Mortal Bodies
Thank Goodness for Mortal Bodies...
Ever had one of those weeks when you wish to trade in your slightly disfunctional body for one that works. For all I know, there may be people out there don't wake up to discover they have pulled muscles while sleeping, have there forehead imitate the activity of Mount St Helens or, have an unruly colonial rebellions to a foreign bacterium. But as far as I'm concerned, the majority of us do battle with the quirks of these Earthen vessels and will continue to do so until we leave this stage of cattle dung.
Please don't get me wrong. I have a deep appreciation for the biological suits we live through. The beauty and durability of its design are a wonder which a science alone will never full capture. The body is capable of amazing feats and I am really grateful for the opportunity to lope around in one. However, sometimes it just doesn't operated as we would hope and that is where I find myself tonight.
I guess my current problem starts with me being one of those weirdos who run for fun. I had recently increased the intensity of my running patterns to train for a race I have entered in early November. Just over a week ago, I came down with a slight cold. No problem, I just stopped running for a few days. On my last day of rest, I was getting out of my car and noticed a slight pain in my left knee. Thinking little of it I resumed running the next day.
After a light 8km jog, I not only reaggrivated my cold but put my knee to a stage where I could no longer walk fluidly. It has been a week since that day and I find myself sitting here blogging during my normal running slot.
So what, I can't run. Big deal.
I guess my frustration lies in the side effects it has had on my daily routines. This whole week I have had the attention span of a A.D.D. kid in a candy store and trying to sleep is like trying not to think of pink elephants for 10 minutes. Following logically, the poor sleep has kept this stupid cold lingering, randomly choking out a pathetic coughs and clogging my nasal passages once every hour on the hour.
Surely my plight and woes fail to compare to many in my dodgey Knee Club which I have temporary joined (word up' Kev and Camilo') never mind those in the world who may not even have knees. However, that is not the point.
After holding a short pity party for myself, I began thinking about my Grandpa who spent three frustrating years feeling his cancer slowly eat his spine to a mushy pulp. A blue collar worker to the core, my grandpa was in his element building things, shoveling in his massive garden and hosing bears out of his pear tree. A man not used to being idle nevermind having to rotate between a sitting and lying position to reduce pain. He had even been deprived of proper communication as his hearing was less than sufficient for proper conversation.
With all that said, I'd bet he was even happier than me that we don't have to live in these mortal bodies forever.
Ever had one of those weeks when you wish to trade in your slightly disfunctional body for one that works. For all I know, there may be people out there don't wake up to discover they have pulled muscles while sleeping, have there forehead imitate the activity of Mount St Helens or, have an unruly colonial rebellions to a foreign bacterium. But as far as I'm concerned, the majority of us do battle with the quirks of these Earthen vessels and will continue to do so until we leave this stage of cattle dung.
Please don't get me wrong. I have a deep appreciation for the biological suits we live through. The beauty and durability of its design are a wonder which a science alone will never full capture. The body is capable of amazing feats and I am really grateful for the opportunity to lope around in one. However, sometimes it just doesn't operated as we would hope and that is where I find myself tonight.
I guess my current problem starts with me being one of those weirdos who run for fun. I had recently increased the intensity of my running patterns to train for a race I have entered in early November. Just over a week ago, I came down with a slight cold. No problem, I just stopped running for a few days. On my last day of rest, I was getting out of my car and noticed a slight pain in my left knee. Thinking little of it I resumed running the next day.
After a light 8km jog, I not only reaggrivated my cold but put my knee to a stage where I could no longer walk fluidly. It has been a week since that day and I find myself sitting here blogging during my normal running slot.
So what, I can't run. Big deal.
I guess my frustration lies in the side effects it has had on my daily routines. This whole week I have had the attention span of a A.D.D. kid in a candy store and trying to sleep is like trying not to think of pink elephants for 10 minutes. Following logically, the poor sleep has kept this stupid cold lingering, randomly choking out a pathetic coughs and clogging my nasal passages once every hour on the hour.
Surely my plight and woes fail to compare to many in my dodgey Knee Club which I have temporary joined (word up' Kev and Camilo') never mind those in the world who may not even have knees. However, that is not the point.
After holding a short pity party for myself, I began thinking about my Grandpa who spent three frustrating years feeling his cancer slowly eat his spine to a mushy pulp. A blue collar worker to the core, my grandpa was in his element building things, shoveling in his massive garden and hosing bears out of his pear tree. A man not used to being idle nevermind having to rotate between a sitting and lying position to reduce pain. He had even been deprived of proper communication as his hearing was less than sufficient for proper conversation.
With all that said, I'd bet he was even happier than me that we don't have to live in these mortal bodies forever.
posted by neseirf ekim at 9:27 PM
2 Comments:
Hey Mike, Hmm . . . It seems everyone has caught the blogger virus. You know, I'd blog too well if I could just hire someone to write it all down for me!! I hope I can see you soon and not just read about your failing body in the badger lounge (great name by the way!) My body is actually holding up well the stress of the semester and the many demands on it. On the other hand, my car is not. Funny story. I was driving down first ave in Vancouver last week when as I like to say "my clutch fell off". Now all of you car-minded individuals know that isn't possible . . . is it? Anyways the clutch cable snapped so my clutch pedal was fully depressed and there was nothing that me or the 3 other girls in my car could do about it while we waited for the tow truck. Well except for stand by the side of the road and look pretty. Don't worry at least we did that. :o) We got our fair share of honks and "get your F**$@# car off the roads"'s . . . Argg. Hmm maybe I am good at this blogging stuff. I'll let you know if I ever get around to one. Blessings.
Dear Mike ---
I too have suffered the trials and tribulations of a less-than-perfect physical machine. The outfall of my attempts to leap tall buildings in a single bound has led to many a twinge, dating particularly from the time I decided to break the leap training into two distinct phases, which I will label "Up" and "Down". Seeing as "Up" was not leading to the hoped-for results as quickly as had been anticipated, I endeavoured to cross-train by working hard on the "Down" aspect. Everything began well, and I found that gravity facilitated my descent from the tall building in a manner which exceeded expectations. However, as luck would have it, I miscalculated the volume of Kleenex required as insole shock absorbers, and unfortunately my legs shattered explosively upon impact. Undeterred, and determined to learn from experience, I doubled the amount of Kleenex padding in my shoes and made a second trial, confident that this renewed commitment to safety would negate the inconvenience of an awkward landing. Tragically, in a cruel twist of Fate, the efficacy of the double-padding was never exonerated, as a gust of wind shifted me some metres outside my target zone and I was skewered on a flagpole like an Extreme Kebab.
I have suffered from mysterious aches and ailments ever since. My advice is to take it easy on the knee, and to possibly consider amputation from the waist down. I have noticed a dramatic reduction in minor aches and pains from my legs since the surgical intervention, and hope to get back into serious training again come Spring.
Peaeater
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