WHat I've Been Up To
So where is everyone? Have they migrated to the Brawl forums? I want to see how everyone is doing.
Anyways, it’s been pretty crazy for me. I remember about the time I made my last appearance here is when all the crap hit the fan. I’m not going to bore you with all the details, as I’m sure you remember I am capable of doing, so here is the summarized version.
Around the time that I posted the epic conclusion of my “return” tournament and my brother’s rise to dominance (he has since fallen out, and I took control again), real life decided it wanted to intervene and make things difficult for me and my wife. For some reason still unknown to me, my previous employer decided that my 5 years of servitude meant nothing to them and they released me due to cutbacks. I had been there since they had opened shop in 2002, so I was one of their highest paid employees. I figured that they assumed they could find someone to do the same job I was doing for the fraction of the cost. While this was a setback, the kicker came after my dismissal.
As I am sure you all know, most companies offer health insurance if you work full time for them. Well, since I had released, I was no longer under that protection. As life would so have it, I just happened to BREAK MY LEG a mere 24 hours after I was let go from my company. That’s right. I broke my leg a day after my medical coverage ended. A DAY. ONE FRIGGIN’ DAY.
And how did I do it, you ask? Cutting my lawn.
That’s right fellas. I broke my leg while cutting my front lawn. Now, I usually do an upstanding job when surveying my plot of land for any foreign object that might be making like a deadly projectile waiting to strike, so I have no idea how I messed up. Seems as if I left a small rock (no bigger than a quarter in size) with an unusually sharp edge on the ground. I had my push mower on full blast and, well… The rest is history. The rock was caught by the blade and flew through the plastic guard and hit me directly in the lower part of my shin.
Now, it didn’t hurt at first. It felt as if a small pebble had just deflected off of the grass guard on the side and hit me. The usually stuff, you know? It wasn’t until I looked down and saw the mounds of blood gushing out of my leg that I started to panic. That’s about the time the pain set in. I tried to stand on it, but that apparently made it worse as it caused me to fall and (very fittingly) sprain my ankle. I screamed in pain loud enough to where my sister (who is a registered nurse) and my wife could hear. I have to say, I am very glad that my sister was there, as she was the only one who was not panicking out of the three of us. She very calmly told my wife to get our car while she cleaned and bandaged the wound. They then helped me into our vehicle and we made our way to the hospital.
After everything was said and done, the doctor who examined me said that I had suffered a fractured tibia. Apparently, the rock had been hit by the blade so hard that it was like a bullet when it hit my leg. It managed to fracture my shin. She then told me that I had also suffered an ankle sprain when I fell and a minor wrist sprain when I landed on my hand. “The wrist sprain,” she said, “could be handled, no problem. However, I cannot cast your leg until the quarter sized hole in it at the point of entry is healed up.”
So this basically meant I had to spend the next month laid up in bed. I could not use crutches because of my hand and the pain that came with trying to move an uncasted, fractured leg. I needed huge amounts of help to get to the restroom and even more to bathe (which was an event all in its own). I had to cancel all of my upcoming talks in my church and postpone my job search. All the while though, my wife was the pillar of strength that I needed her to be. She was such a trooper. She took care of me through it all, and I love her all the more so because of it.
Anyways, after the leg was cast and I was able to get around in crutches, it was time for me to start my search all over again. I began going back to church (although I was not giving talks just yet) and looking around for a job. I signed up with a hiring agency that managed to find me a job at a local bank as a Treasury Rep. Things seemed to be going well for about a month or so, but that’s when life decided to throw another curve. My wife and I were at the local target looking for comforter sets when I got a call from my hiring agency. They said that they had received a call the previous Friday from my bank. Apparently, they deemed that I was not “a good fit” for them, and that they were terminating my employment.
I was shocked. I wanted to know exactly why I was getting canned again. They had just told me the previous Thursday that I was doing an outstanding job and that I was in line for a raise a few more weeks. Now all of a sudden, I’m being fired? I kept asking questions to my hiring rep why this was happening and why they deemed me to be “a bad fit.” However, since they were a hiring agency, the bank supposedly did not have to give a reason and they could let me go at anytime before the probationary time limit was over.
When I got off the phone with my rep, I was in tears. I could not believe this was happening again. My wife wanted to know what was going on, but I just didn’t have the heart to tell her. I had to though. So I took her to the food court and told her as calmly as I could. Thankfully though, this wonderful woman hugged me and assured me that everything was going to be alright.
And it was… eventually. Since I was able to get around in a limited fashion, my wife decided to get a job while I was recovering. We decided that it probably was not a good idea for me to go back to work until I was somewhat “fully” recovered. Fast forward through a few months of penny pinching and rehab, and we get to now. My leg has not fully recovered yet, as I still cannot put a whole lot of pressure on it, but it’s a lot better. I still cannot work out on it yet, but I suppose that can wait. Since I had been mostly immobile for the latter half of last year, I’ve gained a “few” pounds, so I can’t wait to get back to the gym.
As for work, I couldn’t be happier. I’m working at a place where the pay is real good, and they respect me in the way a person should be (I’m the parts manager at the local Culligan affiliate). It’s funny though, last week my Operations Manager called me into his office to speak with me. As he started talking, he could tell I was real nervous. He asked my why I looked worried, and I told him that I has just been fired twice in the span of 5 months with no reason given. I was just concerned that it was going to happen again. He answered in the best possible way he could. He laughed. His reason for calling me in? To discuss the terms of my 3 month probationary raise and health benefits package.
So, that’s what I’ve been up to since I last checked up with you all. I am sorry that I have not dropped in sooner. I am also sorry that this is not a summary, like I said it would be. Come on, if you know me, then you know I am not capable of telling a story without it being 5 pages long!
I will give you a little tidbit though. My brother lost his crown of champ at our final Melee tournament. The title is sitting very nicely on top of my computer desk. When you’re doing nothing but lying around all day because of a broken tibia, well… Needless to say that gives you a lot of time to practice your Smashing!
Oh yeah, and Brawl rocks! (Sorry Corey!)