An ocean rock attacked me this summer. I wrote about it here.
This is the police line-up of beach rocks. Which one hit me? Creative Commons: Gastonmag.
Quick recap: I was standing in a foot of Malibu surf searching for rocks and shells with my daughter when the water churned a stone into my ankle. I developed a large painful lump and thought, “what bad luck getting hit by a rock while enjoying a day at the beach.”
I went to the doctor and had my ankle x-rayed. Hematoma was the diagnosis. Good news: Nothing serious. Bad news: plaque in the arteries. “Go see your heart doctor right away,” the ankle doctor said.
And I did, leaving a copy of the x-rays with him for an expert to examine. And I was given orders for several blood tests, which I didn’t get because my teeth were being pulled out or cracking and I was busy paying for my dentist’s new fishing boat.
Now we’re back to the present, almost.
The day before Thanksgiving my heart doctor called and confirmed atherosclerosis showed up in the x-ray. I wasn’t happy about the timing of the call before a four-day weekend. However, I didn’t let it get to me. I didn’t think of it once until today when I went to complete the blood tests, and tonight writing this post.
Instead, I spent the holiday weekend looking for ways to have fun each day and not worry.
A new Xbox is in a UPS truck with my name on it right now because 1) I’ve always wanted one, 2) it will be fun for the holidays, and 3) I’m not sure I can play any more Mario and Sonic at the Olympics games.
More rocks to be identified. Creative Commons: Henkster
Again, the keyword here is “fun,” as in, “it’s better to seek fun out than wait for it to find you.”
And the rock I thought was bad luck? It’s now my lucky rock sent by the universe to let me know about a problem that might have gone undetected until the day I yelled at my Denver Broncos to crush the Minnesota Vikings, felt a pain in my chest, and face-planted into the wasabi cucumber dip. End of my story.
So, let’s toast to the writing of a new ending, the endless pursuit of fun, and a lucky rock.
The Unknown Cystic 
Dear madman of LAshire
Xbox! I’m sorry my friend but you know this means @onlyz will be whoopin your arse at every opportunity when you play online.
Should of gone for a PS3 much better game play experience plus it’s free to play online, oh and it would of given me a chance to beat on you!
Xbox is for girls!
Sir Sean
Sean of Dreamland,
PS2? That’s so yesterday. Real men play Xbox. Ask our friend Onlyz. You should drive to his house one day and I’ll play both of you in a game.
Regards,
Mr. Windy
Just like the cops to put a Good Samaritan rock in a lineup. Geez, this country is turning into a police state!
Melanie,
Cute. 🙂 Clearly, the police were wrong about this rock.
I wish you and the family a fantastic holiday. Thanks for the visit and comment.
UC
I’m so glad that the bump in the ocean turned out to be a good thing, warning you of internal bumps.
I bought a Wii Fit 2.5 years ago that is still in the box. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know.
Happy Xboxing!
MAL,
Our Wii Fit is collecting dust too. Kinect is kind of neat. I actually jumped to avoid obstacles in a game. Can’t remember the last time I did that, jumped that is.
I called for follow-up appt on Tuesday and haven’t heard back from assistant yet. I better call tomorrow. Hope you’re doing well.
UC
Don’t you wonder about life sometimes. That rock seemed like a pain-in-the-proverbial and something that took from your day and yet, in retrospect, it as a blessing in disguise. I suspect that someone is looking out for you and wants you around for a long, long, time. Which is good, because the rest of us want you around too, the internet-world would be a lot worse off, I can assure you!
Karyn,
It’s so nice to hear from you. I was glad to see a new blog post from you. I wondered what happened. You took a break. BTW, I’m very jealous of your tweets from AUS talking about spring and summer weather. If I were a billionaire, I would live in CA in the summer and move to AUS for their summer. That would be perfect weather.
The universe has looked out for me during my life. That’s why I’m the luckiest person in the world. It’s a fact.
Thank you for your kind words.
UC