Yesterday I dredged through eight months of records to total up the miles that I've driven at work since I started. I'm terrible at tracking it. I haven't turned in a single mileage report, so I figured I'm due. Since it's supposed to be done monthly, I got chewed on, naturally, but they'll let it slide this one time. To be reasonable, I only looked at jobs where I travelled more than five miles each way, and I always estimated on the low side.
It took me an hour and a half to dig through it all, find the distance to each of the 36 different places I've driven (courtesy of the all-knowing MapQuest.com), and present it all in a convincing spreadsheet. In the end, it's probably only about half of the miles I've driven, but still, at $.30 a mile (4 cents less than the IRS would allow, I might add), 1000 miles adds up to a nice chunk of change. The endeavor worked out to about $200/hr. Not too shabby.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
-- Frost
I've destroyed my back this week. It started in the upper back, induced by rock climbing. The chiropractor worked his magic and chased it down into my lower back, where it pulled a Bruce Banner on me and got downright brutal. Yesterday morning was gruelling. I could hardly walk, and even when motionless, spasms kept gripping my mid back and pinching a nerve. Mr. Bond (the chiro) banged on it some, and then they gave me a massage, which helped, but all in all it was miserable day. Today was a little better, but this is really putting a damper on my plans for getting in shape.
A quick word on chiropractors. I've done some research, and while I'm convinced of the principles behind the science, I don't buy into their self-promotion of being a cure-all. It makes sense to me that because the nerves for various functions run through the spine, vertebral subluxations can interfere with the body's natural ability to repair itself. Thus, it's possible that chiropractic adjustments could not only relieve back pain, but also correct a variety of other problems a person might have. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence to support this. What I don't buy is the idea that a chiropractor has a better chance of identifying and correcting such problems than a medical doctor, and, despite what the chiros will have you believe, there doesn't seem to be much statistical evidence in their favor. In the meantime, I gotta get my back fixed, so I guess I just won't let on to my disbelief.
"Sure thing, Mr. Bond. I'd be glad to come in every week for the next three years. Thanks so much for your help."
NY was great. I hung with old friends, got to spend time with my sister, saw the Holocaust museum in DC, got rear-ended in New Jersey, and had an all-around fantastic time. I haven't worked out the picture thing yet. It's coming, but don't hold your breath.
In the meantime, I finally got the necessary adapter to connect my keyboard to the sound card on my computer. I haven't really got the knack of recording down yet, and it's impossible for me to record a track without mistakes, but I was still reasonably happy with the results of tonights efforts ...
Back from NY. I'll have a couple comments on that adventure in the next day or two. Although the car accident was the worst part of the trip, it seems to be the part I keep telling people about. Why is that?
Pictures are on the way, but I'm going to have to shrink 'em a bit. 4 megapixels is great until you want to share with modem-bound friends.