Gardisil, aging, acro, a song

[flexagon]

Medical news: Gardisil 9 (protecting against the 9 most common strains of HPV) is now recommended for adults up to 45. This is a big change from the old "up to 26" recommendation, and sexually active 27+ folk should look into it! I am.

Hope: on Saturday I went to a dance performance and ended up sitting next to a 57-year-old woman who has a gymnastics and ballet background, and still does handstands and cartwheels most days. (When I asked, she said that she can still do splits). So she's my new proof of concept, and I want to be her in due time. My own splits have been going well lately, since I've gotten more committed to doing them twice a week, so I'd say I'm on track. Just ~18 years to go.

Dress rehearsal for next weekend's acro performance went well! I believe now that the thing we have made is actually audience-pleasing. After a million runs with an audience of a single coach, it's reassuring to know that we can be confident in our choreography; all we have to do is execute it.

This is my new earworm -- very dark and religious-style spooky. Someone else is doing a rope act to it, in the same show where I'm doing acro.

Comments

[apfelsingail]

I saw the Gardisil news! I talked to my doc about it when we were deciding what to take out and leave in, actually. She said it hasn't filtered down to practitioners yet, but it's one reason I opted to keep my cervix.

[coraline]

oo, good note to ask my doctor if i want to upgrade to the more-varieties gardasil!

[flexagon]

If you do, all the added protection will be for more of the strains that cause cervical cancer; no more wart strains than are covered in Gardisil 4 (namely, strains 6 and 11).

[railwaymadness]

I am hoping the new gardasil recommendations will mean it is covered by insurance the next time I see the doctor but I'll probably get it even if it's not covered (barring truly ludicrous cost).

Especially if imaginary Leonard Cohen is cooing in my ear.

[drwex]

You say "very dark and religious-style spooky" and I just click the link without looking. Well, yeah, it's Leonard Cohen.

This is one of my favorites of his and yet I haven't listened to it in like a year, so thank you for that.

[drwex]

I write the following assuming that it's news to you. If I'm telling you things you already know, I apologize.

The core of this song, which is explicitly Cohen talking to G-d, is "Hineni". In Hebrew, this is a special word, used only a handful of times in the Bible. Each time it's used, the speaker is someone central and they are speaking directly to G-d. Like, when Moses encounters the burning bush and G-d calls to Moses, the response is "Hineni".

I means, trivially, "I'm here" or "here I am" but that misses the import of it. Hineni is about being in a place totally, wholly, and in readiness. Hineni is something you say when you recognize you are at a turning point in your life.

There's a prayer written around it (*looks it up*) dating back to the 16th century that is said/sung on Yom Kippur. There's a lot to be said about that, too, and its use and meaning but I'm still not certain if I'm telling you things you already know or don't want to know so I'll stfu.

[flexagon]

I did not know those things and don't mind learning, so thank you! I want to listen to the rest of the 2016 album this song is from, too, but haven't had a chance yet.