Benched

And then I pitched backwards, head over heels, and landed in the wet grass. I took it as a sign.

OK, let me back up. At the office, our personal phones are our desk phones. So we have a lot more mobility, and when we get a personal call, most of us walk out of the design room. And since it was a nice day, when I got this particular personal call, I walked out into the business park itself.

I've mentioned this place before. We're just south of Bellevue, in the lowlands between the town and Mercer Slough. We have a lot of wildlife, and the waterways were particularly high today as a result of some heavy rains that swept through in the morning. So I walked and talked and eventually came to the bench behind one of the buildings.

It's an old bench, the elements have stripped the wood to its bare varnish and the cast iron supports held together by black paint and memory. Still, its in a nice area, and I sat down. And as I talked, I leaned back. Did I mention that we had heavy rains that morning?

Near as I can figure, the ground was soft beneath the bench, so when I leaned back, I just kept on going, sprawling backwards and in the process sheering off one of the cast-iron legs (It was orange with rust all the way through - I think that's bad). I apparently made an interesting noise as I tumbled over, according to the person I was speaking with.

So the question is - why is the phrase "Head over Heels", anyway? You head is always over your heels. In this case, it was Heels over Head.

Anyway, the ground was soft, and there was little damage done except for personal embarrassment and wet elbows and knees as I pulled myself up. And I went back to my office and had them informed that a) the bench was broken, and b) I had done the breaking. So nothing more on that front.

And now, late in the evening, I've got a bit of a twinge, probably from the tumble. But a hot tub should be able to fix that. Oddly, this was the highpoint of the day.

More later.

UPDATE So STAN! provided me with a link in which a breathy, busty, Russian supermodel explains english words and phrases. Safe for Work, but then, I work at a place where they've been playing GTA IV on the big flatscreen all day (and speaking professionally, I am SO jealous of their opening credits).