Act III. Scene 1 - The woes fade out slowly

I've been back just over a week now. But this time it barely feels like I left in the first place. Most things went according to my grand plan for the transition to 3rd. Well, everything except rock diving* down Victoria Falls the day after the 2nd ended, and having to hobble home on crutches. I did, however, get to once again experience all the grandeur of both the Dominican and American medical systems. Let's just say that I unfortunately do not have greater faith in the latter, but that's a discussion for a later date.

I managed to register rather quickly despite arriving on the rock a few days late. Coming straight to campus from the airport, with all my clumsy boxes and stuff with me, I had to wobble across campus and through the hour-long bank line with an inordinate amount of junk. 'That was a long day' I thought as I wrapped things up with NBD.

I was stoked, thinking it was all coming to an end as I arrived at my steamy apartment around 5:00 p.m. I thought back to about 4:15 a.m. that morning, sitting in the airport terminal in Miami, burying the hatred of leaving my love in the intrigue of my first first-class seat assignment. And just as I had finished dialing back to that love, and proclaiming my safety, I began to flip some switches, and was greeted with more than just a little sweat. After 1,400 miles, 14 hours, 14 lines, a water-heater hose burst right in my face - literally. In the 15 seconds it took to get the water valve shut off, my entire apartment had become an indoor kiddie pool. I had been thinking of a shower, but this was ridiculous.

An hour and a half later, after mopping up buckets and buckets, and running a few older towels across the entire apartment floor, things began to normalize. At some point in that time frame a random guy actually came by to fix the bad hose. He finished the job, saw me and my failed attempt to turn my apartment into an ice-skating rink, and took off blazing-fast. He surely didn't want to get stuck mopping up anything. Lucky him.

Over the subsequent 3 days, I managed to catch up on the first week of lectures, and prepared for our first day of ICM. I actually managed ALMOST 2 completely normal days of class. My knee was even beginning to feel a little better, as I wasn't needing Aleve like clock-work.

And then on Tuesday afternoon, I was struck down by a good ol' Shack Attack! YEAH! Well, it's gotta happen at least once a semester. So I figure I might as well get it out of the way now. So that knocked me out of commission for another day and a half. Since, I've managed to catch up most of what I missed yesterday, and actually popped into one of today's sessions.

So at this rate, I'll be back up to speed tomorrow, and probably get a splinter or stub my toe or something on Monday or Tuesday afternoon. After that, I should be good at least until the end of the semester. As we approach that stretch, though, I'm totally getting that helmet that Chris recommended.

Oh, and I forgot to mention getting charged by mad mama cow...

...twice.



And in case you're wondering, yes, it's worth it.

Kelly, I love you with all my heart. Hang in there, I'll be home before you know it.









* rock diving : n. - the act of intentionally or unintentionally propelling one's body into or onto solid rock surfaces face-first; Eduardo went rock diving on the way down from Victoria Falls and hurt his knee, but being hard-headed, his cranium fared well.