Day 3111

My Sunday trip to the gym is starting to seem a little too familiar. I instantly know which channel is playing on the televisions in front of the treadmills. I recognize all of the other members, even though I don't know any of them by name. I can accurately guess what my heart rate will be when I finish my twenty minutes on the hand bicycle. I know exactly how long it will take to walk a mile on the treadmill. The only thing that seems to change is basketball. When I started, I could sink five free throws in a reasonable amount of time. As my aim gradually improved, I realized I could complete ten free throws in the same amount of time. Today I completed fifteen. Progress is often illusive, but it's nice to know I'm not getting worse.

My mind wanders while I'm exercising. It's always active though. I try to guess the name of the band when I hear a song playing on the sound system. I calculate the number of calories I'm burning in my head. Sometimes, I solve the world's problems, but I've always forgotten the solution by the time I've returned home. I think it is important to keep your brain active. I daydream a lot. One of the reasons I've kept writing this blog for so long is that I think that writing keeps you from becoming senile. I'm sure I could play Tetris or do Sudoku puzzles instead, but moving words around until they make sense is more satisfying.

Walking has become less satisfying as the temperature increases. We walked really early this morning to keep thing comfortable for Dash. It's a good thing we took this sunrise stroll, since it became far too hot to go out again later in the day. Since we got such an early start, I returned from the gym well before noon. I should have just taken a long nap this afternoon, but there was too much to do. I bought a new garden hose to replace one that had developed a leak. I had the hardware store match some enamel to a paint chip so I could finish repairing a large crack in the wall that had been hidden for years by one of the paintings I shipped off to New York. Repairing sheetrock and painting is a messy job, so I'm going to save this odious task for a day when I'm in a really good mood.

We encountered another aggressive dog this morning and narrowly avoided getting bitten. Once again, the owner was walking a very large dog on one of those long flexi-leashes and couldn't control it when they saw us on the path. We tried to stay out of the way, but the dog was totally out of control. These type of incidents happen way too often. It's getting harder and harder to relax in today's chaotic world. Often, I think I would be happier if I didn't encounter other people at all.

If I've got time tomorrow, I may take a few guitars to the vintage guitar store and get them appraised. I'm curious whether these things are treasures or junk. I usually take care of thing well, but the guitar I've had since high school is pretty well trashed. That's a shame, since a guitar from the 1960's would definitely qualify as vintage. The question is whether it still qualifies as desirable. I hope the experts are interested in this stuff. I need to clear out the storage warehouse.

I'm not looking forward to the Fourth of July. Dash, like many dogs, gets freaked out by loud noises. Fireworks used to be a nightmare when the dogs were younger. Maybe this year won't be so bad. Dash can't hear well anymore. Hopefully what used to be a frightening boom will just be a low rumble this year.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day