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And Now, My Impersonation of James Nicoll
Dec. 22nd, 2008 06:59 pmToday started off well. I went to the dentist, got my permanent upper fitted (and arrangements made to get the temporary turned into a better-fitting backup device)[1], and then headed to work. When I came out of the parking garage onto 9th street, which I have to cross to get to the building F/nt/st/k is in, I noticed some water on the entrance to the loading dock, but didn't think much of it. As I started across the street (which slopes rather impressively down to Main), I looked to my left and saw a car just coming across the next street over, so I picked up my pace from walk to trot to clear the lane before they got there.
At that point, I discovered that the water on the drive (and sidewalk, and street) was actually mostly ice. I got three steps as I tried to decelerate and regain control before I found myself sitting in a puddle on the sidewalk. I regained my footing, and tried to move out into the street to avoid the worst of the ice, and once again quickly assumed a horizontal position, sliding down the street. I looked back, and saw that the car which had precipitated my acceleration was stopped halfway down the block, probably waiting for me to slide into the sewer at the corner. I was able to crawl to the curb, and get back on the dry portion of the sidewalk and make my way inside. The source of the water was revealed at that point: a pipe had burst on the second floor, and the maintenance people were busily mopping up the water dripping into the lobby. I gimped my way to the elevator, where I finally noticed my jeans had several large soaked areas, including both legs below the knee and, of course, the seat. They dried out fairly quickly, fortunately. Oh, did I mention it was 10˚F out, with a healthy breeze?
So now I am home, with a large lump on my left cheek the size and shape of my wallet, which is quite enthusiastic about its pain-causing powers. Other, less intense but still definitely painful areas include my left knee and foot, along with my left shoulder, although that might be more from another day of cutting up signs for Ha//mark. Being on my feet most of the day seems to have kept any bruising from occuring, but I'm sure I'll have a lovely technicolor keister by morning. Right now, I am just waiting for the v/cod/n to kick in, and to see if the Bears defense/special teams can score 37 points and erase my lead in the Scum Bowl. I have my doubts about that happening, but given the tenor of today, I'm not sanguine about it.
[1] I asked my dentist if there was a dental bylaw that anything that had to go into the patient's mouth had to taste like crap, and he told me that while there is reasonably good-tasting material available, it costs more, because they have to add the flavor to cover up the basic "crap taste" of the materials. I like him.
At that point, I discovered that the water on the drive (and sidewalk, and street) was actually mostly ice. I got three steps as I tried to decelerate and regain control before I found myself sitting in a puddle on the sidewalk. I regained my footing, and tried to move out into the street to avoid the worst of the ice, and once again quickly assumed a horizontal position, sliding down the street. I looked back, and saw that the car which had precipitated my acceleration was stopped halfway down the block, probably waiting for me to slide into the sewer at the corner. I was able to crawl to the curb, and get back on the dry portion of the sidewalk and make my way inside. The source of the water was revealed at that point: a pipe had burst on the second floor, and the maintenance people were busily mopping up the water dripping into the lobby. I gimped my way to the elevator, where I finally noticed my jeans had several large soaked areas, including both legs below the knee and, of course, the seat. They dried out fairly quickly, fortunately. Oh, did I mention it was 10˚F out, with a healthy breeze?
So now I am home, with a large lump on my left cheek the size and shape of my wallet, which is quite enthusiastic about its pain-causing powers. Other, less intense but still definitely painful areas include my left knee and foot, along with my left shoulder, although that might be more from another day of cutting up signs for Ha//mark. Being on my feet most of the day seems to have kept any bruising from occuring, but I'm sure I'll have a lovely technicolor keister by morning. Right now, I am just waiting for the v/cod/n to kick in, and to see if the Bears defense/special teams can score 37 points and erase my lead in the Scum Bowl. I have my doubts about that happening, but given the tenor of today, I'm not sanguine about it.
[1] I asked my dentist if there was a dental bylaw that anything that had to go into the patient's mouth had to taste like crap, and he told me that while there is reasonably good-tasting material available, it costs more, because they have to add the flavor to cover up the basic "crap taste" of the materials. I like him.