Pursuit #59: Chiropractor Virgin no more!

Until Saturday, I was in some rather (recently) severe back pain. And until Saturday I was a chiropractor virgin. Now, I am in generally less back pain due to my quirky visit. I have no basis of comparison of what other chiropractors do, so I have no idea what's considered normal. 

1. "You have really great blood pressure and heart rate. Especially for someone who doesn't work out."

2. During exam: "Hmmm..." followed by writing on clipboard.

3. Also during exam: "Interesting..." followed by writing on clipboard.

4. "Hmm...don't confuse the chiropractor now!"

5. "Subluxation confirmed!"

6. He explained everything he did and why. Even the unexplainable: "There is no explanation for this. It was invented in the 1920's. Several studies have tried to find scientific evidence to back it up to no avail. Essentially, I'm harmonizing you with the universe." Ah, of course.

There was some cracking and manipulation (not painful as I had imagined), some acupressure (this was way more painful than the manipulation), and some of the aforementioned mysterious "voodoo." I wore a peptobismal pink gown while a quirky D.C. with a salt and pepper ponytail cracked jokes about trying to get me to reveal my co-conspirators. At one point I walked around the room twice with one boot on and one boot off, as I was directed to do so. I let this man adjust my freaking spine! In retrospect, it's quite baffling what we let total strangers do to us when we're in a medical/doctor's office, isn't it?  

Pursuit #58: Neither here nor there

One can be scatterbrained, but can you ever just be "brained?" Perhaps I inherited my mom's tendency to make up words - she used the word murderize twice in the last couple weeks until we called her out on it. She claims it's a real word because when we tried to look it up, only urban dictionary says it's a word...the irony being that usually urban dictionary includes slang terms that are "hip" and my mom is the antithesis of hip. Either urban dictionary is losing its sway or my mom is wilder than we thought. She does wear animal prints sometimes... 

As I've gotten older, and through various shared experiences, I've learned to appreciate my family more. We're all a lot funnier than I previously thought. Well, at least we think we're funny. I can see how the bond between my family members has grown stronger over the years, and that is really cool. I've also decided that having a big family is kinda great cause if you don't like one person, there are plenty more options to choose from. 

I miss my grandma, Gammy, heaps, but I'm actually glad for her passing since she was pushing 94 and in rather poor health with a diminishing quality of life. That became very evident when I went down to help take care of her for the last couple weeks. She had lived without my grandpa for 16 years and she'd been yearning to go and meet him. I'm not entirely sure what her work was here that she had to finish before she could go join him, but it was so perfect that I got to spend her last couple weeks with her. She was a huge part of my life growing up and all throughout, like a second mother really, so I loved having a chance to help her out in return. My aunt apologized to me for things not happening the way we had planned when I came down to care for Gammy (i.e. her death), and all I could say was, "But maybe things did happen the way they were supposed to." She had such a long, fulfilling life. While I don't aspire to live as long as her, I do aspire to enjoy life the way she did, giving from the bottom of her heart always.

The funeral was wonderful. It made me laugh. It made me cry. As many probably feel on the heels of a funeral or the passing of a loved one, I felt the preciousness of life, a reminder to savor and not take for granted our relationships or the way we choose to live. I was reminded of the importance of family and how wonderful a feeling it must have been for Gammy to see her progeny altogether laughing, talking, crying and full of love for each other. It's an amazing thing to see so many people bound together by not only blood, but love and to think that it's all because of her. The things she left behind in her house are just...things and they just don't matter. The people she left behind...her familial empire is truly amazing though. In the end, family really is all that matters. 

"Gammy" 1917-2011

Pursuit #57: I'm not talented

But Christina Perri is:)

I get chills listening to her. The good kind. There are a few wishes I have in this world.
1. To be a ballerina.
2. To be a breakdancer.
and 3. To sing like this:

Pursuit #56: My new look

Since Mother Nature is failing miserably at her job and needs to be fired, I have acquired a new look (out of necessity really). We need a more hospitable planet!!!

brrr...all this and long johns for a measly dog walk.

Pursuit #55: A smorgasbord

I haven't had anything really blogworthy happen recently. Here's a sampling platter to satiate your palate however.

Recent Lessons Learned (I like lists):

1. Sometimes you may wake up to your alarm contemplating how Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor and his on-screen wife were a really good match on Home Improvement. Take it from me, you just can't refute your subconscious on this one.

2. According to my Developmental Psychology teacher, we are finally back on track to living several hundred years, as Moses and Methuselah* of Biblical times did. Now the maximum age of a person is like 122 years old. Only 847 more years to go! She also tells us that there is no biological reason for aging...this is why she doesn't teach biology.

*Methuselah reportedly lived to be 969 years old, while Moses reportedly lived to be 120.

3. Sometimes people will hire someone to walk their dog during the middle of the day, even when they are home. We don't know why.

4. Sometimes dogs pee on each other. We also don't know why.

5. Always ask how much the sushi lunch buffet is BEFORE you fill up your to-go box. But the tempura sushi sure was tasty!

Pursuit #54: Pursuit of Authenticity (?!?)

I read another article recently in Natural Health about how pursuing happiness basically backfires and makes us less happy. Sad face, :( womp womp.  

So instead of pursuing happiness (which according to the article only sets us up for disappointment because our goals are too high and continually get higher as we progress and we're not able to achieve all the things we set out to do to make us happy), what should we pursue? 

...Authenticity!! Woo hooo!!!! Let's all race each other to be more authentic than our neighbors!!! But wait. What does being "authentic" even mean? Well, Natural Health says essentially it means living your life as a normal (read: authentic) human being, letting yourself succumb to sadness and disappointment once in awhile as the feelings come to you. The old adage "taking the good with the bad" would apply here.

Well, ok. I can be authentic. In fact, I think I'm always authentic. Sometimes I'm happy. Sometimes I'm a little sad. Instead of touting pursuing "authenticity" they should really just say, "Let's just keep our expectations low. You know, then that way we'll never be disappointed! Huzzah!!"

Pursuit #53: Vegetarianism Through the Eyes of My Aunt

"Here's some rice. Don't worry, it's just chicken flavored."

"Try this veggie soup. I doctored it with some beef bouillon to make it taste better."

"I made these chicken enchiladas for dinner. You can just pick out the chicken, there's not that much in there."