Power Balance LLC

14 Jan

It is very sad, to me, the debunking of a good company.  In all honesty I wanted to write, “defunking”, not debunking.  Because the company, Power Balance, which as of this past Tuesday laid off my husband and almost the entire originating team of people, is not debunked, it is defunked.  Though according to Webster and other word enthusiasts “defunk” is not a word.  Shall I move out of my circle of nonsense and give it to you straight?  …I’ll give it my best shot, though this is one of those posts that might just be written for me and nobody else.  Which is why defunked will stay in.

The take down:  AUSTRALIA

There is a “watch-dog” organization in Australia that dissected the advertisement campaign of the Power Balance company to find it had broken an Australian advertising rule.  This group of dogs decided it was their mission to take down the company instead of correct its error.  Granted, the legal department back here in the states was to blame for the oversight, though the take down hardly seems a fitting judgement for the crime.  And right now I have forgotten the written verbiage that sunk the ship, but I do remember reading it (before Cole had surgery last March), and thinking to myself, “really, this is the hullabaloo?”.  Well regardless of my opinion or that of others, the Australians (or the leering canines) had deemed the infraction severe enough to engage a class action law suit against Power Balance.  And the result has been catastrophic.  The legal fees alone were enough to cause the powers that be to file chapter 11, bankruptcy.  The court date was back in November, and though at the onset the outcome seemed to please the original owners, what has followed has changed their beloved company to an unrecognizable state.

Removing of the Funk:  LAYING OFF

The company was a group of individuals who were enthusiastic about who they worked for and what they did.  It was a family–of sorts.  As a family we (yes, the “extended’s” of the employees were considered part of the fold) worked together for charitable and philanthropic causes, played together at picnics, and partied together at celebrations.  Of course work was always the main focus, but when you’re having a good time and enjoying what you do, it is an indistinguishable line–that of work and play.  And sadly, most of the individuals who began the journey together, have been let go together as well.  Thus the company has been defunked.

I won’t say Power Balance has been debunked, because I have come the long road to being a believer in the effectiveness of its product.  Was I grateful Brian was employed by a company?  Yes.  Did that appreciation depend on my belief in the product? No.  Though I remember almost 10years back when Troy and his brother Josh (friends of ours) came out of the water from surfing and showed Esther and I their amazing little hologram sticker.  At that time it hadn’t yet found its home in a wrist band, so they were merely demonstrating their new found technology as a single, round, holographic sticker.  Esther and I laughed at their presentation, and they graciously took our jeers.

As Brian became one of the integral players on the Power Balance team, I continued to take my time to defend the product and its claims.  Even as I was witness to dramatic improvement in the balance of several close friends and family, I still remained a skeptic and felt the little wrist band couldn’t be of any use to me personally.  Well lo and behold, I eventually crossed over to the group of believers as Esther showed me that the band improved my agility.  It is true, it did.  It is also true that when I wear my Power Balance bracelet while exercising I don’t experience pain in my knees or hip.  And when I forget to put it on, and go out for a nice long hike, midway through my excursion I start to feel a tightness in either of those areas.  So here I am sold on the product (for I was sold on the owners long ago), yet now the company is no longer a part of our family.

When I think of the spiraling devastation which came in the name of “keeping a watchful eye out for the general public”, I can’t help but feel there was a gross oversight on the part of the Aussie-dogs (no connection to the footwear company).  For there are many a “general public” here in the states who are now filling out the dreaded unemployment application, who know through first hand experience and second hand testimonials that the company they worked for and its product was definitely in the interest of the people…all people.

The product remains (though now I will have to purchase my bracelet instead of bother my husband to pick one up for me at the office), though the balance of powers has shifted.  “Pero asi es”, or “c’est la vie”, or “such is life”, and on to the next adventure!

Brian meeting Clay Matthews

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Acupuncture–take II & III

10 Jan

How is it I can sleep with needles inserted into my skin?  This is stuff of gross spy/conspiracy type movies…or so I thought!  I mean you should see me…lying on my side, needles from feet to neck (to hands and fingers), holding jars, and completely relaxed.  In fact, on Saturday I woke up midway through–and fell back to sleep.  “Wowwie Zowwie”, is all I can say.  Then yesterday I had another treatment (it was scheduled for Cole and mine was scheduled for today, but he asked if we could flip flop, so I was back there yesterday).  Guess who also came along to meet our newest favorite doctor?  …little Esther Rose.  Let me assure you, though she is small in size, she is one self assured power house of a focused girl.  Because I took on Cole’s treatment appointment, Esther met with Dr. Li (for the first time) by herself.  Esther is also afflicted with migraine’s and other hormonally induced irritants, and this past year we had met with 3 female pediatricians who left Esther feeling like a inconsequential element in her own health.  Their advice to her was narrow minded and condescending, so she took up my offer to meet with Dr. Li.

I will tell you how I know Esther is completely capable of handling herself, when Dr. Li came in to take out my needles, she exclaimed with much excitement and hand gestures, “Your daughter is amazing.  She is so adorable, so focused.  She knows so well her life and direction.  My son is 17 and he hardly knows anything.  I am so impressed with her, I just love her.”  Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dr. Li…get in line!  Esther has had that effect on people since she was a wee babe in arms.  No Joke!  Esther is also a huge baby when it comes to pain.  She only just this past fall had the courage to get her ears pierced.  She was so afraid of the pain, it took her a very long time to get the courage to go through with the piercing.  Which is why when she said she was actually going to go through with, I didn’t believe her and passed her off to my sister.  If you know my sister, you follow through.  Period.

Well Esther felt so confident with Dr. Li, and so included in the “plan of action” for her health, that she scheduled her own appointment for acupuncture for today.  So this afternoon, Esther will take her brother and they both will have treatments at the same time.  …glad I’m not going to be there!

I will tell you that I have been dealing with a migraine (the same one from last week) trying to take over my life.  Now I can’t tell you that one treatment with Dr. Li has been like “magic”.  But I can tell you that I am experiencing a change.  In the past, with a hard hitting, aggressive headache like this one has been, I would not have had as much relief as I am currently experiencing.  In all actuality I have only dealt with debilitating pain and vision difficulties twice in the past 8 days.  Migraine sufferers will understand the significance of that news…those of you who are blessed to be headache or migraine free will just have to take my word for it.  Good changes are happening, and I cling to the hope that she will help me become a non-sufferer of head pain.

And to keep my life ever exciting, as the good Lord likes to do, as a result of Brian (my husband) being laid off we are rolling ever faster in our treatments because our insurance benefits will likely end come February 1st.  Dr. Li is in the “know”, thus the three of us musketeers are on an accelerated treatment plan—which simply means, we are getting as many and as much done now as we possibly can.

I suppose if we begin to resemble Rain-bird sprinklers, while drinking water, we will know it is time to stop.  In the meantime, it is full speed ahead.

P.s. Sorry I’ve got to go without proof reading…catch my errors if you can. 😉

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Migraine City

5 Jan

No doubt the readers of this blog are aware I suffer from migraine headaches.  I have had this plight for at least 16 years, probably longer.  I have fought the battle of the headache with varying techniques as well as varying medications.  The techniques I employ are basic…lie down, apply ice pack over forehead and eyes, and sleep.  The medications are also basic…a cocktail mixture of ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine.  I once tried a prescription medication which essentially numbed my brain and dulled the pain.  Both my technique and medicinal regimens require my life to stop, or to slow to a pace unrealistic for a mother.  So I have lived and worked, on many–many, occasions in severe pain.

I don’t know why I hadn’t considered acupuncture in the past…perhaps I wasn’t open to the suggestion, therefore no one suggested it.  Perhaps I was just “making it through” and didn’t take the time to contemplate alternatives to western medicine suggestions.  I don’t know, I can’t remember!

But yesterday I embarked on the road to recovery (hopefully) through the art of eastern medicine, acupuncture.  Yes, I did receive one treatment of acupuncture from Dr. Zhu (www.scalpacupuncture.org) on our last day in northern California (see post title, “A New Believer”, http://wp.me/p1NK3O-29), and as nervous as I was to receive that treatment, it did take the migraine from me and made it possible for me to drive home without landing in the hospital.  The needles from Dr. Zhu were placed on the top of my scalp only.  The needles yesterday, from Dr. Li, were not.

According to Dr. Li (here in my local world of south Orange County, CA), my body is very blocked–my energies–whatever that means.  I am honestly too scared to ask.  I come from the following school of thought, “Ignorance Is Bliss”.  I’m not exactly the ostrich with its head in the sand, I am more the ostrich who recognizes the beauty of the sand, its purpose, and its comfort.  So while I have bombarded Dr. Li with many a question, concerning her East meets West practices, and other personal questions she has patiently obliged me enough to answer.  I know when to keep my mouth shut…and that is in regard to my energies being blocked!

She did explain that the energies are like layers of an onion and need to be pulled back to reveal the true issue, and my treatment yesterday was the beginning of layer removal.  So she had me lay down on my side, I held a small jar with a few vials of liquid in one hand.  She strategically placed pillows in between my knees, and under my arm and head.  Then she said she would have the other (male) doctor place the needles as “his technique is more relaxing”.  “More relaxing?”, I asked.  “Yes, more relaxing.”  …at that point, my glands began to twinge and my nervous system moved from mach 1 to mach 5 (metaphorically speaking of course, for my nerves were not solely dependent upon temperature and atmospheric composition as in the aviation mach system—well come to think of it, maybe they were!).

Anyway, the other doctor placed the needles, put an infrared light over my back and feet, left me with an emergency pull chord, and then told me to relax before he left the room and closed the door behind him.  There I was, lying on my side holding a vile filled jar, pillows in place, pull chord wrapped around my fingers, and needles placed in my hand, my legs, my back, my neck, and my ankles.  Within 30 seconds of his departure and my alone state, I felt claustrophobic.  All of a sudden, as I felt I couldn’t move without causing a problem for myself, my head was filled with questions…”how long do I stay here?”  “under what circumstances do I pull the chord?”  “what am I supposed to feel?”, etc.

Amidst the whirling of thoughts, questions, and anxiety, I somehow fell asleep for I awoke in a jolt which moved my entire body causing me to move some of the needles, causing me to feel a slight discomfort.  Well since I didn’t know how long I had been lying there, and since Cole, my niece Hannah, and the dog Piper were waiting for me in the car, I decided it was a good time to pull the chord.  …in came Dr. Li.  She told me that is how they like it, for their patients to fall asleep and when they awake to pull the chord.  I was relieved to know I chose correctly.  Dr. Li would like me to have treatment twice a week for a couple of weeks, in order to make the migraines leave me permanently.

Funny thing is, as much as I want to be headache free, I am still a skeptic in my acupuncture pursuit…but I will forge on.  I don’t think Hannah and Cole will accompany me to my next session, however.  Apparently I kept them waiting for two hours, and they haven’t finished letting me hear about it!

So the voyage has begun, and we are traveling this “new” road of treatment together.  Let us all stay hopeful.

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