Strange day ...

[blamebrampton]

It's been a long weekend here, and I have achieved perhaps one thing from my list of The Many Things I Must Do. Instead I have slept like a log for most of it and failed to finish my Darkfest fic.

Instead, I fell over on wet tiles at the shops and -- even with my ninja-like falling skills -- managed to give myself one hell of a bruise and gash to the calf; there was a vicious edge where some of the tiles and concrete had broken away. I strongly suspect that those tiles are not passed for external use, as it was a mild damp from the earlier rain, but there was no traction at all. And I'm not joking about the ninja-like falling skills. Years of riding, ballet and martial arts have perfected them, and I was rolling neatly to one side from the waist down, holding a coffee and two pastries upright with minimal spillage -- would have been fine if not for the broken edge gouging me.

I think I'll slap on a short skirt and go over and rant with a spot of bruise waving to see if I can get them to fix that. What if I'd been an OAP?

Anyway, I limped home, to find that two of my friends and their cute toddler were planning to descend on us. Which put an end to my writing plans. But then I received LJ notifications from three of people who had read one (different ones!) of my stories over the weekend and had nice things to say about them.

I have to say that this cheered me up immensely. After writing at the speed of glacial shift -- er classic glacial shift speed, not current -- I suddenly felt much more talented and much more competent. Comments, they are beautiful things!

Friends are happily ensconced, alcohol in hand, toddler in toddler nest, and trashy television keeping us from having to make any mental effort. Tomorrow night looks good for writing. Leg still hurts, though!

Comments

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

Oh noes! First the Pilgrim Flu of Death and now the Tiles of Doom? Are you staging your own personal Ragnarok? *kisses it better*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Cheers, dear! And in my mind, any fall that doesn't involve a speeding vehicle or hospital stay is a good fall!

But I am cranky that the shop has such an obvious hazard, when about $50 would fix it.

[tomatoe18.livejournal.com]

Minimum spillage?! :O I AM IMPRESSED. You still got to eat the pastries and drink the coffee, then? I need ninja skills. Except, I'm lacking on the riding training part. I only have ballet and martial arts. I don't think playing football helps.

Good luck with writing.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Thanks, dear!

And I have a great mastery of the descent ;-)

My best effort ever was when I was standing up in my stirrups and trying to retrieve my riding jacket from the tree I'd thrown it into earlier. Like a gibbon, I jerked the branch, and my horse first reared, then bucked. I balanced through the first, but the second sent me flying over between her ears.

I did a somersault in mid-air, then came down on lightly both feet beside my horse's head, with my reins in one hand and my jacket in the other. My friends were all staring, amazed.

'We've been practising that for months,' I said. I kept a straight face for about 30 seconds before I burst out laughing. I had practised the twisting to not land on your head part of things, but everything else was pure luck!

[tomatoe18.livejournal.com]

So, is there any reason why you're not a stuntwoman in Hollywood? With that kind of skills, I figured you could make money out of it. Or, perhaps, you'll be suing? *grins wickedly*

'We've been practising that for months,' I said. I kept a straight face for about 30 seconds before I burst out laughing. I had practised the twisting to not land on your head part of things, but everything else was pure luck!

You know what crossed my mind? "Oh my God, she's like a female Harry Potter!" You know, the whole thing about luck.

No, but seriously. Stuntwoman = consider it!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

My X-rays look a bit stuntwomany, but I have spent enough time in physio for injuries from my own life without adding in another person's set!

And I must say that I have had good luck -- but is it good luck that one survives well in accidents that could kill one, or would it be better luck to not be in such accidents in the first place?

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

Good lord. We should get you to do tricks.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I'll doubtless do something physically amusing, but I have to say that I couldn't repeat that one to save my life. Possibly to save my life ... except the last time I twisted in mid-air to avoid landing on my head, I landed on and shattered my foot. And then landed on my head. At least I was wearing a helmet!

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

Sue them! Like the dogs they are. Take photos. Of everything. In triplicate!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I knew you'd say that!

It's the bakery and second-hand record shop, so I'd just end up with a lifetime supply of croissant and vinyl.

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

Et alors? I wish i'd sued the Bollocks off tesco's. My back still hurts and i can't wear a whole class of side fastening shoe as i can't twist round. You could have horrific latent injuries you know. ~cheerful~ have i lived up to my lawyerly stereotype enough? Snerk. Go on then. Talk sternly to them. Perhaps tut a bit.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

See, that's an ongoing change to the quality of your life!

But yes, I will be Particularly British at them, until they quail and promise to fix the broken bit and pop a few grip strips on the tiles.

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

It damned well is. There are some truly fabulous buckled shoesies at the moment, and I cannot wear them.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I have a pair of bespoke shoes that I wore once before I shattered my foot. Buggeration.

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with a lifetime supply of croissant?!!!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I have had enough time being portly since I broke my foot, I would like to go back to being whippety! I have some lovely tiny clothes that are just sitting there ...

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

So? Then you just need to eat fewer croissants. :D Still, croissants... mmmm!

[empress-jae.livejournal.com]

i am sorry that you fell, but the image i have in my head of your ability to salvage your coffee and pastries (because they MUST be salvaged, of course. body be damned.) just made me burst out laughing. now it's like...on a non-stop loop. i'm never going to get any wrok done. :D

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I did spill a little over the lip of the cup, but none on my clothing and almost all of it still in the cup! And the pastries were fine. Which is a relief, because if it had been bruises and battered pastries, there would have been STRONG WORDS right at that very moment.

And it was probably as amusing to watch as it is in your head ;-)

[shoeboxer4life.livejournal.com]

This is my comment exactly. hee. So sorry about the bruise, Brammers. Ninja falling skills ftw!

Anna

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It's at least a very interesting bruise to look at! And just think how much more annoyed I'd have been if there was scalding and coffee stains to deal with, too!

[aldehyde.livejournal.com]

awwwh! this really hasn't been a good couple of months for you with regards to your health, has it? [something i can relate to, sigh]. i hope the gash heals quickly and doesn't scar, and you should definitely complain about the wet tiles!

btw i really enjoyed reading this entry - it was very engaging and humorous. excellent way to start off my monday morning!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

This was just annoying! How hard is it to paint a few grip strips on? Grrr! As for scars, eh, I have so many that I plan to spend my dotage telling children I was a mercenary for hire in North Africa.

But I will be complaining! And the shopkeepers are both young and easily intimidated by fortysomething Englishness, so I'll have loads of fun doing it! Glad I made you smile, you did the same for me ;-)

[beatnikspinster.livejournal.com]

Ouch! Congrats on saving the coffee, but sorry about your leg. Hope it feels better soon.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It will heal quickly, long before my wrath! And thank you!

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

Ouch!

*smites broken Brammers hurting thingies*

I has interwebs *clings* and a soft bed. My life may be worth living after all.

I think I need some of your fic. I feel so very out of things right now, but have a lot more mileage under the belt.

*hugs*

Hope you're feeling better soon. *blows kisses for your leg to get well*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Cheers, dears! I wouldn't have been anooyed if I'd just banged my knee up on the footpath, but the whole reason I have a ghastly gash is their broken bit (and the original slipperiness) Bastards!

VERY glad that the wilds of Caledonia have sent you back out in the warm and webbed, I missed you! I could email you the Darkfest story for a 'beta' once it's done if you need something original (since you're travelling, beta could consist of 'Is good' or 'is poo' ;-)

Have a fun rest of your trip! XXXBB

[khateh.livejournal.com]

Comments are wonderful things :) As the ass fest mod, i still receive everyone's comments, and even if the praise isn't for me, i get a happy feeling that I know people who are awesome :)

Hope the pain will go away soon and the toddler's presence won't bring any others :)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

The toddler and adults have left and are now many hours south (and the small cats couldn't be happier!)

It's really reminded me that I need to be more religious about leaving comments on people's work, rather than just RL posts, because these are the things that jolly us up as writers. *Makes mental note to do better!*

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

laughing, are the pastries really worth more than a potential injury? The coffee, yes, but the pastries?

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

They were VERY YUMMY pastries!

And, alas, the only things I could have grabbed onto on the way down were likely to cause worse injuries, but to my precious hands.

[thisgirl-is.livejournal.com]

Sleep is good, and if you're sleeping that hard, you probably need it. Glad you are starting to feel better after your brush with the Pilgrim Flu.

Well saved on the fall. I wish I had ninja falling skills. I managed to trip on nothing while crossing a major road the other week. I got out of the way of traffic all right but I think I must have landed putting most of my weight on the front (yes the front, no I don't know either) of my left hand and sprained it at the knuckles. Sigh. I hope you have success in your short-skirt-wearing and bruise-waving. They should definitely fix that.

As regards fic-praise, one of the few things actually in my LJ is a epic squee rec of Snatched. Not that anyone actually reads my LJ, but what does that have to do with anything? :oD

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

That's what J says, but I wanted to have a weekend! You're both probably right, though.

You poor thing! Is your hand better? Always roll to the side! Your upper arms have lovely muscle to take the blow!

And thank you! What a lovely thing! I'll have a read when I get home! I really should cyberstalk new friends, but I am always so gleeful I just sign you up and chat away here. Though I know you had a post recently that I was cogitating on before my computer turned itself off; will have to hunt down and cogitate and actually post a reply!

[thisgirl-is.livejournal.com]

Maybe next weekend. Personally I thoroughly enjoy my pajama-weekends, although you may be a bit over them by now.

My hand is weird. It got better over three weeks and then started hurting again last weekend, but is better again now. I'm not too worried the doctor said it would take 6-8 weeks to come right. It's mostly just a nuisance. The thing is that I know in theory to roll as I fall, but to actually do it is, I think, more of a muscle memory thing. Plus it was so quick, and I was a tad concerned about where I was in relation to the oncoming traffic. (Almost at the curb luckily, but you worry about these things when you know you're about to be helplessly on the ground.)

I try to put stuff in the journal from time to time, but there isn't much there. Would be interested in your thoughts on endings though. It was a thought I had, but didn't really have any answers. It would be interesting to get a writer's perspective on it.

[incapricious.livejournal.com]

Right, I don't suppose, "Acquire bruise/gash on calf" was on your list of things to do. Ow. Hope you heal swiftly and get lots of writing done tomorrow!

Comments are wonderful things, since otherwise we are blind to whoever is on the other end of our words.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have to be more religious about commenting, because they really do put a smile on one's face!

Funnily enough, I had a plan for no wounds that weekend, I failed in that, too!

[maya231.livejournal.com]

So generous of you to amuse us with tales of your injuries. Seriously, I hope you heal quickly. Knowing how to fall well sounds like an excellent skill to have; I wouldn't mind learning.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Healing is one of my skills, too, though not as speedy as it used to be, damn ageing!

I do recommend learning how to fall, silly as it sounds. Martial arts, gymnastics and self-defence classes all teach it, and it's a great way to make sure that a tumble ends up with a bruise or a scratch, rather than a break.

And I'm not quite old enough to make Help Me I've Fallen And I Can't get Up jokes here ;-)

[frantic-mice.livejournal.com]

YOU LIVE A LIEF FULL to the power of 3 OF EXCITEMENT!

I hope that by tomorrooooooooooowww the ouchie will be reduced.

♥

You should have said somfin about those terrible tiles thou. STRONG WORDS and all. Maybe even fighting ones.

I have no ninja skills ATALL so I prolly woulda fallen on my bum, scorched myself wit the coffees and had pastries all over mah hairs. I woulda cried. Yep.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It was silliness, Mousie! And all because I thought that I should have sometihng more glamorous than an oat and chocolate chip biscuit, which led to the entire coffee and pastry extravaganza. Sigh!

Though you would have laughed a lot at the sight of my little cats looking at the toddler -- "Mum, what the FUCK is that?" They have ninja hiding skills!

I do recommend developing falling skills, but I recommend people not having lethal tiles even more! It's a great bruise, though.

[frantic-mice.livejournal.com]

Here. FEEL (I almost typed fell) BETTA MAH SWEET! ♥

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Now that I am not at work with my laptop out for lunch, I can say Thank You Mousey Moo!

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

Finish the Darkfest fic? You mean you're already there? Meh. Don't mind me. I'm just in a bad mood because, at this rate, I'll probably drop out. *meep* I've never done that before. :(

Hm. I'd be probably jealous of your mad ninja skillz if I could only remember the last time I fell over. There, my life is boring even in the domestic accidents department. :P

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am nowhere near finishing! I have nearly 7000 consecutive words, and another 3.5K in snippets (because I am genetically unable to write short fic!), but I have miles and miles to go, alas.

YOU, my dear, CAN do it! Hell, if you need depressing source material, look at American politics. And the Mods have said they will be generous with extensions. I have faith in you.

I would fall over much less if people had properly grippy tiles!

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

Haha yes, that's indeed depressing. My problem is that my fic is too long. I have about 10K and I'm still just at the beginning. So I really, really need to hurrythef***up if I plan to finish it by deadline - and then I haven't counted time to get it beta-ed. Well, no matter what, I really do want to write this fic, so I'll do my best. :)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Generous Mods! I am sure they will be able to help you with a new deadline.

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah. I'll keep writing this week and by Monday I'll know better how much more I'll need. Or if I can finish it without endangering my hd_hols fic. Good that Kes made me already plot that one out. :)