Getting Needled

I promised Caron I’d give her a shout out about her “And Still Counting” quilt project, an amazing undertaking. She’s doing her best to represent all of the Americans and Iraqis who have died in the war. She’s making a little tiny quilt for every American and then French knots to represent all the Iraqis. I know nothing about quilting, except that it’s way beyond my talents. Go check out her blog and see what you can do to help, will you?

So Monday I went to take advantage of one of the billion things I won a few weeks ago in the Red Cross’ Red & White Ball silent auction. You know, the one where in the name of good causes, I got inadvertently Karled.

I never expected to win as many things as I did. And by “win” I mean paying $270. I was looking to win the one painting I liked – a Mediterranean scene. Sure, I got the painting (a print, actually) for only $20, which is mind-boggling to me. In fact, I was the only bidder on that item. But I also won:

• A Jamaican food basket, including Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Jamaican soda, jerk seasoning, and cinnamon tea.
• Two tickets to Sea World in Orlando. I think I’ll be going there this weekend. Also came with some candy and a stuffed animal.
• Four tickets to Busch Gardens in Tampa. Been wanting to go there for a long time. They’ve got some cool rides I’m wanting to jump on. This will come in handy because my sister and BIL and nieces can all come and all we’ll have to pay for are the girls’ tickets. Altogether these tickets are worth more than the $270 I paid for everything.
• A movie entertainment package. Includes two tickets to one of the local movie theaters, two medium popcorns, and two drinks. Also a bunch of free movie rentals from Blockbuster and Movie Gallery.
• Free acupuncture treatment, $65 value.

Yeah, that $270 hurt. But I know it will go to good use and the sudden strain on my finances gave me good reason to go for my free acupuncture treatment.

Friday, I finally called Shelli (the acupuncturist and also a friend of my mom’s) and made my appointment for Monday morning. Showed up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed – OK, not really, I’m never bright-eyed in the morning. Still, it was 10:30, so that’s not too awfully bad.

I’d never had acupuncture done before, so I was really looking forward to it. First you fill out a bunch of medical information, including a list of your ailments. I wrote down my troubles with sleeping, depression, stress, and diabetes. She can also treat you for smoking, too, but I’m not quite ready to give those up yet. Maybe after TequilaCon, which is an exciting yet stressful time for me.

Or after BlogHer. Hmm.

Anyway, after she reviewed my info, we went off to one of the treatment rooms, the one with the gorgeous window view of the lake. Here’s one shot I took (oh, hell yeah, I brought the camera!) of that view where a big bird was walking around the yard. A heron, I think, though I’m about as familiar with bird species as I am methods of exercise.

Then I took off my sandals and got up on the table, where Shelli quickly checked my pulse. There was a gentle CD playing, lots of pan flute kind of stuff. If you’ve never heard “Up Where We Belong” on the flute, you’re missing out. I nearly fell asleep just walking into the room.

Shelli took out the needles, which I didn’t really see until I downloaded the photos from the camera, and started strategically sticking them in various places…my ears, the top of my head, my wrists, and my feet. Really didn’t feel a thing, which didn’t surprise me so much, since they’re much thinner than the insulin needles I use and I don’t typically feel those, either.

Here you can see the needle in the top of my head. Well, you can see it better if you click on the photo. I’m also happy to report that, looking at that photo, I still have plenty of hair up top.

It was very comfortable up on the table, the temparature was warm but not too much so. And Shelli put some device under my neck, which didn’t vibrate so much as it kind of tapped in succession. Some Chinese medicine thing, where the rhythms tap against different places on your body. It felt weird at first but then it was rather hypnotic for me and I felt myself drifting off to sleep not long after Shelli left the room.

I never quite fell all the way asleep, but I know I could have. At the halfway point, she came in and moved the tapping device to the other side of my neck and shoulders. “Sleeping?” she asked. And I groggily said, “Mmm, not quite, but very relaxed.”

Amazingly, I wasn’t aware of how much time was passing. This was partially because (as I mentioned the other day) I had my watch broken by a fucking parrot at Cypress Gardens. So I wasn’t wearing a wrist watch, which makes me feel rather naked and out of place most times. But it was so relaxing with the music and the temperature and the pretty view outside and the gentle tapping rhythms that the time zoomed by and I had no way of really telling how much time had passed.

I got there at 10:30 and when I walked out the door to my car, desperately in need of new brakes, it was nearly noon. Surprise!

Didn’t feel a thing when she removed the needles, either.

I felt very calm and soothed after the whole thing was over and could have easily gone back home to take a nap, especially since I’d only gotten four hours of sleep that night. But instead I had to go to Midas to get my brakes done. Owch, $325 later, I felt like I needed another accupuncture treatment.

But that will have to come another day.

I highly recommend acupuncture to anyone who wants to seek it out. I know a number of people who swear by it, having cured everything from severe headaches to body aches and even high blood pressure. If Shelli was also a massage therapist, I’d seriously think of courting her for marriage.