The Treadmill

Special K’s new(ish) assignment has both of us working early and long hours, which has been good in some ways (I get a lot more done in an average day, assuming I’m not too tired to see straight…like today) and bad in others (like the part about being too tired to see straight.) But it’s part of a bunch of changes we’re trying to make – like getting rid of cable. It’s all gone – no broadcast basic, no rabbit ears, nothing. And so far…I really don’t miss it. We listen to the radio (hurrah for NPR!), read, watch a DVD if we’re so inclined, talk, all kinds of things. I like not having the TV on all the time, actually – I find that I can too easily just turn on the TV and zone out in front of the least objectionable option, instead of just realizing that there’s nothing but crap on and turning it off. We got a Netflix subscription which has been fun so far, but that’s still different – it’s all stuff we want to see!

So, Special K left something uber-cryptic on his blog the other day – he’s referring to his recently-discovered high cholesterol. Now, he’s young and we make fairly good eating choices at home, the main key is that we need to exercise more, while still tweaking our eating habits. So we’re doing that – upping the fiber, cutting the red meat, upping the fruits and veggies, drastically lowering the dairy fat, and making exercise a priority. When we went by Whole Foods on the way home from the gym to get some fresh fish for dinner the other night, he sadly walked by the meat counter to say goodbye to all the steaks, beef tenderloin, London broil, lamb chops, and other things. I tried to comfort him by saying that it didn’t mean he couldn’t have red meat *ever*, it just meant that we couldn’t have it more than once a month or so.

He doesn’t see his glass as half full.

So that’s where we are. It kind of threw both of us for a loop, but since I was vegetarian for a long time, I’m all over cooking with vegetables and such (although I’d be curious to know how much *my* cholesterol has gone up since I started eating meat again – I should go for a physical). And we are definitely in this together; it’s not like it would hurt me to lose a few pounds and make some healthy changes as well. (Unfortunately, we were in it together this morning when the alarm went off at 5 and the thought of getting up felt physical painful. So we didn’t. We’ll go tomorrow.) But going to the gym before work is preferable, and much less crowded. It just means that we have to get up at 5 am, so weeknight plans are rough and we’ve got some adjusting to do. However, I have curtly informed Special K that I will kick his *ass* if he has a heart attack at the age of 35 or something, so this has become a big priority for us both now. We’re learning to love soy.

But in life in general, things are looking up (I’m almost afraid to say that, as if I’ll jinx it or something). We’re able to finally start making progress on some financial goals, we just got my security deposit back from my old apartment and should be able to mostly fund a badly-needed trip to Texas to see my brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and niece, since the last time we saw them was at our wedding – way too long ago. So that will be good all the way around, as I miss them terribly. We may actually be able to get a tomato or two out of our plants yet (the Romas look healthy – the leaves on my other plant are turning brown and tomatoes are dropping off while still teeny and green), and I’ve learned some lessons for next year, like build a cage to keep freaking raccoons out. My car is still running, even though the a/c needs to be recharged and I’m not going to spend the money on that right now. Special K’s mom continues to be on the mend and doing well. And work is going well – busy but mostly manageable.

I was at the hospital for the rape crisis center the other night, and the person I was there to see was just an amazing person. She’d been through one of the worst things anyone can go through, and she was friendly and open and positive, counting her blessings and saying that it could have been a lot worse. She was still in tremendous pain, both physical and emotional, and I felt privileged to be there with her; she didn’t want to dwell on the awful things that had happened – she wanted to deal with it and move on. On the way home, I was listening to a song by a really great band Special K had introduced me to, and the lyrics really struck me in the context of what I’d just witnessed, particularly the chorus. At the risk of being very cheesy, here it is:

Easy – Cowboy Mouth

Easy to bitch, easy to whine, easy to moan, easy to cry,
Easy to feel like there ain't nothin' in your life.
Harder to work, harder to strive, hard to be glad to be alive,
But its really worth it if you give it a try.

So there’s that. Things may not always be rainbows and puppies, but I’ve got a lot to be grateful for.