I has gotten a new swimsuit which fits my tubby little self even though I ate all the food in America west of the Mississippi. Really, I’m pretty sure I did. So now, armed with my new swimsuit, the only thing stopping me from daily swim workouts is the terrible difficulty of getting to the gym.
I had been thinking earlier today that the one thing I really wish we had a car for was /going/ to the gym. It’s…I donno, a mile and a halfish? Maybe two miles? 30 or 40 minutes walk at my none-too-hurried pace. I could bike, but biking, like walking, becomes less pleasant the more inclement the weather, and the weather has been deadly inclement. So I was thinking a car would be great for going to the gym, if nothing else.
Only then it struck me that we’ve had a car in the past and it never made going to the gym any easier. I bet what would make going to the gym a *lot* easier would be to have a standing order for a taxi to show up at 7:30am three or four times a week. Calling to cancel the cab would be too much trouble pretty much all the time, so I would basically *have* to get up and be ready to go when the cab arrived. It’d be like having a gym partner, only not.
And it’d still be cheaper than having a car, by the tune of a hundred or more euro a month even if I did it daily.
Hm.
miles to Minas Tirith: 89.5
ytd wordcount: 256,700
I know EXACTLY what you mean! I’ve been swimming for exercise myself at my gym, but the getting there is the hard part. As I am blind, the car is not an option. The Great state of Arkansas frowns on my operating a motor vehicle these days and seems totally inflexible on the issue. Oh well, Plan The Second! Mooch a ride with my daughter, who is supposedly going to the gym daily, too. But, it’s also cold and rainy out now, and that is often enough to keep her from picking me up.
Walk? Ha! There are no sidewalks, it’s about a mile and a half, same as your trek. Slogging through the high grass, muddy ditches and such to brave a busy traffic crossing or two, and then repeating the whole operation after exercising, just does not appeal to me.
I’ve almost reached the standing Taxi order phase, as you seem to be homing in on. But, the fact that I am a cheap bastard is holding me back. Other than that…*shrug*
Hey! I noticed tha tthe Euro is about $1.50 now. How does that affect you living in Ireland? Does your publisher pay in Euros, or do you take the hit in converting from Dollars to Euros? Just curious, ignore this if you want. :)
Pah! How unreasonable of the great state of Arkansas. Haven’t they seen “Scent of a Woman”? Don’t they know a blind guy can drive well enough to fool a cop? :)
Sadly, I get paid in dollars and take a hit.
Ow!! Those Bush financial policies are really killin’ ya, ain’t they? I’m ready for the Obama Recovery, and bet you might just be thinking along the same lines.
When I lived in Germany back in 1982 to 1984, the dollar was sky high and I lived like a King! A King, I tell ya! 4 Deutsch Marks to the dollar, 9 Francs to the dollar when I visited Paris, ahhhh…life was sweet then! Ate at the best restaurants, or at the ones we liked at least. Amazingly, they had some wonderful Greek places all over Augsburg. Loved the free shot of Ouzo they would hand out with every meal!
Anyhow, enough of the good times, back to the
post-W era of not travelling to Europe. *sigh*