I am so tired my eyeballs are sore. Even closing my eyelids doesn't really help. But that's not what I've come here to tell you. I re-joined a gym! The same gym I quit some time ago because I couldn't afford the dues and because, as seems to happen to me every year when winter passes into spring-- a time that always has me acting rashly. I can't really afford the dues now either, except I've come to accept one of the hard realities of being in my thirties. I can't not exercise. Yes, you read that double negative correctly. If I do not exercise all manner of bad things happen, from the sour dipping of my mood to the strange creaking of my joints when I rise from the bum-to-chair position I maintain until my limbs turn to solid planks of wood. I have never liked exercise, EVER, but now at least I am compelled to do it for the sake of my body and mood--and those who must be subjected to either.

The fellow who sold me my membership was a very good salesman because he was able to whip papers in and out under my nose, convince me of things I wasn't sure of, and leave there with two memberships in hand (one for my hubster) wondering just how much money I had actually spent and when it would be debited from which account...

I hate paying "processing fees" and "joining fees" because jeez, how much skin off their back was it for me to bring my own damn business straight to their door and hand over my money? That shouldn't cost me $129! And a processing fee?? For the kid they pay minimum wage to to input the data entry? I swear to god...but anyway, I had to bite the bullet. Supposedly I waived the costly "enrollment fee" by coming in on a special, so thank god for that because I don't think I could have handled yet another fee.

There are a lot of problems going to a gym, such as the way you can compare your body to others' bodies; the sore lack of privacy when you are doing less than attractive poses to further strengthen muscles you have only learned you have when the cardio you did makes them hurt, but I will benefit from the variety of not having to only run because once I've got my ipod strapped on, I can do at least an hour of cardio vs. the 25 minutes I get on my own.

Oh god, I'm boring you, aren't I? I'm sorry.

Perhaps you can help me solve the caper of the strange poison oak that appeared on my arm suddenly. I haven't been NEAR poison oak in ages. So it either came from the bowling ball at the bowling alley over the weekend, one of the children at our niece Daphne's third birthday party, or one of the neighborhood cats...but I don't even think there is poison oak anywhere in this 'hood! Maybe it drifted in on the thick cloud of smoke from a controlled burn in Tomales the other day. The last time I had serious poison oak, i had it so bad I had to take prednisone. I was 11.

More soon.
JPR