So my Doctor is not going to be happy with me.

My recently begun rugby career is over.  I was hoping to play some football this fall, but it was midway through the season when I got here (’dem Southern boys don’t mind the heat - my roommate’s friend had a sweater on the same day I had a/c on in my car), so rugby was the second best.  Three weeks ago, I dropped a big dude on my shoulder making a tackle - never lead with your right shoulder when the guy is on your left - and was sore for a few days.  By last weekend, I was ready to roll again, so I played in our game against Raleigh, who are the regional rugby powerhouse.  I’m playing wing, and ten minutes into the game, I’m chasing down a guy who only has to beat me to get a try (the rugby equiv of a touchdown).  I managed to catch him from behind - only just - with a diving one-handed tackle.  Now, this dude was about 6′4″-230, going full speed, and I was trying to stop him with a left hand around his ankle.  Suffice to say, it pulled my shoulder out and hurt like a mofo.  Stupidly, I played the rest of the 80 minute game because we were short guys, and really hurt my shoulder when I threw a stiff-arm with the same hand.

2 days later, I still couldn’t raise my left arm more than a couple inches, so I saw the doctor and got x-rays done.  Turned out how I had an acute rotator cuff tear, which basically means I ripped the tendons in my shoulder.  As far as I know, chronic rotator cuff tears, of the kind that baseball pitchers get, mean a year plus until you’re 100%.  With mine, I was told to wear a sling for a couple weeks and lay off the ball for a couple months.

I should note that my future self with dislike me because I think of myself as the Six Million Dollar Man and am very impatient when it comes to missing my sports.  (Aside: I now work with economists, so instead of being told I was impatient, I was told that I “have a very low discount factor.”  Another coworker, when asked where she lived, said her apartment building was only “epsilon away from downtown.”  You can’t make this stuff up.)  It’s been 8 days and my arm feels pretty good - maybe 75% - so I’m playing touch football and soccer tomorrow.  I wore the sling for 24 hours.  My 55-year-old self will hate me.

As for how the new job is going?  It’s work, right?  I’m learning what I need to learn, and am now only 97 weeks away from my trip.  The girl scene is a bit rough down here in the VA; I’m totally serious about how many girls my age are already married.  It’s nuts.

Heck yeah,

You know you can miss ball games! You can still play basketball right? That season will be here before you know it.

You see that Oregon game yesterday? It was nuts man!

Your stories are not encouraging me to go into economics, but hey, I guess sitting around and talking video games and movies isn’t any more dorky….right? ^_^

I’ll talk to you later.

Yo Trav,

That Oregon game was nuts. Econ can go both ways - you can do nerdy research, or go Wall Street tycoon like Szalecki. It’s really useful in a lot of fields, esp. if you want your own business.

I ended up playing touch football and soccer today; 6 goals in soccer and 5 catches plus an INT in football. I’m gonna ask my doc, “Do you like apples? How you like these apples.” Mind you, both times I fell on the arm it hurt like a mofo, but what can ya do?

Peace.