I used to work just three miles away from my house. I was in the "be active" mode and was trying to exercise more. I had been riding my bike to work which, now I realize doesn't really count as exercise because it is so close, and I thought I should try something different. Rollerblades for some reason seemed to be the perfect way to get to work while exercising...
Wrong. I was so wrong.
I hadn't used rollerblades since I was twelve, and I was eighteen (I know, it keeps getting more and more embarrassing) when I decided to try this out. So I strap on my rollerblades and head off on my way. On leaving my neighborhood there is a short, steep-ish hill It's really nothing, but when inexperienced and on rollerblades it seemed like a mountain. I head down it and see a car coming up the road. I don't know how to stop so I hop up onto the sidewalk and grab the pole for the stop sign. Only, I'm going fast enough that grabbing the pole spins me around, my rollerblades hit the grass, and it throws me onto my knees on the grass. I am laughing so hard it probably looks like I'm having a seizure. The car that was coming up the road apparently sees the entire thing and doesn't just drive by. It pulls up and stops and the driver calls out the window to see if I'm okay. All I can think is, "Go away. Don't look at me, I'm so embarrassed." But I am laughing so hard and don't want to look at her so I squeak out a, "Yes," and then I laugh some more.
And then I keep going...
You'd think I would have learned my lesson so quick after starting, but no. I didn't.
So I keep going. Just after my little accident there is this giant hill we call, "the dip." It's very steep and very long, and falling would probably send me flying into the street where I would be smooshed by all the cars. To prevent this from happening, I walk. I take off the rollerblades and walk down one side and back up the other side of the dip (dorky girl walking down the road carrying her rollerblades). When I get to the top I strap my rollerblades back on and continue on my way... for about two minutes.
I head down this road only to realize there is no sidewalk and the road is all gravelly. Plus, I am also noticing that the slightest downgrade in the road is too much for me and I am oh so very nervous. So I'm booking it down this gravelly road (actually probably barely moving, but I am terrified) and decide this was a bad idea. Finally, I realize how crazy I am. So I pull into the nearest/only parking lot nearby which is a cemetery parking lot, and there are people working in the yard. Again, I don't know how to stop so I circle around in the parking lot until I'm going slow enough to walk onto the grass. I promptly sit down and call my mother to come get me. I also had to call in late to work, and had to explain why I was late...
So yes, very embarrassing.
