Day 2386

I got an REI gift card for my birthday, so I stopped by the store on my way to the gym today and got a jacket. Did I need a jacket in June? Not really, but I will when things get cold again. It makes sense to me to buy clothing out of season. You get some great bargains, and when the need does arise, I'm way ahead of the game. In a way, I do everything in life this way. I try not to be out on the roads until everyone else is at work. I go to restaurants that aren't particularly popular. I rarely read books while they are on the best seller list. The more out of sync I am with the rest of the world, the more peaceful my own world becomes.

This desire to find the alternate realities that are hidden in plain sight is probably why I picked a gym that nobody goes to. It always amazes me that a gym this nice and well equipped is so empty. If my gym were an LA Fitness franchise, it would have gone out of business long ago. The gym is owned by a major hospital though, and can probably operate at a loss forever. Today, there were only four other people working out with me. I quietly went through my routines like I always do. The first ten minutes I feel like quitting and going home. Then my body loosens up and I get a second wind. By the time I eventually finish, I feel pretty good.

Working out at a gym is certainly more enjoyable than vacuuming. The Dyson Animal may be a marvel of engineering, but it is murder on your hands if you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. My wrists aren't very flexible anymore and I struggle sometimes to turn the unwieldy machine and maneuver it in tight spaces. Although the Dyson does an admirable job of picking up dirt and dog hair, it is not very easy to clean. I have to take the canister outside after I'm done and clean it using a leaf blower. That's something you never see in those slick looking Dyson commercials. It just doesn't seem right that you would have to clean a vacuum using a leaf blower. Vacuum bags were so much easier.

It's getting too hot to walk the dogs. The days are so long in June that it's hard to get up early enough to beat the heat. We were a little late today and it was already pretty warm. At least there was a little breeze. The instant the sun is above the horizon the temperature seems to jump ten degrees. These Summer days are hard on Dot, so we need to make an effort to get up earlier. Tomorrow will be better. Janet always gets up very early to get ready for work and we are usually on our way well before sunrise. By the time it is cold enough to wear my new jacket, we will be walking under starlight.

I guess I'll go pick up my tape recorder at the audio repair shop tomorrow. Maybe it will inspire me to put the studio back together again. Truthfully, about the only thing these old analog machines are good for is transferring my old songs to Pro Tools. I started to do this once and after some critical listening, quickly realized that most of the old songs weren't that good and that the arduous process wasn't worth the effort.

This is the challenge these days. What exactly is worth the effort?  I think that keeping Dot as healthy and happy as I can is a worthy cause, but I don't have much to prove in the advertising world anymore. So much of what used to seem so important to me just seems silly now.

Derrick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day