Sometimes the most marginal of ailments can send one reeling into disarray. A couple days ago, I had some time after work to kill before I was scheduled to be somewhere else in town so I decided to prepare my car for the impending island hop. This involved giving my car an oil change, but without a proper spill bucket for the oil, I decided to improvise one versus buying one, and well, an unused plastic dresser drawer would make for a good spill bucket I thought. I took this drawer and used an exacto knife to cut a divot in the drawer to allow it to slide under my oil pan. My first vertical cut went well, but when i went to cut the divot horizontally, the exacto blade broke and unfortunately I was not cutting away from my body, but towards it. I stuck myself two inches below my knee cap and began to slowly gush blood. So much for being somewhere in town later. I continued to finish up my car maintenance before driving home to where I could properly address my wound. Only then, a few hours later upon cleaning and dressing the wound, did it stop bleeding.
The puncture wound was no bigger than half an inch wide and I didn't think anything of it. The next morning however, as I attempted to go to work did the pain begin. I tried to work limping around with a vacuum cleaner but I eventually got sent home, and now, I am bedridden. Right now, day two of missing work is coming to a close, and all I have to show for it really is a few more videos to add to the "watched" section of my Youtube account and the completion of a few mindless Newgrounds games. All while limping around the house to use the bathroom or scrounge some non-existent food up from the refrigerator.
This isn't the first time I've been in this situation or one similar, but whenever I am bedridden or confined, I always think of the sake scene from The Last Samurai. Colonel Algren as played by Tom Cruise is taken in/hostage/prisoner after suffering combat wounds from the Katsumoto forces. During his recovery he begs for sake undoubtedly to sooth his injuries, "time travel" (when one drinks in excess to kill specific spans of time) and in addition to this character, "silence" his demons. The scene is short but it feels like a lot of time transpires during this scene and the cinematography reminds me a lot of how it's like to be crippled, if not for a moment.
In a weird way however, having some unexpected time off where you can't do anything really can be kind of a semi-productive reflective and humbling period. There are instances where I actually plan for the impromptu shut out times from the world to get some non-technological pen & paper type things done. In this case, the neglected blogs are getting some attention. But another example includes the many hour trans-Pacific flights as a wondrous opportunity to draw, write, read and reflect. Thankfully today it's becoming a lot easier to distract oneself with the delights and wonders of technology (internet) in the room in which you recover it's not quite as mind-numbingly boring/small. Even so, I still can't help but scheme like a convict with "what imma gon do when I get out" plans.
I hope to return to work soon though. I am generally not one to miss work. And I was counting on the cash grab during the holidays to help bolster my bank accounts before the move. All this from a little puncture wound.
