A pain in the back

Pain of any sort in the back can be an extremely uncomfortable and debilitating experience, which can affect the whole body. Sadly for me I've suffered my entire life, having been born with a dislocated hip, which wasn't discovered until I was thirteen months old. The doctors tried all the old tricks of triple nappying, hooking me up to a massive semi-circle metal frame and rotating my leg, sadly in the end it took three surgeries and months of being in plaster from ankles to armpits to put it right.

But that wasn't the end of it, as due to the defect my pelvis had rotated and shot all my vertebrae out to compensate and this really wasn't checked as I was growing up. In my teen growth spurt stages I'd have days where I couldn't get out of bed due to back problems, but you just learn to deal with it. These days it's the compression in my lower spine that causes the most issues, today is a bad day and I don't want to move from my bed and have succumbed to the heavy duty pain-killers. I've always been an active person, so learning to support and make sure I'm not putting too much strain on my back has always been very important. I have good days and bad days with it. A couple of years ago I managed to smash the S3 in my Coccyx whilst snowboarding, which really hasn't helped at all and I'm constantly told to stop doing all these crazy extreme sports that I love.

A few of my friends have had to give up wakeboarding and snowboarding due to major back issues. One really good friend has recently undergone spinal fusion, otherwise he was told he would end up in a wheel chair - but there was no way he was going to stop jumping out of planes or hitting the slopes or water.

Why are back issues such a huge problem? I look at the way we go about daily life and we take our backs for granted, we lift things the wrong way (always use your legs, don't bend at the back), ergonomics are terrible - basic things like not having arms on chairs that go under desks, have computer screens at eye level, have keyboards at a mid-level, you know laptops are the worst thing ever? Because the keyboards are so compact, they force us to hunch over, bring our arms in and work in with a terrible posture, the best this is to plug in a full sized keyboard and get a laptop stand. Driving positions can be bad. Constant twisting in work stations. It's no wonder that so many of us are constantly seeking treatment from professionals.

Look after your back, replacing your spine is not an option.

Holiday Happiness

It can be very hard sometimes being an expat. Sure, we might enjoy the lifestyle, but when it comes to holiday time, the majority of people spend it going to visit family. It can seem very lonely at times, when your nearest and dearest are half way round the globe and you only get to see them maybe once a year. Some people don't see their parents, brothers, sisters or even spouses for maybe two or three years - I can't imagine how difficult that must be.

It's not healthy to work yourself into the ground, where you get to that point, where there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel and time off is so very important. It gives us time to relax the body and mind, to switch off and concentrate on other things.

I'm so looking forward to heading off to see my parents and brother in a short while. I have a new niece who I haven't met yet and I can't wait! My baggage allowance will be totally taken up with gifts, but who cares, family time is precious and we should make the most of it when we can.

I'm also quite nervous as the boyfriend is meeting my father for the first time. He met my mother in February of this year, but they all have quite a lot in common so I shouldn't imagine they'll be any great issues - apart from 'When are you getting married?' Which I keep getting asked - oh why the pressure? LOL

Time off for me is about resetting things. Bringing your life back into perspective and getting ready for the grind once again, but I don't think we take enough time off or as frequently as we should.

Ah holiday happiness. I hate to wish time away, but it can come soon enough :-)

My first ride on Harley Davidson

This weekend there's a special event - the Harley Davidson Open House event, where the new 2012 models will be launched, plus a chance to purchase merchandise, with proceeds from selected stock going to impoverished women around the world, in association with the United Nations World Food Programme.

One highlight however will be a bike parade, where motorcycle riders from across the UAE will meet to ride around part of Dubai. Now in previous events such as this, literally hundreds of bikers have turned up with rides in all shapes and sizes - which is an amazing sight to see, let alone the thunderous raw of the engines.


Now I was going to take the Honda Shadow, my little purple Ronnie bike, however it's battery is struggling and it feels a bit rickety these days, so I called and asked if I could hire a Harley for the ride - all booked out - GUTTED! However, because I'd RSVP'd to the event as media, I was told that they would be sorting a bike out for me to ride, a DYNA - COOL :-)


I suddenly realise that I haven't actually ridden a Harley, nor a bike that big before, so before the event, what am I going to practice on? Hmmm let me think, the boyfriend has a Harley V-rod. Actually it was his suggestion that I have a go on his bike first and let's face it I really didn't put up much of a fight. So this morning I get all kitted up and get read to take his bike out - he's obviously nervous, he's at work and he's trusting me not to a. crash his bike and b. hurt myself - please has a little faith.


I am a tiny person compared to my boyfriend, he's 6ft 3, I'm 5ft 5, so reaching the foot pedals on his bike meant that I had to scoot right forward in the seat, which meant for a not great riding position, but never mind, suck it up and get on with it. The minute you start one of these bikes, you just have to sit and listen to the engine sound 'bub bub bub bub' - beautiful. I roll back out the driveway and get ready to pull away, giving a nice few revs - sorry neighbours. Easy enough and I decide to go for a gentle ride around the small streets to get used to it. 


The V-rod is quite heavy on the handling and you really have to lean into the corners, because the huge fat rear wheel just wants to go straight, but it means it feels really stable and not likely to fall over at any given opportunity. After pootling about the small roads, I decide it's time to get out on the bigger roads and open her up and see what she can do.


HOLY COW! You lean a little on the throttle and your head gets slammed back and I feel like I'm going to shoot straight off the back - ok, maybe not quite so aggressive on the throttle then. I love it. Easy handling, responsive, power to get you out of trouble when you need it, there's everything to like and enjoy about this bike - apart from me having to be so far forward, which would do my back in if I had to ride it for a long period of time.


But now, I'm super excited about riding the DYNA at the weekend. Getting kitted up and going out for my first en-masse motorcycle experience. Bring it on! :-)


http://www.harley-davidson.ae/

A Toby Update - The Teenage Phase

Toby - my special needs puppy is around seven months old now and he's definitely in that teenage puppy phase, where he wants to try and see who's boss. Thankfully he's now lost all his puppy teeth, which were like being bitten by a mouthful of the sharpest needles you can imagine. There were two or three, that were hanging in there for dear life, but after some wiggling and copious amounts of hide chews, they finally fell out.

Toby's soul aim in life at the moment is to see how much he can wind the cats up. Neo, the cat I've had since he was six weeks old, looks on in amusement as the puppy drops his toys in front of him, backs up then stares at him intently, like he's supposed to do something with them. Chloe, my rescue cat, just hisses and bops him every time he wanders past.

I think secretly Neo enjoys the intention and they have quite a few boxing matches and chase each other round the villa.

Toby has also discovered the joy of digging. Yup digging as many holes as he possibly can, all over the garden, then seeing how many of his toys he can bury out there. He also loves rolling around in the dirt, coming back into the villa, shaking, so the dirt all goes on the floor, then proceeding to lie down and roll around in it! I'm so glad we don't have carpets!!!

Of course he's now at that age where he is also starting to do those nasty boy dog things. I've never had a male dog before, I always thought females were far less hassle. All I can say is, thank goodness that because of Toby's disability he can't cock his leg! He's also discovered that he has a willy and you know that old saying 'they do it because they can'? Yep, he does it because he can, but at least he's not tried to mate with either of the cats - yet.

So now the question comes about getting him neutered, which will have to be done as it stops all those bad boy habits. But Toby's issue is, because his legs are not the right way round, his little man sacks are effectively being retained, which my vet says means he will have to do an operation to go in through his tummy and get up in there and try to find them - lovely!

Toby in the mean time, continues to do well and is virtually unrecognisable from the tiny pup we first adopted.

Neo - my loveable (rather huge) cat.

Chloe - my rescue cat, who was abandoned by her previous owners.