Oh, ouch

Last night, there was a fire in my building. I live on the top floor, which is great for the view - I look out over the bit of undeveloped property behind the building, and is great for sound - nobody tromping overhead, but is lousy for having to go up and down the stairs whenever there's a fire alarm or the elevator is mysteriously not working.

The alarm went off shortly after midnight, so after making sure I had the true basics - a tunic, sandals, and my purse, my husband and I headed off down the stairs. Round about 3 floors down, my sandal encountered a slippery, greasy substance, and my bottom encountered the stairs - at speed. And then, I found myself falling down the stairs on my bottom. By the time I hit the landing for the next floor, I was seriously sore and a little disoriented. After a minute of figuring out which side was up, I was able to get up and keep going down.

And then we waited outside, listening to the sounds of the firemen removing the fire from the apartment several floors down and around a corner from ours. Finally, the all clear was given, and we went back up, after letting management know about the slippery stuff on the stairs. And this morning, I called in because I'm still sore and bruised. I know I'm lucky not to have hit my head, but it really hurts. Now I get to figure out what I did with the arnica salve.