My new obsession

My new obsession, in addition of course to obsessing about getting old, is working out. I'm signing up to run road races - well, just one so far, but I'll see how it goes and then maybe try another one. I'm on the five-day-a-week elliptical machine plan, and lifting weights three times a week. I can't really explain why except that I moved to an apartment where it was readily available for free and it provides something productive to do with my time during the day.


Before I moved, my free time during the day was primarily spent watching "Friends" on DVD and reading political Web sites. And while that was fun, I can't really say that it was productive - and I often felt bored.

But now, I just go work out like clockwork, every day around noon. It's the craziest thing, too, because I don't even have to force myself to do it. I just feel like doing it because I know I have nothing better to do with my time. I know that if I don't, I'll just spend my morning/early afternoon watching "Friends" DVDs and surfing the Internet - and that seems boring to me.

So yay for boredom. It's helping me get into shape for the first time in about eight years. I highly recommend it - it's a good motivational tool. Just tell yourself, "I have nothing better to do right now." Of course, that might not work for people who do have lives and do have something better to do... in that case I really can't help you.

I'll let you know when it wears off.