I feel a little dishonest putting this one up. The truth is, the raw footage in this movie is dated September 16th, 2008. That was a long time ago--I really haven't been on the pole since.

I missed almost two weeks of practice because I was out of town at a family wedding and very busy at work.

And...uh...well then there was the back spasm. Not on the pole.... not bike riding...but sitting in front of my computer writing an e-mail. Has anybody else had anything as ridiculous and humiliating as this happen to them? You are sitting in front of your desk and an evil force squeezes your back so hard you fall on the ground and can't evn breathe for five seconds?

I'm pretty sure that two seven hour drives in two days had a little something to do with this.

Oh yes, the whole thing about stretching---NEVER stretching. I swear from now on I will listen to the smart women in my life who have warned me about exercising and lifting weights but failing to stretch.

I keep my politics out of pole--but a friendly little argument between my wife and I over a certain American political contest a few months back may illustrate this point. She was supporting the lady, I was supporting the guy.

"Why is it," she asked, "that a woman can say something smart and sensible a thousand times and nobody pays it the least bit of attention, then some guy comes along, says the exact same thing--and suddenly he's a genius...?"

Point taken, ladies.

Laurie, fellow polers....you were right. I was wrong!

Three days of hot tubbing have brought me back to life. I have set my alarm 15 minutes earlier. I watched all of Veena and Fleur's stretch videos. I do a routine on the mat every morning now.

One day my index finger will touch my big toe. Just wait, you'll see:

Because I'm going to post it on You-Tube!


Joel