Day 1863

I'm going to miss going to physical therapy. It's nice having someone telling you what you are doing right and doing wrong. I don't need help with writing or taking photographs, but apparently I do need people to remind me not to destroy my body. It should be easy to continue on my own. I've got enough exercises now to last me for a year. Success is pretty easy to measure too. If I can move my shoulder more, I have succeeded. We'll see how it goes. They want to re-evaluate me this Summer. You can't cheat with physical therapy. Your progress is surprisingly easy to measure. The therapist actually takes a protractor and ruler and measures how much further I'm are able to move my arm. At any rate, I've got my marching orders. Hopefully, when I reconnect with these folks later this Summer, I won't shame myself by revealing my many lazy tendencies.

Our extended string of beautiful, warm days is sadly coming to an end. Our early morning walk was nice, but the temperature began to drop right after breakfast and conditions continued to deteriorate throughout the day. The dogs and I were both disappointed to get rained on this evening. It's been almost two weeks since we've been caught in the rain. It looks like I'd better get out some bath towels to dry the dogs off tomorrow morning and be prepared to clean the mud off my boots again. It's going to be wet.

The small group of bloggers and social media mavens I will be joining at Vandenberg Air Force Base seems like an interesting bunch. Some are coming to the launch from as far away as London and one guy is even flying his own small plane to the event. I think the only thing that ties us all together is an unabashed inner geekiness. Everyone I've heard from so far seems absolutely delighted to have an opportunity to get close to a rocket. As much as I hate to travel, I really think I'm going to enjoy this.

I've got a big video shoot coming up this weekend, so it's time to get out the instruction manuals again. I've gotten so used to shooting with GoPro's and automated consumer cameras that I've kind of forgotten what some of the dozens of cryptic buttons on my big production camera do. There is no auto-focus on most cinema lenses either, so I'd better practice the fine art of keeping things in perfect focus as well. If I shot as much video and film as I used to, none of this would be a problem. Unfortunately, the old adage use it or lose it still applies. I've got some work to do.

It's raining pretty hard now, but I hope the weather improves a bit before I take Dot to her physical therapy session tomorrow. Cold rainy weather makes Dot's arthritis act up and she doesn't do as well in the underwater treadmill on rainy days. The vet can warm up the water in the tank though, so maybe that will help. Nothing will help me until I see the sun again.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1295

I love my new gym. It's amazing how easy it is to exercise when you're at a place where exercise is the only thing you can do. I've never been a self motivated person. If you put a stack of work in front of me, I'll always do it and never miss a deadline. If you don't put a stack of work in front of me, I'm perfectly content to do nothing at all. It's pretty much the same with exercise. I think this new gym will work out well. It provides the ideal environment to do things I wouldn't naturally do.

I picked this gym, because I was once hired to make a video about it. I guess the place stuck in my memory. I remember thinking at the time that everyone using the facility was pretty old. Ironically, I am now older than anyone I included in the film. I like this place because it's not your typical LA Fitness full of buff looking young people with washboard abs. This is a dedicated cardiovascular center full of people recovering from heart attacks. Even with a dislocated shoulder and no upper body strength, I can hold my own with these folks.

It's too bad I can't bring Dot with me. She needs physical therapy even worse than I do. I've been thinking of taking her to one of those low impact water treadmills to build up her leg strength again. We've taken some of the rescue Dalmatians to these water therapy facilities and they work great. Since my gym is virtually empty during the afternoon when everyone is at work, maybe I could propose a "bring your dog" day to the management. Dot would love the place. It's air conditioned to just the right temperature and there is no irritating pollen in the air to cause allergies.

I've got a lot more writing work this week than I anticipated. You'd never know it was a holiday week at all. Wouldn't it be weird if I started looking at the gym as a place to get away from the writing and relax for a while? It could happen. I found the facility surprisingly quiet and peaceful. It was just me, a handful of heart attack rehab patients and a couple of off-season athletes working out with free weights.

I don't like my Klout perks anymore. I used to get nice things like dog blankets and magazine subscriptions. Now I get tickets to vampire movies. Who do they think I am?  I have absolutely no interest in vampires, unless they happen to be part of a Dr. Who episode.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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