Recap: “Never underestimate the importance of having fun”
Last weekend, my classmates and I went out to the historic Fort Worth Stockyards and celebrated a long week of crushing our exams. We don’t have too much free time, but I’m glad we set some time aside to enjoy ourselves. It was a long night as I didn’t get back to my apartment until 5am… Was this really the best way to reward ourselves? Probably not, but it was worth it.
In 1912, the Stockyards hosted the largest horse and mule market in the U.S. during the First World War. The Stockyards continued to grow throughout the next few decades, reaching a commercial peak during the 1940's.
This week was quite rigorous. I had a skills check for Chiropractic Methods and then a lab practical and lecture exam for Gross Anatomy. I was pleased with the grades that I received on them, especially in the assessments for Gross Anatomy since there was an incredible amount of material covered in the past handful of weeks.
I even performed my first *official* thoracic spine adjustment with doctor supervision on my classmate Peter. The thoracic spine is probably the easiest and most straight forward to adjust, but it was still a great experience to perform it in front of a doctor and even do it pretty damn well. I think this class session of performing applicable treatments truly re-sparked my classmates and I’s desire to keep moving towards our end goal of becoming DCs.
That being said, this week was a wake-up call that school is going to be picking up significantly heading into the second half of the term. Though it isn’t anything that me and my crew aren’t prepared for.
Cheers to making halfway through the term, gang! YKWYA
Economy: “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace”
This past week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) unanimously agreed to reduce oil production by 2 million barrels per day. This decision will help shield and protect oil producers from the uncertain future of the macroeconomic landscape. This also primarily benefits Russia, who is one of the largest oil producers and exporters in the world. A decrease in oil production/exportation will drive the price of oil up, allowing for Russia to profit and fund their war with Ukraine.
What is OPEC? OPEC is an international organization thats job is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.
Who is in OPEC? Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela
On Monday September 26th, a barrel of oil reached a local low of $76/barrel. Following the announcement of OPEC’s plan to slash oil production a few days later, a barrel of oil rose to $93 on October 7th (+22.5% in 9 days). A barrel of oil currently costs $86 as I write this, but I anticipate the prices to continue to rise over the coming weeks and months.
Note: A barrel of oil was $130 at it’s peak in early March
With mid-term elections approaching, the Biden administration will not have many bragging points if oil prices continues to rise. Joe Byron says that there will be “severe consequences” if the countries involved in OPEC do not halt or reverse their plan to slash oil production. But can you blame these other countries for not taking our president seriously?
“Checkmate” — The prince of Saudi Arabia and Vladimir Putin, probably
It’s been nice seeing the price of gasoline dropping every couple days at my local gas station, but I knew that sooner or later, the prices would pivot and rise again. OPEC’s announcement was that pivotal catalyst IMO (supply and demand at its finest). I’d recommend you fill up your gas tanks frequently to avoid the expected higher prices that will come.
My dad would often tell me a quote that his dad, my grandpa, would tell him. It is now my honor to pass on that wisdom to y’all. It goes something like this:
“Your car runs just as well on the top half as the bottom half.”
Conclusion: “Wherever there is a human in need, there is an opportunity for kindness”
This upcoming week, I have three exams; one in Clinical Biomechanics and then lab practicals in Microbiology & Immunology and Physiology. This is what I would consider to be what a low-maintenance week looks like for me at this point.
I have also been routinely getting back in the gym and it feels so good. I have my first intramural basketball game this week and then a flag football tournament in mid-November, so getting back some strength and mobility is just what I need heading into the intramural seasons.
Like I have said in previous posts, I am a big believer is pre-habilitation rather than rehabilitation. Understanding my own body, I know that if I’m going to be doing a lot of running, jumping, cutting, diving, or whatever, I must prepare my body appropriately so that when the real games come, I do not hurt myself. I would prefer to not get hurt playing recreational sports… *knocks on wood* … that would suck.
One of the biggest benefits of going to chiropractic school is that I get to go to the clinic and get adjusted weekly for free. I have recently been utilizing this luxury and my body is very appreciative of it. S/o Sherry.
— tovey.eth