Monthly Archives: September 2006

Today my brother-in-law Peter dragged us out to look at cars. And since we needed a car I knew we’d probably end up with one. My mom wanted a grey Camry Hybrid, but they’re hard to come by. Camry Hybrids and Priuses are very popular here and there are places that charge a premium for them. Grey, for some reason, is also hard to find. My mom ended up with a normal silver Camry with a sunroof, another thing she didn’t want. But at least she has her own car again. What a pain it is to buy a car. My sister is supposed to run the Portland Marathon tomorrow … Continue reading →

I went to the acupuncturist at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) today, after going to my primary care physician and making sure he didn’t have anything against acupuncture. (He didn’t have anything against chiropractors, either.) I didn’t get an acupuncture student but the instructor of the school. He was good. My usual acupuncturist, who was a student at OCOM, says, “Tell me when there’s a dull ache.” The instructor didn’t have to ask; he hit it on the first try. After the acupuncture with electric stimulation, he gave me a tuina massage. It was the oddest massage I’ve had, like being rolled from side-to-side. But it seemed to … Continue reading →

The day after going to the chiropractor are the worst, but I’m sure he’ll say it’s part of the healing process. Well, today I was getting ready to go to work with a very sore back. I got in the car and realized I forgot my cell phone. I had to crawl back to the house, and that hurt so much that it was a very slow crawl. I have nothing good to say about chiropractic now. Making my back pain a little worse is something I would have put up with, but incapacitating me and keeping me from work (a place where they’re probably looking for reasons to can … Continue reading →

So I read up on chiropractic today. Unfortunately for my narrow mind, I like to have thing proven by the scientific method and don’t take much on faith. Basically the pointers from the research said that spinal manipulation can help back pain a little more than following the instructions in a brochure on back pain. That’s fine. However, all the fruity stuff that I didn’t like about the, “benefits of chiropractic,” were unproven and taken as articles of faith by chiropractors. That means it’s kind of a religion of cult. Also, manipulation of the neck is correlated to stroke risk in older patients. In any case, I wasn’t going to … Continue reading →

Night after night. You might as well just write it on a post-it and hold it in front of a browser: I go to the gym. My back hurts. I’m afraid my job at megacorp is ending. Sometimes I go to a chiropractor/massage therapist. Sometimes I feel lonely. I’m kind of bummed lately and I know the best way to cheer myself up is to hit the gym. Unfortunately, my back pain precludes that plan. And besides that I got nothing. Oh, and the weather got nice again, in the upper 80′s. (No surprise, Septembers and Octobers here are quite nice.) That’s keeping me from sleeping well because it’s too … Continue reading →

I’ve been going to a chiropractor and I suppose it’s a good thing. This morning I sneezed and had a back spasm and had to lie down. Of course, today was is the day that our VP was supposed to tell us if we’re all canned or not, so I went in to work anyway. Apparently he’s still leaving us to our doom, but he’s only telling us that he’s telling us about our doom in a couple more weeks. Typical. They’ve been pulling this stunt for months. I did go see the chiropractor today and I hope he’s doing some good. In any case, I’m poorer for the experience … Continue reading →

So, a few weeks ago, my friend Megan told me that I had to go with her to her friend Kelly’s wedding. Kelly was one of the people who always hung out when Megan came back to town, so I know her and I’ve met her husband. But I was really just filling the seat. I’m really happy for Kelly, but the wedding was a bit weird. There were pauses in the ceremony for cheesy music to be played, she danced with her dad before dinner, and we had a strange sherbet between the salad and the main course. It was all for Kelly, but I heard she just wanted … Continue reading →

I can’t believe it’s been about eight years since I’ve gone to see the sports massage therapist Michael Bilyeu. He has a fancy new clinic with his wife now out on SE Belmont with herbal remedies and an acupuncturist. But boy, did I feel beat up afterwards. My back feels better (it was feeling bad again this morning) but maybe that’s just because my calves are so sore. He did say my back was all tense. Ominous events are taking place at megacorp. I may be on an extended unpaid vacation starting Monday! We’ll see soon.

I could say something bad about the chiropractor, and I probably will, but it wouldn’t be too nice. I mean, I don’t believe everything that the chiropractor or the acupuncturist tell me, but I still go to them because they’re good at doing what they do. Do I believe my spine is the center of all that is holy? Of course not. But my back sure feels a lot better. If his fancy gizmo says I’m in balance and my back feels better, that’s fine with me. Tomorrow I go to the massage therapist I used to see when I was training for the marathon. I know he’s good but … Continue reading →

P.S. I made it to a year at megacorp. P.P.S Somehow I lost five more pounds, down to 175 after my latest illness, I think. So much for looking like Charles Atlas in his prime.

I figure it can’t possibly be the stress from going to work each day and having someone else tell me I’m getting laid off. Or is it layed off? I never could get that straight, and for some reason I don’t really care. In any case, my back still hurts. It hurts more today than it did after helping my neighbor move. Dave says my hamstrings and back are really tight and I should see both a chiropractor and a massage therapist. In any case, the only thing that gets me out of the bleak mood I’m in after work and my even more pathetic non-dating is getting tired at … Continue reading →

I worked from home today for the few hours that I wasn’t calling insurance companies or body shops or mechanics. Looks like my mom wasn’t doing anything wrong and the other insurance company thinks they’ll have to pay most of the damages. Like I said before, I’m glad nobody was hurt, but this sure is an annoyance. Working from home does give me some options, like drinking coffee vs. taking a nap. The nap is never an option in the office, though I think it should be. Oh, and since I keep the stuff for Portland Audubon’s swift watch, I tend to be out there every day I’m not busy. … Continue reading →