Walking Through Back Pain

Many years ago now, I tore my lower back doing a simple lift at a Cross Fit gym under the direct supervision of its owner, who never realized I tore it coincidentally. I suffered for weeks unable to walk and then graduating to using two canes and eventually just one in order to get around. I couldn't stand up straight and it hurt to sneeze, laugh, couch, etc. It also hurt to sit down in a chair or go anywhere in a car. It was a terrible experience. 

After that, I began training in Insanity again and learned a lot about using correct muscles while I retore and rehealed and retore and rehealed my back. I finally recovered (technically you never do) and kept at the workouts but with a new found knowledge of muscle use in exercise.

Fast forward to recently and somehow I reinjured my back. There was no, omg ouch!, moment. I just realized at one point that my back really hurt and very quickly after that, it went from it hurts to I can't move. Once again I was practically bed ridden. I did nothing for a few days other than hobble from the bed to the bathroom to the couch and back. The pain didn't improve, nor did my mobility. So I started taken muscle relaxants (just over the counter ones, but strong ones-thank you Mexico), and slowly but surely I've progressed. 

I have no bath to soak in so I counted on those little pills to relax my back enough to walk. I couldn't stand up straight for about a week and it hurt to cough, sneeze, or laugh again. 

With the little pills though, I was able to walk around my place and one day (I don't even remember why, but I'm going with I needed food) I had to walk to the store. When I returned my back was aching horribly and I could barely stand up. I thought I'd really screwed up going for the walk. But the next morning, turns out my back was better; not perfect, but better. I took more little pills and laid around on the couch all day thinking it would be good to rest it after such a trialing day before. But the following morning my back was no better. "What in the world?" I thought. 

So yesterday I took another super duper, Ronda turbo speed, almost two hour long walk and yes, when I got back my back ached. Granted, I'd done that walk with Denny Crane comfortably resting in his fancy backpack on my back because he can't keep up with my pace for that long and I didn't want him molesting the neighbors by barking for 2 hours either. That night I decided not to take a pill and see what happened this morning. 

Turns out, my back is better this morning. No, it's not perfect. It still hurts if I sneeze or cough, but getting up and down from a seated position, or standing up straight no longer hurts or is impossible. I was also able to crack my lower back which really hurt but also felt intensely satisfying and relieving. 

I still have no idea what I did to cause my back to suddenly go out, but I am glad to have learned that if I can walk through the pain, I can wake up renewed and restored!

I spotted this beautiful bright red cardinal (?) on my walk.

Ohio Light Opera 2014

What a summer it's been! What a FUN summer it's been! What an EDUCATIONAL summer it's been! What a PRODUCTIVE summer it's been! What an AMAZING summer it's been!!!

Trying to take advantage of every opportunity, every relationship, every hour and every day can sometimes be overwhelming; especially when so much is packed into so little.



This was my schedule for the summer. Two services a day is quite exhausting when done on a regular basis. Add to that: personal practice both morning and/or night, Insanity workouts, random sport activities, regular late night gatherings, and it turns into a whirlwind of nights and days and days and nights boosted by caffeine, cat naps against the scroll of my violin in the pit during dialogue, and a steady stream of danceish movement and energy to propel you forward and infuse the music with sparkle (a reference to the seemingly only adjective known by the recording director)!

I LOVED IT ALL! Truly I did. There were ups and downs. In exchange for the days and nights of blissful happiness were the days and nights of tears in the pillow and loneliness quote surfing.



Personal growth, personal enlightenment and any kind of change never gets easier no matter how much you want it and do it. But the results are always worthwhile and I'm happy now that I'm stepped back from the picture that was the Ohio Light Opera and see the changes; physical, mental, and emotional that I achieved, began and continued. It's so hard sometimes to see the bigger picture when you're placed in such a small environment.



That little blue dot was where I lived for a while. Everyday I'd walk to either the music building or the Theater or both to practice and rehearse. It wasn't the best of situations since there was no kitchen(ette) but there was a micro fridge that I commandeered for myself and a small microwave and I had a juicer with me so it was manageable for a few months. Unfortunately, what wasn't manageable was the "maintenance". There's a few pictures below of the walls that were removed and the ceiling being torn down. The men working said it was going to get even worse. I simply can't imagine it and I never went back to see.









I won't include the videos that made it impossible to exist due to the extremely loud noise factor. No one besides those being paid to work there should be required to hear that!

They did move all the residents of this dorm to another newer and much nicer dorm for the last two weeks of the summer. I was very grateful for everyone who helped make it possible. It truly was in their self interest to help me maintain my sanity because I'm already crazy, who would dare survive if I was insane?!, outside of during my Insanity workouts of course :)

This summer I enjoyed my hand at T25 for the first time. After sitting still for three weeks, watching far too many documentaries on any number of random topics to occupy my time and let my sprained finger heal enough to continue with semi normal daily life, I joined the kind cast members at the gym who let me start mid way through the summer. Since I hadn't done any activity for a while it wasn't fun breaking back into the workout routine but after a week my body started to respond again and soon T25 became, dare I say, boring? I continued it but when we moved into the new dorm there was a nice facility with air conditioning and a big projector screen and a sticky vs. slippery floor and I didn't have to ask anyone to unlock it or not workout on the weekend because the gym was closed so I followed my addicted heart and body back to Insanity. I was very fortunate to have two wonderful people join me every day and we had a great time digging deeper and screaming and shouting and huffing and puffing and sweating everywhere together. I will sincerely miss my Insanity workout partners :(

A random interesting Wooster fact: there is an unhealthy saturation of skunks. I saw them everywhere, nearly walked on one as I cut through some brush one night (I have quite the long jump when necessary I discovered), sadly shut my window one day while one was nesting just underneath it not 2 feet below, crossed the street to avoid one strolling down the sidewalk one evening, and grew accustomed to the smell as a random odor that was just a part of my daily life.

That's as close as my phone's zoom goes and I wasn't getting any closer in person!

The friendships I made this summer have been such a blessing in more ways than I'm sure any of them know. I've adopted two little sisters, begun a very open and honest friendship with someone that I would never had expected, had some really clarifying and serious talks with another friend whom helped me self inspect without even realizing it, formed a fast and surprisingly close bond with a ray of sunshine that always brightened my day and I only hope that I brightened their's as much. I met a wonderful friend who inspired me that there is a possibility to continue pursuing your passions and dreams and love what you do. I know I follow that path but sometimes it feels like I'm trapped in a dark room with no doors or windows from which to escape. This friend told me stories and taught me lessons about maneuvering through life's changes and curveballs. I hope to keep in touch and learn so much more! In some way, each and every person in my life this summer taught me something: taught me things about myself, things I like, things I don't like, reminded me of old times and introduced me to new ones, and reminded me once again how fleeting life is and how each individual is unique in their own right. I wish I could have spent more time getting to know more of the people this summer, but with schedules, housing arrangements, and personal time, the minutes danced by and I couldn't keep up. I did work hard this summer trying to learn everyone's name, where they are from and who they are. I didn't get to every body but I did get to know many on many different levels and I'm so grateful to each and every one that spent their precious time with me. As I travel, grow older, and learn more of life, I increasingly have become aware of time and it's invaluableness.

Still, there were so many great times playing Cards Against Humanity, watching Whose Line is it Anyway, drinking wine out of boxes in plastic cups, winning beer pong (with the help of my fabulous doubles partner) so not drinking near enough beer, sitting on wooden chairs or sweaty couches and chatting with any and every one about any and every thing; learning, absorbing, sharing, teaching.

Here are a few pictures with just a few people from this summer. Smiles abound and for that, I am one happy girl!  :-D


One of the only pictures from the numerous parties. This was the rep open party, meaning no more rehearsals! Just play away :)

The two bow tie sporting champs for the Fourth of July concert! Don't we look smashing?!?! 

On one of the few days off, a few of us managed to hit the road and attend a free festival in Columbus. It was so much fun and even included 45 minutes of contra dancing!!! WOOT!!!  Nothing better than fun in the sun :)

Enjoying a local favorite at the Wooster Brewery with a couple of the non Pirates of Penzance folk.

Occasionally we had the energy to sneak in a fast dinner between shows and one of my favorite restaurants is/was TJ's. They had quite a variety of vegetarian options that made me a very happy diner...the company wasn't bad either :)

 

Oh, the fun to be had toward the end of the season when you get a free evening. Splitting the second best barley wine I've had with a friend at my other favorite haunt in Wooster, The Spoon! Yes, they did pour the barley wine into tasters...legal issues regarding bathroom quantities was the explanation I received...

I also did some fun mountain biking at a good single track called Vulture's Knob just a few miles west of Wooster. One would never guess such a trail existed in close vicinity to the tiny town. But I was thrilled and rode it several times. Here are a few pictures and one video that doesn't capture the 12 foot rutted drop into a 90 degree turn but until I can get a GoPro it's the best I have.

After our last romp in the woods, jk, but my mountain biking buddy was a great gift to have this summer!



The one thing I missed the most this summer was dancing. Prior to arriving in Wooster, I had written in all the dances for the summer and emailed myself dance websites. What I'd failed to see was that all the dances were cancelled during the summer months, even in the bigger cities like Cleveland. I was crushed and tried to learn to lead ballroom so as to dance with one of the orchestra girls a bit and that worked somewhat, but I'm just not a good ballroom lead yet. I did get one night of blues dancing at a dorm party where I requested blues music and then wrangled others into dancing blues with me :)  But no contra was had. I hope to remedy this very soon in Atlanta! My soul needs some good contra dancing. Really, the world does revolve around it if you didn't know. And if there was a job as a professional contra dancer...but being a dance gypsy is the next best thing.

Supporting my dancing friends from afar in their Guinness record breaking attempt.

So until I save enough money to join my dance gypsies friends around the country and sometimes parts of the world, I'll have to settle for the next best thing ;-)  Keep reading to find out what that might be and look for another post in the next few weeks with more details!

I didn't travel much around Ohio while I was here, but I did make it up to Cleveland for one overnight when I had the next afternoon off. It was a wonderful time seeing the nightlife of Cleveland a little bit and then walking around downtown the following morning.

A fun night and a beautiful day celebrating my upcoming gig in Cleveland. Somehow I found myself walking down the street, basking in the sunlight singing, It's a Lovely Day Today...not sure how that happened :-p

The last happy Ronda face is to celebrate not just a wonderful summer but a wonderful future for the next six months at least.

I'm celebrating a new job that will not only take me and my violin to India, but also Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand! Six months of travel and performance in Asia!! I can't wait. Here's to more fun stories, more fun pictures, more fun friends :)

I will post another entry with more information of India and my upcoming job. This post was to reminisce of the recent summer and I hope you enjoyed reading about my memories as much as I enjoyed remembering them.

It's time for change.

There is always room for change. And there's no better time than now :)

There are many things changing in my life. Change is hard for many people. But I've learned to embrace it and to love it (most of the time).

One way I'm changing is through working out. This week is the last week of Insanity for me. My body has been changing and I can see it and feel it. It's wonderful! I can't wait to see how it continues to change as a begin a new program. It's only been 2 months. That's not a lot of time, but I've been working hard and the changes are visible, not just in my body contour but also in my energy level and general glow :)

Another change I've gradually made for some time over many months was in my diet. I'm now officially vegetarian, not for 30 days, but as long as I get the nutrients I need and I feel good. And so far, I'm feeling fabulous!

A huge recent change has been my career path. Instead of continuing in an ensemble on cruise ships, I'll instead be working toward my own show that I can perform as a guest entertainer on ships instead. I just love the ships! Making this change will allow me to work for more cruise lines, and make a more sustainable living. Here's to getting my show off the ground...and into the water :)

There have been other little changes like, eliminating more sugar from my diet, taking dance lessons, jumping into the smartphone market, reading more on my recently acquired Nook lovely donated to my cause (thanks Rachel).

What have you changed for the better recently?

Share it with me or someone you trust to encourage you and support you through your change.

Back to the Grind

When most people read that title, the image in mind is probably related to an 8-5 job of some sort.

Not for me!

Surprising I know...

This week I'm not working retail and I'm heading back into the music field.  A concert is coming up end of this month and I need to begin practicing and preparing for it. But I'm now going to be able to start working on my show again!

By the end of this week I hope to reach my goal and have a good update for you about my plans. Having you all hold me accountable will surely increase my productivity level :)

Until then, I'm nose down into the music, working out hardcore on my second month of Insanity (the name is so apropos), and spending time with my big sis.

LIFE IS GOOD GREAT!!

P.S. In my work toward this show I did a photo shoot to go through some ideas. Here's a couple of the shots. Which is your favorite? What would catch your eye the best and which would make you buy the cd??

btw, none of these photos have been photo shopped. They're just as they were taken.

Please let me know your selection!

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4