00:49 - 18.10.06
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Another snowy day, dear diary. I had left a message on my chiropractor's office voicemail on the weekend when the pain in my head became near unbearable asking for an appointment. No call came back yesterday so I tried the number shortly after the office opened. New receptionist, very bubbly, said that she had left me a message yesterday. No there was no message. "Well then I meant to call you but forgot. But it's ok I booked you in for this morning so you can still come in if you want to." I had already booked a meeting with the one new staff member who has a full time job plus college going on. His lunch hour was all the time he really has until his current round of exams are over. Gets me out of the house and exercising too - at least that's the way I rationalize it.
Got my youngest out the door to work then prepared myself for another chilly outing. Gathered up the materials I needed to give him then ran out the door. The bus pulled up to my stop just after I arrived. Ditto at the train station. Made good time as a result. Did my banking - such as it is - first, then went to one of the general stores to pick up some additional art supplies for my election assignment. See I told you that Elections Canada demands that we apply every skill - or otherwise - that we have. What I needed was more red pens. Editing maps you see. Those and a lot of white out.
Arrived at my chiropractor's office with a few minutes to spare and paid off that bill while I waited. He seemed not as well as he usually was but as usual was focused on my welfare instead. I explained that I hadn't been to see him since February first because of my lungs collapsing and keeping me bedridden for so long then the long period where no money coming in meant I couldn't afford to visit even though it might have really helped me. I didn't mentioned the last part out loud but that is how I felt. He was asking a lot about the election work. Like most other people I talk with he feels I should walk away from it since the treatment we get especially financially from head office is so nasty. The problem is I love the work. I keep hoping things will get better but maybe it's time to consider the option that it might not improve. At one point my chiropractor was working on my back as we were talking. don't know what triggered it but I found myself fighting against him. It felt as though I couldn't breathe and I was afraid although I don't really know why. It was a manipulation of the spine that he does every visit. He never forces anything of course, so he just went on to what I could tolerate. Just strange.
Sometimes the repair of the damage - and it is significant after this many months without treatment - hurts as much as the the misalignment itself. I stepped into a washroom just after leaving the office so as to comb my hair and compose myself. I noticed that the nice pink wind bitten colour in my face had disappeared. I now had that ashy grey colour that comes when the body is dealing with a great deal of pain unexpectedly. Worse yet was that the one hip had locked up so that it took a great deal of concentration to walk. I still had about half an hour to my meeting with the one staff person so I headed off to the herbal store to refill one of the preparations they carry. The male who looked after me was really solicitous and I wondered if I looked even worse than I first noticed. He shepherded me to the till and bumped off another order that was in process because the two men buying it were still shopping. They came up as he was processing it so the two clerks were having a game of duelling debit machines going. Knocked both transactions out of the queue when they tried sending our transactions at the same time. The one gentleman joked that we should get our purchases for half price. I was feeling badly about their being held up on my account but that eased things a bit. When I have an adjustment on my spine sometimes the kinesthetic sense - where ones joints are in relationship to the space around one - goes wonky. I moved aside a bit so that the other customers could get closer to their purchases and ended up knocking over a display that was set up against the counter. It couldn't have been because the one gentleman looked very much like a certain Mr Redford - it was just the reaction to the spinal adjustment. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
After picking up the mess I made and retrieving my purchase I headed off to the office tower I was working in just before the election had been called. The male who I was meeting had been one of my co-workers on that assignment so we agreed that the coffee shop on the main floor was a good place to conduct our business. Handed over his manual, got his payroll data and swore him in while the line up into the one upscale British Pub snaked slowly past. like my chiropractor there was a lot of questions about the political climate and the timing of the next event. Wish I knew. I was still thinking about some of the issues he raised when we said goodby and didn't realize until I had gotten halfway to the train that I had left my purse on the chair I had been using when I did his paperwork. Ran back with my back and hips feeling as though they were going to collapse. Thankfully a young couple were having an intense angst ridden discussion in the next two seats so everyone in the plaza was giving them a wide berth. That meant no one had touched my purse since the young lady had her hand on that chair as well. Young love - ain't it wonderful. Walked - or hobbled back toward the train platform. The train pulled in just after I validated my ticket. Crawled in to a seat and thanked all the guardian angels whose names I could think of. No money in that purse but all my banking material and my id as well. Got home and crawled into bed thinking to have a quick nap with the cats. Because all my muscles from the waist down were in full cramp it took a while to find a position that allowed sleep but that did happen eventually.
Spent the evening on the phone or corresponding by email with all three of my outreach workers as well as various family and friends. Calls about the airline tickets and some technical problems arising. My sister's other sister-in-law returning my call about a job posting I had received - that one sister who was being harassed at her current job according to her sister. It was almost as though it had been sent purposefully or synchronistically anyway. We chatted a bit and agreed to get together for tea in the near future. Response from one of the political parties about the data I sent them. Could they have more for some of the other electoral districts. Referred them to the Returning Officers in those areas so as not to step on any toes. Another call for my oldest son about another job interview. When I tracked him down he allowed tht he had started with one of the companies he had interviewed for last week yesterday. He sounded really pleased and I am too. The wage isn't what it needs to be, but as he noted it is brain work instead of brawn. There is an element of training and it is in the computing field too. Sometimes you give a little for long term benefits down the road. Something wonky started happening with my computer around 10 pm - interference with my email and no access to the Elections Canada site at all. Called the tech support and left a voicemail asking if they could fix it. Can't do any more work tonight as a result. Oh well guess bed is a better option.
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