report on dancing, Smitten's muscles, and a student my class

We attended a dance/social for the ballroom dancing club on Saturday. It went well. There were fewer people and more beginners there than usual because the higher level dancers were at a big workshop.

I felt reasonably comfortable. Smitten was little more anxious than I expected she would be. I was a little less anxious than I expected to be. I guess my time on stages and behind podiums paid off in keeping me calm. The crowd wasn't watching or judging us (many were in the same boat as us...) and we treated it like a practice session.

We only went for the last 90 minutes of the dance. We had spent the whole day lounging about and talking and I still wanted to work-out (2 hour time requirement), so we were late going to the dance. My working out is something I have put forward as a priority - my exercise has been getting short shrift lately because of our mutual desire to spend time together.

We had fun, we were both a little distressed when it ended - we wanted to go longer. We have decided to ditch our kids this coming weekend when there is another dance (usually they are once a month, but this is some special thing) and spend another evening dancing.

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My massage therapist referred Smitten to a specialised physiotherapy unit at the university. With a referral from a medical professional the initial number of sessions are paid for under our universal medicare.

It appears that Smitten suffered some muscle damage during childbirth and that is what has been the root of her muscular difficulties. She still suffers, but, since the professional massage, my help with acupressure and basic massage, and the physio and exercises they taught her, along with her existing chiro treatments - she is having longer and longer periods free of pain, and with lower levels of pain.

HAH! I will "cure" her yet!!! yes, i know that it is the others that are really doing most of it... but without my research and prodding - and paying for the first massage treatment with my RMT - Smitten would have stayed in the same track she had been in for the last 7 or so years. Smitten says she had just sort of resigned herself to the pain (having been through it with doctors for years) and that without my well intentioned interference and prodding she would not likely have gone down this path. So I claim at least the moral victory of having initiated a new set of actions which are leading to her wellness.

Also on the Smitten wellness front. I have discovered a variety of malabsorption syndrome which appears to match Smitten's symptoms. For example celiac disease is a malabsorption syndrome (Smitten is not celiac - she can eat gluten). I have found enough case studies and other research materials that match her symptoms that she is going to wait for me to finish my current bit of research and then she will take it to her doctor.

The down side is that she will likely have to have a down esophagus lapropscopic procedure to see if her intestinal lining is damaged in one particular part of her small intestine, but if it confirms the problem, then that is likely a good thing.

If it does confirm it, then we can design an "isolation" diet that will promote healing of the region.

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I teach post-secondary computer classes part-time. I have a new student in one of my classes that wandered up to me and asked me a number of questions surrounding whether I was an election day worker/volunteer about 10 years ago in one particular instance. I confirmed that I was.

There had been a big schmozzle at one voting station and I was sent out from the campaign that I worked with to represent our interests. It was a mess. A bad one. All the various (7) party/candidate representatives were fighting - people were having problems with getting to vote - the district electoral officer was threatening to resign on the spot - there had been one shoving match already.

And yes, by applying a little bit of calm and by being a big guy with a deep reassuring and relatively commanding voice (and by knowing what all the rules are - and having some common sense) I managed to get everything calmed down, the problem sorted out and solved to all the campaigns' satisfaction. I also got all the various campaign representatives (most of whom were new and inexperienced) set-up and doing what they should for all their campaigns (even if they were working against my candidate).

This lady (a volunteer for another candidate) told me that she had always wished she could say thank-you but I had disappeared before she could.

I was touched.

I don't always give myself credit for things I do right - I usually end up focusing on my negatives and failures - so this was a nice moment of validation.