading the NYtimes online.
But then the trouble started. I went to push back my chair from the desk where I had been reading the paper, the chair wheels caught on the thick carpet in my bedroom and I hit the ground so hard I thumped my head on the floor and my tailbone smashed against the back of the chair (the first bodily injury of the day). I yelled out with the last breath that was pushed from my diaphragm and I just laid there gathering my wits and hoping that none of my roommates would see me lying on the floor through the open door. Usually they can be counted on for not coming running when I scream (this does not happen too often, maybe once a month). But alas, there are first times for everything, and Justin was nice enough to come to see if I was okay. After making sure that I was okay... he then added "You are just too big for this world". Huh? I am only 5'11" that is not too big!
I managed to recover, and eventually I left to go by the DMV on my way into work to get my new Oregon Driver's license and plates for the the Green-eep. Oh, but a visit to the DMV is never a quick trip. I had checked on-line to see exactly what I needed to bring with me to expedite this process... and I was armed to the teeth. Birth certificate, CO license, S.S. card, vehicle registration, vehicle title, proof of OR address, insurance, blood, urine, etc. NOWHERE does it say you have to bring the vehicle. I guess that is just implied. Why would you go to the DMV without your car? Hmmm. So, after all that, I was able to get my OR driver's license (after passing the multiple choice test with surprisingly hard questions), but no license plates this time. Since this took 1.5 hours, I had to leave it for another day, and time trial on the cyclocross bike in to work.
OSU is doing a lot of construction on campus, and it seems like at least once a week, the route that I take to get on campus becomes permanently blocked by caution tape, chain-link fencing, torn-up roads, you name it. One night, I almost was taken out by a fresh barrier going home in the dark (with just my little bike light), bombing down a hill, and missing the invisible road closed sign.
So, recently, to avoid going in a huge circle around to the West of campus, I have been using a pedestrian walkway... and I guess so have a few other less polite and more aggressive cyclists. Because today, there was a huge sign telling bikers to dismount and walk their bikes. I fully intended to do this. But, just as I was approaching this section, in the words of Forrest Gump, "something jumped up and bit me". A yellowjacket... all the pretty flowers on campus have some drawbacks. It bit me right on the tip of my pinky finger that was trying to grab the bike break.
I screamed, almost crashed, narrowly avoided ramming the orange construction fencing, and decided to proceed through the pedestrian section on bike, tears blurring my vision, and one hand clutching the other in an attempt to squeeze out the pain. And the only thought I had was to get to work as quickly as possible to either put some ice on my hand or cut if off. Of course, some well-meaning HR employees (the building by the ped area is the admin building on campus) had called the police about cyclists zipping through the area... probably the same ones that were yelling at me as I wobbled past them in a painful delirium.
Low and behold, Officer Steve appeared around the corner, promptly stopped me in my path, ready to lecture me and possibly ticket me... I don't know if he would have, but one look at my face and I think he could tell I had other things on my mind. He was really nice and concerned, offering to get me to the emergency clinic... mostly because my finger was in the process of swelling to twice it's usual size and spreading down my hand. But, not recollecting being bitten before but pretty sure I would know if I was allergic, I declined the hospital, calmed down, thanked him, and took off for the lab and the large ice machine that held my salvation....or at least the ability to numb the pain in my sausage-like finger.
The swelling in my finger is down now, can't even tell I was bitten. I only have a little bruise from the chair. I have no ticket, a new OR license (with an awful picture), and I went berry picking again this evening. And, it was okay that I was late to work, because, frankly, I work a lot of the time, and I was still able to get everything done that I had planned. And, best of all, I get to race a triathlon tomorrow. :-)
Sounds like you needed a hug.
ReplyDeleteJack