Ugh, it's like the weather gods glanced at the calendar and decided today was the day to turn the temperature up to "furnace." After eight years of this, yes, I am used to it, but it's become my daily habit to take a walk at work to exercise my gimp knee and give my back a break from all the sitting. My walk has been pushed back earlier and earlier ( Read more... )

I am reading a book that's been on the back shelf for years and years, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. This book has its pros and cons, but one of the most vexing-though-valid concepts in it for me is the notion of the "Artist's Date." This is an hour a week you set aside to let your inner child out and give it freewheel. The idea is, soundly ( Read more... )

It has been a while since I've posted. My bout with back pain last fall has become shoulder pain, and the standing and walking I was doing to relieve it have been complicated by inflammation to my right knee. Bottom line is that sitting and typing can be painful, so I have had to save it for work and my writing class ( Read more... )

Wanted to thank everyone that gave me feedback on my short story, Home. I submitted an updated/edited version to the Maricopa Community Colleges Creative Writing contest and won an Honorable Mention Winner in the Fiction category. It will be published as part of an annual publication the contest puts out ( Read more... )

Had my first appointment at the pain clinic this AM. They have ordered a whole slew of interventions for my poor, beleaguered bod. Not going to get into details, because I don't want to invite the casual horror stories some people feel inclined to share when they read about other people's impending procedures. I am nervous enough as it is ( Read more... )

Pretty typical holiday last week. Which is remarkable in itself, I suppose, given some recent personal and family travails. Short explanation, me: pain, and SIL has asked my brother for a divorce, but other than filing the petition and lawyers engaged, the marriage continues in an awkward steady-state for now. Personally, I think she'll find " ( Read more... )

...I don't even know where to begin. I guess... a month ago? I started to experience incredible pain while sitting. In my neck, in my back, in my left shoulder. Some of this is arthritis, some is muscle strain from arthritis. I've been experiencing arthritis twinges in the knees, back, and neck for a few years now. But I've never had any trouble ( Read more... )

I don't have to post today, since my thirty days was up yesterday, but I am so glad it's Friday. Loooong week. We had a national user's conference at work, and I had to commute to Phoenix for the first three days, then I had an early AM blood appointment yesterday, so I have gotten little writing on the novel done this week. Some of that has to do ( Read more... )

This was on the internets today, mocking me with its personal relevance ( Read more... )

(1) Had my first PT session for my neck/shoulders this AM. I was at the therapist for about an hour and a half between early arrival, paperwork, interview with the therapist, and actual therapy. Therapist did heat therapy and a massage, which was great, but also pressure point testing to find tender spots ("Ouch, there's one!") and of course taught ( Read more... )