Aiyohhh...Pain!

This morning, in between stressed out calls from overtly excitable beauty editors and cautious emails to high-ranking partners, I thought I could have a break by late morning. By 'break' I don't mean hanging out at the cafeteria with a teh halia and inhaling garlicky fumes mixed with the sickly floral detergent of the nearby loos. To me, a break is just how I like to start out the morning - that is by checking my emails and other people's blogs.

Today, I started my break at 12.07. After checking out various blogs and posting comments, I went on to explore further the wonder of Impiana Resort in Koh Samui. Wow, so much to read and such lovely beachy photos. Then I went to Air Asia, Berjaya Air, Asia Travel Mart, and before I knew it, it was 12.47. I blinked blankly mind before the awful realisation dawned on me that ZW needed to be picked up from school at noon!

I jumped up from my seat and furiously began shutting down my laptop and stuffing my overstuffed bags, yes bags, amidst a tangle of wires and files. I flew out of the office and decided to run down the 3 floors to the ground floor before running down another4 floors underground to my car because somewhere in the dim recesses of my mind, I was convinced that I am Superwoman and therefore faster than any elevator. Somewhere in between the 3rd and 2nd floor, the eye to brain to foot coordination malfunctioned and before I knew it, my life flashed before my eyes as I watched the cement steps come up to my eyes as I lurched forward, head first, down from the top of what must have been 20-odd steps and to land in a most ungraceful heap on the landing of Floor 2. I felt every step as I madly thrashed about digging in my knees, ankles, palms to stop but to no avail. It wasn't until I reached the bottom, skirt hiked up to my waist, that I realised that all the while, I had kept my head up to protect my face. You see, vanity is so ingrained in a woman that it is instinctive.

I got up as quickly as I could despite the searing pain; it was after all lunchhour, and I did not want to risk looks of horror from fellow colleagues at the sight of my thighs. I grabbed the contents of my overstuffed bags that were strewn everywhere - papers, brochures, tampax, ATM receipts - and hobbled down the remaining six flights.

You know, falling sure takes a lot out of you cos I was panting the whole way and when I got into my car, I felt like I had run a marathon. Then I proceeded to drive like a mad woman to pick up my son - the whole time having flashbacks to when I was 5 years old and my parents left me at school until evening after everyone had gone home and I shit in my shorts and my headmistress had to wipe my arse.

Thankfully, ZW, being the ultimate survivor that he is, was not the last one there. So there are other Mums like me who forget their children. In fact, he was having a blast with two other boys. Sister Barbara, bless her soul, conversationally commented on how well ZW's vocabulary had developed.

Bless his wonderful school and all its wonderful sisters.

By the time we got home, my two knees had swollen up to resemble light bulbs and my right knee hurts if I put any pressure on it. I have purple bumps all down the front of my legs that better be gone in time for my beach holiday this weekend.

So much for Ashtanga at 3. My knee cap may well crack doing the Warrior. How will I climb rocks on Weds?

Lesson learned - work, don't blog!