On Tuesday I have an early morning visit to the chiropractor to work out some tightness/kinks in my upper shoulders and neck. I'm a bit embarassed when I take off my shirt and the chiropractor asks, "How did you get all of these bruises?" After a pause, he gives a knowledgeable and resounding, "Oh, I see". He proceeds to do some good work on my upper shoulders and neck.
Tuesday night sees a close, clean ice hockey game. We're down 1-0 or 2-0, I forget the exact score at the time, and we're pressing to get back into the game. On transition from offense to defense I catch an edge and fall hard to the ice - my head whipping back and slamming into the ice. I get up and skate to the bench for a replacement as I mutter to myself, "That's going to hurt". I'm starting to get a headache already but I know my front neck muscles will be sore for a few days due to the hyperextension. I get back in the game one minute later to spur the team on. We end up losing 2-1.
Wednesday is a blah day. I had trouble sleeping on Tuesday night after the ice hockey game, I have a small but constant headache, and I have a short attention span - all symptoms of a concussion. I get home and lift weights, go walking with and without Nopester, and then take some Kava root extract to relax and sleep early tonight and recover.
I sleep a bit late on Thursday and I feel better - except the soreness in the neck due to the hyperextension. But I know that this will go away over a few days. But over the remainder of the day almost every muscle in my body becomes sore from the ice hockey fall. My neck, my shoulders, my chest, my abdominals, and my hamstrings hurt from the impact with the ice. I meet Person T_V for dinner and relaxation prior to dropping him off at Long Beach airport. Following Person T_V's visit to Washington, DC he'll pick up his car from my house on Monday and go merrily on his way to work.
I have trouble sleeping on Friday night. Is it a mild concussion? Maybe, but I also have a sore throat as everyone around me has had. By 9am on Saturday morning I've already pruned/watered the roses, ridden the bicycle around the aquarium, ingested 800 IUs of Vitamin E (maybe for tonight), and taken countless grams of chewable Vitamin C to fight off the sore throat.
Person T* and I go bicycle shopping for her. We find a few nice bicycles but no purchases are made. We then go driving around until we get to this mall. As we walk around we see a number of jpop people. We also see a person behind a restaurant counter that I can't figure out, so I ask Person T*, "Is that a guy or a girl?" Person T* gives me an incredulous look, like "You can't tell?", but then she looks at the person and can't tell either. Oh well - some things are best left unknown.
Seeing that I have a sore throat, the most prudent course of action would be to get to bed early with continued fluid and Vitamin C supplementation. But this is not to be. I head up to pick up Person J_VKPI and we head for a club. There's a reasonable crowd and it is a fun night. Person J_VKPI insists on trying to set me up with someone, a Person A_?, but I stay distant because I do not need complications right now. On the way home I explain this to Person J_VKPI and he is disappointed but he understands. I'm just setting my head down as the clock strikes 3am on Sunday morning.
I'm up just after 7am on Sunday to lift weights and run errands. Then I relax to read the newspaper and catch up on some paperwork. An early afternoon inline skating session in the beautiful sun and ocean breeze refreshes me as I power stride past everyone. After finshing polishing up the motorcycle for extra speed ("Gotta reduce that skin friction drag!) I'm tired. And I'm ready to relax and call it a day at 5pm. But it is not to be. After many telephone calls with various friends I agree to meet Person Y_G at The Library coffeehouse - so I pack up the unread portion of the LA Times and head for the Browadway corridor.
Person Y_G and I have a good visit but I have to cut the evening short because I am tired. I turn my mobile phone back on as I'm driving home and, "What's going on here?", I have 11 missed calls in the last two hours. I certainly do not return all of the calls as I make it to bed just before 10pm.