Well...
"But I'm not sure how accurate that was. Sometimes you just look one way, they could've done that."

With overtaking, idiot drivers, and taxis, only an idiot would assume that a vehicle couldn't possibly come from the wrong direction. Look both ways. Always. Seriously.

A story:

I was last really, really scared just after a holiday. My glasses had broken whilst away, so on returning I visited Boots to get my free eye test and get some replacements. The optician checked my eyes with the bright light and the scope thing, as they do. He lingered a long time on my right eye, told me he'd be a moment, then left the room. Okay...a little nervous.

He returned and looked in the eye again with another device. When I asked him if anything is wrong, he said:

"I probably shouldn't tell you just yet. You need to stay calm and keep your blood pressure down."

Cue, of course, the highest blood pressure I'd probably ever had. Cold sweat, shaking hands, that kind of thing. Something is wrong with my eye, I thought. Oh god.

He explained. I had a clot blocking a blood vessel in my retina. If it burst, it might cause damage and possible partial blindness. I was being booked into the hospital the following day.

I went to the hospital, scared out of my wits, but trying to keep calm; fear = high blood pressure = burst blood vessel. I was, of course, failing. They put drops in, had a good look, and then...

"It's burst."

I nearly fainted.

"But it's not caused any damage. We'll take a blood sample and get it checked. You should be okay."

This was a few years ago. After reading about the deep-vein thrombosis thing, and thinking on the occurance of a blood clot so soon after a 13 hour flight in economy, I decided that from then on some precautionary asprin (to thin the blood) might be a worthwhile addition to my carry-on baggage next time I fly.

My new glasses were lovely, by the way.
(Musuko, Tue 27 Feb 2007, 16:49, Reply)