Things I see...

On my way to and from work!

Now that I live just outside of the City Centre (thank you Erin, THANK YOUUUUU), I can pretty much just walk to work everyday. There is a tram that I take if it is raining or too ridiculously hot (which has happened a couple of times), but either way I walk through what is known as St. Michaels Gate. Well, St. Michael had an accident.

It all started on Wednesday of last week. The weather had taken a strange turn from enjoyable to perilous. I was watching the Germany-Turkey football game, and when turning to my right to talk to one of my friends, saw a HUGE flash of lightning ripping through the sky. Uh oh. Now, I am not one to shy away from rain or thunderstorms. I know that they are cosmically cleansing, and quite entertaining. In my old house back in Ashtabula you could sit in our glassed in play room and watch the storms brew over Lake Erie. It was fascinating. At this point in the storm it is all lightning and thunder, because you can count at least 7-8 seconds between the flash and sound. So, we know the storm is still pretty far away. So, we enjoy it by standing on the terrace and taking in the sights (in retrospect...probably not safe. we were on the 8th floor, live and learn I guess!)

So, as the game ended and we were all thinking about shipping out, the sky opens up and unleashes some of the thickest sheets of rain I have ever seen. Oh crap. Luckily, I am wearing black and flip flops. I decided to wait it out a little while, because storms in Slovakia seem not to last for longer than 20-30 minutes. At 11:30 (gah!) a couple of us decided just to suck it up and brave it. The rain has certainly slowed, but there are gail force winds blowing through the city, picking up a whole bunch of debris, including people, and whisking it (them) into the nearest tree or construction crane.

We get to the bus stop mostly unscathed. It took some real work to get through those gusts, but we huddle ourselves while we wait for our bus. The 61 comes rolling in and we breathe a sigh of relief. For now.

At my stop, I get off the bus, bombarded again by wind and residual rain. I have a box of food in my hand and my purse around my shoulder. I get to the median and look to the right to see if I can continue. I see some cars stopped at a light, and I'm not sure how long I have to get across, but all I am thinking about is getting across the street so I don't have to stand in the ridiculousness for another second. Something you should know about Slovak city streets: they are badly paved and are not given proper foundations. Therefore, they have ridges in them where cars have driven over again and again. Suddenly, I realize that I am am in midair staring at the dark sky. I lost my footing in the river that was flowing through the street as I was trying to get over one of these ridges. I come crashing down onto the pavement, food flying in every direction. My brain panics screaming "GET OUT OF THE ROAD! GET OUT OF THE ROAD!" as I clamber up, not even checking around me to see if anything has dropped from my personal effects. I still have the box of food in my hand, at least what is left of it, sans lid. I'm not sure why, I think I just had a death grip on it from shock. I get out of the street and start trudging back toward my apartment, which is still a couple of blocks away. My whole back is wet, and I can feel a bruise forming. I try to regather myself so that I dont make the same mistake again, and throw away the remainder of the food into the nearest trash bin. (it was tragic, i really wanted to eat it later)

In times of crisis, or sheer physical stupidity, I tend to call people so that I can share my misfortune and they can laugh with me so that I don't feel so devastated that despite my years of athletic and dance mastery, I have trouble walking down the street. I call Matt because I know he is on his way to work, and explain to him what happened as I huff my way towards Belopotockeho. He laughs at me and says "What am I going to do with you?" I agree with him, I am a lost cause, and start to assure him that I'm not really hurt, but then look at my arm and say, "Oh wait, nevermind, there is blood" Nothing serious of course, but I had some battle wounds on my hand and forearm. (It's all pretty much healed now...except I still have a nasty looking bruise on my poor tushie!) I finally get back to my dormitory, where I tell my roommate the story, and while hysterically laughing she tells me that I need 24 hour pedestrian supervision. Thanks Erin, I love you too!

The next day I am on my way to work, and the sun is shining bright (figures). I get to St. Michaels Gate, only to realize that there is some SEVERE obstruction action going on. The picture tour will now begin.



Poor Michael! All he ever did was help try to offer his Ass-Kicking skills to God! A tree broke under the force of the winds and crashed into the statue, causing it to fall off of its pedestal and smash to the ground. Sad.



Later that day I was on my way to lunch, and when I crossed through the gate again, I saw this guy!!!!!



He is one of the coolest "One Man Band"s I have ever seen! I've crossed him a couple of times, but this was the first time I got a picture. The first time I passed he was playing the Godfather theme (yeah, Uncle John!) and this time it was Hotel California. Both classics! Hopefully, he will be around when visitors start to filter in (my parents, in 2 days!!!!! then Matthew in August) and the statue is rebuilt so that people can see what I see :)