I am feeling bright and chipper as I a pleased to say that Spring has finally arrived - woo hoo! Brett, Jack and I spent most of today outside enjoying the sunshine hiking at Bear Mountain - luckily we didn't see any bears, particularly because I think they'll be coming out of hibanation right about now and I bet they'd be pretty darn hungry after such a long winter. What a joy being able to enjoy the outdoors without having to be dressed like the Michelin Man.
Overall, my weekend has been pretty awesome actually, no let me extend that to the entire week.
My first bit of exciting news is that I went to see Alicia Keys on Friday night. Man, she's so awesome live and she naturally finished with Empire State of Mind - it brought a tear to my eye (and most of the 50,000 crowd). Unfortunately the seats were shitty because I didn't realize she was in town until a couple of weeks ago (saying we were in the nose bleed section is definitely not an exaggeration), but it didn't matter because the sound was fabulous and we were surrounded by hard core fans (check this one out - she was one excited sista!).
The next photo was during the song Noone - the stadium looked awesom lit up by everyone's mobile phones (gone are the day of the lighters)
I went with Liz who I work with - it was her first concert ever, so I was very happy to share the experience with her. We went to a place, aptly called The Smoke Joint beforehand for dinner - good old fashioned American bbq.
Liz and I are both big Food Network fans and there's a show on there called Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives that we both love and this was a place that featured there (the Smoke Joint is considered a Dive). We enjoyed beer and beef ribs (of course) - they rivaled Fred Flinstones brontosaurus ribs.
Here's the Barclay Center where the concert was at - it's only 6 months old or so and I think Jay-Z has some sort of ownership of it. Amazing staadium:
My second piece of great bit of news is that I discovered the root cause of my neck pain that has been getting progressively worse and really causing me issues and discomfort - this is like seriously life changing news for me. My issue is that my bite is not so great, because the back teeth don't touch when I bite so as a result I'm constantly clenching my teeth which causes issue in my jaw and my neck. I learnt this from the orthodontist whilst I was getting a new set of Invisalign - these are the clear braces type things. I am going through a short set of using Invisalign again to fix my bite because it was causing my gap to come back again, but I didn't realize that I would also get the benefit of a fixed neck. I'm sooooooooooo relieved! I only have to go through this series of Invisalign for around 8 months and then I'll be fixed - yay!
The thing is that I'd resigned myself to the fact that there was no cure for my neck, so instead I have been frequenting chinese masseuses for relief. No more of this fancy day spa blah blah stuff, I wanted hardcore massage. These are the dodgiest of establishments, but for $49 an hour the women have fingers of titanium, which is just what I need, but trust me you need a nurofen before and after. My other attempt at getting fixed was going to the chiropractor. The visit to the chiro was my first encounter with the US health system. We’ve all heard it’s expensive, but I was also naïve to the fact that they’re there to take you for a ride. So, here's a recap of my experience...I arrive and complete my 18 page registration – no I am not over-exaggerating. I then go into see a pleasant young lady who starts asking me a long series of questions over a period of say, 1 hour! She proceeds to tell me before treating me, they need to take an x-ray. As I stand there getting my x-ray,, I ask, “so do I actually get adjusted today”. “Oh no” she says, “we review your x-rays and then we come up with the appropriate treatment. We can make an appointment for tomorrow and you and your husband can come along, you sit through a workshop, then you will be adjusted”. “Ok, I’ll make an appointment for tomorrow, but I won’t bring my husband as it’s a pain to come into the city during peak hour”. “I think I was a little soft in my language, your husband coming isn’t a choice, he has to come”. “Excuse me? Why is that, I think it’s my choice as to whether he needs to come”. “Well, any treatment requires a partnership and we want to make sure you are in a position to make decisions when meeting with the doctor”. At this point, blood is boiling is a little – not only am I not being adjusted, I’m basically being told that as a woman, I am uncapable of making financial decisions alone – mmmmmmmm”. As I go to the reception desk and fork out close to my monthly salary (maybe exaggerating a little here, but not much), I make my appointment for the next day. Logic would tell me not to do this, but on principle I’m not going to waste the money I’ve paid for my assessment without not even getting a cracking! I turn up the next day, no husband in tow to the dismay of the chiro, and get taken through another 45 minutes of how bad my spine and neck are and that the only treatment is 9 months of chiro, 3 times per week, plus traction, and all for the small price, discounted of course, of $7,500 (WTF!!!!!!). As I got a suddent bout of heart palpitations I took a deep breath and said in an attempt to buy time "I would like to think about this further and discuss this with my husband rather than commit here and now", to which I got a knowing look, like 'I told you that you should've brought him along'. Luckily I got one quick crack, but with heavy quote in hand I hightailed out of that place and never came back and there's no way I'm going to another chiro in this city...
My final good news is that I submitted my first assignment for the semester yesterday, 2 days ahead of schedule, freeing up the rest of my weekend to enjoy, and even spend time writing here a blog for y'all. One down, three to go.
It's going to be 25 degrees on Tuesday, which is so dang exciting.
Alright, I'm off now!
Michele
