Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Just another day...

So what am I doing up at 6:05am? Well, I spent the last 15 minutes trying to get out of bed. I'd probably try to go back to sleep for a little bit longer if it didn't hurt so freaking much. What a freaking idiot!

The pain has improved a little bit - and the shakes have gone down too. I have to go to school in a few hours... but my guess is that if I keep stretching I should be able to move around reasonably well by then. Let's hope.

I had forgotten how much this sucks.

Alright then, enough feeling sorry for me. Enjoy your day!

Ed.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Ain't nothing out here but me

I was hoping to play up in Vermont this past weekend - chess tournament. As it turns out, I forgot about it. Not completely forgot, but by the time I remembered I had made some other plans for the weekend. So I didn't play. It's probably for the best, my mind's been elsewhere lately. So my chess is certainly not at its peak. So it goes.

I have gotten in a few hours of Neverwinter Nights 2. It's a good game, though I hesitate to call it great. Then again, I can't remember the last time I actually called a game great. As I say so often, I just don't seem to get into them as much as I used to. Sometimes I miss those days.

As for this coming weekend, 3 days off! Nice. Big plans?

Clarity and inspiration
happiness is a destination
That's hard to find
it may take some time
But in my mind there's something more
and I'll open up a brand new door
and find the strength to close the ones I left behind
I'll get there leaning on some friends I know
The road and the radio

... Kenney Chesney

Not so much. Though a little clarity and inspiration would certainly be nice! Instead I'll settle for much of the same.

As some of you might know, I've started bowling again this season. It wasn't part of my original plan, but I was glad to be back at it. It was a good 3-4 years that I didn't bowl because of my back. Nothing serious in terms of requiring medical attention, but I was starting to get lower back pain. It's been feeling pretty good though.

Tonight, I was about 3 frames into the first game when... you guess it... I twisted at the lane and my back just froze. Damn! I can't remember the last time I felt that much pain. I remember lifting my ball back up to try to pick up my spare because, unfortunately, a strike didn't come with the pain... and I could barely lift the thing. Wow! I decided to stretch it out and see how it felt over the next few frames. I knew that I should stop... but I bowled 4 strikes in a row as I focused on putting as little pressure as possible on my back. I finished the first game with a 184 (or so). Not bad considering.

So I loaded up on Ibuprofen and kept bowling. I know... IDIOT! What can I say. My next game I pulled a 146. Terrible. But at the end I was finally starting to loosen up a little. I could stand without complete spasms. Pat told me that I needed to move 2 boards to the left since I kept hitting the pocket heavy. So I decided to finish out the night.

Last game... 220. Nice. So know I'm going to take a handful of advil and go to bed. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to wake up in the morning regretting every decision I've ever made in my life. But that's the way it goes. I'll need to do a lot of stretching this week to see if I can let bowling stay in my future. Let's hope so!

Until next time, Ed.