It Was Like a Penicillin Shot

I went walking on the Tan Track on Monday. I did it all by myself and am very proud of my mini achievement. I wasn’t bothered by any weirdos and I didn’t suddenly need to use the loo. Although I was hoping that I didn’t have to perform my ‘civic duty’ at a place like the Tan Track, I unexpectedly was subjected to it once today. That’s ok. Once is better than multiple times in just one visit to a busy shopping centre.

There was however a minor hiccough. As I was walking towards the Yarra, opposite MGGS, I took my hat off to air my sweaty hair. I was still unhappy that I was subjected to one ‘civic duty’ that had taken place just minutes before. Less than a metre after I turned left, a bug flew into my long black hair and got stuck. Its buzzing sounded angry as it tried to get out. I tried to help and it landed on my left cheek and promptly stung me before moving back into my hair. The pain was like being given a Penicillin shot on the face! So, I tried to frantically get the little devil out of my hair using my hat but was unsuccessful. The sight must have been comical because a couple of drivers actually slowed down to watch. Runners and joggers going past also slowed down. LOL. Luckily, this gentleman stopped to assist when I requested his help. He was unable to find it at first and asked if I was sure that there was a bug. LOL. I told him that I could hear the buzzing noise. Crazy people can hear lots of stuff too, I later thought. LOL. Eventually he found it. It took three attempts to get the little bugger off the left side of my head before it flew straight back to attack the right side. This time the gentleman managed to get it out in just one attempt. He even tried to step on the nasty bug as he explained that it could be a Wasp or a Bee. I thanked him and continued walking.

On my way home, I desperately wanted a mirror to see if I had reacted to the sting. Most of the pain subsided after about 5 minutes but I still wanted to see if I had turned into a monster. The people running past me didn’t seem to react but may be the kind of people that run on the track weren’t the type who would react to physical disfigurements. Where were ‘those’ people when I needed them to ‘criticize’ me? As soon as I got into our pigeon hole, I dashed to the bathroom to inspect my cheek. Except for a dot, there was absolutely nothing. My face is not one bit uglier than when I left home. Nevertheless, I iced the area and applied a liberal amount of Tea Tree Cream just to be sure. This antiseptic cream is like a cure-all for us. LOL. Growing up in an ‘outpost’ situated at the edge of rainforests might have built up my resistance towards insect bites.

I suspected that M would react to my account by saying, “That’s it. You are not going there on your own again.” He didn’t though. He also didn’t ask me to cut my hair. It turned out that he found the whole thing hilarious. I think I will tie my hair before putting my hat on next time. Investing in some bug spray might also be a good idea. Tuesday is going to be another super hot day with gale force winds arriving tonight. So, it’s best for me to stay home. Thursday is likely to be my second walk at the track this week.