Not complaining can kill you!

Hedberg-hey



I just got back from a fantastic mini-vacation, magnificently planned, I must say, to have a maximum amount of fun for a minimal amount of time and money. All went swimmingly, except for one little hitch; I couldn't turn my head. I've had a little problem with tension in my shoulders for about six months or so, but lately it's gotten worse, so I went and had a massage, which I enjoyed. The masseuse rubbed my neckial region and then told me that my glutes were activated. Of course, I thanked him politely; I'm nothing if not polite. He informed me that active glutes are not a good thing, and spent the rest of the session gouging his elbows into the fat of my ass. I was bruised for much of the rest of the week, which completely took my mind off the fact that my shoulders felt like they had been cranked up to my ears and been superglued there. I would have just sucked it up - I'm nothing if not a sucker -but my friends kept making fun of me whenever I tried to turn my head. "Ha ha!" they laughed. " She looks like that robot from "Lost in Space!" Hey, Barney Rubble! Where's your neck, Barney? Ha ha!"

My friends are hilarious.

Still, I figured I couldn't spend the rest of my life never looking left, so I decided to do something about it. I'm nothing if not a decider.

I looked up my old bud from college -I'll call him Jon, because that's his name - because he is an expert in relaxation. In fact, my most in my most vivid memories of him from those days, I always picture him in bed. In the days since, he has continued his higher education, and become a massage therapist, and now he knows lots of stuff about muscles, tendons and connective tissue. He was kind enough to clear his schedule and give me a bit of the magic touch.

I expected candles, water noises (always makes me have to peepee), scented face pillows, and soft, whispering touches, and experience from which I would emerge as loose as the elastic in Britney Spears waistband (Get it? On account she don't wear no panties! They're never on, get it?!) Alas, none of this was to be. Jon proceeded to tell me everything that is wrong with me, and Lordy Lou, I am jacked up! I have pinched nerves, swelling around my L7 (a swollen lesbian band?), Darth Vadars Spatula, TMJ, REM's , Sphygmoidal Redaction, Carpet Tunnels, Primae Faciae, and Pectoralis. There is a chance I misunderstood some of the things he told me, though he explained very patiently; I was just so OVERWHELMED by everything, and it was hard to focus. I do recall that he said that I had some muscle tone under my fat, which I took as a bold flirtation - flattering, yes, but inappropriate under the circumstances. Anyhoo, Jon was as shocked as I was at the extent of my tension. Muscles that should feel like rubber bands felt like piano wire, and at one point, when he pressed a spot in my jaw, I burst into tears. How did I get this way?

That's right, ladies and gents! You guessed it; I haven't been complaining enough! It is just NOT good for you to contain your poisonous stress levels, and if you don't eject that venom onto society as a whole, it backs up and clogs your system. You need to roto-rooter yourself with a good dose of cacking and get that stuff out of you! Take your lambda probe and clean out your bitch-filter! Let it fly, people! Don't hold that stuff in!

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Of course, there are other things you can do to reduce tension. One of those things is to relax. In order to facilitate this, I have decided to talk like Matthew McConaughey or Mitch Hedberg, two guys who actually sound a lot alike, except for the first is stoned and stupid, and the second is just stoned. And also deceased. Anyway, when you talk like that, it's hard to be uptight, alright, alright. I am also considering developing a prescription drug addiction, but so far my doctor hasn't been altogether cooperative in this venture. I am definitely going to take more vacations, because the fun is good for me. Finally, more massage is key. Maybe next time another human being touches me, I can bear it without sobbing. In the meantime (Mean time? What does that even mean? Average time? Aggressively unkind time? Significant time?), I have a new challenge for myself: chillax and be happy, and when I'm sad, frustrated or angry, or if my feelings are hurt, I'm telling. So, I'll listen to your complaining if you listen to mine. Even if it's boring. Anybody want in on this action? I'm nothing if not generous with my solutions to life's little problems.

Poem that Complains About the Heat, by Liliane Richman:

The Killer Heat

We've been in the hundreds
a couple weeks lasting
so unfair
fraying memory
of the changeling Spring
who lulled me
into believing
it would stay forever


This is what it looks like when things are going swimmingly.

This is what it looks like when things are NOT going so swimmingly.

QUESTION TO PONDER: When fish are whacked, do they say, "Yeah, Louie the Fin? He's sleepin' with the humans, now!"?

ANOTHER QUESTION: How would you punctuate that last question? I'm nothing if not puctual...