Dave and Pete try out the latest fad, Cryotherapy.

Julie, Dave and Pete recently attended Fit Con, a two day expo in STG where vendors displayed everything fitness and health related.  It was fun and entertaining.  They had many exhibits, but the most fun was the American Ninja Warrior Course.  Dave tried the log roll.  This is where you wrap your arms and legs around a log that is set up on a track.  Once you take off the log rolls down a slope and you spin with it.  If you can hang on, you get to ride it to the end.  If not, the centrifugal force tosses you off.  Dave rode it to the end, but was dizzy for about the next five minutes.  Not recommended for anyone who suffers from motion sickness which he does.  Dave has a new respect for the contestants on TV who get off of the log roll only to jump into the next stage of the race.  There were a number of hanging and climbing obstacles that were very tantalizing, but Dave is recovering from elbow tendonitis and had to pass.  He did try the warped wall which was only 12 feet high.  The one on TV is 14 feet.  After several valiant attempts, he was finally worn out and never made it over the wall.  As Dave says, there are no points for almost making it.  Next year.

One of the vendors was offering discounts on the most amazing treatment that does away with all aches and pains, helps in recovery from injuries and burns calories long after the treatment is over.  What is this miracle?  Cryotherapy  In simple terms, all that I am capable of, they put you in a tube and fill it with nitrogen gas, which is cold, VERY cold.  In fact the gas surrounding your body is -260 degrees F.  I know that sounds unbearable, and for some people it is.  It last 3 minutes.  During that 3 minutes the blood in your body rushes to your core in order to keep you from dying.  When the 3 minutes is finally up, the blood rushes back increasing circulation to your extremities, and bringing all kids of good stuff with it.  They provide socks and slippers as well as gloves which you will be very happy to have as the cold gas washes over your fingers.  Besides that, we only wore our skivvies.

With our discount coupons in hand, we arrived at the office early Saturday morning.  We signed all the wavers which may have overstated the dangers of exposing your body to -260 degrees.  I mean really, nothing is going to fall off, is it?  I decided to go first in order to put Pete at ease with the process.  After undressing and putting on the socks, slippers and gloves, I entered the booth which was already pretty cold.  I rang the buzzer that it was safe for the attendant, Pete and Julie to witness the process.  The attendant cranked up the gas and down the temperature as soon I was covered in freezing gas.  I will have to be honest, it was not all that bad.  I have been colder in a ski lift line.  None the less, I whined and complained to enhance the experience for Pete who was by this time white as nitrogen gas. Before I knew it the time was up and now it was Pete's turn.  We waited for Pete to change his clothes and enter the booth.  After several minutes of not hearing anything, I bravely entered the room ahead of the ladies not knowing what I might see.  What I saw was Pete struggling to get into the booth as he had to stand on a stack of pads that they put in the booth to keep vertically challenged people's heads above the layer of nitrogen gas.  It was also apparent that Pete had not listened to the attendants warnings as he had not donned the gloves.  We eventually got him sorted out and soon it was time to start the gas.  Pretty quickly Pete began to feel the full effects.  In response to the cold he began moving with the confines of the booth trying to keep warm.  Here are some pictures of his experience...

This is not so bad...

I think I like my body parts going numb!

Ummm, how much longer?  I miss my boys...

Don't ever ask me to do this again...

Well, the big question is how did it work?  To tell you the truth, neither Pete or I experienced the advertised effects.  While it was a fun and highly entertaining experience, we do not think we will be going back.  Besides, there are so many new gimmicks to try!  We will keep you posted!

P.S., Pete has not "fully" recovered if you know what I mean...

Cookie Transitioning!!!

I understand that this is a highly personal subject, but I just had to share it with you loyal blog readers.  If you are not "loyal", please stop reading immediately.  Ok, Cookie approached Julie and I several weeks ago on the subject of transitioning.  Honestly, at 69 years of age, I was shocked.  Julie on the other hand was not surprised as she knows her mother had some issues and concerns about the identity which she was given rather than selected herself.  She patiently explained that she feels like she has been living a lie and would finally like to let people know who she really is.  I do not believe she has shared this with the other kids or family members, so please do not say a word.

We spoke with Pete in private to get his perspective since he would be impacted on a daily basis by this change.  "Don't make me no never mind" was his immediate response. "I have known for some time that she was unhappy living a lie and wanted to get the truth out"  While I may have quoted him, his statement was less elegant and somewhat incomprehensible so I took some liberties so you could get his point.  Julie was not as supportive of the change.  "Why tell us now after all this time?"  "She has had plenty of opportunities to transition before this and did not do anything.  I think she should just remain who she has been and deal with it".  As many of you may know, Julie suffers from Nopathy.  This is a complete lack of sympathy and empathy in some but not all instances.  I on the other hand have enough sympathy and empathy for the two of us, so I am reaching out to you, the blog readers to get your input.  Should we transition Cookie's name to PJ, short for pajamas, the clothing she wears most days, all day long?  She is very keen on the idea of being known as PJ rather than Cookie by the reader's of this blog.  I personally hate to change it, but will let you help me decide.  Also, no hacking by the Russians please.  I want honest input....not like our election!

Here is a sample of the blog using PJ instead of Cookie.

As many of you know, we told PJ that Pete had been mauled by a bobcat and sprayed by a skunk on our recent mountain bike trip.  If you did not get it, it was only a joke.  His leg was scratched by the rear sprocket and the only stink on Pete was of his own making.  It did not seem to impact PJ as she was most concerned with the TV not working rather than Pete's welfare.  Well, on a recent "family vacation" with Pete and PJ, we had another opportunity to play a harmless prank on her.  We love to tease her and she seems to enjoy it...most of the time.  Some people have taken offense at our teasing, but I guess that is their opinion and they are wrong.  PJ's phone was eating up the battery life for some reason.  She borrowed Pete's phone and promptly lost it in our car without knowing it...  I of course found it among the crumbs left by the kids (PJ and Pete) in the backseat and put it in my pocket.

"Pete, where is the phone?"
"You had it the last time I saw it."  "Don't tell me you lost it already!!!"
"I gave it back to you!!!!"
"Like h3ll you did!!!!!"

I of course kept quiet.  Only Julie knew the real location of the phone.  The next morning we walked to Starbucks with Pete while PJ caught up on beauty sleep.  15 hours of sleep is normal isn't it?  Anyway, I confessed I had his phone all along.  As we enjoyed our drinks, we plotted our next move.

Later that morning when PJ came to our room, I suggested she try their home phone in case someone found the phone.  I know, it is prosperous that someone would find the phone and get their home number from it, but soon she was calling the answering machine.  This is what she heard...

Hello, this is Sergeant Lee of  the San Francisco police department. We have in our possession a cell phone registered to a Paul Vernon Moss. I regret to inform you that the phone was found on the body of a homeless man on Market street early this morning. We need to speak with Mr Moss as soon as possible. Please contact us at 415-707-9025

"OMG!!!  The police have Pete's phone!  It was on a dead person!!!"  "Call our room and get him down here to hear this!!!"

Pete quickly came down and listened to the voice message that I left on their home phone.
Pete thought about it for a second and then said, "Well, I think you better call them, it was you who lost the phone."

I jumped in and confessed we had set up the entire scenario as a joke. Surprisingly, PJ smiled and asked about who's idea it was and who's voice was on the message.  She is a pretty good sport.  We do have an agreement that if Pete expires on one of our rides or hikes, we will contact her immediately as she plans to purchase a new Cadillac before Pete reaches room temperature.  That is no joke!

Here are some pictures of PJ's PJ obsession....

Pete is caught putting way PJ's, PJ's...  She has three drawers of them all arranged like the one in the picture!

Julie and PJ organizing the PJ drawers.  OK, only Julie is organizing.  PJ's went into three piles...keep, donate, toss.  Yes, some of the PJ's were so bad even people in Haiti would not want them.

After Julie's magic!

I can even make these PJ's look good, if I do say so myself! 

Oh, one more thing....  Cookie or PJ is recovery from knee replacement surgery.  She is doing great!