Half Sweet n' Half Nuts

Add a memory...

I got together with some friends last weekend and we went to Gatlinburg, TN, a small blink-and-you'll-miss-it town on the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. I hadn't met most of the group for almost 2 years so it was great just seeing them again.

We spent the weekend doing nothing in particular. Walked around town, had a good Saturday night drinking session, caught up with each other, the usual. And then we finally decided to "do something" on Sunday before going back, so we went on a trail. A "nature trail" which was nothing more than a 2 mile walk amongst the trees running parallel to the highway, but lets not go into that...

At the end of the trail was a waterfall - Cataract Waterfalls as the board proudly announced. I remember I even remarked why would anyone name a waterfall after a disease?! Maybe I should have just held my tongue. At the waterfall (it was quite insignificant, not more than 15-20 ft high) we decided to climb to the top. Anything in the name of adventure! And that was when I added an unforgettable moment to the trip - I was climbing the rocks on the side of the fall and I slipped. Face down my chest hit the rocks and I felt my bones slam inward and all my breath whooshed out! For a few seconds all I could think of was "Breathe Goddammit!"

Hey! Don't worry! It was just a few minutes .. I'm OK now! But it was scary! Anyways so I caught the flight back home and went to the doc who told me I was still in one piece, no fractures and just a lot of bruises and "contusions". My ribs and right hand would need some support and were not to be strained. The pain would eventually go away and there was nothing anyone could do about it!

So I was home for a week wrapped in bandages and surviving on pain killers and my life support system (i.e. my two roomies and 3 other friends). That week I added more memories than I could imagine. Not to mention the number of things I learnt about myself :-)

I learnt its weird brushing my teeth with my left hand. That I cannot open the door to my aptt. with just 1 hand. And that it is impossible for me to get into my jeans with just 1 hand!! But I can wash my hair with just 1 hand though it takes a lot more shampoo...
I cannot stop typing no matter how much it hurts! I'm addicted to my laptop! Also no matter how much pain I'm in I can always go shopping!! :D

I realised my friends hurt as much as I do when I'm hurting. And that time its easy to depend on them just a little more than you need to. It's easy to just let them do everything and not pitch in to do even what little you can but you feel guilty as hell later on. And after a week of whining and hurting when u decide it been too long and you just let go .. the pain goes away. Not immediately and not completely but you can ignore it and move on.

And of course I don't know for sure yet but I could possibly be losing my job since I couldn't meet a deadline...

I went for the weekend to relive old memories. I came back with a whole lot more and then some that I gathered days after the trip. I guess you never know when in the monotony of your life ... you just add a memory!