Pain or Poetry?..

Hello all. Here is a link to my handy new blog post on the Streep website. I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.brothersstreep.com/blog/94/Pain-or-Poetry---

Toodle-pip,

andrewiconkerr

Stress. Balls..

We've all been stressed at one stage or another (unless of course you are not an actor, and have a real job far away from the theater). Until recently, stress has just been something that one I learnt to deal with. You get stressed, you perform your anti-stress-technique, you get through it. And it's worked pretty well for me so far. But I never really contemplated the theory behind stress. And there is theory. In fact I'll go so far as to say it's a science. Scientific.

Whilst conducting the majority of my research on http://www.definitelyfact,but possiblyfiction.com I was astonished at what I discovered..

Stress-balls. No, I'm not talking about the balloons filled with flour or beads. Everyone says, "Oh I LOVE stress balls!" when asked, but truth be told they are more frustrating than helpful. You start playing with them and it's great fun, until your competitive side kicks in and suddenly you want to squeeze this thing within an inch of it's existence so that it bursts into a puff of smoke! Unfortunately, no matter how far in you dig your nails, the damn thing never breaks. And this process only ups your heart-rate, making you more stressed. Oh the irony.

When I say "stress-balls" I am referring to the definitely-factual areas on your body that contain these little spheres of nervous-tissue called "stress-balls". These non-metaphorical items are located differently on everyone. Mine, for example, are on my gums just above my teeth. If I don't bush my teeth regularly I get very stressed (as well as halitosis). Some people have stress-balls located on their tongue, triggering gluttonous eating, whereas others have them placed on various muscles, forcing them to go out into the land and workout frantically. Some people even have stressed-balls, but I won't go into that.

As with almost all bodily functions, there is a level of control that needs to be attained. These stress-balls need to be stimulated of course, but I have realized over the years that brushing my teeth 6 times a day during exams is probably going to have an adverse affect on my winning smile in later life.

So now you know a bit more about your body and how it works. I challenge you to find your stress-balls, because if you find your stress-balls ...you have remarkable eyesight!

Toodle-pip,

andrewiconkerr