Reflection 09 and Look-Ahead 10

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this dissertation are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Ashland Outdoor Store. Nor does the post have anything to do with anything important.

Honestly, I do not like reflection posts and borderline hate reading them. They either come across as bragging about how much cool stuff you did, or they come across as complaining about how much cool stuff you missed out on. Anyways, I don't think that you can't really reflect on an entire year. To much happens. Also, I don't even think it is fair to generalize the status of your year e.g. 2009 was a good year or 2009 was a bad year.

Reflections remind me eulogies and thats just depressing and it's all just because the calendar changes. Now I understand that we are a traditional society and so therefore we continue to trod down the same paths year after year catering to our nature of habit. So you'll go out tonight and you'll count down, toast, kiss your hunny, and make a new years resolution that you wont stick to because your just making something up to impress the company that your keeping. And just like that a new day and a new year will start.

Will 2010 be better then 2009? Will 2010 be worse then 2009? Who knows. But nothing will change if you continue to sit around and wait for something to happen or make idle half-assed new years resolutions.

Not to get to Carpe diem, but I was reminded recently of the George Bernard Shaw quote, "youth is wasted on the young." This made me realize that every year is going to be good and bad. So 2010 won't be too different then 2009. 2010 will have moments of great exaltation, immense remorse, and excruciating pain. The highs and lows of success and failure will fluctuate from day to day, week to week, and month to month on into 2011. Therefore, live your life the way you want, love the people you want, say the things you want, and be in the place you want.

Hold nothing back and 2010 will be yet another year.

Domestic Abuse

The domestic arena is by far the most dangerous area of our lives. This fact was re-instilled in me last weekend while attempting to hang new curtains.



It was an "easy" task, but one I had been putting off for roughly 8 months. But who's counting. The window the said curtains need to be hung up over was the front window. The front window, as is traditional for this time of year, is the home for the house's christmas tree. The right side of the curtain system went up easily as a balanced on the arm of the couch. The left side was a little more complicated because I'm right handed and the christmas tree was slightly in the way. However, balancing between the arm of the couch and windowsill wasn't difficult for me. But, using the drill in with my left hand was difficult. Therefore, I decided to switch drill hands.



At this point in the story everything gets a little blurry for me, but basically after switching which hand was holding the drill i slipped and fell. I fell on the christmas tree. I knocked over the tree. My momentum and gravity continued to carry me downward until I landed on the christmas tree stand and more importantly I landed on one of the T-Handles that tightens the bolt into the tree. The T-Handle impaled the bottom of my foot. In a moment of shock and panic I ripped my foot off the T-Handle. The amount of pain was indescribable.



Luckily I keep good people around me. Both my best friend and my girlfriend are certified wilderness first responders, and they quickly jumped into action. After stabilizing me (i.e. calming me down because I was freaking out), irrigating, and dressing my wound they took me to the emergency room where I got a nice foot soak, a pair of crutches, and a referral to a foot and ankle specialist because I could not feel or move my toes.



Three days, two doctors visits, and one MRI later I was in the specialist chair getting my foot numbed so he could open it up and clean it out. Take the initial accident's pain level and multiply it by 800 and that's how painful this process was. Luckily, I had my girlfriend to hold my hand and 5 shots of Novocain to help. However, being the big baby that I am, it was still the most painful experience of my life. The bad part is that all I have to show for it is five stitches and a soft cast.



So to start this winter season I'm on crutches. But things are looking up because I have feeling again and movement is slowly coming back. Hopefully with a little PT and luck I will be on the slope just after the new year.

But it has really made me reflect about how quickly things can happen that have astronomic affects on our lives. We (i.e. active outdoor enthusiast) I think have a tendency to take our physical abilities for granted. This is my first injury that has really brought that into perspective for me, and I think that is because it is my first real injury not inflicted during an activity (e.g. skiing, snowboarding, climbing, or biking).

It's definitely a reminder to calculate your risks. Even if that is hanging curtains!

A quick clarification: the thought of moving the tree out of the way never crossed my mind.