boo boo.

the sign i ignored.

where we live, u need a gate code to get in. but to get out, if you walk, you need an electronic key or key. i have an e-key but don't bother carrying it with me out of sheer laziness. i usually stand by the gate and wait for someone to exit then run out after them through the open gate. the other day, i was trying to get back inside after exercising with my dog. i saw the gate slowly close as someone entered the complex. i know the gate code to get in but decided to chance it and run as fast as i could through the gate so i didn't have to punch in the code. bad mistake. very bad mistake. i was able to throw nibblet through the open gate but by the time it was my turn to get through, the opening was too small for my pudgy body. there is no give to the gate. it does not register a human body going through the gate. my poor musculature certainly did nothing as i tried my hardest to nudge my way through the gate while using my arms to keep the gate open. i was certain i was going to be crushed to death by the sheer force of the closing gate and be discovered as a bloody mess by the residents there. i could feel the black cushiony rubber quickly turn into the hardness of the gate itself, slam into my arms then my body. i was in pain, and barely squeezed my way through. ironically, a second later, a car entered the complex and the gate opened again. if i had waited about 2 more seconds, i would have been spared the trauma. my arms bear huge black bruises where i must have put up my arms out of reflex to keep the gate open. there are these warning signs on the gate, warning people of exactly what had happened to me. months ago, i recall wondering if anyone actually got lodged within the gate. ironically, i answered my own question. i am officially traumatized by closing gates. my laziness got the best of me.

moral of the story: the gates will close, with or without you between them.