Dallas was great. I had a blast, met lots of fantastic people (many of whom will be appearing on the blog or site sometime in the future), and came home with a thousand ideas.
But it wouldn’t be a PC event without embarrassment and injury. Sigh.
We’ll start with a public service announcement. The conference is not officially over until you are safely in your car/house and positively sure there’s no one else from RWA around. Just because it’s Sunday morning, that does not mean it’s safe to run down to the lobby for a latte with no makeup and no bra. Heck, I figured most folks were gone, and since I wasn’t wearing my name tag, no one would know who the braless, makeupless wonder was. WRONG. Going to the lobby sans bra and makeup practically GUARANTEES you will run into someone you respect and/or admire. Someone you’d normally only want to see when you’re looking somewhat professional and competent. Someone who knows who you are (on sight)—not someone you can just avoid. Sigh. Yes, I spent twenty minutes talking to an editor while wearing that just-rolled-out-of-bed look. And braless.
Oh the irony.
So there’s the embarrassment. On to the injury.
Observant blog readers will remember a toss-away comment last week about a “knee crisis that nearly derailed my conference experience—not to mention my wardrobe.” Not so toss-away after all, it seems. Last week’s issue was a tibia popped slightly out of place. My chiropractor popped in back in, and I felt tons better. Still a little sore, yes, but not enough to cause any major problems (at least to me, that is. The person I shared a bed with would probably disagree. I kept propping it up on her in the middle of the night when it started to ache. Sorry.).
I probably should have babied it a bit more. I probably shouldn’t have done The Twist at the Harlequin party. I definitely shouldn’t have forgotten that I wasn’t a 17-year-old cheerleader when “Mickey” came on. The other Playfriends knew something was up when I quit dancing half-way through the song and expressed deep interest in my water glass. The only phrase that comes to mind is “hurt like a bitch.” It was not a good rest of the evening. I don’t like to cry in public. I don’t like having my friends feel like they need to leave a party on my behalf. I don’t like being in pain.
Saturday was interesting. I pulled out my handy ACE bandage (the one I’d packed just in case) wrapped it up as tight as I could, and tried to go about my day. Thankfully, Maven Linda had a pair of black flats I could borrow. I took three Alleve on an empty stomach, and went to my editor appointment and three workshops. Since my Rita dress was short, I went without the bandage and in my three-inch stilettos (Vanity is also a bitch.) Everyone thought I was crazy (they didn’t know I’d had several drinks to dull the pain.) I’ll spare you the other details of Saturday, but lets just say that when the Mavens and the Playfriends gang up, you are no longer the boss of you. Nag, nag, nag. I went barefoot for a lot of the evening—not by choice. (And I really loved my shoes.)
But wait, here’s where the story gets slightly amusing.
I went through the Dallas airport in a wheelchair. Escorted by the Playfriends (who did allow me to at least go to the bathroom by myself, but no other walking.) Picture me, in a wheelchair, with Kira’s enormous pillow and some carry-on luggage freewheeling it through the airport (my Playfriends are good at many things—wheelchair pushing is not necessarily one of them. SP got me stuck on the jetway ramp. Instigator ran me in to something.) It’s probably a good thing we were all very tired. Otherwise, things probably would have been very interesting.
I think Angel has a picture. Now there’s one for the scrapbook.
But it’s great to have friends who care. We only nag the ones we love, right? And if you can’t make fun of your poor, injured friends, who can you make fun of? It, like so many other things on the Playground, simply bonds us closer together.
So I’m headed to the doctor this morning to find out what’s wrong. Bets are currently being placed on Torn Cartilage, Crushed Cartilage, Bone Chip, ASL, MSL (I don’t even know what those last two are—those terms are courtesy of the cable guys who came to the house this morning). Feel free to jump in the betting pool. Personally, I’m holding on to the hope that it’s just a sprain. Or maybe something that only requires some physical therapy to be good as new (or as good as my knee can get. It’s been bad for about 17 years now…) I’ll post an update when I know something.
Hope everyone else had a great conference—or at least a great week while I was gone. In honor of my conference experience, I’ll give prizes for Most Embarrassing Moment or Most Painful Moment of the last seven days.
But it wouldn’t be a PC event without embarrassment and injury. Sigh.
We’ll start with a public service announcement. The conference is not officially over until you are safely in your car/house and positively sure there’s no one else from RWA around. Just because it’s Sunday morning, that does not mean it’s safe to run down to the lobby for a latte with no makeup and no bra. Heck, I figured most folks were gone, and since I wasn’t wearing my name tag, no one would know who the braless, makeupless wonder was. WRONG. Going to the lobby sans bra and makeup practically GUARANTEES you will run into someone you respect and/or admire. Someone you’d normally only want to see when you’re looking somewhat professional and competent. Someone who knows who you are (on sight)—not someone you can just avoid. Sigh. Yes, I spent twenty minutes talking to an editor while wearing that just-rolled-out-of-bed look. And braless.Oh the irony.
So there’s the embarrassment. On to the injury.
Observant blog readers will remember a toss-away comment last week about a “knee crisis that nearly derailed my conference experience—not to mention my wardrobe.” Not so toss-away after all, it seems. Last week’s issue was a tibia popped slightly out of place. My chiropractor popped in back in, and I felt tons better. Still a little sore, yes, but not enough to cause any major problems (at least to me, that is. The person I shared a bed with would probably disagree. I kept propping it up on her in the middle of the night when it started to ache. Sorry.).
I probably should have babied it a bit more. I probably shouldn’t have done The Twist at the Harlequin party. I definitely shouldn’t have forgotten that I wasn’t a 17-year-old cheerleader when “Mickey” came on. The other Playfriends knew something was up when I quit dancing half-way through the song and expressed deep interest in my water glass. The only phrase that comes to mind is “hurt like a bitch.” It was not a good rest of the evening. I don’t like to cry in public. I don’t like having my friends feel like they need to leave a party on my behalf. I don’t like being in pain.
Saturday was interesting. I pulled out my handy ACE bandage (the one I’d packed just in case) wrapped it up as tight as I could, and tried to go about my day. Thankfully, Maven Linda had a pair of black flats I could borrow. I took three Alleve on an empty stomach, and went to my editor appointment and three workshops. Since my Rita dress was short, I went without the bandage and in my three-inch stilettos (Vanity is also a bitch.) Everyone thought I was crazy (they didn’t know I’d had several drinks to dull the pain.) I’ll spare you the other details of Saturday, but lets just say that when the Mavens and the Playfriends gang up, you are no longer the boss of you. Nag, nag, nag. I went barefoot for a lot of the evening—not by choice. (And I really loved my shoes.)
But wait, here’s where the story gets slightly amusing.
I went through the Dallas airport in a wheelchair. Escorted by the Playfriends (who did allow me to at least go to the bathroom by myself, but no other walking.) Picture me, in a wheelchair, with Kira’s enormous pillow and some carry-on luggage freewheeling it through the airport (my Playfriends are good at many things—wheelchair pushing is not necessarily one of them. SP got me stuck on the jetway ramp. Instigator ran me in to something.) It’s probably a good thing we were all very tired. Otherwise, things probably would have been very interesting.
I think Angel has a picture. Now there’s one for the scrapbook.
But it’s great to have friends who care. We only nag the ones we love, right? And if you can’t make fun of your poor, injured friends, who can you make fun of? It, like so many other things on the Playground, simply bonds us closer together.
So I’m headed to the doctor this morning to find out what’s wrong. Bets are currently being placed on Torn Cartilage, Crushed Cartilage, Bone Chip, ASL, MSL (I don’t even know what those last two are—those terms are courtesy of the cable guys who came to the house this morning). Feel free to jump in the betting pool. Personally, I’m holding on to the hope that it’s just a sprain. Or maybe something that only requires some physical therapy to be good as new (or as good as my knee can get. It’s been bad for about 17 years now…) I’ll post an update when I know something.
Hope everyone else had a great conference—or at least a great week while I was gone. In honor of my conference experience, I’ll give prizes for Most Embarrassing Moment or Most Painful Moment of the last seven days.
UPDATE: The doc seems to think it's torn cartilage, but I need an MRI to be sure. Sadly, that must wait until after I return from vacation. Right now, drugs, rest, and a huge knee brace will have to get me through.
12 comments:
I woke up ten minutes early today just so i could read this blog.
First...i'm sorry you're hurt. Second, at least i'm not the only one in the world who runs downstairs in the wee hours of the morning, braless and no make up. And i wasn't even at the Conference. Been there, done that, and let me tell you - my mountains need a bra 24 hours a day.
Bravo on doing the twist and trying to make it on your own, however, friends are there to help. Now that i'm done smacking you, and i don't really know you all yet, but had i been there, a smack would have come out of my hand, you need to rest.
So....go to the good doctor, pray for something slight that won't take too much out of you and sit back as you read embarrassing moments.
I went looking up ASL and MSL...and came up with some weird connotations...so i'm not sure i'd trust cable guys with medical stuff...I'm not sure i'd trust them with cables.
Let's see. Embarrassing moment? High school 1979. Junior year. So totally in lust with a senior guy named Louis. I'm telling you, he was man's gift to women. Well, in the old days, the hallways of the high schools were marble or wood. Not carpeting. Picture cold, wet, wintery day. Marble halls, silent until the bells rang and we all plodded in to head to our lockers first thing in the morning. Floor was slick, as marble gets when it's wet. Picture Nini...(well, you don't know what i looked like) with her hair in a "Pat Benetar" kind of way, carrying her books, being shoved and pushed with the rest of the crowd and then it happens. I hit a patch of really wet area, (now that i think about it, what was my mother doing allowing me to wear heels in the snow?), my heels slide, i go flying into Louis, take him down, take the next kid down, in huge tangle of arms, legs, and body parts. I'm laying on top of Louis (thank you Lord!) and the other kid is nearly on top of me. I'm beet red, matches my shoes, which are now broken. Everyone around us is hysterical laughing, as kids do. I get helped up, Louis of course doesn't need help and the other kid is already gone. My friends come over, not to make sure i'm okay, but to ask how the 'sandwich' was and did i want another. The next few months, i was asked repeatedly by boys, if i wanted a sandwich.
So...that my playmates, is my embarrassing moment in time. I have alot more, but that's the one that came to mind, as i'm packing my carrycase for school. I've got two summer classes thru the Board to teach us how to handle classroom behavior. It's going to take two days to teach us this...uh huh...go figure!
Have a great day! Fingers crossed for something fixable PC...
Nini
We only did it because we love you. And in my defense, those jetway ramps are hard to go up with the bumps. I didn't think you wanted me to attempt popping a wheelie with you in the chair.
I'm not sure I've done anything particularly embarassing or painful in the last week. I'll keep thinking, though and I'll come up with something...
Ah, PC, I'm feeling both your pains. It is not a matter of IF I'm going to embarrass myself at a conference by saying or doing something stupid, it's merely a matter of WHEN. My faux pas are so numerous, I won't subject y'all to them.
And I've been having a little matter of misalignment between my tibia and talus (leg and foot) which makes my knee hurt like a *itch after about two miles of running. So, I'm hoping for your sake that the knee pain is referred from the tibia being out for several days.
I don't think I did anything embarrassing at conference, at least, I hope not. I tend to be so worried about embarrassing myself that it becomes an obsession. Or I'll go out of my way to avoid things because I'm afraid I'll do something stupid.
The Playfriends have learned that if PC cries or admits she's in enough pain to need a wheelchair, its a big deal. Very scary! But she actually looked cute in the wheelchair. (And, yes, pictures must be taken of everything!)
And when you wear a bigger size, you never, ever leave your room without a bra...
Angel
You didn't mention wearing my shoes on the flight home. I believe you called them "grandma shoes." But they didn't hurt your feet, did they? And when you did have to walk a few steps, you weren't perching on wobbly heels, were you? That'll teach you to make fun of my grandma shoes. ;-)
The cable guy is probably referring to ACL -- anterior cruciate ligament. And the MSL could refer to the meniscus. At any rate, there's a reason they're cable guys and not orthopedic surgeons. Hope the knee is easily fixable.
Most embarrassing moment in the last 7 days. I'm not sure I have one, thank goodness, though I could have if I'd been caught when I walked to the ice machine in my PJs.
PM
You handled everything with dignity, PC. When situations like these arise its good to know you are deeply cared for and those who came to your rescue proved it. That's a testament to you as a person.
Never fear the embarrassing moment. It's good for us to be able to laugh at ourselves every now and then. Lord knows I've created my fair share of laughter.
I'm hoping to hear you got good news from the doctor today.
Kathy
We nag because we care. And because seeing you in tears is terrifying! I'm hoping you get good news.
And Honey, if one of us had to go downstairs with no make-up and no bra I'm glad it was you. You don't need the make-up (or the bra for that matter since everything is still where it should be).
Instigator
Hope everything went ok at the doctor & that you get better soon. I didn't have anything bad or good happen in the past week. Unless you count wearing a bathing suit in public? I'm a tad shy about wearing one around people other than family.
Wow! So sorry to hear about your injury. I have to laugh about the bra incident because it has happened to me. Most embarassing in the past 7 days was being caught by my 4 year old naked. I went into the shower, took off my clothes and threw it in the hamper and realized I had left my clothes and my towel outside the bathroom. I knew my son and husband were watching tv so I figured if I made a dash to my bedroom I would be fine. So who should come around the corner during my mad dash but my 4 year old and he started laughing and pointing and saying "I see mommy's naked butt. How funny!" Meanwhile, my husband is cracking up laughing and I am so embarassed. Talk about lousy timing.
My embarassing moment wasn't too bad, thankfully. It was when the lady YOU sent, PC, knocked on our door at 8-ish and I was still in bed. And then she came inside and talked to PM and got introduced to me because, frankly, what else can you do? (I know you didn't send her, but it's still funny.) :) Apparently, one is not even safe in one's own room at conference. Ha!
robynl said...
a few days ago I went to the Masseuse with a muscle in my neck pulling and sometimes causing a headache. It is also hard to shoulder check with the sore neck. She seemed to work everywhere but the neck area because supposedly the pain was coming from my legs, going up to my back and then my neck. Whilst she was working on my inner leg I let out a yelp and then said 'oh my goodness, imagine if someone had been waiting out in the waiting area and heard that, they would have wondered what you were doing to me". The pain was excruciating but lessened a little as time went on. Also, the point of working on my big toes was like needles sticking into them when she worked that area. I said to her 'don't tell me I'm the worst case you've had'- everywhere hurt.
* the massage was at 12 noon so no one was around right at the moment but some people came later.
Ouch on the injured knee. I think its one of the most painful parts of your body to get injured. Hopefully the MRI won't show a lot of damage and its something easily healed :)
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