Sidelined No More

I really hate being on the sidelines when I feel like I can contribute and do something. It was hard enough for me to sit out of softball last Thursday, and my pinky’s been gradually getting better enough that I decided to play some tennis last night with Kerrie, Shannon & John. It’s not like playing tennis really involves my left hand anyway, so I was fine. Kerrie & I played a couple sets against Shannon & John, winning 6-2 in the first set and 7-6 (7-4) in a very fun, back-and-forth second set. My serving was definitely better than the last time I played (particularly my second serves), so I’m wondering if the key to that was tossing the ball up with a splint on one of my fingers. 😉
I had a rather productive meeting this morning with Joel & Sue. We finally figured out what was wrong with our codes (and surprise, surprise, it’s something I unwittingly messed up), so I should be able to get off and running with all that tomorrow once I finish the Grad Synoptic homework. Also, after talking with Sue, I’m thinking a bit more like maybe I’ll stick around for a Ph.D. Well, it’s at least the most positively I’ve thought about staying for a doctorate in quite some time, which is definitely not the same thing as saying I think I’ll definitely be staying. I fully expect I’ll be feeling differently from day to day or week to week about this, but sometime before the end of the winter I’ll need to have made a decision about that one way or the other, for my own peace of mind. Maybe what I’m supposed to do will become clear in the coming weeks and months, we’ll see.
Right after I got back to Walker from my meeting with Joel & Sue in the Water Tunnel Building, I was waiting at the 1st floor elevator when I felt something on the side of my neck. I brushed it off, but not before whatever it was stung me. My guess is that it was a hornet, because it hurt more than I remember bee stings hurting (I’ve had quite a few over the years). I didn’t have any Benadryl on me, so I decided it’d be a good idea to head down to Ritenour, just in case I had an allergic reaction. I’ve been unsure if I’m allergic to bee/wasp/hornet stings because ten years ago I was stung by a hornet between the eyes, and by the following morning my eyes had swelled shut, so with a sting on my neck I wasn’t gonna take any chances, on the off chance I suddenly started having trouble breathing. But everything was fine, I didn’t have an allergic reaction or anything, just a little swelling at the sting. The nurse didn’t even give me any Benadryl, just a small cup of juice and an icepack, while keeping me for observation until an hour after I’d been stung. I’m glad it doesn’t appear I’m allergic to bee stings after all, but I was none too pleased about getting stung again, especially INSIDE Walker Building.
This evening I had to go to some sort of student organization meeting down in the HUB, representing both Penn State Christian Grads and Chi Epsilon Pi. The ironic thing is that one of the main things they were going to emphasize to us was the new rule about no food/drink being allowed in any classroom, all while giving us all some free food. But basically the event was semi-worthless, just trying to help all the undergrads think of ways to advertise their clubs and retain new members, so I wasn’t at all sad when I ditched out an hour and a half early to go play softball.
Since I hate being on the sidelines, I decided to give softball a go tonight, and fortunately we had enough people so that I could play DH, and hence avoid putting on a glove and playing the field. My grip on the bat made it look like I was getting ready for afternoon tea (I had my pinky sticking up in the air below the handle of the bat, so that the swing wouldn’t pressure/slide against my pinky at all), but I managed to go 1-for-2 with a single, a run (our team’s first of the game) and a fielder’s choice. We came back from a 3-2 deficit to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the 5th (fall IM softball games only go 5 innings), but we wound up losing 5-4 in the bottom of the inning. Oh well, at least it was better than last Thursday when we lost 10-0.
Now we’ll see how much I can manage doing at flag football practice tomorrow. If I can’t really catch a ball all that comfortably, I might just switch to defense for tomorrow. I’m still officially listed as “questionable” for practice, however, since I haven’t tried catching a football since I fractured my finger almost two weeks ago, so I don’t know how it’s gonna feel. I’m not gonna do anything overly stupid to risk reinjuring my finger though, I’ll be careful, don’t worry. 🙂
And is it just me, or does it seem like the Islamic world’s (over)reaction to Pope Benedict XVI’s lecture the other day seems to prove his point? It’s almost stunning how in response to a claim that spreading a religion by violence is wrong that people respond in violence and death threats to the Pope, and almost even more stunning how much of the West is condemning the Pope’s remarks while turning a blind, or even approving, eye to the Islamic violence.