Monday, 2/6

If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy.

Recall how, a few weeks ago, I was writing about how cross-country skiing on Marquette's Fit Strip was making me a better skier? Well, I was wrong. Or at least I was wrong as evidenced by then tumble I took down one of those short, sharp hills with a curve Saturday, when my skis got tangled up and I did a face plant into the snow, resulting in a black eye, a sore neck, and a whole lot of head shaking.

But at least I still have all my teeth!

When I went skiing Saturday morning I noticed that the trail hadn't been groomed for a while, and the tracks were kind of torn up. That should've been a warning sign right there; like I've often said, I'm not the world's most graceful skier. But in my determination to burn some calories I decided to try it anyway. And the first two and a half laps went fine, except for a few bumps here and there. Those bumps did make me think that I should take it easy, but my determination to finish the ski got the better of me and I pressed on, until I started going down the hill on my feet and ended up on my face.

And when I say “on my face”, I meant it. My skis got tangled up, my poles went with them, and I hit the snow face first, much like I hit the pavement face first during my bike accident four years ago, Luckily, snow is a LOT softer than pavement, which is why I have a puffy eye and a sore neck but still have all my teeth.

Yippee.

Like I wrote a few weeks, ago, I thought that skiing the Fit Strip was making me a better skier. And I truly believe it was. I was handling that sharp downhill just fine, and was approaching the course with more confidence than I had in the past. But I will admit that I'm not the world's greatest skier when the tracks are torn up, which is what they were this weekend. That should've been the first thing in my brain when I started skiing. I guess the confidence that I had build up skiing there got the best of me, and I figured I could handle it.

I guess I was wrong.

Luckily, whatever injuries I have should go away quickly. My neck's already feeling better, and hopefully the black eye will go away by Friday, when I have to take the first two quarter-final matches for “High School Bowl”. If not...well, that should make for an interesting story to tell on the air, shouldn't it? And hopefully, the next time I go skiing at the Fit Strip, I'll know enough that if the course it torn up and the tracks aren't set, that maybe I should go home and do something else.

Hopefully.

So if, in the next few days, you happen to see me around and notice that my right eye is puffy and/or black, don't assume that I got into a bar fight, walked into a door, or that Loraine finally was finally pushed too far by me singing the same song over and over and over again.

Nope. It was just me being, you know, me.

(jim@wmqt.com), klutz (but one who still has all his teeth)!