I often wonder how many times I can hit my head or be hit in the head before I will suffer permanent damage. Then again, maybe I already have?! The average person doesn't have to worry about hammers falling from the sky, rubber balls blazing through the air, or boomerangs with precision return...but no one ever said I was average.
If you can believe it, all three of these things happened to me in the course of two weeks and on two continents! Many have joked with me that I should walk around with a helmet on permanently, and I'm beginning to think maybe that makes a lot of sense. Sure, I might be classified as "special" and it would pretty much make my dating life obsolete, but it beats the alternative....maybe??
The first "incident" was in Australia. I took a day trip to the Blue Mountains with a tour group. One of the bonuses of the tour package was learning how to throw a boomerang. When I learned this, I have to admit I did immediately think "that's probably got disaster written all over it", but I like to be more optimistic. I can't believe everything I do will end in injury...well...anyway. Our tour group leader took us to a large open reserve to show us how to throw the boomerang and we each had an opportunity to take a test throw and then a real throw. I watched carefully as he demonstrated how to throw the boomerang and I paid extra close attention to all the DO NOT do's that he talked about. He mentioned before we all stepped up for our turn that no one had really ever seriously injured themselves. I cringed, because I realized at that moment he just jinxed it! A couple people went up and took their turns and the girls threw them weak and they went a few feet and nose dived to the ground. The guys tried to be all macho and theirs went flying out into the middle of nowhere, but didn't return. One guy had a pretty good throw, and the boomerang came flying back fast and hit the bus we were traveling in...I watched it happen and I dove to the ground as it came hurling back. Normally, I am not that quick on my feet, so I was ready! It came to be my turn. I went up and he demonstrated the correct form with me again. I got into position and arched my arm back with the boomerang in the 1 o'clock position. Just before I went to throw it the guide said "show these girls how it's done and put some strength behind it!" I felt like I had to really give it a good throw now, I was just challenged! I put all my might into my leg, pulled my arm forward and let her go! I was so proud it didn't go straight into the ground like the other girls that I failed to pay any attention to the fact the boomerang was heading straight back at me! Which is actually really great, because that's exactly what it's suppose to do if you throw it right! Before I could realize what was happening....THUMP! Yup, the boomerang came right back to my head. You have no idea how painful that is! It comes back with a lot of speed and those edges are beveled. It sliced my head right open! Blood was gushing and I'm not exaggerating. It was a bloody disgusting mess. One of the other people in the tour threw up. It was an awful scene. The tour guide didn't panic though. He said that it happens at least once each year. He went to the bus and got the first aid out and wrapped my head in a lot of gauze (those pictures are in the vault for now!) and then asked me if I wanted any additional medical care, which I declined. The tour had only just begun and I wanted to see the Blue Mountains! I've healed rather nicely and I think there was minimal permanent damage :)
Just a tad over a week later, once I returned to the States, I went out for a leisurely bike ride. Per the advice of my friends, I had bought a helmet the day before, which turned out to be really great advice. I was riding along the sidewalk downtown and just taking in a nice day. I was passing by some apartments and some people were out on their balcony working on some kind of a project...but I wasn't paying any attention to what was above me, we all know I need to concentrate on what's in front of me so I don't kill myself! All of sudden, yet again....THUMP! Something had hit me pretty hard and jolted me enough to cause me to fall off my bike. I, unfortunately, didn't have knee or elbow pads on! I fell over and the bike fell on me. I sat up and shook it off and then realized on the ground next to me was a hammer. I looked up and the people on the balcony above were shouting out to me "sorry!! are you ok?!"...and I realized they had dropped the hammer off their balcony and it hit me in the head. Thankfully, my head was protected by my newly purchased helmet (see, the helmet thing is sounding better and better!). My head was safe, but my legs were beat up quite a bit...just another random act!
Just when I thought I was in the clear of accidents I encountered a stickball game gone bad just a few days after the hammer! I was walking to Mission Hills to partake in Farrah's kettlebell bootcamp and I chose a new route to walk....mistake #1. I was walking up State Street and I noticed that the streets were coned off for 4 city blocks. There were a bunch of teams playing stickball in each block. I paused and thought for a second "maybe I should go over another block and walk around all this"...but as is usually the case, I didn't listen to the inner voice. I decided to walk through and just stay close to the inside of the sidewalk. I cleared the first block and I started to approach the second. I noticed that the sidewalk was fair game for these guys, because as they hit the ball players were diving onto the sidewalk to catch it. I paused again and thought maybe it wasn't the best idea, but I figured it would be fine. I waited until after the guy hit the ball to start walking, so I wouldn't be in the path of a flying ball. I cleared block two...phew! I was feeling rather confident now that I made it through two of the blocks. I started into the third block, but was distracted by a text message and didn't pay attention to where they were at with the game. Right as I entered into the sidewalk I heard the crack of the stick on the ball and almost knowingly looked up expecting the impact and WHACK! Yes, the ball hit me in the face. Luckily, it hit me mostly in the side of my face closer to my mouth and didn't really inflict much injury. Just a little sting and some redness. I was just relieved it wasn't my eye. Who needs to explain a black eye by saying they were hit in the face with a stickball??
It's been 10 days and I'm accident free. I feel like I should have a 10 day sober pin or something. I'm hoping it can last a little longer. Ah crap, I probably just jinxed it!!
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