Drat and Double Drat!
I take an hour-long walk every day, therefore I do not need to belong to a gym.
True or false?
I like to pretend that it’s true, but it isn’t--especially not in winter. However, I continue to use this falsehood as a justification for not joining a gym.
Yesterday, after a four- or five-day spell of zero exercise, B and I decided we’d walk down to Peacock Lane, one of those streets where every single homeowner signs some sort of contract stating that they will put up a big-ass Christmas light display or suffer the consequences (being shot by a firing squad at dawn).
I was very much looking forward to this because B had suggested that we break up (and cancel out) the four-mile walk with a stop about halfway at the Laurelwood Pub’s Happy Hour for a giant plate of nachos and a pint of organic beer.
Well, B didn’t get home until 5:40, so we had to drive or else miss Happy Hour. This did not please me because driving defeated the whole point of the excursion—to get a decent amount of exercise. We drove to the pub and got there too late anyway. Drat! We drove back home, with me on a major guilt trip about the stupidly wasteful car trip.
We came home and ate an unsatisfactory dinner and then B suggested we walk down to Peacock Lane as planned but, of course, without the stop at the pub (wah!!!!). It was a rather balmy evening, so I decided we might as well take advantage of that. We inexplicably walked out of the house without a stitch of foul-weather gear between us. About a half mile from the house, it started to rain. Before long my feet were all sloshy, the bottom eight inches of my jeans were soaked and flapping around my ankles, and my bangs were hanging below my eyes just like Joey Ramone. Bedraggled though we were, we plodded on for the full four miles.
There wasn’t a string of icicles or an inflatable snowman anywhere to be seen! But there was a sign on the corner saying that the Peacock Lane Festival of Lights (or whatever they call it) is to start on December 15. Double drat! Had we used our noggins, we would have checked on that before setting out.
We took the bus home.
True or false?
I like to pretend that it’s true, but it isn’t--especially not in winter. However, I continue to use this falsehood as a justification for not joining a gym.
Yesterday, after a four- or five-day spell of zero exercise, B and I decided we’d walk down to Peacock Lane, one of those streets where every single homeowner signs some sort of contract stating that they will put up a big-ass Christmas light display or suffer the consequences (being shot by a firing squad at dawn).
I was very much looking forward to this because B had suggested that we break up (and cancel out) the four-mile walk with a stop about halfway at the Laurelwood Pub’s Happy Hour for a giant plate of nachos and a pint of organic beer.
Well, B didn’t get home until 5:40, so we had to drive or else miss Happy Hour. This did not please me because driving defeated the whole point of the excursion—to get a decent amount of exercise. We drove to the pub and got there too late anyway. Drat! We drove back home, with me on a major guilt trip about the stupidly wasteful car trip.
We came home and ate an unsatisfactory dinner and then B suggested we walk down to Peacock Lane as planned but, of course, without the stop at the pub (wah!!!!). It was a rather balmy evening, so I decided we might as well take advantage of that. We inexplicably walked out of the house without a stitch of foul-weather gear between us. About a half mile from the house, it started to rain. Before long my feet were all sloshy, the bottom eight inches of my jeans were soaked and flapping around my ankles, and my bangs were hanging below my eyes just like Joey Ramone. Bedraggled though we were, we plodded on for the full four miles.
There wasn’t a string of icicles or an inflatable snowman anywhere to be seen! But there was a sign on the corner saying that the Peacock Lane Festival of Lights (or whatever they call it) is to start on December 15. Double drat! Had we used our noggins, we would have checked on that before setting out.
We took the bus home.
posted by Rozanne at 9:37 PM
3 Comments:
Hehe... Sorry your walk turned out so badly. It makes me feel less pathetic about my gym membership and daily treadmill walk. :P
Diana
www.seekingclarity.com
1) What kind of happy hour ends at 6? Especially considering Laurelwood (if you're on the East Side) is so far from downtown that most working stiffs won't roll in until 6 if they stop by home first in order to take advantage of Laurelwood's "family friendly" atmosphere. Bleck!
2) If Fred Meyer's can sell Christmas decorations on Halloween Eve, Peacock Lane can be open by the day after Thanksgiving, I'd think (spoken like someone who doesn't have to pay one of those electric bills, of course...do you think they set up some sort of fund to help subsidize their outrageous December bill?)
3) I go to the gym so I don't have to go on walks in the rain. I admire your gumption at sticking it out and completing the walk. The Missus and I would have turned around.
4) Don't feel guilty about a wasted car drive. You had good intentions, and feeling guilty about a car ride seems a waste of mental energy (like, say, feeling guilty about not setting up your Christmas tree in a timely fashion).
Diana, When I lived in Chicago, I had to belong to a gym. It was the only way I'd get exercise in the winter. B and I have resolved to get out there on a more frequent basis. Last night we donned our rain gear and did actually take a walk to look at lights in our own neighborhood. It was in the upper 50s and actually very pleasant. I like rain as long as I'm dressed for it.
Pieman, Yeah. It does kind of suck that Happy Hours end so early, but the point of them is to get folks in during what would otherwise be a pretty dead time for the bar/restaurant. L-wood's Hapy Hour starts back up at 9 PM, though, which is good cuz by then most of the infants and toddlers have cleared out. Downside: I really don't think it's a great idea to eat that late.
I am almost positive that Peacock Lane has been "open for business" earlier than Dec. 15 in past years. They probably want to cut down on their electricity costs, and minimize the traffic annoyance. Imagine trying to get out of your driveway if you lived there and had to wait for a horse carriage to get out of your way.
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