Blooms and Tunes at the Zoo

As the winter winds down, I, like most in Cincinnati, are itching to get out and experience any bit of decent weather. So, my friends and I decide to find something to do on a gorgeous Thursday night. Voila, Blooms and Tunes at The Cincinnati Zoo. http://www.cincyzoo.org/

BTW - why is it I cannot resist singing the song...at The Cincinnati Zoo, Zoo, Zoo...Family fun for everyone at The Cincinnati Zoo...catchy I guess, but that doesn't explain why I can't resist saying STELLA everytime I see a Stella Artois logo. Anyway, I digress....

The three of us meet then follow to the zoo. If you arrive after 5pm, the event is free, except for the parking ($6.50). Being on a budget, I elect to park on a nearby street and walk in. We are unsure of our destination once inside the Zoo, so we begin walking toward the music we hear in the distance. (I'm assuming if I paid to park, I would have been given directions to the exact location.) The landscape was dotted with beautiful flowers and some very friendly Peacock so I didn't mind not knowing where we were going...it was an adventure!

It wasn't hard to miss, the crowd was much bigger than I expected. The Faux Frenchmen were performing and I really enjoyed them and the Psychodots always impress. The crowd was a nice mixture of older folks, families and singles. Being a single person I was delighted that I had a chance to mingle with some new faces and run into some I already knew...we all did.

Quite a few people were being entertained by the Carousel to the left of the stage. We passed a bar on the way in that was serving wine (unsure about mixed drinks) and soda and food were also available at the concession stand. We stood near the concession line and I heard an exclamation from someone in line "Since a bottle of water and a draft beer were the same price ($3), who would drink the water?"

One warning would be to bring your own chair.

My final thoughts: This event only happens in April on Thursdays, so I would suggest getting out to the Zoo, zoo, zoo because this is one event you don't want to miss!

Overall rating 5 on a scale of 5.

Becoming ill and no health insurance

As I enter my second month of unemployment, I awake on a Sunday not feeling well. By Monday, I am quite aware I have either a cold or allergies. To negate the symptoms, I run to the medicine cabinet to find Musinex DM which I take for 2 days along with Nyquil Cough at night. The symptoms are stubborn as I receive no relief. Assuming I have allergies and not the beginnings of a cold, I switch to Zyrtec on Wednesday.

In the early afternoon, I remember I have a gift certificate to The Relaxation Center and since I'm meeting my friend Carolyn to catch up on Friday for Happy Hour near there, I checked out their website. http://www.relaxationcenter.com/ My initial thought was a massage might make me feel better, but to my delight, I find they have a Sinus Massage. Excited, I make an appointment. I discontinue use of meds on Thursday and Friday.

I arrive on Friday for my appointment (I'm unfamiliar with Loveland but it was easy to find) and complete some paperwork. A young man named Aaron came out and took me into the little room off the waiting area to discuss my issues. I explained my week, then described my symptoms: watering eyes, stuffy/runny nose, headache and sinus pressure. He turns on music and then excuses himself.

The heated massage table, dim lights and music help me to relax. Aaron re-enters the room and places a warm compress that has an evergreen smell and places it across my eyes. Wow, it feels so good!! While the compress works its magic, Aaron begins massaging my feet and each individual toe then moves up to my hands and fingers; then he removes the compress. Oh, there is a cold rush upon my face, then I realize I can breathe...not through a half of one nostril, but full on breathing. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Aaron begins massaging around my shoulder blades, shoulders and clavicle then moves up my neck. Now I'm like putty, but ah - what is that sensation - pleasure or pain? Oh yeah, I remember this from the chiropractor...both. Aaron has found a point at the base of my skull where a bunch of toxins have decided to gather and he is massaging it to get them to disperse. Once he is done, I am relieved, not from the pain, but I realize that I had been carrying stress in my neck and shoulders and I am really feeling good and loose (physically, not morally).

I figured he was done, but then he began massaging my whole head, temples, jaw and face. Wow, I know I keep saying this, but seriously Wow! He found another one of those knots around my jaw area and now I believe the dentist that I must grind my teeth when I'm stressed because when Aaron was done, the pressure (which I didn't realize I had) was gone. Now he's done and leaves me to collect myself.

Aaron brought me some water and explained that most sinus issues can be minimalized by this kind of massage. It turns out I'm not handling the stress of being unemployed as well as I thought. Go figure.

I felt awesome when I left and was able to breathe perfectly well, slept well, didn't take any meds, and had only mild haziness which slowly dissipated by the 6th day.

One word of warning, don't plan on meeting anyone afterward without a good hat. Oh, another warning, the massage releases all the icky stuff and it needs to be coaxed out of your system with lots and lots of water...not alcohol. ;-) BTW - thanks to the awesome staff who also gave me spot on directions to my happy hour destination!!!

Final thoughts: I don't have health insurance and the $40 I spent on a half hour massage was far cheaper than the OTC meds, a doctor's appointment and a script. Also, I am an advocate of not using medications to mask the symptoms, but to figure out what is causing them and eradicate the cause.

Overall, I give this experience a 4.8 out of 5.