No two ways about it

trigger point dry needlingToday has been …. intense. Like wow, I thought going back to school would be hard, but I had no idea it would be quite this difficult. I mean, I guess you just kind of fall out of the habit of things, you get stuck in your own little nice, cosy rut and just get good at doing what you’re doing. Throwing myself out of my comfort zone like this seemed like a good idea at the time, but after today, I’m really not to sure about the whole thing.

Today was the first day of my dry needling course. It took ages to find one that looked half decent, and even longer to find the best of the dry needling courses in NZ, but I thought that if I was going to do this, I wouldn’t go in half hearted about it. If you want to commit, then you have to commit completely, to tell yourself that you’re going to stick it through to the end. Otherwise you give yourself an out, an easy way to say ‘oh well, better luck next time’ and retreat back into the safety of your rut. I didn’t want that to happen to me, so I made my mind up that I was going to be the best of the best.

Today did not go as I was hoping. In my mind, as I walked in my casually friendly manner would take over and I’d make instant pals while loving the course material. The reality of the situation is that life is never that easy. I was so nervous I was almost paralysed, and let me tell you, dry needling courses are no picnic. The content is difficult and confusing. It’s a real skill. I know I need to look at it as a challenge, but sometimes that’s difficult.

Today, I was not deterred. I made up my mind, I am going to do this. I need to work harder, better, smarter. Today was not the end but the beginning.

The Net Fiend Will Be Brought to Justice

tennis netsLocals are under constant, mysterious threat from the net-fiend of Keymore, and I’m just the amateur private-eye to solve the case! I now have one case under my belt, an adventure I like to refer to as ‘The Keymore Cat Burglar’. Mrs Price was so worried that her dog was extra hungry all the time and she didn’t know why. I staked out her garden for two days and found that Mog, the next door cat, had been sneaking in and stealing from Zano’s bowl, and Zano was too scared to do anything about it. Problem solved! Now Zano gets fed inside.

I’ve moved onto what people are calling a crime wave involving sports netting. Now, the Keymore Senior Tennis Association takes their sport very seriously, even if they have to cut their games in half because they’re all very old. But some scallywag has been sneaking in every week or so and making off with all recently purchased tennis nets! What a fiend! The elderly folks just want to play some good games of tennis, smash the opposition into oblivion and maybe cool off afterwards with some nice cucumber sandwiches and a spot of tea while they talk about their grandchildren and the economy. But tennis isn’t much if you don’t have tennis netting. Or at least, I assume it’s so; I don’t know much about tennis. Is that the one where you roll balls along the ground? Into nets, I’m guessing?

All I know is that the Tennis Association is a mainstay in Keymore and they don’t deserve this treatment. I will find this net-thief, and I will bring him to justice even though I’m not the police or any sort of law-enforcement! That didn’t stop me from solving the Cat Burglar case, did it? And how hard can it be to follow the guy with an armful of brand new sports netting, dragging it along behind him as he cackles into the night? Sounds like a snap to me.

-E. Brown

Top Class Channel Video Production

corporate videoMy Me-Straw channel is going to take off. This is my year. I can FEEL it. I just got a super good camera, I’ve shifted my desk to it faces the window and so I’m getting loads of natural light, and I’ve been taking notes on the presentation of all the biggest Me-Straw stars. The consistent parts have been ‘BOMBASTIC’ and ‘MOUTH OPEN LOTS’ and ‘LOADS OF SWEARING WHILE ACTING LIKE A VERY SMALL CHILD’, but I’m not over keen on that last part. I think my gaming channel is a bit above. Like, I’ve got a screen-presence. I just need an audience.

I even emailed Melbourne’s biggest gaming channel, RooGames91. And he emailed back! It wasn’t all that helpful, though, but I appreciate him sharing a couple of tips. He said when he was starting out, he was living in his parents’ attic and they were pretty rich, so he just looked around for the best Melbourne videographer money could buy and got his channel going with some real technology clout. Personally, it’s a bit weird, the way he says it. I mean, most of his videos are just him in a little screen-within-a-screen right at the bottom while whatever game he’s playing is right up there as the main focus. Maybe picture-in-picture is a tricky effect to pull off properly, I don’t know. Whatever the case, I think he may have been exaggerating how much the videographers really did. I guess he called them, they came along expecting something a bit more elaborate and he just said that he was starting a gaming channel and needed some lighting tips. I guess videographers really know that stuff well, being part of their job and all. Doesn’t seem necessary though.

Like, I don’t think I need Melbourne’s corporate video production folks just yet. Most of my videos will be the same thing, with me appearing in a tiny window making witty and poignant commentary on whatever game I choose to play on that particular day. I’ll work on sharpening my wit, THEN move onto the fancy stuff.

-Klein

Guess who got accepted?

trigger point dry needlingToday has been absolutely, hands-down amazing. Why, you ask? Well, today is the day I finally found out whether or not I’ve gotten into my course. I know, exciting right? Well, safe to say, I’ve been losing my mind more or less all week, the anticipation has been killing me. I’ve been a total nervous wreck and this morning was the moment of truth.

Naturally, logging on was a challenge in itself. The site crashed completely at least twice, all the handiwork of the inconsiderate trolls who spam the bejeezus out of it just to watch the world burn. However, after a very frustrating half hour, I learned my fate.

I did it! This article that you are reading right now has been written by someone enrolled in one of the best dry needling courses New Zealand has to offer – me!

I know, I know, that probably sounds really conceited, but I don’t think I can express in words just how excited I am about this. I’m serious. My face is literally aching because I’ve been holding the world’s biggest grin on it for the last four hours and I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.

Naturally, my family is just as excited as I am. It’s been a long and hard road getting here, but to be able to say that I’ve finally made it is just incredible. I realise that completing trigger point dry needling courses is not everybody’s dream, but it’s just such a huge achievement for me. And no one can take that away from me. Except for the board of the institute I’m enrolled in, of course, but hopefully they won’t do that.

So, class starts in three months, and I’ve got to be honest here, I don’t think it could be possible for me to be more excited. I’ve reached the maximum level here.