We finally got one, and I love it. This is me, sitting out in the rain on Saturday morning. Come to think of it, I suppose that might be why I'm totally sick now. Lame.
But worth it.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Scared Straight
I consider myself a very careful scooter driver. As a matter of fact, sometimes I think I've turned into a bit of a curmudgeon with how cautious I am riding around town. I've never been all that comfortable riding in the bike lane even though it's totally legal, and law enforcement actually encourages scooters and mopeds to use it. It's always just seemed too dangerous to me. I get some pretty goofy looks at times when I'm sitting in standstill traffic on South Kihei Road, while my fellow scooterists go whizzing past me in the bike lane.
Well, on Tuesday I was totally vindicated when I witnessed a pretty brutal scooter/vehicle collision right in front of me.
I was waiting behind an old VW van at an intersection when the light turned green. The VW in front of me was taking a bit of time to get going, so the gal in the oncoming turn lane decided she was going to gun it to make her left hand turn in front of him. At the same time, from somewhere behind me, a dude on a scooter was cruising in the bike lane, saw the light turn green from about half a block back, and accelerated. He couldn't see that there was another car in the intersection about to make a turn right in front of him - the van was blocking that view, and by the time he saw that car turning, it was too late, and he plowed right into the side of it in the middle of the intersection, going about 30 mph.
I swear, that moped basically exploded. The dude riding it went over the back side of the car it hit, and he landed on the other side. Somehow, he was able to get up and actually wheel what was left of his scooter off to the side of the road. That guy was so unbelievably lucky to walk away from that. Two seriously stupid people in my opinion - both of whom were lucky that no one was killed.
That accident has stayed with me. There are two reason that watching that kind of trauma affects me so deeply - one is the same reason that anyone is affected I think. It's just unnatural. Watching vehicles collide just goes against the order of things - it's not supposed to happen. The other reason of course is that anytime I see even the most minute collision, I think of Tyler, and I think of how very precious life is. I had an immediate mental and physical reaction that basically actualizes itself as a giant flash in my head: who is going to die right now? Whose family is going to be left without a loved one? Whose lives will forever be changed by this miniscule moment of time, this split second error in judgement?
I'm not a stupid driver, but I can't control other stupid drivers (I have a feeling that my mom and dad told me that at one point or another). And that's why I don't ride in the bike lane for the sake of shaving a few minutes off my travel time.
Well, on Tuesday I was totally vindicated when I witnessed a pretty brutal scooter/vehicle collision right in front of me.
I was waiting behind an old VW van at an intersection when the light turned green. The VW in front of me was taking a bit of time to get going, so the gal in the oncoming turn lane decided she was going to gun it to make her left hand turn in front of him. At the same time, from somewhere behind me, a dude on a scooter was cruising in the bike lane, saw the light turn green from about half a block back, and accelerated. He couldn't see that there was another car in the intersection about to make a turn right in front of him - the van was blocking that view, and by the time he saw that car turning, it was too late, and he plowed right into the side of it in the middle of the intersection, going about 30 mph.
I swear, that moped basically exploded. The dude riding it went over the back side of the car it hit, and he landed on the other side. Somehow, he was able to get up and actually wheel what was left of his scooter off to the side of the road. That guy was so unbelievably lucky to walk away from that. Two seriously stupid people in my opinion - both of whom were lucky that no one was killed.
That accident has stayed with me. There are two reason that watching that kind of trauma affects me so deeply - one is the same reason that anyone is affected I think. It's just unnatural. Watching vehicles collide just goes against the order of things - it's not supposed to happen. The other reason of course is that anytime I see even the most minute collision, I think of Tyler, and I think of how very precious life is. I had an immediate mental and physical reaction that basically actualizes itself as a giant flash in my head: who is going to die right now? Whose family is going to be left without a loved one? Whose lives will forever be changed by this miniscule moment of time, this split second error in judgement?
I'm not a stupid driver, but I can't control other stupid drivers (I have a feeling that my mom and dad told me that at one point or another). And that's why I don't ride in the bike lane for the sake of shaving a few minutes off my travel time.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
My New Card
Check it out!
This is my new calling/business card. I'm not ready to actually have a conceptual card yet - you know, one that encapsulates what I'm all about as a therpist (i'm still figuring that one out). But I really needed something to hand to people when they asked for my number. Plus, the owners of a yoga studio, and a chiropracter's office both offered to put my card in their shops. It's good to have clients with their own businesses. :)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Camping Fun
We hit up Lahaina this past weekend to camp on the beach. Ended up with about 20 people, a nice bonfire, some fishin, and some divin. Bradley and Justin caught two tako on their first dive. It was awesome. I live in an awesome place. And I'm surrounded by a really neat group of people - I think I've found the Maui equivalent of my friends on the mainland. Everyone is happy, appreciative of our place in this life, and there is no drama. I love it.
I'm getting to know Carrie and Justin better, and I'm really happy about that. They are good people.
Carrie in the foreground, Jason in the back.
Nicole, Candace, and Michelle frolicking in the twilight.
Justin and Carrie waking up.
I'm not sure Carrie is convinced that's it's time to get up yet. They were nice and sheltered from the West Side winds though.
Nicole and Jake weren't so lucky. They're tent suffered irreparable damage. Yikes.
Touch
I am still struck often and intensely by the power of touch.
Sometimes it is very difficult to remove my emotional response to people from my treatment. I see this as both a gift and sometimes a curse. This past Monday I treated a new client (referral from the yoga studio, cool!), and while she has a lot of health problems, her reason for coming to me was to help her with some chronic pain she's been having in her neck and shoulders. She has suffered from Fibromyalgia for years, and she now has this mysterious eczema on her hands. Sound like anyone you know? (mom).
I usually start each session with some light touch on the back - it helps to balance, and to get the client used to my touch. It's kind of an introduction. As I started the session with her, and I laid my hands on her back in two correlating shakra areas, I was absolutely overwhelmed with emotion. I felt an empathy for her pain, a connection, and a true desire - a need - to help. I sincerely had to fight back tears. It's hard sometimes to put my finger on why these things happen - maybe this was the earth and the cosmos's way of putting me in a place of healing. Perhaps it was her body/spirit telling me what I needed to do for her. Or perhaps I missed my mother, and it was the personal connection I needed to empathize with this woman's pain.
Whatever the reason, I know it is why I became a massage therapist, and I truly hope that I never lose that ability to connect with individuals. It opens my eyes to the beauty in each person, and puts me in such a wonderful place.
I am so grateful.
Sometimes it is very difficult to remove my emotional response to people from my treatment. I see this as both a gift and sometimes a curse. This past Monday I treated a new client (referral from the yoga studio, cool!), and while she has a lot of health problems, her reason for coming to me was to help her with some chronic pain she's been having in her neck and shoulders. She has suffered from Fibromyalgia for years, and she now has this mysterious eczema on her hands. Sound like anyone you know? (mom).
I usually start each session with some light touch on the back - it helps to balance, and to get the client used to my touch. It's kind of an introduction. As I started the session with her, and I laid my hands on her back in two correlating shakra areas, I was absolutely overwhelmed with emotion. I felt an empathy for her pain, a connection, and a true desire - a need - to help. I sincerely had to fight back tears. It's hard sometimes to put my finger on why these things happen - maybe this was the earth and the cosmos's way of putting me in a place of healing. Perhaps it was her body/spirit telling me what I needed to do for her. Or perhaps I missed my mother, and it was the personal connection I needed to empathize with this woman's pain.
Whatever the reason, I know it is why I became a massage therapist, and I truly hope that I never lose that ability to connect with individuals. It opens my eyes to the beauty in each person, and puts me in such a wonderful place.
I am so grateful.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Lady Bits Update
Just wanted to give a quick update on my biopsy. Turns out I have moderate to severe cell displaysia in several areas (basically abnormal, pre-cancerous cells on my cervix). Last time I went through the biopsy procedure, the results came back with very mild displaysia, and I had the option for treatment, or to wait and see if it would resolve itself. I chose the latter, and unfortunately it has continued to get worse.
So, I have a strong recommendation from my doctor for aggressive treatment, which in this case means surgically removing a small portion of my cervix. It's a very simple procedure, called LEEP. If you want details, just let me know.....I figure some of you might not want that much information. Here is a link about the LEEP procedure if you're so inclined to read up on it: http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/surgery/a/leepprocedure.htm
Surgery is scheduled for December 2nd (ug), and it's outpatient, so I won't have to stay in the hospital or anything (yay!). I should only be out of work for one day (dang!), but it will actually take 2-3 weeks to heal (ug).
I don't want to freak anyone out - to clarify, displaysia does not mean cancer. It is a precancerous cell, but with treatment, there is little risk of them ever developing into cancer. We've caught it really early, and that's great news. It's still a little scary, so prayers are welcome!
So, I have a strong recommendation from my doctor for aggressive treatment, which in this case means surgically removing a small portion of my cervix. It's a very simple procedure, called LEEP. If you want details, just let me know.....I figure some of you might not want that much information. Here is a link about the LEEP procedure if you're so inclined to read up on it: http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/surgery/a/leepprocedure.htm
Surgery is scheduled for December 2nd (ug), and it's outpatient, so I won't have to stay in the hospital or anything (yay!). I should only be out of work for one day (dang!), but it will actually take 2-3 weeks to heal (ug).
I don't want to freak anyone out - to clarify, displaysia does not mean cancer. It is a precancerous cell, but with treatment, there is little risk of them ever developing into cancer. We've caught it really early, and that's great news. It's still a little scary, so prayers are welcome!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
