2/24/2010:
I am very bad at one-handed typing. That’s just one of the things that I have found out about having a separated shoulder. Another thing is that when something else goes wrong, it is impossible to cover for it. I attended the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament last weekend at the Downtown Brooklyn Marriott, and I had a really nice time. I met some smart, funny, dedicated people. I partnered with a just a lovely 3rd grade teacher from Boston during Friday night’s visual clue Siamese Twin Crossword puzzles. I met a crossword puzzle constructor from New Hampshire, a pilot from Hawaii, and the president of a Pillowfighting League. Seriously. I had lunch at the Arby’s that took over Gage and Tollner’s space. I also tried to solve six puzzles on Saturday and completed 3 of them. You can just feel the But coming, can’tcha?
Well, BUT, the pain in my shoulder was still enough to affect my performance, both as a blogger and a solver. I forgot to bring a camera to the proceedings. I found that painkillers do not help cognitive skills (Shocker!), and when my wife’s nagging sinus infection took her down, I was unable to attend Sunday’s finale. Plus, the pilot from Hawaii had broken his shoulder blade and I was not even the best one-handed crossword puzzle solver there!
I managed to finish 151 out of 161 rookies and 632 out of 643 entrants overall. So uh, maybe I’ll just volunteer next year.
2/25/2010:
I grew tired yesterday and did not finish the post. I went to an orthopedic surgeon today, and while I expected him to tell me that I just needed to keep my arm in a sling and rest up, I now know that I will need surgery to repair my separated shoulder. Turns out that I has a Grade 5 separation, which means my collar-bone is 300 percent out variance. in layman’s terms, it is sticking up 3x higher than it should. The operation should be within the next 2 weeks, but it is arthroscopic surgery and should be minimally invasive. Sigh. I don’t really know what else to type save that I will try to have a puzzle up tomorrow.
