Yesterday, I parked at the far end of the back parking lot, as I do every time I go to work, and walked to the back door of the hardware store. If I squeeze toward the righthand edge of the doorway and scamper through, I can avoid triggering the automatic door-opener; not as much an issue now, but I always felt guilty to be opening their doors and sending a blast of February air through the place.

I work upstairs, and the stairs are in two sections of about 15 steps each. First 15, no incident. Second 15, I made it about three steps up when the door at the top of the stairs burst open, and a dog roughly the size of New Jersey, but with much sharper teeth, came muttering through and headed down the stairs. With him was a woman who clearly was using the leash as a propellant for herself rather than as a canine control device. I startled, because dogs aren't my favorite under good conditions and they are very much not my favorite when they're big and slobbery and muttery and heading toward me from above. I slipped down those three stairs, grabbed the railing, and avoided a butt-thumping landing by luck rather than by grace.

The woman may have apologized - I can't be sure, because the dog, I swear to you, growled, "Get outta my way." And they disappeared, and I continued into my office. Felt fine through the morning, but by midafternoon I had a distinct baseball-sized knot in my lower back, on the right side. If it was in the center, I'd be more worried about spinal involvement, but this is far enough to the side that it's obviously a muscle or tendon pull, nothing a doctor can help with.

And today, it's softball sized and doing its own muttering and growling. Do I know how to have a good time, or what?