Ironic accident...

[alanmcorcoran]

Just got back from getting some stitches in my face. Did I fall off the motorcycle? Nope. Crash into a tree skiing? Unh-unh. Drop the weights at the gym? Negative.

Got hit in the face with a racquetball racquet.

Yes, in a brightly lit room with a lovely inlaid wood floor, wearing shorts and goggles and a t-shirt, playing with a green colored rubber ball, I managed to earn a trip to the hospital.

Doc says it's okay to ride with the sutures. Forgot to ask him about skiing.

[Water Warrior 2]

Holy crap that must have hurt a bunch. I suppose it is better than a lot of road rash and now you have a story to tell.

[alanmcorcoran]

Saw stars for a bit, but, ultimately it didn't hurt as bad as it looked. The guy that owned the place gave me a towel with cold water and it bled pretty good for about five minutes, but, then I patched it up, and, seeing as I was only ten minutes into my hour of court time ($18 for two people!) I elected to suck it up, finish the game and played two more*. When I got home, my wife said it didn't look too good, and, after I called a nurse hotline, they "strongly recommended" I get it looked at.

It looks a lot like those puffy skin split gashes you see white boxers get under their eyes after the fifth round or so. about a half inch wide and the usual black, yellow, purple bruise. here's a PG pic:

http://s4.postimage.org/bc_dA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aVbc_dA)

*I won all three games.

[Maggie]

It looks a lot like those puffy skin split gashes you see white boxers get under their eyes after the fifth round or so.

Yo, Adrienne...

[Maggie]

Oh dear! Well, at least you can look a little "tougher" now with stitches in your face, especially when you wear the Stratoliner "riding gear" you showed in your pic! :poke2:

[alanmcorcoran]

Nothing says "hottie" like a couple of sutures in one's cheek.

I probably shoulda listened to my "voice within" and not posted those douchebaggy executive-on-a-two-wheeler pics. Too late.

[Maggie]

I probably shoulda listened to my "voice within" and not posted those douchebaggy executive-on-a-two-wheeler pics. Too late.

Now, now...don't get all sensitive and regretful on us. A little razzing is good for the soul; keeps one humble <as long as it's not me! LOL> Pass the vinegar, please. :neener: :twisted:

Hope you heal quickly.

[alanmcorcoran]

I don't think it's possible for me to get "all sensitive."

Regretful... maybe. Cranky, for sure. But when you're kind of a dick, you get used to the feedback.

I knew what I was in for when I put the D-bag photo up. Because they are so bad, providing chum for derision was about the only purpose they could possibly serve.

As far as my face goes, it only hurts when I laugh... or if I go poking at it with my finger.

[burkbuilds]

I hope this incident doesn't start a movement to force everyone playing racketball to wear a full face helmet for their own good!

[alanmcorcoran]

You got to wear eye protection so it might only be a matter of time. Speaking for myself, I'd be in favor of developing softer racquets.

[burkbuilds]

LOL, yeah I bet you would.

[Water Warrior 2]

Speaking for myself, I'd be in favor of developing softer racquets.


Go for it. A little research and design................oh forget it, you just get a very large fly swatter.

[BusyWeb]

It might be hurting...
Did you say that you ran a couple of more rounds after inccidents??? ha ha ha

Hope getting well soon!

[alanmcorcoran]

Did you say that you ran a couple of more rounds after inccidents???

Yeah, my initial thought was "I'm done, hope I didn't just lose an eye." But after I calmed down a bit I started thinking, "Darn, my little fitness/weight loss program is going to take a hit... and I just wasted eighteen bucks on ten minutes of racquetball."

I'm still not sure what the dividing line is for "you need stitches" and "band-aid" but I figured as long as I didn't manage to get whacked in the face again, I could probably finish the match and, if need be, seek treatment later. I really get into the intensity of the game and I was kind of bummed to give it up over a simple trajectory miscalculation. So, on we played!

I'm generally pretty resistant to going to doctors anyway just because of the wait, the other sick people waiting, the bureaucratic BS, and the rest, but I guess ultimately I decided I didn't want to risk my lucrative modeling career.

I have a nasty red shiner today and half my face is all swollen up, but it actually is pretty painless. I plan to ski on Monday if the goggles don't sit on the gashline. Supposed to get some snow this weekend.

[Water Warrior 2]

Alan, don't talk about sking too loud. The great and wonderful 2010 Games are running out of snow in Vancouver. They are trucking it in again and dumping it on the slopes with helicopters. Also read today that the extra security is costing a billion dollars. It all would be funny if it wasn't so sad and expensive.

[alanmcorcoran]

Looks to me like they had plenty at Whistler but (for political/commercial reasons?) stuck it out at the lower elevation Cypress. Seems to me like the first thing on the Winter Games site location checklist should be:

1) Does it snow there? (Y/N)
2) No, seriously, does it SNOW? Flurries don't count. Light dusting is not snow. What we are looking for is ten feet deep, not-getting-out-of-your-driveway-til-May, holy-shit-our-roof-is-gonna-cave-in snow.

I've always thought of Vancouver as the sort of San Francisco/Portland of Canada and, other than Whistler/Blackcomb, never really thought it was seriously wintry, like say, Montreal or Winnipeg. Course I only been there two or three times.

Don't be too jealous. The snow we get in San Bernadino County is iffy and fleeting. They supplement it at Mountain High with the spray gun stuff and, if the temperature cooperates, you can get in some decent, if somewhat monotonous, runs. I go local just to maintain my meager ability from season to season, especially if I am considering going somewhere more upscale. My favorite place to ski is actually Colorado on I-70, home to Vail, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone and, my favoritely named resort: Beaver Creek! (I have some jokes about the slope "grooming" there, but they mostly suck.)

So far this year all I've been able to manage is three short trips to Wrightwood.

It's been raining all evening and it was a little chilly out there (mid fifties!) so that means there might be fresh powder this weekend.