i'm a klutz again

I've been doing so well for so long that I thought I'd actually beat this klutz thing. The sprained ankle in heels in December was my first hint, but the last week my klutziness has been rapidly accelerating.

Last week, it was REALLY cold when we got home, and the only thing on my mind was getting the electric blanket on the bed. The electric blanket which is, of course, in the top closet in the office. Seeing as how I was already ready for bed, freezing cold, and impatient, I didn't walk all the way to the other end of the house to get the step ladder, no! I decided it would just be quicker to use the office chair. That rolls. On wheels. It would just take a second. The whole time I'm thinking, "This is stupid. I shouldn't be doing this." But I was so cold!

So, after a couple of scary little rolls that I caught myself from, I wrestle the electric blanket out of the top closet. I look down to gauge where to step down, and am suddenly reminded that the chair not only rolls...it tilts and swivels. What reminded me? The chair rolling out from under me as the back tilted as far back as it would go. I went crashing down, slamming my ribs on the chair arms and my knee full force into the floor. The chair shot out with such force that it slammed one of it's rollers into our filing cabinet, dislodging one of the drawers and badly bending it's drawer guides.

My knee was scraped, but mostly just swollen. It's possible I cracked a rib or two, but I'm not sure. It really hurts to bend my knee in my jeans. And that was all before 8pm tonight.

Tonight, we ordered chinese food on our way home, and stopped for a quick sec at the Walgreens around the corner. While we waited on the incompetence of the pharmacy clerk, my phone rang; the chinese food was already there, wondering where the hell we were. I told JR to take the car and get home to pay for the food ASAP, and I would walk home.

[side note: Why do I always seem to get stuck with the incompetent pharmacy clerk who barely speaks English and can hardly operate the cash register? why lord why?!?!]

When I finally got my refills and headed home, it was pretty darn chilly outside, and I wasn't dressed for chilly. I rushed the block or so home, up the hill, and right as I got to the corner store my feet were torn out from under me, my phone went flying and scraping across the sidewalk, and my Walgreens bag launched out 10 feet into the street. I landed HARD on my hurt knee, also scraping my palms, my pinky finger, and my elbow. A really nice lady helped me up. I looked to see what on earth I had tripped on, and it was a huge rubber mat folded in half so the folded part is a huge loop, just waiting to snare unsuspecting walkers.

I hobbled the rest of the block home, and surveyed the damage. My knee now has two scrape areas, and one rapidly bruising swelling. It's nearly impossible to bend my leg at the moment.

All of this, just in time for SXSW. Hooray! It looks like the klutz is back, and I'm not happy about that. Neither is my knee.