Thanks to all for the kind thoughts and suggestions!

I have been swimming, and yesterday started my first day of yoga! Man, that was serious work – I have no upper body strength and the push-up-y things like plank and hover were pretty devastating :-). I do think (based on very limited and noisy data) that the exercise is helping my lower back problems and I’m sleeping better. It’s early days, though, so the real question is where things are in a month or two.

Tyler: I’d totally dig a cool chair like that, and could probably talk the U into paying for one. I really wouldn’t want to spend a bunch of money (even if it was someone else’s :->) on a chair, though, if I couldn’t sit in it first, and there’s really no way to do something like that out here. I guess I could drive to the Cities and sit in chairs out there, but I can’t really see myself making that sort of effort.

That said, my favoritest chair in the whole wide world is a 25 year old drafting chair that I bought from a catalog for about $100 in the early 80’s while I was at Reed at the strong recommendation of my friend Peter Shirley. It is a great, simple chair, and I’ve hauled it through untold moves and four states. If I could clone it I’d make a dozen and leave one everywhere I spend time.

Weirdly, I quite like the “cheap” chairs here in the Science Building. The fancy “Captain’s” chairs are actually bad for my back (I think they’re more show than actual ergonomics), but the plain little chairs work fine. The one problem is that they’re a bit low and force me to look up a bit, especially when I’m in the CSci lab. With the new neck problems, looking up is pretty uncomfortable, so that’s not a big win, but in my office I’m fine.

While I must agree with you that you are seriously crap on many of the mechanical aspects of being a teacher…you are amazingly talented at teaching and this certainly makes up for any of the mechanical teacher duties you may be lacking in.

I highly agree on the fact that you should start swimming. Maybe even try doing some yoga, sometimes they offer classes at the RFC… you could also get a Wii Fit and try some Nintendo Yoga. I do Nintendoga almost everyday and it makes me feel great. Also I am sure certain member of your family would thinking investing more money in video games is a sound investment.

Maybe you could make a convincing argument to the school that you deserve one of these expensive chairs that are supposed to be good for your back. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GIPM6I?smid=A14X2WOLPJFQSS&tag=dealtime-kitchen-20&linkCode=asn

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006VJKFY?smid=A14X2WOLPJFQSS&tag=dealtime-office-20&linkCode=asn

Or maybe it is time for the dungeon to invest in these: http://www.isokineticsinc.com/category/ex_ball_chairs?utm_source=Adwords&utm_medium=PPC&utm_sponsored=exercise_ball_chairs_ad&utm_campaign=exercise_ball_chairs

Nic, Good to hear that you are surviving the little travails of life. Dont let the bastards get you down :-) LDJ

Swim Nic, swim! And do physical therapy, every day, as perscribed, for at least three months. Dad had a bad back, and I fought with a pinched nerve in high school. Swimming takes a load off, and the PT builds muscle and range of motion, so the nerves get a little break. Mom has arthritis, too, and when in the arthritis swim class was very pleased with how much better she felt. I hope the shots work well (I had cortizone in my foot/ankle and couldn’t believe the change) and that you are able to get your pain under control. I won’t comment on the syllabi and other teacherly stuff, I didn’t care for it either. :) Oh, and I just remembered, Jen is an ergonomics specialist for Best Buy. When she comes for a visit, would you like an office consultation? She can help you adjust your work station (both at home and at work) so that you are less likely to injure yourself through repetitive motion or poor posture etc. Cool huh?

I’m glad you are OK.

Hopefully the package you should shortly be receiving in the mail will be a cheerful note in the malestrom of activites you currently face.