geezerchick

geezerchick
Bio
exercise junkie, married to the best alien on Earth, four grandchildren, ornery dog who is not house-trained, if it's legal, I've probably done it -- for pay

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Salon.com
MARCH 10, 2011 11:45AM

Doctors Playing Gotcha

I have never gotten along well with doctors.
When I was a kid, my mom would take me to the doctor’s. I felt healthy and energetic when I arrived. But when I left, I was in pain from a shot.  Later, I often got a fever and felt sick for days.… Read full post »
3 Comments
MARCH 7, 2011 12:48PM

Explorer's Mind, Experimenter's Mind


Meditators are often told to approach life with a Beginner’s Mind.  This means, “having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would.”

In my opinion th… Read full post »
4 Comments
MARCH 2, 2011 2:02PM

Are Your Parents Diseased?

Are Your Parents Diseased?

The Sports Doc I was going to see was late for our appointment. A resident with a foreign accent greeted me.  He wanted to update my history.  “Are your parents diseased?” he asked. 
They catch colds now and then. They’ve both had surgery f… Read full post »
6 Comments
FEBRUARY 24, 2011 10:28AM

My Hip Hurts

My left hip hurts. It hurt before I got hit by a car. It has hurt worse since.  I had an x-ray about 6 months before the accident.  The radiologist report said “mild arthritis.”  Everybody over 30 has arthritis. It didn’t seem important.  I got physical therapy.… Read full post »
4 Comments
FEBRUARY 21, 2011 2:31PM

Geezer Weight-Lifting Class

The first time I attended a Geezer Weight-Lifting Class, it was my mom’s class. I was still in my 40's.  My girls had tried and had to leave before it was over.  So had their cousins.  When we were able to finish the class, everybody congratulated my husband, the alien.  He… Read full post »
5 Comments
FEBRUARY 17, 2011 2:36PM

Forms of Creativity

Play with it. Vary it. Experiment.

I’ve heard that refrain all my life. I’ve even given that advice to others.  All in the realm of story-telling.  What if?  Then what? Make it more extreme.  Hand me a writing utensil (electronic or mechanical, keyboard or pencil) and… Read full post »
6 Comments
FEBRUARY 14, 2011 2:31PM

Thirteenth Aniversary of the Tree Octopus

tree octopus 

What does it take to get readers to suspect a hoax?


As a computer tech, I get emails from clients all the time, warning me about butt-biting spiders hidden under airport seats, or AIDS infected hypodermic needles in coin return slots on pay phones (as if there… Read full post »

3 Comments
FEBRUARY 9, 2011 3:14PM

Meditating on Sensation

Usually, at my Feldenkrais lessons, my teacher has me work with body movements and ways to vary them. The goal is to help me figure out more efficient and comfortable ways to move.


My teacher commented that the inner world of sensation is just as rich and varied as the outer… Read full post »

2 Comments
FEBRUARY 7, 2011 1:14PM

Teaching My Clients to Save Money

 

I pick up pennies from the sidewalk. I eat this week’s specials at the grocery store. I stockpile toilet paper when the multi-packs go on sale. And I surf the web for bargains on everything my clients want or need.

I don’t have much trouble convincing them that they can… Read full post »

1 Comments
FEBRUARY 2, 2011 9:20AM

Thank You Notes

boy swimsuits

Writing thank you notes has always been hard. It started when I first learned to write and I was expected to send thank you notes to relatives who sent me gifts, whether I liked them or not. And since I wrote on full sized pieces of… Read full post »

4 Comments
JANUARY 28, 2011 10:26AM

Placebo as the Gold Standard

“Placebos should be the gold standard,” says Melanie Thernstrom, author of The Pain Chronicles: Cures, Myths, Mysteries, Prayers, Diaries, Brain Scans, Healing, and the Science of Suffering"


When placebos work, there are no side effects.


A recent study of a commercial drug t… Read full post »

2 Comments
JANUARY 26, 2011 9:13AM

I Win the Lucky Ditz of the Day Award

 lucky ditz

 

I live in a high crime neighborhood. I know better than to do what I did today.

I rode my bike to morning yoga.  I had my purse in my saddle bag – It had the usual – money, ID, a credit card.  As I rode, it… Read full post »

5 Comments
JANUARY 23, 2011 3:55PM

Yoga Bit Me

I did yoga in college for my PE requirement.  I loved the stretching and improving my balance. I loved how it made me stronger without competition or team sports.


When I graduated college I did yoga on my own for a while, mostly the sitting and all-fours poses. When I… Read full post »

6 Comments
JANUARY 20, 2011 2:33PM

Free Speech Has Changed

I was looking for an uplifting movie about free speech and triumphing over odds.

The movie Frances, starring Jessica Lange, looked like it would provide what I sought. Netflix describes it this way:


“Jessica Lange (nominated for the 1983 Best Actress Oscar) delivers the performance of her care… Read full post »

5 Comments
JANUARY 15, 2011 5:25PM

Nonsense Words

The most famous use of nonsense words in the English language is from Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”


Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more;    Men were deceivers ever;

One foot in sea and one on shore,

    To one thing constant never;

   &nbs… Read full post »

7 Comments
JANUARY 10, 2011 3:22PM

Hooping to the Right

 
 
In 1958, it took me months to save up the $2 for a hula hoop. I mowed lawns for $35 cents. I baby sat. I saved the pennies my mom gave me for the gum machine at the grocery store. $2 was a LOT of money.
7 Comments
JANUARY 7, 2011 12:05PM

It Wasn't Broken After All

Last night, while I was cooking dinner in my microwave, it just quit. Light went out, the tray stopped turning. Poof. Good thing I was cooking in glass, so it was easy to transfer to the real oven.


I did the obvious. I checked the circuit breakers in the basement.… Read full post »

7 Comments
JANUARY 4, 2011 3:28PM

I Quit Coffee to Save My Husband's Life


My husband was about to start his senior year in college. The Vietnam war was raging.  He came from a middle class town where at least half the young men went to college.  He thought his draft board would at least let him finish. Confidently, he sent in the paperwork… Read full post »
4 Comments
JANUARY 2, 2011 4:35PM

Going to Yoga with a Cane

As I worked my way down the icy sidewalk, slowly, with my cane, a woman about my age offered to help me.  I thanked her, and continued on my way.  She turned in at the yoga studio and was closing the door when I arrived.  Her eyes expressed surprise to see… Read full post »

9 Comments
DECEMBER 27, 2010 3:55PM

The Fourth Option

One of my gym teachers decided to riff as we were putting away the mats and chairs.  “Have you ever thought that Fight and Flight are not the only two options?”  He paused.  “There’s also hiding.”  


“Some people don’t need to hide,”… Read full post »

5 Comments
DECEMBER 24, 2010 6:42PM

Pegleg Pirate Bends a Knee

Until this morning, when I got out of bed, or out of a chair, I walked like a pegleg pirate, my left hip and knee held stiff, for the first 20 steps or so.


So, I went to the web.  I found a certified Feldenkrais teacher downtown and sent him… Read full post »

3 Comments
DECEMBER 21, 2010 2:37PM

Assorted Random Quotes of the Week

Action figures are boy dolls


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A client 20 years older than I am wants to know where I get the courage to use a cane. She’s afraid of being seen as a weak old lady.


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I asked a 9-year-old boy what he’s learning is school.… Read full post »

5 Comments
DECEMBER 16, 2010 3:25PM

A Learning Experience

I always thought that people who claimed unpleasant events were “learning experiences” were trying to put a nice face on pain.


But I’m experiencing that the slipped disc I got two weeks ago is indeed a “learning experience.”


My chiropractor has taught me some exercises… Read full post »

5 Comments
DECEMBER 11, 2010 5:16PM

Who Wants a Happy Childhood?

I was flummoxed to read an advertisement in a home schooling magazine that said, “You can expect exceptional writing from happy students!”


Huh? Nobody in my experience had a happy childhood, and I know quite a few exceptional writers. Happy children would not have the memories necessary… Read full post »

9 Comments
DECEMBER 9, 2010 1:24PM

The Wall is My Friend

In this blog, I write about my exercise program, most of which is successfully helping me recover my strength and balance after being hit by a car while biking.  It’s only fair that I report a set-back, too.

I usually do yoga standing poses against a wall. I’ve felt steady,… Read full post »
3 Comments
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