growing in the goo

Last weekend I went shopping and bought some snazzy new work clothes. Before I moved I apparently did a giant purge of all winterwear (and was in the midst of a serious "buying going out clothes" phase, I guess), so this little trip was much needed.

I visited ole' faithful, New York & Co, and got some work pants, shirts, a belt, earrings, a necklace, and underwear. The work pants are, in fact, thrilling. They're super long — longer than any pair that I've ever owned. Long to the point of being dangerous, I thought, as I dressed.

So my mom dropped me off at the train Monday, and I was feeling a bit like hot shit. A new shirt, a daring (for me!) belt, my long pants, nice heels, possibly good hair. I walked by two newspaper guys, and I heard one say, "She's tall, huh?"

I swallowed a "Yeah, but she's not deaf!" and just kept walking. Water off a duck's back. I got to the escalator, and it was broken, which always pisses me off. The escalator at college was always broken, and I could never understand it. Why was it always out of commission? There a bazillion escalators in the world, and these things should operate like well-oiled machines now.

So, to the stairs I went. I was halfway up when something happened - maybe my shoe got caught in my gloriously long cuff? - and I tripped, nearly caught myself, then completely hit the deck, losing my earmuffs in the process.

The woman behind me said "ohh ohhh!!" and I kinda bounced up and lamely said "...My pants are too long, I think..." and scrambled up the stairs, trying to act like it didn't happen. My shin hurt like a total bitch, so I was also working on not crying and looking noble as I passed all the people on the platform.

While waiting for the train, I checked the shin situation, and I was not bleeding - so that was a plus. And my pants did not rip. I texted E, saying "Bad start! I just fell in the train station." When I got out of the train, there was a message from E asking if I was okay.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, I think, and I didn't even notice that I had a horrendous bruise on my knee until I climbed into bed and both my right shin and my left knee throbbed. The bruise, in fact, has turned a different shade of awful each day. Right now it looks like a purple 8.

Before I got into bed, though, E and I chatted online, and I found out that she had overslept that morning, and my text had woken her up and got her to work on time. Theoretically, if I hadn't tripped, she wouldn't have woken up, and would have been late to work.

While obviously this is all small-time, it's interesting to note how my stupid little fall actually had a ripple effect. How many other chain reactions do we set off throughout the day?