Scattered Thoughts and Random Musings.... Kinda par for the Course of my Mind!

Every once in a while I write a post that is simply a collection of random topics, opinions and observations.

This is gonna be one of those posts so just try to keep up.

First topic.... every place, town, city, geography, locale in the United States has its own mix of history, culture, community, perspective....

The Texas Gulf Coast had it... in my opinion, somewhat narrow minded, not open to non-linear thinking, philosophy or perspective and somewhat clique-ish from a social interaction standpoint.  Folks down there think their way is the only way and don't want to hear anything different from that.  They work too much, get stressed out, eat and drink too much and then rely on doctors and the drug industry to fix their lack of self-discipline.  Oh, there's exceptions, but I'm talking about the 90% rule here.  There's a lot of industry there, so there's a lot of work, lot of money and relatively low cost of living so people make a little bit of  money and think they got the world by the shorts.

Now let's look at the Santa Fe environment.... and realize this is coming from a guy who has been here less than 6 months so it's an opinion of first impression only.  I have to say the people here are much friendlier and open to different ways of doing things... like Alternative Medicine and obviously they are much more environmentally friendly.  All in all, a more forgiving environment..... up to a point.  Like the point after you tell them you are a Chemical Engineer.... It wasn't a respected profession in Texas and it damn sure ain't in Santa Fe NM.  Of course, this comes from people who have already made their fortune somewhere else or are retired and can look down their noses at a profession that provides them with literally everything they come in contact with.

Being an Equal Opportunity Offender, let me just say....

Hey Tree Hugger, try driving your Subaru around without about 90% of what it's made of..... Yeah.... without the Chemical Industry, you got no fucking seats, dashboard, carpet, tires, windshields, hoses, belts, non-metallic components..... blah blah blah.

Oh and while I'm on a  roll, let me fire another shot across the bow of the good ship Santa Fe.

It seems at least 1 out of 3 people I meet / talk to in Santa Fe are in the counseling, alternative medicine, Yoga, Zen, Positive Energy industry or a member of the Church of What's Happening Now in the Parallel Universe.

And to those people, I say More Power to Ya.  That's one of the reasons I came here, because I genuinely believe there's more than one way to skin a cat..... Oops Sorry You Feline Lovers out there.... it's a deep East Texas Redneck expression.  You wouldn't understand unless you lived there.

Anyway, these are the People that profess to "Live for the Moment", avoid "Negative Energy", "Go Green or Go Home" and squinch their noses up if you describe a meal and don't use the word "Organic" at least 15 times.

Yeah, Dorothy, we ain't in Texas anymore.

Let me let you in on a little secret.... all those people that profess all these great and wonderful Life Themes have one thing in common.....

They can afford to do it..... cause they have  money.....

OR.....

Life has beaten them up so bad that they don't have a future to look forward to so they have no alternative but to Live for the Moment.

In Santa Fe, it's mostly the former.

This place is a Mixing Pot of People coming from somewhere looking for something.

For some, it's the Natural Beauty of the High Desert meeting the Mountains.

For others, it's the climate with 300 days of sunshine and 20% humidity.

History, Art, Culture, Alternative Thinking.....

It's a lot for this Analytical and Structured Texas White Boy to take in.

Moving on....

2nd Random Observation....

Most of the Women in Santa Fe got no Boobs.....

Now there's a change in direction for ya!

No, I'm serious, but let me clarify.... I don't mean they have no breasts whatsoever, they just have small Boobs.

Now, in their defense, part of the No Boob thing is that most of the women I see in Santa Fe are probably 20 - 30 lbs lighter than the average woman in Lake Jackson Tx.

Seriously, I would guess that 80% of the women in my old home town are at least 20 lbs overweight and I would say that less than 20% of the women in Santa Fe are that way.

And where there's fat, there's bigger boobs.

Low body fat, Smaller Boobs.

But there's also less fake boobs in Santa Fe.... and I haven't figured that out since a lot of these women are well off and could afford to go Dolly but choose not to.

I guess the whole environment of Santa Fe is a kind of self limiting mechanism. The kind of women that would choose Santa Fe as a place to live are the same women that wouldn't go for fake boobs.

I dunno..... it's a theory.... I'll do a little more research and get back with you.

Last subject and then I'll jump down..... I mean step down gingerly from my Soap Box.

Which is a good segue into the next subject.

Despite the fact that this is a big Self Healing / Natural Healing / Alternative Treatment / Thumb your nose at the Medical and Drug Industry kind of place, I am amazed at the number of people that are amazed at the fact that I keep working out and working out pretty intensely with the number and extent of injuries I have right now - namely a 40% torn left Achilles Tendon and a painful left knee and a tweeked right elbow.

Nearly everybody I talk to thinks and tells me that I should be basically doing nothing, staying off my feet and letting myself heal and definitely don't think I should be working out.

And they may be right..... HOWEVER....

The more experience I have with injuries - and I've had quite a few of my own over the last 10 years - and the more research I do, the more I am convinced that, barring a debilitating injury like a shattered joint, broken bone, open wound or completely torn / detached ligament or tendon, you should find a way or ways to stay active and work around a particular injury with the goal of forcing the body to circulate blood and nutrition to the injured area.

That is the whole premise behind the Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy that I have started on my Achilles Tendon.  Taking your own blood and separating out the Supercharged Healing Properties of Blood Platelets and then injecting that directly at the site of soft tissue injury jump starts the Collagen / Soft Tissue Healing Cycle especially in the Repair and Remodeling Phases of a Soft Tissue Injury.

http://physioworks.com.au/treatments-1/what-are-the-phases-of-a-soft-tissue-injury

That's what happened when I tore my Pectinius Muscle (Groin tear) last August.  I just kept doing CrossFit and Boot Camp but modified the movements or used lighter weights so as not to aggravate or further injure the torn muscle.  If you experiment with different movements, you will find what triggers the pain and what doesn't.

Like my Physical Therapist said when I asked her what I shouldn't do with my torn Left Achilles Tendon....

"If it hurts, don't do it".

Pretty simple.... and that doesn't mean do nothing.

Some of the hardest, most strenuous workouts I have done have been in Physical Rehab for an injury.

As an example, right now, I am having sharp pain on the inside of my left knee when I raise the leg and then bring the foot back down, especially when coming down stairs.

But I can squat and do lunges till the cows come home.... and no pain.

So I can't skip around in Zumba for the time being..... I'll just knock out 5 sets of squats.

And guess what.... when I finish my squats, my knee feels better.... More range of motion, less swelling, less pain.

Maybe the Naysayers are right.... Maybe I'm doing the wrong thing.... testing the limits of activity while injured.

We'll see.

But in this Age and Environment of Self-Healing and Self-Awareness, I'm placing my bets on my Nutrition, Sleep Recovery, Mind-Muscle Connection and Smart Workouts to lead my recovery.

Will it work?

Hell - I don't know.

But, at some point, you have to trust yourself and hope that your Recovery leads to Personal....

Discovery.