Twist or stick?

Given my desk bound working life I generally try to go for a walk at lunchtime for some exercise. There is a longish patch of grass outside the office that adjoins the Sheikh Zayad Road (SZR)so whilst it is reasonably green and pleasant and suitable for a work (and there are generally some picknickers enjoying their lunch or an afternoon nap)there is an accompanying roar from the traffic.

I am preparing a presentation this afternoon but decided I needed some fresh air so set off for my walk - it usually takes around 15 - 20 minutes but given the poor progress I had made in finalising my presentation I decided I would try to cover the same ground but in a quicker time so my pace was (comparatively) brisk.

All was going well until towards the end of the grass patch where the path next to the SZR starts. I managed to step on a piece of uneven ground and tumbled with my usual lack of elegance to the ground twisting my ankle in the process. There were two competing emotions. The first was acute embarrassment as my antics were clearly visible to all the traffic thundering past on the way to Abu Dhabi so I was keenly aware that somebody who might know me would have witnessed my clumsiness and secondly acute pain - anybody who has twisted their ankle will know that at first it feels like you have actually broken your ankle such is the intensity of the pain. Eventually this died down and I was able to hobble (covered in grass stains and twigs) back to the office - of course on the way back I had to pass two work colleagues who were enjoying the afternoon sun outside so I was forced to try to explain why I looked like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards.

So now I am at my desk trying to finish the presentation and wondering quite what sort of impression I will be making on the audience this afternoon as I limp up to the podium although hopefully I will have got rid of some of the grass stains by then.

I will let you know how I get on.