War wounds and other stuff
I've been wounded. I soldiered on bravely and helped our team to some excellent victories but I couldn't keep going...


Today was part two of elethiomel's stag do (the first was boozing in london which I didn't make). The idea was a trip to Warfighters which as that link will tell you is a wargame thing with realistic looking weaponry (airsoft style) but no projectiles since it all works on light (I assume much the same as your standard laserquest/quasar type stuff).

It was an awesome setup. Really friendly people running the place and a good area to do it in. Fields, woods, embankments and I missed out on the buildings. First mission bad intel got my half squad slaughtered in short order (we thought we were equidistant from the embankment to their team on the other side - it turns out we were very wrong). Second mission goes a lot better, until the time when I need to hit the deck to get in cover quick. My ninja like reflexes told me to do a standard breakfall style thing, forearms taking the brunt of the impact under my body and head. Unfortuantely I'm not a trained ninja and ninjas don't carry guns anyway so it went a bit wrong. To the extent of my mouth making very good friends with part of the sighting on the top of my gun.

It was not good. The marshall was the one I'd been taking cover from (our team in the end - what a gip) and he looked at it and said it looked nasty. He spent a while checking I was OK (during a live firefight in theory though luckily no enemies in sight) and then we finished the mission (the two of us were the only survivors).

I went on with the next mission feeling not great but soldiering on. I should note we won again though I didn't fire a single shot - this was I think 3-0 to us at this point if memory serves. I actually had started feeling very shitty by the end of the game so I elected to sit out of the next. It was a relatively simple skirmish game anyway so no big deal. I took the opportunity to take off my waterproof whcih helped a lot with my overheating - I think that was contributing to me feeling bad.

After that I was back in the game again. Half a twix from a marshall pepped my energy up a bit and steve and I acted as a rear fire team as we assaulted a well to poison it (or a half dozen trees in a 25 foot square enclosure if you prefer). Their team made a break to try to capture it but were too far out and just got mown down as they came across.

Another couple of games later we had proved total superiority. Also a target practice check proved that our main advantage was that they couldn't shoot for shit. :) The marhsall had noticed that they were being a bit shonky with the way they were firing and some practice rounds proved him right. Their whole team went through target shooting and I think most of them fired a dozen shots before putting a round into the man. Some of them lots more. Our team stepped up just because its hard to tell if you or somebody else hits a man so it was nice to get reassurance that we were shooting straight. Most of us got our man in the first three shots. I got mine with a double tap, davedevil, despite my mocking that he was holding the gun wrong (left handed) managed to hit the target with a single round...

After that we proceeded to cut them down, even on the "They can't possibly lose this one" game. They split up and were either side of us and we had to carry all the kit to an evac point (the gate to go back to basecamp for lunch). It should have been quick and brutal but they decided that the best plan was to run down to the evac point and turn it into a simple firefight - the sort that we had proved we were better at.

At lunch I decided to bail. A&E had already been suggested for my lip and having got back for lunch and looked at it I hadn't so much cut my lip as opened up a crater in it. Apparently its the way lips go because they tend to pull any wound apart because that's the way lips like to move. I had lunch and chatted and got a photo (for a work competition) and then as they headed out for the afternoons activities I got in a car and headed back to oxford. The morning definitely went to the red stag team. The afternoon I hear was more even with the handicapping of them being a man down. Or possibly just the building terrain was more to the other team's liking.

Anyway, I came back to oxford to go to A&E here. I made the cunning move of dropping my car at home and getting quisalan to take me. There was a high chance of me needing stitches and I am not good with needles so I figured driving was a bad thing.

There was about an hour or so wait (I'd picked a book up at home too) before a nice lady nurse called my name. I explained and she said "stitches". I explained the needle thing, the fainting thing and the panic the last doctor had when she thought I'd stopped breathing. She was actually great though, very understanding (and I wondered if that was just through experience or if they actually give specific training on how to deal with people like me who hate needles).

I am now the proud owner of a fat lip with three stitches in it. I am told by many people that it should help me get the ladies. :) I'm not sure if this is while I still have stitches or if I should just be using the scar I am likely to have.

I need to book a doctor's appointment for wednesday to have stitches removed and I guess just a check up on it.

It was an awesome day and an interesting fact that this is the first time in my life I've had to have stitches. Apart from some minor panic attacks, two near faints (one of the head swimming sort and the other one of just my brain being unable to filter out inputs as well so sounds was coming really weirdly with a roaring and... It was odd), and much butterflies in my stomach it wasn't too bad though. I think I'll try to avoid doing it again though.


So, lessons learnt:

1) My and my friends kick ass with guns
2) When falling to the ground don't fall face first onto things you are carrying
3) Snipers rock (thanks malachite)
4) Seeing elethiomel again and doing combat with him rocked.
5) I still hate needles but don't have to pass out every time.
6) Warfighters is great fun and needs to be done with more friends. Replacing the paintball rematch I was considering at some point.
7) Split lips really do split in style.
8) There is no eight.
9) Open fields often have a hell of a lot more cover in than you'd give them credit for.



And that's that.

At some point I might recount a fun weekend last week in cambridge where I got to see Matrix: the pantomime. Or Friday night when foulds had a birthday and I got really quite unbelievably drunk. I think my first mistake being getting to the restaurant and ordering a bottle of wine just for me with dinner. :) I did meet nice new people though, many of whom recognised me from my LJ username ("Oh, so you're chrisvenus") and none of whose I can now remember. :) Sorry if any of you are reading on how drunk I got. Particularly lizzie (I think maybe that or something - I'm bad with names even when sober) who I seem to recall I got a drunken "Fuck off" or something from. Deserved I'm sure and I think probably credited to the alcohol by her too. At least I managed to get mi_guida back to my place and was gentlemanly and gave her a bed for the night and chatted til early in the morning. I can't actually remember anything that we talked about so I hope I didn't start saying anything too embarrassing. I think all the really awkward things I could have said would have been much more rmeembered. :)

So yeah. I think that does sum up the birthday dinner really (except to mention the really nice carbonara in zizzi's) so I don't need to write that up separately. Maybe I'll do cambridge though.

Now though I am goign to go have another look at my lip and contemplate dinner. Dude. Three stitches. Any lovely ladies want to book a time to see my scar? :)