Oh, my aching back

I finally found a chiropractor. And for those of you who are unsure about the need for and purpose of chiropractic care, let me break it down. In Chattanooga, I relied on the wonderfully capable and unusually kind Raymond Maucere (Rivermont Chiropractic) because of his no-nonsense approach to popping the kinks out of my neck and back, where I carry my stress. The benefit of a good chiropractor is bone mobility. Bones move when they're popped, which prevents them from shifting out of alignment and then sticking there. You've seen really stooped older people - they needed chiropractic care about 50 years ago. All this to say that a cross-country drive and nearly 2 solid months of a desk job have made me long for a visit with Dr. Maucere. But Dr. Bradley W. Frederick worked in a pinch.

The office is less than a mile from my apartment, so I decided to give it a try. Framed and autographed copies of books by Elizabeth Taylor and Shirley MacLaine, extolling the wonders of the practice, hang in the lobby; they encouraged me some. Dr. Frederick was very nice, his German Shepherd greeted me at his office door and two white birds in a giant cage expressed their displeasure at my arrival. I answered a few basic health questions: age, occupation, geographic origin. "Do you take supplements or have any special diet?" he asked. Not really, I replied. I try to be sensible and have fruits and vegetables whenever possible, but do eat a frightening number of Lean Cuisine entrees. "Do you eat meat?" he asked. Of course, I said. "Well...you are from a different state" was his response. WHAT? The treatment was sufficient, but the eastern music he put on was a bit unnerving. Near the end of our time together, he instructed me to think of a place where I enjoy being, where I am totally relaxed. So I smiled, closed my eyes, and wished I was in my bed with no soft music and no Dr. of Eastern Philosophy telling me to look within myself for something or another. As I was leaving, he told me that he lives on the edge of a 500-acre nature preserve - a place that would surely 'remind me of home'. I don't know why non-Tennesseans think we're all hicks. He did give me a free sample of his magic pills. He said they'll give me energy. Just what I need for that desk job.


Speaking of stress, I probably need to see Dr. Feel Good again soon. This past week has been tough. Who knew transcription could involve so much drama? Monday and Tuesday, my co-worker Lindsey was on vacation, so J.R. and I tried in vain to fill in for her. We were slammed - lots of existing work, lots of new work, even for me. Friday morning, J.R. alerted me of chatter on the message board. Evidently, a new hire was upset with a project I had assigned to her. It made her cry. Then, I had a ton of work, so when a different transcriptionist sent in a 53-page document in the wrong format, I had no time to deal with it. I sent it back to her with instructions to follow the standard format, which she then said she had done. I sent her the correct format and said that no matter what she thought, this was the format our company uses. But she did not believe me, the new girl, and replied that she would not follow my instructions since she didn't want my co-workers to reprimand her. Lindsey had to call her just to inform her that I was right and she was wrong. J.R. later told us that she was livid. If you must see the posts from the message board, I'll send you the link. They're a fun read.

It has been much warmer this week due to El Nino. Oh, wait. The Santa Ana winds. Today, as I stood in the check-out line in a store, the ladies in front of me were having a conversation in Spanish and the lady in front of them was speaking French on her cell phone. I paid the paltry sum of $2.35 for gas yesterday. A steal! I'm only getting 16.2 mpg, however.

Be sure to leave me a comment when you finish reading, if you actually make it through this tome. It will give me an idea of who in the heck is actually keeping up with me. I apologize for the verbosity, but I had to say it all. Apartment photos tomorrow!