Got Trash

The end of the second quarter is in sight…I can see it…I can feel it! I want to continue to practice when I am on break, so I’ve e-mailed my friends and family offering a complimentary massage! It will be good practice and preparation for my continuing studies. I have the equipment needed – have table will travel J We also have an opportunity to do sports massage at a marathon event this weekend. Brrr, it’ll be a little nippy at 7 am when the race starts!!

I have a presentation on Wednesday, the last Anatomy, Pathology & Physiology class on Osteoporosis: How to Prevent or Delay the Onset. I had a DEXA scan last year, and the results showed my bones are comparable to that of a 35 year old woman! Hmmm, don’t know about that, but it provides a benchmark. I do walk a lot, which is a weight bearing exercise, so perhaps it is so. Exercise, especially weight bearing, resistance/strength training, and balance activities, are important keys. Proper nutrition, with fair amounts of calcium and vitamin D are also crucial. It is never too late to start, even if you are “mature” in age, starting an exercise routine can delay the onset, or at least prevent your bones from becoming too brittle. It is even possible to have a spontaneous fracture…the bone will just break! Spinal, hip and wrist are the most common injuries, especially in females, and once menopause hits, 3-10 years post, the risks increase significantly. I also have a presentation on the illiacus muscle, attached to the anterior iliac crest. Strange muscle, not easy to palpate, you have to curl your fingers under the muscle just to access a portion of it. Having the client flex the knee and contract the hip, while I resist the contraction, will make the muscle pop under the fingers. Fascinating!

The weather has been cold and blustery…I love it!! I like wearing jackets, scarves, gloves…of course, it doesn’t last long, and it’ll be April before you know it, and we’ll be right back to enjoying the absolutely beautiful weather we are so used to. While I say I like cold weather, I’ve never lived in really harsh, snow, blizzard like conditions, shoveling and driving in the white stuff. No, my idea of cold vs the reality of cold…I’ll take what I have any day! Though it is great hiking, walking weather J

We have a recycling program at work. Each work station has a trash can and a recycle can. We were informed a couple of weeks ago that the recycling program is costing us money! Apparently, people are mixing, or just not being careful of disposing waste in the proper receptacle. For example, you cannot put tissue in the recycling bin. You cannot put a paper towel or a used paper plate in the recycling bin either because it contaminates the recyclable material. The company that picks up our recycling determines whether the waste is clean enough to be recycled, and if not, it is hauled to the landfill, where you have to pay to dump...thus, the charge is passed on to us. I just learned that there is a weekly list generated that calls you out if your recycling is contaminated, AND whether you are trashing stuff that should be recycled!! A “citation” is issued, and your manager is notified. I don’t know the ramifications, whether you are written up if you get too many tickets, but it almost makes me not want to recycle, or put any trash where it goes! Maybe I’ll just take my trash home…pack it in and pack it out! What about my desk, in a common area, someone puts their water bottle in my trash can?? I didn’t do it, but it is my trash can. And that tissue…who determines whether it is a dirty tissue, is someone going through my trash and recycling bins looking for my used Kleenex? Ugh…

Talk soon…