SheSue Experience

On to the physical therapist. You enter a large room with several curtained off areas like when to you go emergency at the hospital and a big room full of exercise equipment like treadmills, fitness balls, parallel bars to walk between, fitness benches, weights, etc. You meet with the physical therapist in one of the curtained off rooms. He has a computer or your chart to check your records.

The first day I stood and bent several ways while he felt my muscles and bones. Then I laid on a small bed and did several more movements, all testing for muscle strength and range of mobility. This is all being recorded on the computer. Finally they give you some exercises, show you how to do them and let you do them once. The exercises are printed off and sent home with you.

People with more chronic issues use the equipment in the big room. Then they are evaluated for their progress before being sent home only to come back again and again. I only went twice as I could do all my exercises at home. And my pain wasn’t chronic.

The therapist was incredibly nice and very patient. They don’t make you do anything that causes any pain at all. In fact when they explain the exercises you need to do, they stress the point of stopping when you feel any pain. They work out an exercise program with you and monitor and adjust this plan with each visit.

Ever the inquisitive type, I always need to know the what and why of my ailments. Since I have a slight curve in my spine, it causes the muscles to be unequal on either side of my body. When I increased my fitness routine suddenly, my unequal muscles weren’t happy and reacted. Since I didn’t stop, I actually caused an injury. I was told by the physical therapist to quit doing any fitness that hurt for a minimum of one week. Reluctantly I did as told and, okay, so he was right. All my lower back symptoms were gone by the end of the week. So now I am working on a weight training program to strengthen the muscles on both sides before I get to go back to doing my complete fitness routine.

My upper back is a different story. That’s caused by sitting at a desk all day and leaning forward when I type. So he has me do simple shoulder rolls every so often. Plus for a back support, I use a rolled up towel. The towel can be adjusted for your body type. Some days are better than others for the upper back.

What about pay? Do you earn anything while away? Yes. If you take a 1/2 year off, you earn full pay for that time period. If you take a full year off, you earn 1/2 pay.

So what do you do on sabbatical? Some people paint their house. Some write books or travel. You are expected to further your research whether that be by writing papers or books or some travel to another school or facility to do their research. If they are close to home, some, like my sister, enjoy spending more time with their students working on projects. With no classes to worry about, the teacher can spend any amount of time they want with the student.

Since it was my first appointment, I had to go through the normal blood pressure (high), heart rate, and weight. Then the doctor listened to my heart and lungs. This was followed by going over the lengthy questionnaire I had filled out prior to the visit. I had answered questions about my health, daily habits, supplements and medications I take, symptoms I was experiencing and my family history.

The rheumatoid check included:
1. Checking all my joints for nodules
2. Squeezing my joints looking for pain and/or swelling
3. Moving my head, arms and legs to check for mobility
4. Finally I stood and did some stretching different ways
5. My supplements were checked for dosage

A blood test and x-rays were ordered, but my initial diagnosis was no rheumatoid arthritis. And with this doctor, I was done. I say this doctor because I was pretty disappointed in him. He made it obvious that he completely discounted alternative medicine and pretty much told me that everything I had been told about my ailments was wrong.

Along the third wall are 6 judging booths. Each booth has about 10 or 12 cages (see photo here) where the cats are brought waiting to be judged. In the center of the booth is the judging table with a platform on which the cat is displayed. Then there 3 rows of chairs for you to sit and enjoy the judging. Each cat is judged in all 6 booths. They are judged by category such as breed, long hair, short hair, kitten, household or alters (a cat that can no longer have babies).

The entire center of the room is filled row upon row of cats in their houses set on tables with their owners standing (or sitting) by. Here they wait their turn to be called to a judging booth. As a spectator, you are welcome to wander down the aisles and talk to the owners. Some are eager to share their cats with you, others are more quiet.

There were 39 breeds in all. Some you’re familiar with like Siamese, Persian, Manx or Abyssinian (the cat with basically no hair). There were also cats with beautifully exotic coat patterns, cats with no tails, cats with bob tails, cats with folded ears. Some of the cats were even for sale. At the front of the room was a display of a local animal shelter who offered a small variety of cats you could take home. Please note the wild haircut on this cat who belongs to the shelter. Apparently he loves to have his hair cut.

As you wander among the tables, an owner might be grooming their cat for judging. Lots of hair to comb. Some use a spray to control static or give the cat’s coat a sheen. As the cat comes back from judging, they are given bites of baby food as a reward. I was amazed at how relaxed the cats seemed. They were draped over the owners shoulder or lounging in their arms.

Each judge looks at each cat and ranks them per their breed. The judge gives points for color, coat, fur pattern, alertness, playfulness and structure. After the judge has seen all the cats for a particular breed, they will ‘call back’ what they feel are the best 10. Then they look at the cats again and rank the cats from 10 to First place. Each cat has 6 chances of getting a first place ribbon (1 from each judge).

The cats earn points for the ribbons they earn. These points are posted nationally. If you attend lots of shows and your cat earns lots of ribbons, they can go on to regionals and eventually nationals. Many of these folks attend cat shows once a month or more. They spend a great deal of money on travel expenses just to show off their cats. Many own and show more than 1 cat. I talked to people from Reno, Seattle, Maupin and Portland.

There is no money earned for ribbons. These cat owners are here because they love and respect their cats. Some have other agendas. For instance one lady raises Japanese Bobtails because she feels they make excellent pets. She just wants to spread the word about these fabulous cats. Another lady was there from a Seattle cat shelter. She wants to spread the word about her shelter. Her cat, to the left, was my favorite. A beautiful, huge cat names Mocha. Mocha is a kitten, can you believe it. He was rescued from an abusive situation. He loves doing the shows and preens like the best of them even though he is very new to the game. He is already on his way to being the best kitten in the household division.

When it’s time to begin, the music is turned up and the lights go down. Since they cater to a young crowd, the music is loud rock and roll. Some of it I actually recognize. Instead of the regular overhead lights, they have on black lights with all kinds of strobes. I liked that my shoe laces lit up under the lights.

I thought bowling was more difficult under the lights. I am no pro, my average score is just above 100. With no lights and all these fancy strobes, trying to find my arrow to aim the ball at was pretty difficult. You figure out pretty quick, that that’s not what’s important during cosmic bowling. It’s all about getting together with friends and having a good time. Some were bowling backwards, some like a child between their legs. One kid was throwing the ball like a baseball. (Not sure that was good for the floor).

But hey, it was a new experience and I’m all about checking out new experiences. After they figures out who was going to play, they pulled out that many playing cards. Everybody drew for where they would sit. Everyone put in $10 to start and they all received the same value of chips.

The game is played in rounds. Each round lasts 20 minutes. Only 2 players ante up at the beginning of each hand. This ante goes up in value with each round. The play is similar to 7-card draw. You are dealt 2 cards. You bet on these cards. Then 3 cards are placed face up on the table. These are communal cards. Everybody uses these card combined with the 2 initial cards you were dealt. You bet, another card is placed face up the table, you bet, then 1 final card. And the winner is the one with the best 5 cards out of 7.

Of course there are additional rules like when someone “goes all in” which means betting all the money they have left. There are lots of serious players, and many not so much. Some get too cocky, but mostly it’s a lot of luck. In the end, my niece won the tournament. The last 2 in the running were she and her husband, so lots of silliness.

As long as you don’t take it seriously, a Texas Holdem party can be just as fun as any social event. As people lost their money, they socialized with the others. The poker gives the party a purpose and makes a nice ice breaker for getting to know others.