The Cure for Shoulder/Neck Pain?
- At May 24, 2018
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 0
Isn’t everyone looking for the cure for shoulder/neck pain?
It’s an occupational hazard for pretty much everyone these days. At some point or another, we all find ourselves at a screen, on a keyboard, looking at a monitor, usually with questionable posture. For writers, it’s especially bad. For writers on deadline, it’s the worst.
I’ve had a lot of deadlines this year. That, followed by some overenthusiastic gardening, has culminated in a nasty, immobilizing pain in my shoulder. Can’t lift my left arm, can’t sleep on my left side, (can’t shut up about it, according to some) all of which makes working at my computer rather dicey. According to the physiotherapist, I’ve got tendon and nerve impingement due to the joint being locked down. Imagine, he said, a vacuum cleaner nozzle sucked up against a wall. Nothing moves until you break the seal. That’s my arm. The good news is, with some easy exercises to open up the joint and get it healing, it’s already feeling better. So that’s this week’s task. Next week, we will rebuild… better… stronger… faster…
But, in the meantime, I’m finally taking action to change up how I work. Over the years, I’ve looked at standing desks of all sorts but none of them seem quite right for my situation, because the bulk of my writing work is done on a laptop. Then today, in a moment of serendipity in Starbucks, my husband and I saw a guy working on this nifty device.
It’s called a Roost Laptop Stand – Adjustable and Portable Laptop Stand – PC and MacBook Stand, Made in USA. The Starbucks guy said it’s changed everything about the way he works, and as he explained, I could see it. Correct neck angle. Correct elbow angle. No spilling coffee on the laptop. 🙂 I came home and ordered one immediately. (The keyboard and trackpad are sold separately so that’s next on my list.)
Has anyone used a system like this? I’d love to hear your experience.
Just A Little Love Story
- At September 11, 2014
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Life, Roxanne Writes On
- 2
The Best Things About Sweet Romance
You’ve caught that bug. The Virus. You know the one. It’s been going around, the “common cold” germ that sets up shop inside your body like rats in a condemned building, leaving you to spend your nights hacking up your lungs, trying to breathe through the pin-hole that is your “good” nostril, swigging the four-years-past-due-date cough medicine you found at 2 am, wondering how long it would take for your family to notice your dead body on the bathroom floor.
The virus your doctor tells you with a gentle smile is “just a cold,” inciting a deep desire to French-kiss his eyeball and see how he feels about it then.
You know, of course, that there are a gazillion people with “real” illnesses and problems far worse than yours. And after seven-to-ten days, once you’ve more than a sliver of mucus-free brain to work with, you’ll be ready to take on the world again.
For now, though, you need happy, healing thoughts.
And would it kill someone to bring you a cup of tea, maybe a hug? Care? Just a little?
Whether it’s a bad cold or a bad day, a break-up, or a break-down, a flood, a fire, a flat tire, we all go through times when we’re running on fumes and what we need most is to surround ourselves with happy, healing thoughts and feel cared for, just a little.
For me, the answer is full-on immersion in a fictional world that’s bright, pretty, kind and most of all, hopeful, ie: sweet romances. Such stories don’t pretend the world is some magical place of utopian, possibly narcotic-induced hysterical perfection. But the focus is on the light, not the dark. On overcoming, not suffering. A fresh breath at dawn, not the midnight congestion.
Tender romances gently remind me that I too, can get through hard, lonely times, that I too, can overcome my flaws and be a better person, that a smile, a hug, an embrace, can make a world of difference, for the giver and the receiver.
That I too, can survive this virus and go on to lead a full, normal life.
Sweet love stories: a literary cup of happy, healing tea.
I’m feeling better. How about you?