Time to go

So there I was, chomping on a cheeseburger and fries, reading the paper, slowly killing myself with bad news and McDonalds beef fat. Something I do every couple of weeks for some reason. Guilty pleasure maybe, but I tend to think it's just a bad habit. Anyway, I got a visit from the mint lady just as I was sitting down. I took a mint, said 'Thanks' and started my downward spiral. I read about the Austrian ski team fiasco, the UAE port management uproar, and a few other big nothings. I wasn't even into my second cup of coke when the mint lady stopped back. At first, I think, 'What, you got some new product in your basket?' But luckily my second thought was 'Oh, senior citizen.' So I took another mint. I actually wondered if it might be a signal to clear out, like the lights flickering at closing time. That's me in a nutshell. I probably could've tried to say something funny, or struck up a conversation, but I was there for a purpose. And no mint-pushing grandmother was going to pull me out of my tailspin. So I have an extra mint in my coat pocket now. I'll think I'll save it for the next time; maybe she'll laugh if I put it in her basket when she swings by.

Good soup

I spent Saturday evening at an open mic event. It is held by a therapist friend who shares a building with a coffee shop. The coffee shop is known for its soups, so I tried the Italian coconut and shrimp soup. Holy cow! I really didn't know what I was in for, being a bachelor, living on my own weak attempts at potato soup; but this stuff was so good, I didn't feel worthy! It probably helped that it had been below 10 degrees for the past two days, but I took my time with this soup. I got to know it. Almost wanted to turn the entree back in and get more soup! If you want to know where this was, email me, and I'll tell you. Otherwise, I gotta keep this a secret! More soup for me!

Oh, I should also mention that I met someone there who had busted her arm just below the wrist 2 months ago. She was in need of some massage, since the bones had healed, but the swelling was still present in the hand. So I showed her where to start. Her shoulder was very tense from being in a sling too long. Then we got the bicep warmed up. She was ecstatic. I did all the massage between the heart and the fracture, and left the hand alone, since it was still swollen. If hospitals only knew how many people they would help with massage, I'm sure they'd get on board. But I say screw 'em. The people will find me, and that's what counts. Massage is for the masses, not only those who can afford 'health care.'

Drugs

There I was, sticking two stamps on every postcard (Thanks USPS, for raising rates before getting the new stamps out - where's the sense in that?), when two senior citizens start a discussion about prescription drugs. Boy, one of these guys was a well-educated expert on the subject. I suppose you had better be at that age, but they were laughing about how some study found that 60% of doctors who write out prescriptions don't know what they are writing. Now that's as far as it went, so I didn't get the meat of that study, but there was another stat he had that also caught my attention. Something like 4800 deaths a year caused by prescribed drugs. I'm not totally against drugs, but it does seem like more money out to spent on the 'back-end' administering this stuff instead of just dumping money into the 'front-end' efforts to get into the market. Luckily, there are people like my mom who make their living making sure people aren't risking their lives with the stuff they're taking. And my massage business would definitely benefit if a few more pain killers were taken off the market, but it's just too damn easy to get the dope, isn't it?

No easy answers here; it's just about as bad as weaning people of off oil. But I thought it was funny how the two seniors ended their conversation. 'Be better off going to the horse doctor!' I should've handed them each a card, but I was too busy sticking one-cent stamps on my postcards!

Lack of Energy

Where to start. Peak oil, low-energy nuclear reaction, or just that tired feeling I get when I think of all the energy and resources wasted on outdated technology just because the fat cats want to keep their cup running over.

First of all, peak oil is not new. Sure, the teenagers whining about it now as they fill up their suv's to go cruising may think it's a new idea, but it's not. It's just that now the idea has a catchy moniker. Peak. Ooooh. It's all downhill from there. Yikes. The fact is, kiddies, it was a finite resource all along.

As for resources that are far from finite, study cold fusion. (More favorably termed low energy nuclear reactions) Unfortunately, a lot of back-stabbing goes on when someone threatens the powers that be in the energy world. Hot-fusion has been the glutton here for many years, along with other strategies that car makers have adopted to call themselves 'green.' The problem with any of these energy strategies is that they use gobs of energy to get to the resulting 'green' energy. They just hide the waste better.

In cycling, many of us have found that there is a certain amount of energy we can put out. It is finite. There is little point in cramming more effort into the equation. What works, however, is learning how to remove the obstacles preventing one from attaining that maximum output. You lighten your bike, you reshape your aerodynamics, and you quit eating junk. It's time for America to do the same.

Stretching and You

As a massage therapist, I am trained to lengthen soft tissue, giving your body flexibility. It is much like stretching you can do yourself, if taught properly. The problem is when were you ever taught how to stretch properly for your specific tension patterns? I wasn't, and that's probably how I wound up with migraines 15 years ago. Massage has gotten rid of that problem, and stretching keeps it from recurring.

Generally, people think that if they stretch the muscle that hurts, the problem will be solved. It can actually feel good for the short term, but it is only creating a chronic problem. The painful, overstretched muscle, if stretched more, will allow the tighter antagonist muscles to become shorter and tighter. Take the low back, for example. Bending forward or lifting a leg while in the shower may feel good, but you are just stretching out overstretched muscles for a quick fix. Some people have been told that the abdominal muscles need to be strengthened to support the low back. True to a point, but this is all they've been told, and they run off to do 100 sit-ups a day, wondering why the low back pain doesn't go away. What most people don't know is how they are tightening a couple of very strong muscles beneath the abs that are undermining their efforts to create a healthier back. This commonly tight muscle group is named the iliopsoas, and if you know how to stretch this area, you will alleviate much of the tension put on the lumbar vertebrae, eliminating pain there.

I even know massage therapists who do not believe in stretching. Perhaps they have never been taught how to do it. The fact is, a time-tested technique has been used with athletes for decades now. It involves locating the tight, shortened muscles, and using the body's own neuromuscular signals against this tension to achieve balance and flexibility.

When I use this technique with my new clients, they get a look on their face like they've never felt so relieved. And most of them wonder how it can be so pain-free. The simple truth is they've been seeing therapists who believe in the 'no pain, no gain' theory, and that doesn't work with massage. Psst, that's a muscle building mantra. You can do that with exercise on your own. When you need to relax, come see me.

Mix105

I spent a day at the Mix105 Women's Expo in Amery last weekend, introducing more people to my style of massage. Thanks to Kurt and Heather, I was able to sign up just days before the event. It started out slow, but as everyone began tearing down their booths 6 hours later, I still had people waiting for my table. I had a chair and table available, but anyone who knows massage knows that the chair was invented for convenience, not long-lasting therapy. So I try to bring my table to all events.

Speaking of Mix105, a radio station based in Luck, they are auctioning off my services on their weekly Wednesday auctions at 10 am...Do I hear a bid?

Oh, and thanks to Angie at Peace Lutheran for letting me set up at her retreat the weekend before. That was a nice venue, and I met a local business manager who wants his staff to try chair massage too! Now that's my kind of boss. Thanks, John.

I hope to start working again on all my cycling buddies pretty soon, since the base miles should be stacking up by now. You guys hurting yet?

What am I getting into now...

So I decided to get with it, and start spewing my opinions all over the net. I hope I'll have enough gumption to give a Cronkite-esque view of the world as I see it. Of course, I will rely on my bolder readers to let me know when I've lost my mind, as I am an introvert by nature, and not easily swayed by events external to my own little world.

I wish this blog stuff was around when I was building my geodesic dome ten years ago. I had lots to say and many pics to post while that was going on, but there was no easy way to do it. I guess we all have times when we wish the past was documented a little bit better, right? Well, unless you're a president with a heavy hand!