I got a massage last night after work, thinking it might help my back. I went to a Thai massage place recommended by some women at work -- apparently its owner is married (I think?) to another of our coworkers. Anyway, the massage was magical, and it was one of those intense deals where the masseuse (is that still a word?) climbed not only onto the table but onto my back, on her elbows and knees, using her body weight as pressure. She even offered to walk on my back, but I declined that -- all I could picture was George Jefferson walking on Mr. Bentley.
I'm so glad that I found a good massage place.
As I said, it felt great at the time, but unfortunately, the back still hurts. I'm going to try to pop in and see the doctor sometime this week, just to make sure nothing serious is going on. It may be one of those things where I've stressed it out and it will just take time to heal.
Last night I ran my camera bag through the washing machine. When I fell in the mud on Sunday it got splattered, and I tried vacuuming it and hand-cleaning it, and neither worked. The machine was the last resort. I did that once with my previous bag and it emerged a bit tattered, but this time I put it on a gentler setting and it seems to have been successful.
At work we have a huge stash of old magazines -- Newsweek from the 1940s to about 1960, and National Geographic from the '40s through the '70s, and American Heritage from the '50s until 2010. All these magazines are stored in our conference room, many in bound volumes, and although they look good in the cabinets they are completely useless to us as a school. They aren't indexed so no one could do research using them, unless they knew which issue to look for. We didn't want to throw them out, but we've never been sure what to do with them.
Then, a few weeks ago, the New York Times ran an article about a London man who's building a huge archive of old magazines and printed ephemera. Bingo! I e-mailed him to offer our magazines, and he called me right away and accepted. So I'll be loading those into boxes in coming days. I'm glad we found a home for them!
(Photo: Morning at the tennis club around the corner from our flat.)
It is a shame that your library is losing all those precious magazines. Such a historical treasure trove of information and imagery. Though you're not getting any money for them it's like selling off the family jewels. Sorry to learn that the massage only gave you temporary relief.
ReplyDeleteThe house we lived in before this one was owned by hoarders when we bought it. Now, the weird thing was- they hoarded good stuff. Like, so many antiques and sets of beautiful china and quilts and furniture and the house was almost impossible to walk through. Some parts were. And there was an attic and a huge basement- odd for Florida. The basement was as filled up as the rest of the house and there was one area, a sort of catacomb of rooms, with shelves, floor to ceiling filled with old magazines, neatly arranged. The owners ended up leaving those magazines. Years and years and decades of mostly women's magazines like Good Housekeeping and Ladies Home Journal. In a way, I was thrilled! Think of the fun of looking through them! Think of the recipes and knitting patterns! Think of the nostalgia value!
ReplyDeleteWell, of course, I barely touched them and when we moved, we left them too!
I wonder if they are still there, holding up the house with their arcane information, their vintage advertisements, their advice on how to save your marriage, clean your toilets, and make frugal, yet exotic meals.
We subscribed to Nat'l Geographic for most of our 40+ years together and, you know, they are so hard to throw out and they would just pile up and up. eventually they would get discarded and it would start all over. when Murdoch bought Nat Geo we used it as an excuse to let our subscription lapse. I don't miss it.
ReplyDeleteand I was going to say maybe you should start doing yoga again for your back. also, you probably need to strengthen your abs. you've got an imbalance there.
ReplyDeleteBacks are very nagging and non specific and the medical profession in most cases can not pin point the problem. Mine was tiny muscles the would pull. Stretching helps but I get small spells of it every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteYou might consider going to a chiropractor. Okay, don't leave me here, I know how that sounds. Believe me, I was raised by parents who told me they were all quacks. So, for most of my life, I would never even consider trying one. Then, about 20 years ago when I was working in St. Louis I got a horrible pain in my back and someone I worked with told me to go to her chiropractor. I did, and it was much better after the first visit and completely gone after the second. Over the years, I've gone time and again when I get little twinges here and there and they always get fixed. For the past 4 years, I've gone once a month for an adjustment so that I don't get any twinges at all. One thing is for certain, if my dad was alive today he'd be rolling his eyes at the thought that I would make this suggestion to you but, it works for me.
ReplyDeleteI hope your doctor is able to help with your back! I know you've probably tried this, and it doesn't always work, but when I get back strain I try to alternate heat & ice. Even if it doesn't REALLY help, at least it feels good in the moment!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found a home for all those magazines. I think having print archives is a wonderful thing. I worry a bit about all things becoming digital these days. Glad you found some relief getting a massage. I think a visit with the doc is a good idea, and probably an x-ray or scan of some sort to get a look at what's going on. I always think docs are good for helping diagnose, and then we patients get to decide how to proceed.
ReplyDeleteI had never seen that episode from The Jeffersons but it reminded me of a time when one of my co-workers tried to get me to walk on his back. I declined but a smaller fellow did take him up on the offer and he was most grateful. Anyway, thanks for that clip and I hope your back heals soon.
ReplyDeleteI echo Sharon on the chiropractor, and I'd also put in a good word for physiotherapy, as that's how I finally dealt with my back and hip pain. I think the amount of sitting at computers that many of us do these days has contributed to back and core issues.
ReplyDeleteIt's so fortunate you could find someone to take those magazines. We had to recycle all our National Geographics. It felt so wrong!
Glad you found a good massage therapist!
Physical therapy for the back, yes, but do see a doctor too. Sending healing vibes, friend. As for the magazines, I know they were useless for research but for browsing history, for just flipping through, they seem invaluable. It’s how I decided I wanted to be a journalist, from flipping through magazines as a kid. Plus, doesn’t an index exist online? Seems like such a loss.
ReplyDelete