Monday, November 21, 2005

Almost chopped off my toe!


Heh. What an adventure I had last night. Yesterday after going to church with Schon I had a nice afternoon movie visit with my Dad. We saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Not a bad movie, but that's getting off the subject so if you'll forgive me I'll forego the movie review. After my Dad left I got a tad tired and decided to take a nap, knowing that I had to get a court thing out of the way early in the morning.

See, wow, so much to tell..... I got a ticket like 2 days before Rita hit and had to leave town which kept me from getting my car inspected so the cop was a real jerk by giving me a ticket at midnight on the Rice University campus when no one is around at all. Thought school cops were supposed to be nice. Anyway... This is all related so just hang tight...

Oh I forgot, just around this time I got rear-ended. The guy who hit me was very calm. Gave me his information. Wrote it all out on his own note pad. Didn't complain or argue at all. Really a nice guy, well... except that he HIT MY CAR! But anyway, my car is still drivable, but it has a broken reflector on the back. The lights even still work so I could even pass inspection, I think. But now I get to take my car to the body shop so they can fix my back end, but it's actually pretty good because the bumper really needed to be repainted anyway so now it's going to look much better than it did before. Now I just need to get someone to hit my front.

Okay, where was I? Oh yeah. Well, a month or so ago I was on my way to work and I kind of thought about the ticket I had received and kind of pissed off about it all I decided I should probably finally take a look at it and find out the day I had to go to court. Heh. You know exactly what I found out, don't you? Well, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THE DAY BEFORE THEN, JERK! I could have been prepared. I could have told my boss the day before that I had to go to court THAT DAY! Can you imagine my suprise and panic when I found out that I actually had like 2 HOURS to get to court? Luckily I work about a mile away from the Houston courthouse. Praise God. So I told my boss and did as much as I could to get him ready for his meeting, (Yeah, THAT'S great for my career.) then I went to court.

They didn't call out my name. They lost my information. Whoopee!!!! Automatic dismissal, right? That's what I always heard. Think again. They made me sign a paper telling them that I am perfectly willing to inconvenience myself AGAIN when the cop decides he wants to send in my ticket information. So a few days later I got a notice in the mail telling me that I had to come back to court on November 22nd. Yeah, you guessed it, that's tomorrow. But I wanted to fight it, especially since they lost my info. I had gotten a letter from some ambulance chaser like a week earlier and I decided that I would probably be best served by paying them the $75 (actually it's $125 now) instead of paying like $300 to the corrupt government. But I thought I would have to go to their offices and I've been putting off the meeting with them. So this past Friday as I left work, I thought about the date and, whoops! Court is on TUESDAY! I would have to go talk to the lawyers on Monday and that would again get me in trouble with my boss because I didn't let him know ahead of time, plus I would have court to go to. Meanwhile the body shop for my car would want me to pick up my car today and tomorrow I have an orthodontist appointment. I might as well not go into work at all. I'd be out of the office attending to personal matters more than I would be in the office actually working! But I had no choice.

So yesterday evening I decided the nap would do me good as it would allow me to wake up early and go to the body shop and get the court stuff out of the car so I could run over to the lawyer's office later in the morning. Well, I woke up around maybe 11:00 PM last night and wanted to see if I could find the lawyer's (THIRD) letter. I looked on my kitchen counter, but it wasn't there. I looked on the shelf over my bed. Not there. I thought it might be around my couch so I started to shuffle through the papers there and I took a step and kicked a glass, well, kicked is the wrong word. More like knocked a glass over with my foot. I heard it break and felt something like a bruise. It was like someone punched my big toe. Didn't feel like a cut at all. It didn't burn. It felt more like someone hit me with a small hammer. Wierd. But I knew what it was.

I immediately held my toe, prayed to God that it wouldn't be that bad, and hopped carefully (so as not to get blood on the carpet) to the bathroom. Well, you can imagine my suprise when I found out that God answered my prayer in the negative when I looked at my skin peeled away from the muscle. Yeesh, right? Yeah, sorry about the graphic text. Well, my heart was racing and I knew I would have to go to the hospital.

But it's moments like these that give you a break. The world shuts down and allows you to get yourself taken care of. It was truly a relief. I had so much to worry about before I cut myself, now I only had to worry about going to the hospital. So I told myself to calm down. Relax. Look for my first aid kit. Of course it's inside my car at the body shop. So I grab toilet paper and wrap it very messily.

But anyway, I actually calmed myself. It wasn't as difficult as you might think. I was pretty much okay. The cut didn't hurt too much so I was able to get dressed and I put on my sandals (yeah, it's cold outside too.) Oh, first I rewrapped the cut with some more neatly folded TP. Then I grabbed my keys and started to leave the apt, saw that I left my bathroom light on as well as my computer monitor and yes, I actually walked calmly to turn everything off. (We only have one planet you know, and I have TWO count 'em one, TWO! big toes.) Really, I wasn't in any danger, as long as I got to the emergency room fairly quickly.

Well, I got in the rental, kept it in 2nd gear (I hate this rental so bad so I am redlining it all the time.) ran a red light and made it to the hospital in like 3 minutes. It's only 4 minutes away so don't get all judgmental on me, you bastards. (Besides, you're more dangerous driving 85 on the freeway than someone who treats a red light like a stop sign.) I then drove into the handicapped parking lot, turned around and parked in the normal parking lot. I considered bringing in a book to read, decided against it, and hobbled to the check in desk. Had to sit down and fill out paperwork (sheesh) and was finally taken back by a nurse, Michelle.

Well, I was actually having a good time. I was joking with the nurses and asking them where they went to school and I told them that I teach dance. One of the nurses told me that she was at SSQQ Friday trying to sign up for Cumbia class. I didn't even know they had cumbia classes at SSQQ, but she said it was in Leisure Learning so there you go. I'll have to take the class some time. But I told her that I teach salsa and she said she goes out salsa dancing all the time. So I asked the nurse if she wanted to dance. She said no. Stuck up beech. LOL Anyway, the experience in the hospital was pretty great. Kind of fun. Oh, except for when the doctor gave me a shot in my foot. WOWEEEEE! I was so screaming. But I didn't cry. Heehee. After that it was mostly smooth sailing.

So now I'm on... uh... 50MG of tramadol and life is sooooo grrrrreat! Look at me I'm Tony the Tiger. Heheh. Oh, two big plusses. I got my tetanus shot, which I have been avoiding like for 15 years. And since I'm on antibiotics I should finally get my nasal infection cleared up. Oh sorry, TMI again, huh? Anyway, today when I woke up I found the lawyer's letter ON the couch (not beside it) haha! Of course. And I gave them a call. No office visit necessary and they are going to appear in court for me tomorrow.

God is so awesome isn't he? Really! Lately I've been feeling very down. I mean, look at my friends. Jorge, yeah he's a friend. Confided in me last week about a big life decision, but he's been acting very jerky to me lately. I wonder is it actually me that is being unfriendly? And there's Keith, who I haven't spoken to since after Rita hit. He didn't even invite me to stay over for the hurricane. Didn't worry about me at all. Is that a friend? So I've been wondering how much of a friend I have been, feeling like I'm not friendly and I'm not fun. I don't drink, I don't eat meat. I don't go out to pubs and I don't hit on strange women. Other guys at work disappear for lunch, and it's no wonder since all I do is sit there and listen to their conversations while I eat. So I've been feeling totally worthless lately. Then I had to go to the hospital for whatever reason, I actually became the real me: Fun, funny, and friendly, as I am getting stabbed with needless and stitched up like an old sock. And I was still concerned and respectful of the other patients. I am actually a great guy. So really, this wound has been a great experience. I love God and his mysterious ways.