Sweet Jesus, if I make it through this year alive it will be a miracle.

I ran in my really high heels today...we were playing Duck, Duck, Goose (don't ask...Tennessee requires physical movement of high schoolers) and I discovered that I can't corner very well in them. Despite all of the potential ways that I could have rendered myself cripple, THAT did not cause my injury.

Changing a light bulb did.

We were putting new bulbs* in some fixtures in the theater. This requires the climbing of a 25 foot ladder, thankyouverymuch. I have never gone more than 12 feet or so up it...I just get queasy when I'm on a ladder, but Isaac didn't know how to change these bulbs and I've never actually done it, either, so I figured that I might as well suck it up and just conquer my fears (as Sam would say) and headed up said ladder to help Isaac figure out how to change the bulb. We'd already done the 1000 watt fixtures. This was a mere 500. Smaller bulb, same mechanism.

The bulbs are halogen, so you can't touch them with your skin--have to have them wrapped in foam. I was about two feet below Isaac on the other side of the ladder making sure he didn't have trouble. As he was putting the bulb in, I said, "Make sure it's turned off." Someone went to the light board to check it, but before they had it off, he put the bulb in.

500 watts + foam=smoke.

He yelled, "Turn it off!" about the time the smoke started billowing out of the socket. He jerked his hand back because he'd been holding the foam, which melted. I was looking up the whole time and the hot, partially melted foam came straight down and landed on my face...the melty part concentrating itself on my eye. Thankfully, it was on the inner corner and up closer to my eyebrow. At first I thought it had burned my entire eyelid.

Picture this if you will: Me, standing on a 25 foot ladder--about 23 feet or so in the air. Wearing 4" wedge heels (yeah, this was a terrible idea and will never be repeated). With smoking hot foam in my face. I? Did not say a curse word. You can rest assured that I thought one, though.

I batted the stupid foam to the floor and Isaac and I both recovered on the ladder before trying to go down. He was insistant that he get the thing put back together before we stopped, so we got it. I held my eye closed the whole time. I told some girls to go get me a 'piece of ice'.

As I was climbing down the ladder, I saw Taylor burst through the door with a sack of ice you could have cooled a keg in. It was quite funny. I took a piece out and made Isaac use it for his thumb. Minor burn, no blister at the time. Hopefully he'll be well.

Foam smells to high heaven when it burns, ftr.

I have a reddish spot on my eye--not bad. It's still uncomfortable, but not painful really. I am just glad I cut my hair...my old bangs would probably have gone up in smoke.


*for theater-types, I know that the bulbs are really called lamps. It's just less confusing this way.