Just the Facts

Blu Mar Ten's new album, "Natural History," is coming out soon!

It's so nice to have S home again. I love to sit and eat breakfast with him, it's one of the best parts of my day.

I am content. My work ethic has returned, the leaves are turning, the universe and the people around me are full of character. I laugh uproariously at least once per day.

I have to confess that I went and did something out of character. I went to see a chiropractor last Friday morning.

He took about 6 x-rays of my neck and back, completed a physical exam, took pictures of my posture from various angles, and took down my medical history. Yesterday after work, I went to review my x-rays and was completely shocked. Before he could say a word, I could see that there was something wrong about my neck - it was almost as straight as an arrow! There was no curvature at all. He told me that my head was in a forward position about 26mm off from normal, which sounds insane to me, the queen of good posture! Damn all of this computer work! Why oh why do I read so much? Alas, alas! Luckily, my back looked fabulous, all of my disks were in perfect shape, but my neck is something else. He asked me if I get tension migraines, and I do, horrible ones.

I got adjusted for the first time in my life - mainly to see what all the hullabaloo was about. I was utterly skeptical about the whole practice of chiropractic "medicine;" I doubt very much that nerves can "lie dormant" or become "choked." But the biomechanics of posture are sound. The human spine should have two 63 degree curves in it. We evolved to walk upright, which requires a precise mechanism - our spines. When gravity pulls down on this structure, it becomes stronger. If the structure is twisted or warped, the weight of our bodies applies pressure to the wrong places, and our muscles grow to compensate in order to prevent structural collapse, keeping our bones in the wrong positions. It's a vicious cycle that continues unless we change our habits. I'm probably going to be working at a computer for at least the next few years, and I'm never going to stop reading.

The adjustment itself was comfortable and painless, but my neck is sore this morning, even though I iced it last night after the doctor called me. I tried to sleep on my back last night. I lowered my office chair and have been trying not to slouch. I raised my laptop stand to its highest setting. Ha! I'm so paranoid now. Me? A hunchback?! Ain't gonna happen. The doctor also told me to stop running so much and take up swimming, yoga, and upright cycling. Sadface!

I'm not at all sure that adjustments will be the cure to my poor posture, despite claims made by totally un-hokey people I know who have regular adjustments. But now that I'm aware that there's a problem, I can definitely work towards correcting it. In that respect, I'm grateful for those x-rays!

Last Wednesday, I went on an online shopping spree, and my clothes arrived yesterday... And they are all huge. Vanity sizing is becoming a real problem. As a late teenager, I was a solid size S. A few years ago, I became an XS, and now I'm apparently an XXS. I went from a 4 in pants to a 2, and then to a 0 - but I'm not shrinking. The world is getting bigger. Disappointing that I have to return such beautiful clothes!

Despite all of the candy corns, chocolate, cookies, pasta and udon noodles I've been consuming in recent weeks... I am losing weight and I can't figure out why. This time last year, I was about 17 lbs. heavier, and was a relatively small person even then. You're probably thinking, "That's why your clothes don't fit!" Which would be a valid argument, if this clothes-expanding trend hadn't started a long time ago. I found several small bruises on my arms and legs the other night. I wonder if I could have an iron deficiency?

My old apartment complex decided that it had overcharged me about $700, and sent me a check in the mail - so I'm going to be fitted for new glasses this weekend. It's been about 10 years.

P.S. - I braved Wal*Mart to obtain the fabled caramel apple candy corns. I've been drinking them like water.