Spring Forward? I Duwanna...

I get all excited in Fall when we gain one extra hour of sleep. I get really ticked when time wants it back in the Spring. I get home from work late anyway and like the couple of hours I have to myself to diddle around on Face book check emails and blog. I've only been home for a little over a hour and it's five til one. In another hour it will be five til three!

I like having the extra daylight in the evenings but boy do I hate giving up that ONE precious hour of sleep!  I get a hour older and  didn't even do anything wrong.

I piddled around on the computer when I got home from work, did some dishes and threw some clothes into the washer and took out the trash. Cooked a frozen pizza and changed the clocks because I had to be at work at 10:30 AM. Last time I looked at  the clock it was 4:15. My back was still hurting but I fell asleep before five. Got to work early believe it or not.

 My back starting hurting about thirty minutes into my shift. It's a dull ache but a constant one. It's been hurting since Friday and by the time noon (really one) rolled around  it was slow at work (I suppose because of  the time change) and  I asked if I could go the the drug store across the street and see if they had a back brace? I left and got into my car once again gripping the steering wheel so I wouldn't scream out loud. The drug store had absolutely nothing. Since of course I haven't been to see a doctor I didn't know if I needed a "Hot" patch or a "Cold" patch. They had no back braces so I looked for an ACE bandage thinking I could just wrap THAT around my back. When I put my hands on my middle back and push in real hard it feels wonderfully normal and pain free, but I guess they have discontinued ACE bandages because I couldn't find even one.

I went back to work and made me an ice pack... kinda helped but I think it may have been wishful thinking. Either it was really slow or my bosses just got tired of the grimace I couldn't keep off of my face and cut me around 1:15. My little co worker, "Frenchy" suggested that I go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy a back brace. Stupid me...hadn't even thought about THAT!

I went straight to Lowe's and asked the woman behind the service desk where  back braces were located? She referred to an index card in her pocket and said "Aisle 65."  I walked the length of the store to find out there were in fact 24 aisles. On my way back I stopped some dude with an apron on and asked him where aisle 65 was and he took me straight to an aisle clearly marked "B."

Whatever!

The guy asked me what size I needed and I said "A Zero please, unless you have one smaller." He gave the smallest one they had that looked like it would fit two of me but since it was only $14 bucks and there was only one left I took it.

I went home and Massey helped me with it. I told her it had to go underneath my work shirt because number one I am a woman and we are vain and number two nothing screams "Ole Lady" like a back brace over the outside of a shirt. It had shoulder straps that once adjusted to the shortest position still sagged  off my little shoulders but with the huge Velcro tab on the actual brace I could pull it tight across my abdomen. Massey pulled the straps down to fit and safety pinned them. She admired her handiwork and said "Look! It pushes your boobies up."

I took the brace off and laid flat on my back for the entire break between my shift on the heating pad. When it was time to go back I shuffled into my Kevlar vest pulling it as tight as it could go and went back to work. PRAISE JESUS, it worked!

No spasms and although I felt worn out from three days of constant pain my back felt okay. I was getting worried that it wasn't back pain at all but something else. My boss (who is ten years older than me) commented that it only takes one wrong turn or move to throw your back out of whack and usually takes at least six weeks to heal..."Thanks for the positive thought!"

I was just grateful that I finally felt normal. I also realized that working six days a week for 33 years holding ten pounds of dishes on the same serving arm day after day after day will most certainly take a toll and throw your back and alignment out of sync. I was just so happy that no one could see my hideous contraption.

So I lost an hour's sleep...lost at least two hours from my lunch shift by leaving early but have learned that I have a new BFFL.

I wish they made back braces in "Mini Me" sizes but thankfully as usual it all worked out. I may never take it off again, and besides...Massey says it makes my boobies look bigger!

Working another double shift tomorrow...putting on my Kevlar and doing it all again!

Til next  time  "Padded COTTON"

Facebook..."MY" New Frontier

How do you make a 49 year old woman look stupid?

Invite her to join Facebook.

First of all I had to get my daughter to set up my account.

Then I found out you could upload pictures....requiring another consult with my daughter.

It took me a week just to learn to navigate around the site, took another week to figure out the difference between the homepage and the profile page.

After that, a friend sent me an email telling me I needed to set my site to PRIVATE. (I have a cyber stalker out there ya know)

That only took me an hour and three different tries.

Then they start throwing "hugs" and inviting you to "pillow fights" nominating you as "nicest person"..(yeah, RIGHT!) asking to fill out inane surveys, "sending chocolates"...the list goes on and on and on.

I finally found out that all of these things somehow raise money for children's charities. If I could figure out how to help I would, but just giving someone a "poke" was hard for me to understand....(Thanks again Massey).

On one hand I love the concept...have renewed many old friendships and made a few new ones.

On the other hand...after finally feeling pretty secure in logging onto the site...they change the entire setup.

It took me three days to find the groups that I had joined, still can't figure out how to copy a pic from my site and post it on one of my groups (Massey has pretty much dissed my desire for additional help) so I am left to flounder all around the site, hoping to hit the right button, app, key or status.

I guess that young people all around the globe are laughing at me responding to my own posts when I mean to be posting on other's posts, posting double copies of pics because I never know if the first one posted and are all wondering why I am refusing to help children charities.

Ya know, ten years ago...who had a cell phone except Donald Trump and drug dealers?

Now my KIDS have cell phones, ipods, laptops, PS3, WII, the list goes on and on.

My parents are most likely rolling over in their graves...wishing THEY had a cell phone to call me and say "STOP THE MADNESS".

It is just a sign of the times unfortunately...we are a wired nation.

Whereas a kid used to be glued to your hip...now they are wired to the entire world and reaching people, places and search engines that I couldn't have dreamed of... even watching "The Jetsons" as a kid.

The only thing I am missing is "ROSIE" the robot maid...maybe SHE could help me out with my technological attempts at keeping up.

What in the world will MY grandkids be doing one day??? Jetting over in their Hovercraft that they got for high school graduation to visit me in the ole folks home to help change my "Virtual Depends"??


I think that I am scared...really scared...is there an app on FB for that?