Just came back from a lightning trip to San Diego. The minute I stepped out of the car yesterday when we arrived there, I felt very uncomfortable because of the humidity. Much worst than the last time, I mean. 
 
This morning, even if I had a decent night of sleep, I woke up feeling like I was 80 years old. Not a joint in my body that didn't hurt or feel swollen, I even had a headache - the whole nine yards. The only thing I had in mind was "I want to go home, now!".
 
And indeed, the closer we were getting to the desert, the better I felt, until we arrived and I felt like my old self again.
 
Life has a way... It's quite strange when you think about it. Of all the place where I could have voluntarily moved, Las Vegas would have been among my very last options. Same for my wife. Las Vegas: The place where entertainers come to die. lol
 
I've always loved the north, the seaside, rain, fog, even snow and the cold. Fall was my favorite season.  I love my black clothes, and wearing plenty of them, my suits, my leather jackets and all. I dreamed of England - that's how much I loved crappy wheather! ;)
 
But this dry sand pit has turned out to be the best place for my aging body, and really gave me a shot at a a few extra good miles, a couple of good years. Sometimes I forget just how much better I feel overall since we're here. The old familiar pains vanished gradually, a lot of them did anyway, and I got used to feeling better. Being exposed to them again however, I remember how all those things used to bother me on an ongoing basis. And moving here is probably the best thing which could happen to me at this point.
 
So I guess grateful guy is busy being grateful again. :)

Sheesh Rain!  You're "only" 41 - wait 'til you actually get OLD!  LMAO!
 
Heck, if you merely reach 82 than you still have half your life left to go. 

Ya, you ain't old yet. Better exercise so you can continue to move if moving somewhere else I guess.

 
 

LOL Thanks guys. I know I'm not that old, but still...
 
BTW, I do exercise, pretty intensively. Usually anywhere between 6 to 9 hours a week. Cardio, core training and weight lifting, plus all the stretching and whatnot. But I've always had issues w/ joints, even as a little kid.
 
In fact, my joint issues aren't completely gone - for the last 2 weeks or so, I've had problems w/ the tip of my fretting hand index, from the last joint and up, getting stiff and painful. Often takes me 30-45 minutes of stretching and very uncomfortable playing before it warms up and plays fine. I am thinking that it could probably be worst in a different climate.
 
I've been taking glucosamine for over 10 years and it helps, but I've pretty much always expected that sooner or later, arthritis would hit me hard and that I may not be able to keep on playing guitar for as long as I'd want. I've tried to take particularly good care of my hands since I first picked up the guitar, and managed to do so for the biggest part, despite flattening the knuckles or hurting them throwing punches and such. To an extent, I'm thinking that the guitar playing actually helped keeping my hands healthy.

John Petrucci has some finger exercises to do before playing in one of his videos plus there are other videos specifically for this that are pretty helpful.  Capsaicin is also good to rub on your joints - just DON'T get it on muscles or other skin areas to prevent burning!
 
Another rather inexpensive supplement to try is Black Tart Cherry - good for joints with or without arthritis.
 
You probably already know about the other mixtures with glucosamine like chondroitin and MSM.
 
Oh yeah, and keep some of those hand exercise balls lying around where you'll think to pick one up from time to time.

You know Rain, what you describe will one day be known as "the good 'ol days".
 
Sad but true.

LOL I guess so. May sound a bit negative, but I'm actually trying to make the best out of it and enjoy it all as much as I can. I guess that's the good thing when you're so constantly aware of all the negative things in life like I've always been, you appreciate what you have a whole lot.
 
Craig - lots of good pointers, thanks a bunch! I'll investigate that. As for glucosamine mixtures, you're right. I've experimented w/ a bunch of options. What seems to work best for me is a mix of glucosamine and chondroitin.
 

 
"I woke up feeling like I was 80 years old. Not a joint in my body that didn't hurt or feel swollen, I even had a headache - the whole nine yards."
 
I've felt that way since the first time I landed in the bottom of a empty swimming pool and the skateboard came down and whacked me in the head.
 
:-)

Rain, are you sure it wasn't just a massive hangover from the night before?

I had a midlife crisis when I was a fetus.  It turns out, my timing was off.