I'm back after spending about five days on the D.L.
For those of you who are baseball fans in particular, you will know that I am referring to the Disabled List.
Years ago, when I was a younger man, and heard about someone with a rotator cuff injury, I would immediately think about the injuries sustained by the many guys that I played competitive baseball with. The pounding on your shoulder is immense if you pitch competitively, as I used to do. Even worse, if you know how to throw a slider, like I do (or did), the strain on your elbow was even harder than on your shoulder. Imagine snapping your elbow in a violent twist as hard as you can at the same time that you are throwing as hard as you can. Of course, there is wrist and shoulder involved, too, so there is ample opportunity to strain your arm.
So when my wife told me that a friend of hers, who had never thrown a baseball in her life, had a rotator cuff injury, I could not help thinking about the guys that I played baseball with years ago. Quite a few of them required surgery for the problem.
So after posting about how I was poised to work hard every day for this month and next, I was forced to take a sick day this past Friday due to immense pain in my neck and into my upper back. I never did go see a doctor, but my wise wife diagnosed it as a pinched nerve. It hurt so bad that I could not turn my head to the left without voicing my pain.
I jokingly told my family that you do not know how good you have it if your neck is not in pain and you can turn your head to the left. I told my mother the same thing and, being full of wisdom and idioms, she called it "like being glad about the absence of a toothache."
Because I had a shitload of work on my plate (like always), some of it residual leftovers from my great trip to NOLA a few weeks ago, I felt that I could not afford to miss a day of work. I had not taken a full sick day yet this year and rarely take them, in general.
Last Thursday, I had one of those days. It began with an 8:00 AM breakfast meeting, although I must say that the breakfast was freakin' awesome. It continued with my usual assortment of meetings, emails and phone calls, most of which pertained to business and economic development in the community that employs me in that capacity. Most of the meetings, emails and calls did not move the ball forward, but I am lucky if one in five does.
During my lunch hour last Thursday, I worked on the post urging you to enjoy your coffee, cranking out over 1,200 words in less than an hour during my lunch break.
The day concluded with a cocktail party, which I attended until about 6:30, begging off early as a party pooper and a mensch who was good and ready to get home and be with my family. It was an open bar, but I only had a couple of pineapple juices. The food was awesome, since it was an event held by a senior healthcare facility with most of the invitees being executives in the healthcare field. After all, the point of the soiree was to make connections and get referrals, not feed and give free drinks to local government workers.
Oh, and by the way, it was snowing! On April 5th! And it has snowed a few more times since then, including flurries on the Cubs' opening day yesterday.
I got home last Thursday just as my wife was leaving to go see and hear our son's jazz band play in a local venue and just minutes before our daughter got picked up to go to her hip-hop class.
So I did what any dedicated blogger would do. I worked for the next two to three hours finishing up the post on enjoying coffee that I had started earlier in the day, cranking out about 5,000 words between the forty-five minutes on my lunch hour plus another three or so at home that evening.
After blogging, I added a link to my post on my Twitter account and read posts by other, better financial bloggers. Maybe not better, but more widely read at least. Many that I read were very simplistic rehashes of things that I have read a million times before, but some were fascinating.
Overall, between my workday and completing my post on coffee and starting another post that is still in the hopper and reading a few additional articles and blog posts, I must have spent over twelve hours staring at either my computer at work or my laptop at home.
No wonder my neck hurt me so bad the next morning that it still hurt like heck after downing multiple Advils, having my wife rub my neck and heating up a pad in the microwave and putting it on my neck/upper back throughout the morning.
As previously stated, my wife insisted that I take the sick day, arguing that it could possibly save me from having to take multiple days or weeks off. She further insisted that I do not look at or work on the computer throughout the weekend.
Other than checking on how many views my coffee post got (152) and paying several bills that were due, I remained computer free for three days. Even the three pizzas that we ordered Sunday (two from Lou Malnati's for those with good taste and one from Domino's for our daughter) were taken care of by my wife. The pizzas added up to about $53, plus we tipped the Domino's delivery guy about four bucks.
Did I go see a doctor? Nope. Did I go to the ER for X-rays? Nope.
My wife took good care of me as did an over-the-counter mix of Advil, Tylenol including the PM variety so I could get some sleep, and putting Biofreeze on the sore areas the last five nights.
Of course I returned to work on Monday and even staffed a long, somewhat difficult Economic Development Committee meeting. I worked from 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM, all with a sore neck.
I was back up and at 'em again today, reviewing my bank statement that came out, paying the monthly nut on our son's higher education, $2,558. Next year it will be more like $2,700 per month, as he will be residing in better living quarters considered an apartment building all though I have seen it and it is funky as hell.
I have dozens of more topics to blog on lined up, but like a pitcher with a sore elbow or shoulder, I have to rest up for a bit so I can remain off the D.L.
A mensch like me with a very challenging job, a mountain of bills to pay, things to fix around the house, two children to be a great father to and a wife to be a better husband to cannot afford to sit on the sidelines waiting to get better.
Besides, it is time for me to slather the back of my neck with Biofreeze and pop a Tylenol PM.
Years ago, when I was a younger man, and heard about someone with a rotator cuff injury, I would immediately think about the injuries sustained by the many guys that I played competitive baseball with. The pounding on your shoulder is immense if you pitch competitively, as I used to do. Even worse, if you know how to throw a slider, like I do (or did), the strain on your elbow was even harder than on your shoulder. Imagine snapping your elbow in a violent twist as hard as you can at the same time that you are throwing as hard as you can. Of course, there is wrist and shoulder involved, too, so there is ample opportunity to strain your arm.
So when my wife told me that a friend of hers, who had never thrown a baseball in her life, had a rotator cuff injury, I could not help thinking about the guys that I played baseball with years ago. Quite a few of them required surgery for the problem.
So after posting about how I was poised to work hard every day for this month and next, I was forced to take a sick day this past Friday due to immense pain in my neck and into my upper back. I never did go see a doctor, but my wise wife diagnosed it as a pinched nerve. It hurt so bad that I could not turn my head to the left without voicing my pain.
I jokingly told my family that you do not know how good you have it if your neck is not in pain and you can turn your head to the left. I told my mother the same thing and, being full of wisdom and idioms, she called it "like being glad about the absence of a toothache."
Because I had a shitload of work on my plate (like always), some of it residual leftovers from my great trip to NOLA a few weeks ago, I felt that I could not afford to miss a day of work. I had not taken a full sick day yet this year and rarely take them, in general.
Last Thursday, I had one of those days. It began with an 8:00 AM breakfast meeting, although I must say that the breakfast was freakin' awesome. It continued with my usual assortment of meetings, emails and phone calls, most of which pertained to business and economic development in the community that employs me in that capacity. Most of the meetings, emails and calls did not move the ball forward, but I am lucky if one in five does.
During my lunch hour last Thursday, I worked on the post urging you to enjoy your coffee, cranking out over 1,200 words in less than an hour during my lunch break.
The day concluded with a cocktail party, which I attended until about 6:30, begging off early as a party pooper and a mensch who was good and ready to get home and be with my family. It was an open bar, but I only had a couple of pineapple juices. The food was awesome, since it was an event held by a senior healthcare facility with most of the invitees being executives in the healthcare field. After all, the point of the soiree was to make connections and get referrals, not feed and give free drinks to local government workers.
Oh, and by the way, it was snowing! On April 5th! And it has snowed a few more times since then, including flurries on the Cubs' opening day yesterday.
I got home last Thursday just as my wife was leaving to go see and hear our son's jazz band play in a local venue and just minutes before our daughter got picked up to go to her hip-hop class.
So I did what any dedicated blogger would do. I worked for the next two to three hours finishing up the post on enjoying coffee that I had started earlier in the day, cranking out about 5,000 words between the forty-five minutes on my lunch hour plus another three or so at home that evening.
After blogging, I added a link to my post on my Twitter account and read posts by other, better financial bloggers. Maybe not better, but more widely read at least. Many that I read were very simplistic rehashes of things that I have read a million times before, but some were fascinating.
Overall, between my workday and completing my post on coffee and starting another post that is still in the hopper and reading a few additional articles and blog posts, I must have spent over twelve hours staring at either my computer at work or my laptop at home.
No wonder my neck hurt me so bad the next morning that it still hurt like heck after downing multiple Advils, having my wife rub my neck and heating up a pad in the microwave and putting it on my neck/upper back throughout the morning.
As previously stated, my wife insisted that I take the sick day, arguing that it could possibly save me from having to take multiple days or weeks off. She further insisted that I do not look at or work on the computer throughout the weekend.
Other than checking on how many views my coffee post got (152) and paying several bills that were due, I remained computer free for three days. Even the three pizzas that we ordered Sunday (two from Lou Malnati's for those with good taste and one from Domino's for our daughter) were taken care of by my wife. The pizzas added up to about $53, plus we tipped the Domino's delivery guy about four bucks.
Did I go see a doctor? Nope. Did I go to the ER for X-rays? Nope.
Of course I returned to work on Monday and even staffed a long, somewhat difficult Economic Development Committee meeting. I worked from 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM, all with a sore neck.
I was back up and at 'em again today, reviewing my bank statement that came out, paying the monthly nut on our son's higher education, $2,558. Next year it will be more like $2,700 per month, as he will be residing in better living quarters considered an apartment building all though I have seen it and it is funky as hell.
I have dozens of more topics to blog on lined up, but like a pitcher with a sore elbow or shoulder, I have to rest up for a bit so I can remain off the D.L.
A mensch like me with a very challenging job, a mountain of bills to pay, things to fix around the house, two children to be a great father to and a wife to be a better husband to cannot afford to sit on the sidelines waiting to get better.
Comments
Post a Comment