The State of the Steffs Report

Well, every morning I was getting up, stretching lots to negate the damage working for a whole day would do to my back, then I'd rest a bit, get up, and invariably whilst getting dressed and/or onto the bus, something would happen, and I'd arrive at work in pain again after what would have been a nice night beforehand.

Yesterday and today I've been barely stretching, and my back is settling down. I haven't gone for a walk yet today but I will soon. It seems to be helping. Hopefully if I continue my passive approach for another couple of days, things will be better. Also, have my scooter back from the shop finally, so no more hoisting anything. I was carrying at most 5 pounds at any time, and even that was just killer. And with no transport? Oy!

So, good, good, good to have the scoot back.

But can I tell you how saddened I've been to miss this nice fall? Oh my god. I remember Halloweens being -5 celsius when I was a kid. It's 11 degrees! INSANE!

But soon I shall be better. And I shall continue losing weight. I shall be strong. I shall get a couch and a bed, I hope, should a loan get approved in this tightening credit crunch and all. I shall never, ever experience this sort of ordeal again. I am NOT going to be a "back pain" sufferer. I know what to do, I shall do it, and I will be victorious.

In other news, heard some daunting sadness for my brother today -- an old friend has been reported missing since October 10th. What can you say about that? Not much. Hope he's found. But he's in his late 30s, and has no real health issues, so it's natural to assume the worst. Which fucking sucks.

This is the second friend of my bro's to have mysteriously vanished. The last disappeared 14 years ago and has never been found in any way. Blah.

Here's hoping you're around someplace, John.

Meanwhile... aside from my apartment having no hot water (they're on it), my bro's friend missing, my back still gimping, I'm doing pretty good. I'm just taking it easy, doing absolutely nothing, lying around, and passively stretching every couple hours, walking two or three times in a 1-2km circuit in my hood.

If I continue to improve this much each day, I should be able to work on Monday. That would be fan-fucking-tastic. I like my job most of the time. (Everyone gets sick of it sometimes, right? After all, deep down inside I should be living in a coastal shack and writing every day for the rest of my life.)

Besides the fact that I CANNOT AFFORD to take this time off, but have decided I just cannot live being in that much pain when it's work that's the only thing causing the pain, so I'm taking the gamble that I'll somehow come up with the magical $500 this is costing me. (I get the money down the line, but "down the line" doesn't pay rent on November 1st, nor the groceries I'll require on top of that.)

I like contributing. I like the people I get to see at work. It's not the bane of my existence. Some time off is nice, but this is ridiculous. And it's such pointless time off. I lie down. On the floor. I watch the news. Around me, things get messy. Nothing gets accomplished. I see no one. I look awful for long stretches. And I can't go anywhere. I don't even like the effort required to put a movie on.

THIS really sucks. It's boring as fucking hell. I've tweeted 3,000 times since I've been gimped. I'm suddenly in the "Twitter Elite" for Vancouver. It's sad and pathetic and I want a life.

But I'm feeling very relaxed about it. Ahahaha. Yeah.

If there's anything to gain from this, it's being relaxed. Or is that just the slow erosion of muscle tone I'm feeling?

Whatever. It is what it is, and won't be that for much longer. I can feel it in my bones. Literally. :P