A nail to the thumb, why that's a Tuesday for me!

OK, so it took me long enough to get this out (I got to get better at this whole blogging thing) but THE THUMB IS FINE! Honestly, it was only a matter of time before something like "shooting myself with a nail gun" was to happen. For those who know me, know I have a loooooong history of clumsy accidents, for those who don't, well, they go something like this:

Age 3: Split my head open (several stitches required)

Cause: Falling off a barrel on it's side (my stupidity ensues)

Age 5: Cut my arm from shoulder to elbow (48 stitches required) 

Cause: Running into a barbed wire fence (sorta wasn't watching where I was going...)

Age 7: Split Chin (several stitches required)

Cause: Face planting into my brothers playpen (I lost my balance!) 

Age 8: Tore my middle finger on left hand (several stitches required)

Cause: Opening an electrical circuit box (yeah, most normal people manage this task on a daily basis without injuring themselves)

Age 10: Third degree burn on my upper right arm

Cause: Crashing my four-wheeler into my bothers go-cart (I thought it would be more dramatic to heave over the handlebars and onto the go-cart's engine than fall to the side.) 

Age 14: Sliced open my shin and the muscle below (several internal and external stitches required)

Cause: Attempting to hang a hammock in a Mexican hotel room's bathroom (My sister suggested we see if the ceramic towel hooks on the wall were strong enough to hold the hammock, so naturally, I lifted myself up onto one... I learned the hard way that they in fact were not strong enough.)

Age 16 - 18: Seven car accidents resulting in minor scrapes and bruises (thank god my folks own an auto body shop)
Cause 1: a tree just came out of nowhere
Cause 2: someone parked way to close behind me in a parking lot
Cause 3: the road just ended, or maybe it curved off to the side
Cause 4: a car rammed me as I pulled out of a gas station, I was looking right! He was coming from the left, note to self: always look both ways!
Cause 5: an idiot was stopped at a light and I rear ended him, wait now that I think about it, the light was red...
Cause 6: the same four-wheeler/go-cart accident occurred with my brother and I around the same blind spot in our driveway, this time with our cars.

Cause 7: while borrowing my mother's car, because mine was in the shop, I rear-eneded yet another person, I'm not good when people stop in front of me...

College years remain a blur, but for the most part I stayed in one piece. 

Age 25: Sliced the side of my thumb on left hand (several stitches required)

Cause: Putting together presentation boards hung over

And alas, putting an 1 3/4" nail into that same thumb, my left hand's been through a lot! The heightened adrenaline, sheer exhaustion, and ticking clock made me numb to the whole thing. I really wanted to just yank it out with a pair of pliers, but those firemen insisted on taking the proper precautions... So the wrapped me up like a friggin mummy, ushered me off to St. Vincent's in an ambulance, took X-rays, and then had some nurse yank the nail out with Doctor type tongues, eh, should of just shut my mouth and grabbed the pliers!

Never the less, Alex put together my desk as best he could, and I am proud to be part of a team that pulled together and took the win for us, thanks guys! Not bad huh:

I had planned a black trim with an eagle head silhouette detail around the base which would have made my piece a bit more interesting, but the fact that it got built was good enough for me... And secretly I was relieved for a moment in the ER, it was the first and only time in this competition that I sat down with no cameras and relaxed, but don't tell Casey, Emily, or Alex that.


P.S. This episode is when Trixie met Troy... 

This is a force to be reckoned with! Caption picture below: Fireman walks in, see's this and says "Huh, it's like polishing a turd..." Ha ha, favorite quote of the day!

This challenge was an amazing one. The FDNY is a breed of men and women who risk their lives and take other's into their own hands on a daily basis. One of the most traumatic moments in my life was when I had my apartment in New York catch fire and these guys arrived in a matter of moments and contained the fire to one room in a four room apartment... Yes, these folks are a rarity and I admire them for that. I was honored to be part of this and able to personally give back to them. And um Squad 18, if that desk is falling apart or the, uh-em, painted linoleum floor needs a little maintenance, well I live in NYC and would be glad to come by... and Trixies coming with me!

Recently, I caught these guys in action at a fire that broke out a block from my place... Seriously, this is their day job...