{"id":845,"date":"2008-05-27T05:22:07","date_gmt":"2008-05-26T21:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.asianramblings.com\/?p=845"},"modified":"2008-05-27T05:22:07","modified_gmt":"2008-05-26T21:22:07","slug":"then","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stevepeer.com\/blog\/then\/","title":{"rendered":"then"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 3, 2005 is a day that will live in infamy with The Stevo. No, there was no sneak attack, unless you count The Fates: The Stevo\u2019s constant nemesis, up to their mischievous tricks.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>I had been a resident of mainland China for 6 days. I was settling into a routine in my new country, albeit slowly. Jetlag, strange foods and languages, continuous stares, and rain conspired to keep a good man down. My lunch hour was three hours long, something I never complained about. The now-infamous event occurred while I was walking back to my office, perched on the fourth floor of the library building, after the 180 minute midday break.<\/p>\n

I cut into a side stairwell, leaving the main ascent 100 meter further away. Up four flights and across a large, empty common room was my desk. After an email or two I\u2019d see my only afternoon class. Then, a bed awaited, an attempt to sort my jetlag and teaching-related exhaustion.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I sometimes think that if the Great Wall were constructed today it would be made from white, industrial tile. It\u2019s everywhere in China, a constant like chopsticks or green onion pancakes. No one told me that wet industrial tile is a lot like black ice. You would think that nugget of information would be prominently featured in the orientation package, with currency exchange rates and instructions on how to run a Chinese washing machine.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t thinking anything in particular when it happened. I took a step, something I had done countless times in my then-34 years. I remember a loud snap, like a breaking tree branch and finding myself laying on my left side, my left foot unnaturally against my left hip.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit to screaming. There might have even been profanity. The water on the tile soaked through my clothes. I was a pretzel. My leg would not return to its natural state.<\/p>\n

I was Humpty Dumpty without the King\u2019s horses and men. You would think that on a campus of 6000 people someone would always be around. You thought wrong.<\/p>\n

Taking a deep breath, and offering agnostic prayers, I wrenched my leg back into position. There was a reciprocal snap and another scream.<\/p>\n

Somehow, I struggled to my feet after crawling across the tiles to the stairs. I had no cell phone. It was up four flights, or return to laying on the tiles. Using a bizarre kangaroo-like hopping method I made it to the top, after several rest stops. It was cold, still winter, and I was sweating like a mad bastard.<\/p>\n

The glass door on the fourth floor landing led to the open room, my office just beyond. The stairwell was used by smokers to catch a hit of nicotine between classes. The door was never locked.<\/p>\n

Almost never.<\/p>\n

Never, except for one lunch hour in March of 2005. I could see the office door through the glass. I knocked. I yelled. I banged on the glass like the desperate man I was.<\/p>\n

There was no response.<\/p>\n

I wanted to cry, but wouldn\u2019t give The Fates that satisfaction.<\/p>\n

The entire time I was thinking: Great, now I have to return to Canada. That was my luck: If I didn\u2019t have bad luck I\u2019d have none at all. I thought about Chinese hospitals and if local doctors knew about arthroscopic surgery. I though my adventure, my new life, was over before it began.<\/p>\n

Down four flights I went. Up four more to the office’s main door. At the top I wanted to weep with both relief and pain. My left knee was on fire. There seemed to be lava smeared from thigh to calf. Each step I took produced Jim Carrey-like facial contortions and audible groans.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t end there. I went back down the stairs on my way to the school clinic.<\/p>\n

I went home and partook of the codeine that had traveled with me to the Middle Kingdom. It wasn\u2019t over, only beginning.<\/p>\n

coming soon: Part II: now<\/em><\/p>\n

image: The Fates In Their FInery\u00a0 by Theresa Lucero<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 3, 2005 is a day that will live in infamy with The Stevo. No, there was no sneak attack, unless you count The Fates: The Stevo\u2019s constant nemesis, up to their mischievous tricks. I had been a resident of mainland China for 6 days. I was settling into a routine in my new country,… <\/p>\n

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