Saturday, January 06, 2007
2:01 AM
Slice of Life
I just had a mini scare. I'd slept way earlier than usual (10pm, haha) but woke up past midnight hearing housemates chatting in the kitchen. Feeling hungry, I decided to join them and to toast some bread and cheese. So I got out the Spanish Manchego and had a little trouble slicing its fresh-from-the-fridge hardness. And then the cheese slicer slipped, and I saw part of my left thumbnail (maybe half of the top 1/3, from left to right) sliced. At first I was like, Oh, no big deal, I just cut my nail. Carina told me to wash it under cold water -- so I did, and it started to hurt like hell and bleed a little. Nilo handed me tissue and told me to apply a little pressure -- so I did, and started to feel frantic. Tangina, ang sakit! If this is a dream, I want to wake up! What do I do? Cold shivers ran down my back, and I felt my lips and cheeks tingling, like I was losing color. "I need to sit down," I said, and found a kitchen stool. Next thing I knew, something cold was being wiped on my lips and forehead and cheeks. I opened my eyes and felt like I was hurtling upwards out of a ravine, and stared straight into Nilo's eyes. I was sitting down, leaning against Ben. And I got really scared, realizing I had fainted. They kept reassuring me I was ok, that I was only out for around 7 seconds. Nilo said she had clipped the nail to the point where it was safe, and she just had to apply antibacterial ointment (from Ben's huge first aid kit, which was one of his mother's Hannukah presents) and bandage it. So at my request, Carina sang to distract me (she can barely keep a tune) and I refused to look at my thumb until it was finished. So now they've exempted me from washing dishes (yehey!) and I just need to replace the band-aids daily until the nail starts growing back. Hmm, at least now I have a good (if unglamorous) conversation starter for a third date.Two things: 1) I'm really glad I have my housemates around, I don't know what I would've done if I were alone. 2) Now I know what it feels like to faint. It's scary, that upward rush toward consciousness after the body shuts down. What was my body doing during those 7 seconds? Ben said they thought I was joking at first because my eyes were still open and I'd tilted my head back and made a snoring sound. Then they realized I was out and had trouble breathing, so they panicked too while supporting my head, and fanned me until I came to. Wow. So that's my little bit of excitement on a Friday night. All for a piece of toast with cheese.
Labels: house, life
