Metric

I had tickets to see the Canadian synth-pop band Metric last night. I had rfunk buy the tickets a month ago when they went on sale, figuring the show might be sold out. The show was at the Newport, a mostly standing-room-only venue with a few scattered chairs. I knew was taking a risk, betting that I would be strong enough to be able to stand without much pain for the length of a pop concert.

Unfortunately for me, I ended up being scheduled to give a workshop at work yesterday, the same day as the concert. Would I be able to make it through an afternoon of teaching followed by an evening out?

I actually did a lot of standing during the training. I actually made it through the first hour and a half without wishing for a chair. After that I switched off between sitting in a chair and standing. I made it through the afternoon, though.

Driving home, I realized the pain in my low back was at about a 2. That's not bad, but is really my limit for continuing whatever activity is causing the pain. In this case, standing.

I ended up not being able to go to the concert, and I'm pretty bummed about that. But the silver lining is that I now know I can stand for up to an hour and a half without increasing pain. That's quite an improvement from the 10 minutes of standing I was able to do six months ago.

Now I have to decide whether to try for the Concrete Blonde concert in three weeks.


Edited to add: My strategy for recovering/getting through the strain of a concert included taking the following day off. This was a hugely good idea and I'm happily enjoying my day off today. :-)

Herb garden

Just got back from a local garden store with herb plants, pots and potting soil. That's right, I'm going to make a potted herb garden. This way I can plant herbs without having to break sod or dig holes, which could hurt my back. Additionally, the soil here is also very poorly drained, so any planting really needs to be done in either pots or raised beds (increasing the level of initial necessary effort). This way I know I'll plant at least a few things this year.

However, I did see that they were selling "raised bed kits", including pre-made frames and soil, for $90. That's very intriguing. Of course, the sod underneath the bed would still have to be removed, which I can't risk doing. It might be an option for next year, though. Or this year, I suppose, depending how badly Rob would like to have home-grown tomatoes.