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I have unfortunate occasion to know just how long it takes to completely grow back a thumbnail (at least on my body) - just over a year. On the very last day I worked at Musicland, about two lifetimes ago, I was building a display for song books and smashed my thumb badly. It hurt like hell, and was a really sucky way to start the day. The store hadn't even opened yet. Oh well, I figured, with a start like that the day had to improve from there, right?
Right.
It was about two hours later that my boss the district manager showed up. along with the head of loss prevention for the company. In the previous few months my till had been off by about $20 three times. In the transaction logs they found a case where an employee discount had been given on top of a clearance price for something my mother bought. Never mind the fact that I had nothing to do with that transaction (I was on vacation and home with my newborn son at the time). The first time I heard of that transaction was when it was placed in front of me during the interrogation. There were also several cases where the employee discount had been given to my mom's fiance, which was a technical violation of the employee discount policy. Never mind the fact that both of their names appeared on the check, and that they always came in together . It had never once occurred to me that it made any difference who signed the check.
Anyway, by noon I was escorted out of the store, my thumb still throbbing from being smashed and my head throbbing from the fear and shame of having to go home five hours early and explain to my wife that I had been fired.
Over the course of the next four weeks my thumbnail began to fall off as the damaged tissue worked its way out to make room for the healthy tissue to rebuild. It took another full year after the old thumbnail was gone for the new thumbnail to grow back, a constant reminder of that final humiliating day at Musicland.
It was arguably the worst year of my life. I lost my job. My son was diagnosed as being autistic. My father was diagnosed with colon cancer and rapidly deteriorated before passing away in under nine months. I worked as a pizza delivery boy and a video rental clerk, living on welfare and food stamps to keep food on the table for my wife and young son. Utterly depressed, feeling like a complete failure, and borderline suicidal, I ultimately even lost my marriage.
And my thumb hurt.
OK class, now its time to compare and contrast.
Last week I lost the toenail on the middle toe of my right foot. It hurt like hell at the time, and was still a little tender the next day. By the third day it was not tender anymore, and anyone glancing at my bare foot would probably never notice that anything was amiss. It is now day six and the first thin layer of toenail is about 2/3 grown back.
I am also having arguably the best year of my life. I work at a job I love, building really cool stuff in C# on the .NET platform. I am well respected by my peers and superiors. I have recently moved into a new home that I love, in a neighborhood that I love. I get along well enough with my ex that I took her and my son on a trip to Disney World last April which went so well we are likely going to take a short trip to Disneyland next month and then another longer trip to Disney World next February.
Life is good. Sometimes it hurts like hell, but it always seems to heal. In my book, that's pretty dang cool.
Right.
It was about two hours later that my boss the district manager showed up. along with the head of loss prevention for the company. In the previous few months my till had been off by about $20 three times. In the transaction logs they found a case where an employee discount had been given on top of a clearance price for something my mother bought. Never mind the fact that I had nothing to do with that transaction (I was on vacation and home with my newborn son at the time). The first time I heard of that transaction was when it was placed in front of me during the interrogation. There were also several cases where the employee discount had been given to my mom's fiance, which was a technical violation of the employee discount policy. Never mind the fact that both of their names appeared on the check, and that they always came in together . It had never once occurred to me that it made any difference who signed the check.
Anyway, by noon I was escorted out of the store, my thumb still throbbing from being smashed and my head throbbing from the fear and shame of having to go home five hours early and explain to my wife that I had been fired.
Over the course of the next four weeks my thumbnail began to fall off as the damaged tissue worked its way out to make room for the healthy tissue to rebuild. It took another full year after the old thumbnail was gone for the new thumbnail to grow back, a constant reminder of that final humiliating day at Musicland.
It was arguably the worst year of my life. I lost my job. My son was diagnosed as being autistic. My father was diagnosed with colon cancer and rapidly deteriorated before passing away in under nine months. I worked as a pizza delivery boy and a video rental clerk, living on welfare and food stamps to keep food on the table for my wife and young son. Utterly depressed, feeling like a complete failure, and borderline suicidal, I ultimately even lost my marriage.
And my thumb hurt.
OK class, now its time to compare and contrast.
Last week I lost the toenail on the middle toe of my right foot. It hurt like hell at the time, and was still a little tender the next day. By the third day it was not tender anymore, and anyone glancing at my bare foot would probably never notice that anything was amiss. It is now day six and the first thin layer of toenail is about 2/3 grown back.
I am also having arguably the best year of my life. I work at a job I love, building really cool stuff in C# on the .NET platform. I am well respected by my peers and superiors. I have recently moved into a new home that I love, in a neighborhood that I love. I get along well enough with my ex that I took her and my son on a trip to Disney World last April which went so well we are likely going to take a short trip to Disneyland next month and then another longer trip to Disney World next February.
Life is good. Sometimes it hurts like hell, but it always seems to heal. In my book, that's pretty dang cool.