The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

The Solution (assumes you are working in Windows XP):

1. Go to Control Panel
2. Select Sounds and Audio Devices
3. Go to the Audio tab
4. On the Sound Playback section, click Volume
5. A speaker menu will open, on it go to Option
6. Select Properties
7. Under “Show the following volume controls:”, place a check mark in the microphone box
8. Select OK
9. Now back at the speaker controls you should see the microphone controls at the far right
10. Uncheck Mute and adjust volume
11. Voila! Fixed!

     He stands up and gazes down. His arms are covered in blood to his elbows. It drips slowly from his hands. Dark red congealed pieces have dried and now lay in the corners of his fingernails. Wide-eyed, he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, his breath billowing out in front of him in the cold, crisp air. The boyish fops of blonde hair stick out from beneath the beanie covering his young face. His world has changed.
     Earlier, the day started out as a beautiful and exciting one. Fresh snow had fallen the night before and had frozen into a brittle crust over the ground. Their boots crunched across it as they walked. Big as giants. The prideful destroyers.

     They walk to their positions and climb higher. Firing lanes spread out before them like light from the sun. Now the waiting game begins. The boy is happy and proud. His youthful innocence drinks in the beauty of the forest around him. He is glad to be with his father. Hurried excitement ebbs to a quiet peacefulness. He feels at one with nature. The sun warms his face. Cold water drips off of icicles, the sun shining through them like diamonds.
     Sounds in the distance. His gut tightens and his breath quiets. Eyes gazing off into the distance, his ears strain across the silence. All is quiet again in the perfect stillness except for the rhythmic whooshing sounds of his blood rushing through his neck and into his ears. He feels the pores on his skin prick open and a warm rush moves over him. False alarm, he thinks. He relaxes.
     Time passes in silence. Still as statues they sit. No words or gestures. The two executioners wait at the ready. The boy grows sleepy and tired. The meditative calm of the winter morning have sedated and relaxed him. All of the sudden, out of the corner of his eye, movement.
     He turns his head and looks out. His targets in front of him. Like ghosts they have arrived in silence. Their holy presence blankets everything around them. He raises his rifle and looks down the scope. Frantically, he searches. The final target appears. He has been instructed well. He knows where to put the fatal shot. Breathe slowly. Center the crosshairs. Now bring them up a little. When you’re ready, let them slowly fall across the target. As they pass their mark, exhale and squeeze the trigger. Don’t close your eyes. Don’t jerk. The rehearsed words of his father slowly repeat themselves in his mind. His concentration is singular and complete. There is nothing else.
     The rifle explodes. The blast tears him from his calm and all of the sudden the world comes flooding back. The morning light, the snow, the trees, all zoom back into focus. The first twinge of the never ending reality hits him. He exhales sharply. Mixed confused emotions already grasp upwards at him from the pit of his tense stomach. I really did it, he thinks. The thoughts a declaration as much a condemnation.
     He slowly walks up on the victim, now his alone. Rifle in hand, he secretly fears that the dead body before him will come back to life with burning eyes and accuse him of his terrible deed. The only real witness of the cruelty of man, of life, the only one who had truly received it in all of its unbridled entirety, lies dead before him. The eyes only gaze ahead lifeless.
     We take care of our own, the father says tossing a knife to the foot of the boy. That statement more true now than ever. He kneels and starts the bloody work.
     If only our lives and the loss of our innocence were defined as sharply and as singularly as that rifle crack, the boy thinks much later in life. But we are shot over and over. The many pieces of us each dying its own death. So many murders. So many deaths. We die a thousand times over.
     It’s been many years now since the boy, now a man, has held a rifle. But he is not done hunting. And his weapons have become more accurate and devastating. His victims haunt his soul, crowd his thoughts. The stare at him with accusing eyes. For these witnesses still walk. They still breathe. They cannot take back what the hunter has taken and claimed for his own though. He still takes his share.
     And so he continues on. Walking through the streets much the way he did that cold winter morning so many years ago. When will the killing stop, he thinks.
Rifle slung over his shoulder, he walks. Footsteps quiet on the concrete, he disappears into the darkness and it envelops him, a final hug for the good hunter. He has come home.

• First: go to a doctor! It is important to get evaluated by a medical professional immediately with cases of abdominal pain. You want to rule out any serious things such as a ruptured appendix, a mass of some kind, internal bleeding, stomach problems, etc. Once you have ruled those out you will want to make sure your injury does not require surgery. Usually this is accomplished through either an MRI or CT scan (the method which was used on me).
• Second: no heat! Use ice or cold compresses only. You will want to stop the bleeding and inflammation. This goes for the entire healing process. I only started using heat once I started to rehab the muscles and was well into the healing process.
• Third: get an abdominal or lower back ace support that will support your entire trunk. I wish I had used one of these in the first few weeks, I think I would have healed much faster. Wear this while driving and at night. Make sure not to wear it all of the time though as your muscles will atrophy even more.
• Fourth: rest, rest, and more rest. Don’t try to push it with this injury! Guaranteed you will be injured again only worse. As difficult as it may be you really need to lay off all physical activities. Think about this injury in the long term sense. Core muscles take a very long time to heal since they are constantly moving. Patience and determination is key. My injury took well over 3 months to heal because I pushed it too early too soon. I think if I could of stuck to a recovery plan I would have been healed in 6-8 weeks, not 12.
• Fifth: take anti-inflammatory medication. This will help reduce the swelling and allow your muscles to heal.
• Sixth: diet. Eat meals high in protein. Layoff sugars, starches and any other low value food. Stick to vegetables and fruits. Be healthy!
• Seventh: get to a physical therapist. If you don’t start a physical rehabilitation plan and baby the muscles for too long scar tissue can develop in the muscles and the injury can become a chronic one which will end up taking longer to heal. Each case is different and needs to be evaluated by a professional. Do not underestimate this step or the importance of physical therapy. Not only will you heal faster, but you will be able to heal to your pre-injury strength level. In my case I didn’t start physical therapy until about 6 weeks into the injury and started slooooooow.

     This is a painful and slow healing injury. Be prepared for 4 to 12 weeks of healing time. I think it’s good to write out a plan and stick to it. You may start to get cabin fever and, on a good day, decide to try to do some physical activity only to re-injure the area and start over on square one. I’ve found these types of injuries don’t heal in a consistent increasing curve. Rather, you will have some good days and some bad days. Don’t think because you’re having a good day that you’re healed (I foolishly made that mistake and paid dearly!). Instead, track your healing progress by time and stick to your recovery plan!