People Have Lost Their Goddamn Minds

I'm very cautious when I drive. Perhaps I don't do it enough? Today, I kept my distance from the red Kia in front of me because every time she hit the brakes (for no discernible reason), her hazards came on. As far as I know, the hazards aren't connected to the brakes. You have to push a separate button to turn them on. I also don't know of any countries where you're required to use your hazards every time you slow down for imaginary obstacles in the road. I get to the part of the road where there's a traffic light and the road splits. She's making a right turn. There is a sign that says No Turn on Red due to the vagaries of oncoming traffic. She makes the turn anyway. Ugh. I get a look at her before she drives away. That's how I know she's a middle-aged blonde, instead of the frail, half-blind senior I was expecting.

I get to the gym and it's freezing. Not just out in the parking lot, but inside the locker room as well. I don't want to take my coat off! Instead, I keep my warm up hoodie on until the very last minute, when I'm directly in front of the kickboxing machine and have to prep my hands. I see a few regulars. M is showing a woman how to box at the heavy bag. Out of all the regulars, he's probably the nicest one, but I don't talk to him either. I realize that I have an automatic avoidance behavioral quirk when I see people I recognize from the gym but I'm at a totally different store. If I have never before spoken to them in the gym or elsewhere, then my first reaction is to completely avoid them wherever I happen to be. And it happens so quickly that I assume it's reflexive, probably from growing up in the City and having been stalked a few times. It's not normal behavior, but it feels protective. 

I know the gym is cold because I don't even bust a sweat through all the Beginner rounds. I get warmed up during the Intermediate rounds due to the ridiculous pacing of some of the programming. Not all 5 rounds are crazy, but all it takes is one or two. I feel better this week though. My lungs don't burn as much or as intensely. In actuality, I probably could've gone for another two rounds because I wasn't all that tired when the session ended. I only blanked the screen twice, and had the Hitting Too Hard warning come up twice. I'm probably not hitting hard enough. I skip doing pull ups afterwards because I did two sets yesterday.

Of course, I'm toying with the idea of doing 7 rounds both Beginner and Intermediate next week. It'll probably help if the gym is cold like it was today. But the glare is killer. I almost missed a couple of Lead Knee strikes because while I could see that section of the avatar light up, I couldn't see what icon was being displayed. Wasting precious seconds to get in closer and view the screen at a different angle is frustrating, especially when you want to get a rhythm going.

Nexersys appears to have updated their kickboxing machines (to something called N3) by reducing the number of strike pads to 5 from 7, eliminating the Dig pads on either side of the central Body. They're also trying to generate excitement by making their avatar appear 3D. Does that really enhance the experience? Maybe, but I'm perfectly fine with the flat 2D model. Meanwhile, I don't think their "smart" speed bag was a big seller, but I hope the company stays in business for the long haul.

On the way home I stop off at Home Depot to finally return the vent pipe I don't need but HD made me buy in order to have my dryer installed. The service people are great. The HD system is not. The service gal tried three different ways to get the vent pipe cost refunded to me. Finally a supervisor had to show her how to circumvent all the layers of bureaucracy and get my return processed.

I'm satisfied with my new dryer, but there are a few things I liked better about my old Kenmore, like the way the door seemed solid. The new dryer, American-made, is metal but the door feels hollow, like the hood of a new car. The door will dent easily if I'm not careful! The dryer gets clothes dry, but they're not piping hot and I'm doing fairly small loads. On the other hand, I used to run my old dryer at least three times to get everything dry. I really like the new inside light. But I miss the drop-down door, which kept wet clothes from falling onto the floor when loading the machine.

Tomorrow I'm planning to do more cardio. Because I always feel better when I've got my lungs cleared. The boys plan to do a camping/hiking weekend with the Scouts again. I'm looking forward to getting more things done with all the quiet.

Wacky Thursday

10 min elliptical
Calories 85
Miles 0.78
HR 147-169

T, Y & I Raises
5lbs x 15 x 2

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys FM
Beginner 7r
Intermediate 5r