Woke up this morning, got myself a gun….
Okay, not entirely true. Did a few things first. Woke up. Realised my head was all stuffed up (again!) and that the head cold I was desperately hoping was a figment of my imagination was, in fact, real and I had to acknowledge that it was having a rather detrimental effect on my ability to, well… breathe. Grabbed a heat pack and tried to kill the dull roar in my lower back knowing that the day I had lined up consisted of heading off to the range for the entire day to volunteer for RAW. I kind of knew I was in trouble when every time I inhaled, I was getting a sharp pain in my mid thoracic region and that’s usually a dead give away that it’s NOT going to be a good day.
The impetus to dump the whole thing and be a no show for the first time ever was exceedingly strong, but I had friends signed up to participate too, so I wouldn’t just be putting the dopey Club Manager in a pickle, but would be letting down three friends also, and well, we can’t have that now.
So whaddaya do? 1) double down on Codral for oncoming head cold. 2) throw back a few Nurofen for back pain. 3) add a Digesic chaser for the headache and 4) smile and put ALL your energy into ignoring it as best you can and hope no one really notices… then 5) head out to the range to teach people how to use guns!
Reminded me of my old Disney Store days – no matter how crap or down you felt, you had to be ‘on show’. RAW/RAM days are about helping people have a good time at the range, learning how to be safe and comfortable around firearms, answering hundreds of questions you’ve answered before and making sure people have a good time. So upbeat, motivated, enthusiastic and encouraging is the order of the day… not an easy ask when you’re in pain and a wee bit drugged up.
But today turned out to be one of the best groups I have had. Everyone was easygoing and affable and willing to give everything a go. No princesses, no know-it-alls, no oneupmanship type dick waving. It was all good – we got along great, had quite a few laughs and the general feel of the group was fun and relaxed.
And then as soon as it was all over, I exhaled, fell in a snuffly painful heap and haven’t really been able to get up since. Aarrgh… I hope the girls in my group had fun though. I will be curled in a corner for the remainder of the weekend if anyone needs me.