Results

Just finished reading Letters to a Young Muslim. Heard Omar Saif Ghobash on On Being and instantly wanted to read it. Took me a couple of chapters to get into it but I liked it.

I'm going to try to start reading books that have been sitting on my shelves for years. First, I got Walter Mosley's Bad Boy Brawly Brown off the shelf. The very first sentence had less than five words but it reminded me of my dad. We watched Devil in a Blue Dress together and I remember how much he liked the character, Mouse.

It's kind of funny. I almost feel like I had a false start with BBBB at one point as it feels familiar...

Got to the gym and this woman asked me if I was going to Zumba. She had read the schedule and decided to try it. I told her that I couldn't stand the machines anymore. Her response, "Do you get better results with Zumba?" LOL, I haven't thought about results in a very long time. I just know that exercise is good for you and that it is good for me in many ways.

Went by the post office and the clerk asked if I wanted any particular stamps and I said, "The peace stamps." She looked puzzled and pointed to the stamps that I wanted and she said, "Oh, the Woodstock stamp." I said, "Yeah, it says ...peace and music forever..." The clerk started laughing very energetically. She had never noticed the words and then she pointed to the sizable poster on the wall and she said, "Oh my God, I'm so stupid."

I assured her that we all miss things.

She was still laughing as I walked away.

Wonder

Mighty Mississippi

I have bicycled more this month than I've bicycled all year.

I find myself craving more sleep on Saturdays and even 10:40 a.m. seems too early to exit the house for Zumba.

Saturday was a really good day for bicycling too -- left the house around 11:30 for a short ride, about seven miles, but I wasn't looking to ride for a long time so it worked for me. 

Saw fishermen as I usually do and I wonder if I would eat something out of the Mississippi River. Mentioned it to my brother and he'd seen a documentary, City Limits Fishing. Apparently, the Mississippi has lots of catfish. 

The workday was horrid. Didn't even feel like going to Monday Zumba which is usually my end-of-workday prize but I did go and felt better afterward.

Spring Rider

Went to a slow flow/restorative yoga class on Friday and spotted Stacy after class since it was a yoga teacher training weekend.

She told me and another yoga teacher "This is not a sustainable lifestyle." Tell me about it...

One of my colleagues that's in her 20's said that she feels like a robot. Tell me about it...

Before I saw Stacy on Friday, I saw a post that she put on social media saying that she had five days off between now and the end of the year. She wants to collaborate with more people but... time.

I have given up on how frequently I wash my hair, clean out the fish tank etc...

Went for a bike ride on Saturday and as I headed that way, I thought about how I probably would have to wear my long-sleeved shirt around my waist. Wrong! I had forgotten about how it's colder around water. I'm such a spring/summer rider that it didn't occur to me that it would be cold and windy. The weather was definitely an incentive to keep moving though.

Geese Strategy

Saw this sweet story on CBS Sunday morning about this 93-year-old who opened a bakery. The story provided much needed inspiration.

Starting Somewhere Else

There have been times when I've been on the St. Louis Riverfront Trail and it's felt like a vacation. Maybe it's the combination of being unplugged, chatting with people and seeing the animals that live there.

At some point during the week, I saw that the temperature would be perfect and I also saw that part of the trail is closed for construction. No matter, I plotted to start at the "end" of the route as opposed to the "beginning."

Got to the Chain of Rocks Bridge and saw that they had closed the parking lot so I turned around and started somewhere else. Also debated about whether I wanted to actually go back in the direction of the bridge because there are wicked hills on that part of the trail.

In the end, decided to give myself a gentle bike ride and I walked my bike up the hills and I didn't try to get to the middle of the bridge. I've only been on my bike about two times this year so I wanted to ease my way back in. So, today, I gave myself the gift of a gentle ride and a pass on chores.

The hill that doesn't look very hilly in this picture.

By the way, Gingerzingi, it was totally brave of you to take that level three vacation...

The Nosedive

Wanted to stay home last night but knew that I would have regrets if I didn't go swimming since I only go once a week and that's not guaranteed lately.

Couldn't find my go-to goggles and, reluctantly, grabbed my back-up pair. Tried to put a positive spin on it like It's lovely to have two pairs of goggles.  The back-up pair is prone to leaking but I made it work.

Got to the school and there was an event so parking was scarce. I almost gave up but then parked away from the pool house then hiked to my destination as my energy took a nosedive.

The locker room was more crowded than usual so I didn't bother to stop and just took my top layer off poolside. Before I did, though, this guy who has been coming to the pool for a long time spotted my Motivated tank and he almost died laughing because I did not look motivated at all.

The water was chilly (as usual) so I stood there and talked to my pool friend for a bit. Somehow, I managed to get in 18 laps and enjoyed most of them too.

When I got home and unpacked my swimming paraphernalia, my #1 pair of goggles fell out of one of the plastic bags that I keep in my pool bag...

As I checked the news, people were talking about the Botham Jean verdict and a lot of people are, rightly, angry. I saw a quote not too long ago and I don't remember it verbatim but it said something like racism destroys you from the inside.

On a yet another note, I'm glad that the Finnish reporter didn't treat Trump with kid gloves.