Gettin' old

On Sunday, I was sitting peacefully in my living room, reading the latest issue of the Washington City Paper and waiting for the other members of my book club* to come over. I started to get up to pull the little wannabe quiches I'd made out of the oven and as I leaned forward to hoist myself off my chaise lounge, I felt something go sproing in my back. Wuh-oh.

Friends, that is never a good thing. The spasm got worse throughout book club and by Monday morning, I couldn't handle standing up. I felt ridiculous - like I was an Old Old Person - but I had to call in sick for work as a result of my back. I'm sure my colleagues were like jesus, if you want to have a three-day weekend, just take one already - enough with the made-up illnesses! Except mine was for real. Lame, yes, but an honest-to-god ailment.

At any rate, copious applications of Tiger Balm put me on the road to recovery. Thanks dude!

* Our book club's latest discussion was T.C. Boyle's The Tortilla Curtain. That book is one of the best depictions of race relations in Los Angeles, even if it is nearly a decade old, and a great read to boot (think I finished it in under three hours). Check it out.