seriously???

yesterday afternoon we were concluding a three-day workshop on personal gifting and design, ie, who am i and what was i meant to do with my life?  yep, we hit all the big questions of life at work.

part of the afternoon was set aside so we could each get alone with God and process and pray and synthesize.

i’ve been doing decently well working in an office building, but i often need to go outside for walks or to sit outside when i read.  with the combination of heavy mental work, being in the same room for three days and my usual stir-craziness, i had been dreaming about this time alone with God.  i had my heart set on getting myself on top of a mountain.

let me be more specific.  the navs own a huge property and part of it includes one of my favourite places: ladybug lookout.  it’s a short hike (~15 minutes) from a slightly suspect location (behind construction storage) but awards you with a view of the city on one side and mountains, trees and red rock formations on the other side.  that, combined with the fact that it’s sunny here for 300 days of the year and you’ve got a pure winner.

i hopped on my bike and jetted down to the conference center side of the nav property, then climbed up for a delightfully windy and sunny and heart-filling time.  on my way back, i noticed that i had gotten a couple bites on my forearm.  they looked and felt like mosquito bites so i paid no attention, never mind the facts that it’s late for mosquitoes and apparently it doesn’t get buggy here.

then, this morning the bites were sore and i felt pressure from under the surface of my skin.  the spot was also red and warm and slightly swollen.  according to my co-workers, they looked like spider bites.  my arm got slightly but progressively worse as the day wore on and now i’m sitting with a giant but carefully constructed combination of an epsom salt soaked towel, piece of cloth and tensor bandage wrapped around my arm with the purpose of drawing out whatever junk is in my arm.

i feel ridiculous.  first i have a cello-related injury.  now i have a light hike related one.  geez.