Kyoo 177 - A little piece of wilderness in the city...and snakes.

More adventures from this past week.

I saw a snake.

And I rollerbladed through a river.

Both on the green belt trail in San Antonio.

For the first one, I was speeding along the path, listening to my tunes and giving passing people friendly glances. You'd think one of them could have warned me what I was speeding towards! The path curved and headed slightly downward. And right in the middle of that downward slope was a large black stick.

Or at least I thought it was a stick.

Until it moved.

I burned through both brakes on my rollerblades and pulled a few radical moves to avoid running over/having to jump over the mongo snake. Stretching clear across the path and fat and happy, it was huge. And moving slowly. I backed up a bit and waited patiently as it slowly slithered off the path. Chills were moving through my body. And my face was contorted. It was not a friendly encounter.

Shortly after, in a very similar situation (with no warning from the people who were passing the other way!), the path veered and started heading downward. This time, since we've been having lots of rain, it disappeared beneath 6" of water. Completely covered for a stretch of about 10 yards. I about slipped and biffed it right in the middle since I didn't have much time to slow down. The path beneath was very muddy (as you can imagine being covered by water for several days) and quite frictionless.

And then my wheels were wet and squeaked the whole rest of my ride. And I had to go through the river twice. And my brakes are gone.

So, not only do my rollerblades need help, but I have been super snake-conscious lately and can't walk anywhere unpaved!

Still, I love that green belt. It's my little piece of wilderness in the big city.

Even if it has mongo snakes.

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 176 - Annnnnd I'm stuck in a turnstile

I know it's really soon but I have another episode of "Such is the life of Kyooyoo" ready!

So....I got stuck in the turnstile at work.

Yep. That thing.

How? Well, I think I was walking too slowly through it. And it locked early. Creating a little prison cell. With Kyooyoo in the middle.

It wasn't bad enough that I was stuck too. No. I was actually leaving work at a decent time. A time when just about everyone else was leaving work. So of course several people I knew walked by and had a good laugh. One of them finally stopped, grabbed my badge, and re-swiped it for me since I couldn't reach.

I have that nice gentleman to thank for freedom right now!

Oh the awkward situations I get myself in...

Have a great day :)

Kyoo 175

And in yet another episode of "Such is the life of Kyooyoo", I present this one, which took place on a recent trip to Idaho.

It all started Saturday morning. I woke up with a queasy stomach. It wasn't too bad, just a minor annoyance, so I didn't think much of it. I ate granola and a banana for breakfast, spent some time with my grandpa, and then had a Lean Cuisine labeled "Asian Potstickers" for a light lunch a few hours later. Pretty normal day. Stomach was still queasy but again, nothing I couldn't ignore.

Enter my friend Greggers and his mom. Greggers had invited me over for dinner with him and his family and came by to pick me up early. I spent the afternoon running errands with him and his mom around Twin Falls. We toured the house she's building, browsed a home decor store, picked up some groceries, and had a pretty fun time.

Meanwhile, the storm in my stomach was growing more and more noticeable. I knew it wasn't normal when I turned down the opportunity to sample some salsa. I love chips. And I really love fresh, mild salsa.

Kyooyoo turning down food is NOT a good sign.

I really became aware that my situation was bleak when I walked into WinCo with Greggers and realized that every food I looked at made me want to hurl. I had to fight back a few gags as we walked around the store and I caught various whiffs of food.

Kyooyoo wanting to vomit at the sight of food is NOT a good sign.

Upon returning to Gregger's house, I kept doing my best to ignore my stomach and tried to help as they finished preparing dinner. I didn't last long. The constant struggle to retain the contents of my stomach amongst all the different aromas wafting around me was making my head spin. I finally had to excuse myself to a room and lie down.

So, there I was. First time meeting Gregger's family and I'm hiding in his room trying to calm my stomach. One hour passes. Then two. I'm still back there on his bed. His family is out in the kitchen enjoying a nice Mexican food dinner probably wondering about his creeper "sick" friend hiding from them.

Three hours pass. By this time, I was really in pain. I stood up and quickly realized that this was no fire drill. I had to get to the bathroom. Not knowing exactly where that was, I crept into the hall for a quick survey. Spying what looked like a bathroom door off to my left, I headed in that direction but was spotted by his sister. After a weak wave of acknowledgment, I ducked into what ended up being the laundry room. Dang it!

Two seconds later I emerged and spotted a glimmer of what appeared to be the desired porcelain throne just a few more steps down the hallway. Success! I crept inside, locked the door, turned the fan on, and hoped with every fiber in me that they couldn't hear the awful sounds of my "Asian Potstickers" and granola and banana finding an early return exit via my mouth. It was horrible. I hate throwing up.

I felt a little better after clearing my stomach but, thinking that then would have been an awkward time to introduce myself to his family, snuck back into his room to continue my resting. A couple hours later, after another visit to the bathroom, Greggers was kind enough to give me a ride back to my grandpa's house where I settled in for an unpleasant night.

This unpleasant night brought a few more hugging trips to the porcelain throne, dizziness that reduced me to a crawl, a churning stomach, and a new meaning to 7-Up. One small sip of that soda and indeed, 7 seconds later, it was back up. Not the best night I've ever had. Actually, I can't remember the last time I've been that sick. Or thrown up for that matter. It's been at least high school. Maybe longer.

But, after sleeping most of today away, I am pleased to report that I'm feeling better! I have so far stomached water, 7-Up, and some frozen strawberry yogurt. Now I just have to convince Gregger's family that I'm not some sick, creeper child...

But all I can say for now is, after not eating for a couple days, when I finally get my appetite back, I'm going to be ravenous. And Taco Bell had better be open.

Have a great day :)