Sultana

Or, "My Happy Easter Weekend"

So I enjoyed paintball for the first time ever last Saturday, and I'm still recovering...I'm bruised to heck and back--thank goodness for dermablend! Uhh, that's a heavy-duty make-up especially for covering up bruises, birthmarks, and the like. I invested in some after I returned from Egypt, my legs looked like hell. And invested is the right word, it ain't cheap. And I'll be applying it liberally for tomorrow night's burly show!

I have another invitation to play paintball at the end of the month, but I'm not crazy about a hobby that marks me up so badly, I take forever to heal bruises although I have a bruise balm I'm been applying several times a day. But I have to confess that shooting the place up (with paintballs) is pretty satisfying. *And* it also gives a very mild glimpse into what it must be like on a real battlefield.

But one very exciting aspect of the weekend's paintball activities is that I almost got bit by a rattlesnake. We were playing on an outdoor field, and here I am all day, flinging myself into foxholes and army-crawling and getting dirty as heck, when I ran up to hide behind some barrier (fortunately didn't fling myself on the ground behind it). I crouched, searching for a clear shot at the "president" or her "bodyguards" in the gutted bus that hosted this scenario, when I heard tat---tat-rattattatatatatat! I froze, and thought (in less than a nanosecond), "I've never heard that noise before, and yet I know *exactly* what it is!"

The frustrating thing is that paintball masks protrude from your face like a snout just under your eyes, so you can't see directly downward easily. So I leap up and start doing a little hopping dance with my head tucked down at an awkward angle trying to look down, praying I don't land on it. Of course when I stand up, I start getting shot at by the other players! But honestly, I didn't really notice just then. Finally the snake moved away where I could see it--it was a baby, *maybe* a foot long, and real skinny. However, it's the baby rattlesnakes that are more dangerous, because they dump all their poison reserves when they bite, not knowing how to control it yet. It coiled up in a tiny little pile--not completely, so I knew it wasn't preparing to strike--and turned it's head around and watched me, absolutely motionless.

Fortunately I am not innately afraid of snakes. So I calmly backed away far enough so it couldn't launch itself at me even if it wanted to, while thinking...Why didn't I wear boots?!? I just waited the rest of the game out there watching it, not wanting anyone else to take cover there. At the end everyone exited the field, even the snake (sportsmanlike!). Everything worked exactly the way it was supposed to, I got too close, it gave warning, I moved away, the snake didn't bite me...it's all great! Imagine if I lived in India, cobras don't give nearly as clear a warning as rattlers.

I was just glad to see it wasn't a Mojave Green, those are way deadly. All other snake toxins are either a hemotoxin, or a neurotoxin. But Mojave Greens (which are very common out here) have both hemo- and neuro- toxin in their venom, making them very much more dangerous than your average poisonous snake.

I just think it's way cool that when folks ask me how my Easter weekend went, I can tell them I got shot at, and nearly snake-bitten. How was yours?

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

Coppertop

Way to keep your head there. I likely would have shot the thing, probably making matters much much worse in doing so.

And paintball rocks. Definitely get some boots for the the next time you're out. Sneakers just don't cut it when you're outdoors in the rough. Enjoy!

And on topic, my Easter was much more mild - I went to my mother's for dinner and poker. Much less adrenaline involved.

Topper

uh... I ripped it up on the online BF2 battlefield over easter weekend... but my encounters with cobras (helicopters) pales in comparison to your little adventure..

and paintball is tons of fun, especially if you go in a large group and get a field to yourself. Not so much fun in my opinion playing with a bunch of weekend warriors who take themselves a little too seriously or the snotty kids getting dropped off by their parents.

Zeraph

If youre getting bruised a lot you could wear body armor made for paintball. You look a little wimpy but thats the price you pay for not getting bruised

Mine went well...I got a lot of work done, heh.

Sultana

Believe me, I'm seriously thinking about it. At least shin guards. And ankle boots.

I had knee pads and that helped a lot.

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

Toaster126

It's funny when people do things you wouldn't expect them to do. Kudos for playing in the dirt with guns over the weekend.

Glad to hear that you didn't have a nasty situation.

__________________
"The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." (Ayn Rand)
"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)

Sue

fwiw, on discovery health channel I heard about baby rattlesnakes. They don't inject you with nearly as much venom as the adults do. While it's still dangerous, it's not nearly as bad as being bit by an adult. Yay for learning while watching tv! hehe.

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Teg yw edrych tuag adref.

JStrider

I've run into rattle snakes, and a few other snakes in my camping and outdoor adventuring... never had one strike at me.

as for the bruises... wear thicker clothes... i know itmight be warm outside and make you all sweaty and uncomfortable but 2 layers of sweats will make a huge difference in the bruising... and will sometimes allow the balls to bounce off without popping

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-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

kutulu

You weren't playing on a plain were you? Cause then you could have busted out a "Get these motherfuckin' snakes off my motherfuckin' plain!"

Sultana

OK, someone has to explain this to me, I've seen it other places too...(with "plane", of course).

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

Redlemon

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I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Jinn

Snakes on a Plane movie with Samuel L Jackson:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/

..strange movie idea inspires strange web gurus:

In any event, "Snakes"-ophiles already were hard at work. Chris Rohan of Bethesda, Md., created an elaborate, R-rated audio trailer that lovingly mocks the title and movie. "It's a genius title," Rohan said. "It's so stupid it's great. It invites satire, but it's something you just love. It's something I can't explain. You either get it or you don't."

The audio bit uses a Jackson sound-alike shouting, "I want these motherfucking snakes off the motherfucking plane!" Soon, the growing legion of fans added their voices as they demanded that that phrase also appear in the movie.

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Sultana

I think I've hurt myself trying to not laugh out loud.
Funny, it feels a lot like love.

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

flstf

We were at my uncle's camp in east Texas once when he was bit on the tip of his finger by a baby rattler. By the time we got him to the hospital his arm looked like it had swollen to almost twice it's size. He was OK though but that little snake had quite a punch.

Jinn

You know, it's really a good thing I read this thread. I live in Colorado and I've seen more rattlesnakes than I can count on both hands, but I didn't know they were poisonous. I just thought they were loud and they hurt when they bit you, not that they poisoned the ever-living hell out of you. Good to know.

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

krwlz

I can understand not wanting bruises in her case (then again who really wants bruises) But I play in a T-shirt and camo-pants... Long sleeves at best.

Congrats on not getting nailed by a snake... I dont know what I would have done in that situation. While not necesarily scared, I DO hate snakes. That thing probably would have been missing a head had I seen it... Due to the .22 shell that passed through where its head used to be.

Sultana

What, you take live ammo on the paintball field?

The guy in charge had mentioned that if we did come across a rattler, the paintball gun *would* kill it, if we felt threatened and couldn't get away. However, A) I could get away and didn't feel particularly threatened once the situation was under control, and B) I still couldn't hit anything with the paintball gun to literally save my life. The bus I was shooting at, there is a pretty thick coat of lime green paint evenly distributed *around* all the windows. Yeah, I was playing sniper.

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

krwlz

Haha, ALright, I try not to take live ammo on a paintball field, except that my paintball field usually ends up being behind my house. Glad you had fun playing the sport tho!