Knit Picky: Freaky Fridays--And Why I'm Famous At Work

"properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit...
and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either."
~elizabeth zimmerman

Friday, July 20, 2007

Freaky Fridays--And Why I'm Famous At Work

So about a month after the first time I sprained my ankle, it was a bit drizzly out and I was walking back to my office from a lunch run, carrying my sandwich and soda. I was heading down a slight grade, unaware of the danger lurking just a foot or so ahead of me.

Cue dramatic music--Bum BUM bum!

Some background: the buildings where our offices are located at Whatsamatta U were built in the '60s (pink stucco bungalows, bay-bee) and had all the typical failings from that era, including no handicapped* access to the doors. The two entrance doors are about 6" or more off the ground, the main walkway has a drop of 5-6", and between the main walkway and the doors is a gravel walkway. Yeah, real handicap-friendly. At some point they added wooden ramps down the main walkway to the gravel area, and back up to the main door that is used to enter our building. /Background

So I'm walking down that first ramp and I hit a damp patch. When stepping with the foot with my already sprained ankle. And I'm wearing boots with a heel (because I'm a moron who doesn't learn her lesson). Down, down, down I went. My purse went flying, my foot/leg again landed folded underneath me, I dropped the bag with my sandwich. But through it all (and this is a point of pride) not one drop of my soda was spilled. (Thank you, thank you.) I got up, looked around to see if anyone had witnessed my idiocy, gathered up the scraps of my dignity and limped back to the office. I tried to pretend that nothing happened because I was sooooo embarassed. But the pain did not get any better.

The next day I told my boss about it half-jokingly because my co-workers love to hear the stories of my humiliation (and I give them plenty of fodder). Well, she didn't find it so funny since it happened on campus property. An accident report was quickly filed, I was dispatched to the campus medical center for assessment, I was referred to physical therapy, and some handy dandy changes were instituted 'round these parts. The most notable was the ginormous rubber mats that were installed that very day on each wooden ramp. The mats were jokingly therefore referred to as KnitPicky** ramps. Campus safety also asked me for any other safety recommendations that I might have (slippery when wet signs, said I). And then there was the fancy shoe.

Shexxxxy

*I know that 'handicapped' is probably not the most PC word to use, but I think 'disabled' sounds worse, like you are referring to a person or people-group with some kind of a failing. You disable a machine, not a person. And 'differently abled' just sounds like you're trying too hard. Is this the lesser of some evils?

**Obviously they don't say KnitPicky. They say my last name, but for purposes of this blog, this works. ;)

1 Comments:

Hi, Ophelia D.
I'm just lurking and nosing through blogs this morning. At your expense I have had a good laugh and feel much better having read your ankle stories. Thank you.
Lily Ravenclaw.

By Laurie, at 9:42 AM

1 Comments:

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