New Gym

Well...at least new to me. I have griped and complained about the YMCA for some time now. Crowded, noisy, long drive from home, closed on every holiday imaginable, and generally just not very enjoyable anymore. I've driven by this place every morning on my way to work and thought about joining. My interest was prodded along by my friend Boyd who joined up in his neck of the woods.

So I took the plunge and went to check it out.

Nice place. Friendly. Clean. Equipment is top of the line. Not crowded and those that are there are there to work out and are not interested in fashion or social posturing. And it is open all-the-time.

I should also mention that membership is fairly cheap. I got a family membership for $35 a month. The YMCA is about three times that cost.

The one draw-back is that the cushions on the weight machines are all some type of weird purpley-pink color; but what the hay, at least they aren't patched up with duct tape.

Spare Time? What Spare Time?

I know I haven't posted much recently, certainly not on a regular basis, but I've been putting in some serious hours at work. My agency had an accreditation inspection this week that required everything from medical charts to the waste basket to be just-so perfect. On top of that; the agency decided it would also be a good week to switch over to our new computerized paperless system....which ran about as smoothly as a three legged hog on a frozen lake.

I've been spending long days at my desk at my laptop until my eyes are spinning and I can hear the faint sizzle of my brain frying.

The week is almost over though. I just need to hang on...so to speak.

New Toy

These are so cool! They are called Perfect Pushup and you can get them in a lot of places. I picked these up at Wal-Mart for about $20.

What they basically do is allow your arms to rotate while doing push ups. Now...that may not seem like much but the workout these little doo-hickies give the chest, shoulders, abs, and arms is amazing. It takes old-fashioned push ups to a whole new level.

Obesity...the 21st Century Disabiliy

I was at the grocery store today, completing my weekly challenge of finding healthy foods amid all the high fat, high sodium, high carb, low nutrition, and overly processed crap that fills most of the shelves. While wandering up one aisle and down the other, I noticed something.....there were a lot of people whizzing around in those little electric carts that stores provide for those folks who have difficulty walking.

The strange part though...the part that really made me go "huh?"...not one single person in the carts was old, feeble, paralyzed, or even looking as if they just felt a bit under the weather. They were mostly young. And by young, I mean 20 or 30 ish....maybe a couple of the advanced years of 40.

They were all, however, fat. Not chubby. Not overweight. Immense! (the above is stock footage, I wouldn't be mean enough to actually take a picture of these huge shoppers). It's really strange when you think of it. Morbidly obese people who are so out of shape that they cannot even walk to get the junk they eat to maintain their massive girth.

Now...don't get me wrong. I'm not condemning these people. I feel sorry for them. What a lousy way to live. How dreadful to have an existence dependent upon a machine to haul you around because you are unable to carry all the fat hanging on to your body.

But for the grace of God though....

I walk. I run. I bike. I even dance.

because I get to