Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

As I went about my business last week, all of a sudden I lost control of everything. Yep, it was the bug that has been going around, maybe the flu maybe not, don’t know. It was three days before I could get out of bed, but it seemed much longer.

The first day I slept for at least 40 hours. The second day I was able to have a little soup. I am in relatively good shape and general healthy, so I suspect I did better than some people. But boy, was I down for the count.

By the second day, I kept trying to find the door into freedom. I knew it began with getting into that that little cubicle that has water running from the ceiling, but somehow I couldn’t make it in.

Then there was that pesky little thermometer. Mine has lived for years in the medicine chest with no cause for it to come out and jump into my mouth. Yet here I was consulting it. I thought I felt fine, but it kept telling me that I had a fever and I really shouldn’t leave the house.

I thought I would feel better if I could take a shower. And I probably would have, if only my feet would do what I wanted them to do I could get into the cubicle and then I have my freedom to the outside world. Standing up can be very hard when your legs don’t work.

My family made me soup and encouraged me to eat it. But, I said put it into the refrigerator and I’ll go and get it when I get hungry. They kept saying drink water. I said sure I will don’t worry. They did and I didn’t. During the day when I was the only one home I was really sorry I sent the food back down to the refrigerator.

There was just no way I could make it down what seemed like 15 flights of stairs from my bedroom down to the kitchen where the beautiful soup was resting in a bowl in the refrigerator. But I kept trying and I did finally made it down all those flights of stairs and sure enough the bowl of soup was there waiting for me. I put it into the microwave. Then after two spoonfuls I realized I’d had enough.

But then I needed to climb those 15 flights back upstairs to get in bed. That wasn’t easy but I did it and then I went back to sleep for another 12 hours. After that, things looked a bit better. But, that mercurial gatekeeper still wasn’t ready to give me my freedom because the thin tube kept telling me that I couldn’t leave until it said 98.6. But as hard and as often as I tried, it just wasn’t ready to go down that low.

So back to bed I went. The next day I think the gatekeeper was really fed up with dealing with me and gave me my ticket to freedom. So here I am attempting to get back to normal life. I’m far from 100% but at least I’m no longer restricted to the house. I’m taking it easy and will return home early today.

But it sure is nice to have my freedom again. Hopefully my next post will be about real life again. I hope you are all healthy, happy, and free to move around outside.

 

 

 

Ups and Downs

It has been an up and down few weeks for me. But, now I am focused on all the holiday cards and messages I have been receiving. Hearing about everyone’s good news and what they have done this past year has helped me to think past the downs and think about the good that goes on all the time.

Yes, I had to have some of the siding on my house replaced. I had a visit from some woodpeckers who let me know I had wet wood which had invited some insects to find a home. This allowed some woodpeckers to find some food and let me know I had a problem.

So looking at things that way helps me to realize a few shingles replaced is not a big deal. Yes, I hit a big pothole and needed to get my car realigned. But I’m OK, my car is OK, and hopefully I’ll see the next pothole before I hit it.

It’s likely that I hit the pothole because I was busy looking out for deer and bears. Some of my neighbors have seen bears (or maybe just one at this time of year?). They have posted videos and still photographs of the bear. Back when the weather was a bit nicer they had even posted videos of bears swimming in their pools.

I have been receiving end of year letters and pictures from friends who live both near and far. I have really enjoyed seeing how much the children have grown and learning about their accomplishments during this past year has been great. Reading about what my friends have done and plan to do is very rewarding for me. I have friends and relatives of all different political persuasions and I believe that we are lucky that we remain friends and continue to respect each other’s different views.

In addition to cards and letters, I have being seeing people in person whom I haven’t seen in several years as they have come home to visit both family and friends. Each of them tells me what has happened in their families since the last time we have seen each other. I also tell them about what is new with my family and me. We all take joy in the good in each other’s lives and we also express our concern and best wishes to those who have or are experiencing difficult situations.

I am looking forward to the New Year and all the experiences that will be waiting for me as I travel through 2019. I also look forward to everything that I will learn next year. Hopefully, I will also be able to share some of those learnings with others. Perhaps my experiences will be of interest to some and maybe even help them to experience rewarding outcomes.

I wish all of you who are reading this post a very happy and healthy New Year and a year full of good experiences and opportunities to learn and grow. And I wish everyone a collection of wonderful friends, new and old as good as my own!

Rumination

As I sit here listening to all the advertisements and promos for holiday shopping, I think back on the year and also wonder what the New Year will bring. Yes, this is usually what people do at the very end or beginning of the year. Why am I thinking about these things in early December? I don’t know, but I am. Maybe I’m ahead of myself, but this past year was different for me. I had some very real highs and also some lows. In the past when I’ve looked back and forward things were pretty much on an even keel. Not too big and not too small. I admit that I like things even-keeled, probably because that is what I’m used to.

I’m also thinking about what I learned and what I still want to learn. My most profound learning this year didn’t come from a class or a book or any other formal learning event. It was from a friend who was given a very poor health prognosis. But, she is enjoying her life, she is putting her best face forward and working to enjoy whatever time she has left.

I’m thinking about doing things that I have never done, and which things I want to do again. I, for sure, want to go home to New York City over and over again as I did this past year. Too many years have gone by when I haven’t gone home. I have some very good memories of all of my trips home and I very much hope that I can add more good New York City memories next year.

As I think about this year I think about how much I enjoyed visits from family members who no longer live nearby. I also very much enjoyed a trip to Florida with a good friend and meeting people along the way. I love the theater and during the last year I attended several good performances. Some of the best were from local troupes.

So yes, on balance, the good outweighs the not so good. I don’t want to dwell on those things that weren’t good. I’d much rather think about what was good and what was fun and what I was able to share with others.

Over the years I have lived in many places and have made friends that I still keep in touch with. I have friends who live in the many places I’ve been and others who used to live near me but have moved around the country (and across the pond). I have visited friends in many places and have had them come to visit me as well.

In my role as a learning consultant I have traveled to many places and met many people. In some cases I was able to be a bit of a tourist but not as often as I’d prefer. I remember several events at airport hotels so as to afford most of the participants to incur reduced expenses.

I often think I’d like to return and this time be the tourist. Maybe I’ll find a way to do so next year. Maybe I’ll find the time to travel for pleasure. Until recently, most of my travel has been for business. Or maybe I’ll stay at home and take the opportunity to explore local attractions.

Actually, when I think about it, there are all sorts of opportunities to learn and enjoy life for all of us. As I continue my rumination, I hope that you too will find ways to enjoy your life while you learn and explore.

These are my thoughts going into December. I’m sure they will expand as the month goes on.

Life

I am basically pretty healthy but I think that’s because when it’s time to have a physical, see the dentist, or take a medical test I am a good doobie. So yesterday I started my day by going off to get a blood test for my upcoming doctor’s appointment. As I drove down a local winding road, I went around a bend and I saw three very large birds enjoying breakfast on the side of the road. I wasn’t sure what kind of birds they were. I was pretty sure they weren’t wild turkeys, which are the only large birds I had seen in and around Massachusetts. A little research after the fact told me that they were probably Canada Geese. I was just really glad that the geese and my car didn’t interact.

As I sat waiting for my name to be called, I heard a women across from me telling the man with her that she was upset because she had forgotten to bring in her social security card. At that point a gentleman across the room approached her. He said he’d heard her mention that she had grown up on a lake. He then asked her which lake she had grown up near. She appeared to be dubious but responded to his question. He then asked so do you recognize me? It took her a minute and she then said that yes she remembered him from their childhood. They hugged and started talking about how great it was to see each other after all the years that had passed. They were very much engaged in getting caught up as my name was called. It made me feel good. They clearly were enjoying seeing each other again.

After my appointment I visited a friend who had recently learned that she had terminal cancer. She was told that she only had a few more weeks to live. I had last seen her at the beginning of the summer when we did a two-mile walk together. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got to her house but I knew I really wanted to see her. As I got close to her house I pulled over for two fire trucks and an ambulance. As I got to the turn for her house the road was blocked by one of the fire trucks. The other truck was parked across the road and the ambulance was right in front of the house. I realized it wasn’t a fire but that someone had called 911 for a person in some sort of distress. I hoped that my friend and her family didn’t hear the sirens. My friend lives on a cul-de-sac so I just sat and waited until they unblocked the road.

When I got to her house there were several family members from out of state at her house helping her and her husband with whatever they needed. My friend was sitting in an easy chair and she looked good. I, of course, knew that while she looked good she was very sick. We visited for a while about every day things.

At one point I mentioned that I had recently was in a town that it turned out that she and her husband had often visited when her family was younger. She was happy to hear that I had visited the town and that there was a lot of new construction going on. After an hour I knew it was time to leave. We compared calendars and planned for my next visit after her next chemo treatment six weeks from now. Today I sent her an email with a few jokes. She responded almost immediately telling me that she enjoyed receiving my message. I plan to continue sending her more humorous messages.

Next, I headed out to attend a course that meets in the early afternoon. As I drove through the back roads I noticed the changing foliage and realized that nature and life moves on regardless of what is happening in any one individual life.

My course is film class. We view a film and then gather around a large table and discuss the messages in the film. All of the films in this class were made to deliver a message. Some of the films are very heavy handed while others deliver their messages very subtly. I find it interesting that members of the class have a wide range of opinions on the effectiveness of the film and the effectiveness of the message delivery.

I am learning quite a bit about how different people can see the same film and come away with different opinions on what was being conveyed and how effectively the message was delivered. I find that I am learning a lot not only about the films but also about how messages delivered in films can be consumed differently by viewers with different viewpoints on what is being presented.

As I look back on the day I realize that my friend is able to take her cancer in stride and enjoy the time she has with all of us who come to visit her. I also realize just like the film course, different people can react to the situation she is in a number of different ways. I believe my friend is doing an outstanding job of continuing to live her life and enjoy the people around her. I am very glad that she is a friend of mine.

Confessions of a New Yorker 4

4th in what now is a not-so-Occasional Series

So a funny thing happened this past month. After returning from a wonderful 3^rd trip to NYC I was invited to go one more time. Relatives now living in other places were coming home for a visit. Lucky, lucky me; I gladly accepted the chance to see relatives and to once again be a tourist in my “home town.” This trip allowed me to visit some new places as well as old favorites. But I am only going to talk about places I haven’t talked out in previous blogs.

Highlights of this trip included:

We went everywhere by subway. We also did quite a bit of walking, usually several miles a day. As we walked we often stopped for food. We felt invited in to various establishments by wonderful aromas or by seeing people walking out eating something we instantly needed to eat.

We visited the Delancey Street Tenement Museum. We watched a movie about people arriving in NYC looking for work and a place to live. We also participated in a tour, discussion, and a visit with a historical interpreter who portrayed a young girl from a large family that all lived in three small rooms. She told us how much she missed the home she and her family left, how all 10 of them lived and slept in the small apartment. The actor portrayed a young woman who actually lived in that apartment with her family. Her parents slept in a small bed; she slept on a rug and her brothers slept on the chairs, couch and the floors.

One morning we walked through Prospect Park in Brooklyn. It was Labor Day weekend and many, many people were taking advantage of one of the last week-ends before fall sets in. The weather was a bit warm but no one, including us, seemed to mind. There were several types of kid’s ball games, there were people setting up grills and others were playing frisbee. The most interesting site to me was a food fair. Many, many different international foods were for sale. But, no where was there a vendor selling hot dogs or hamburgers. All the food looked very fresh and delicious. We really enjoyed our walk.

We went to the Brooklyn Aquarium that was jammed packed with people. Lots of big tanks with lots of different fish and excellent signage explaining what we were seeing and which species were in danger of extinction. One exhibit had tanks on each side of the hall as well as a tank above the walkway that connected the tanks on each side. We saw fish swimming across from the different tanks. It was an interesting exhibit. 

I loved getting deli on the Lower East Side. I had a bialy, which is a crusty roll with a soft center filled with toasted onion. I have lived in lots of places across the country but have yet to find New York style bialys anywhere else.

When I lived in New York City they charged for traveling the Staten Island Ferry between Manhattan and Staten Island. Today it is free and many people were on the ferry with us when we crossed from Manhattan to Staten Island and back again. It was getting a bit dark when were travelled on the ferry but I sort of got a picture of the Statue of Liberty. As Lady Liberty came into view the rails filled with people, many of them speaking languages other than English. I very much enjoyed this experience. 

It is very true that NYC never sleeps. One long day after sight-seeing we had snacked all day and weren’t ready to eat again until after 9:00 PM. We walked down a street and had our pick of several different eateries. We choose a Vietnamese eatery where several people were eating both indoors and outdoors. As we were eating our excellent meals other people came in to either eat there or pick up take out.

All in all, as usual I had a wonderful time. However, as much as I love New York City I also love where I now live and very much looked forward to coming home.

Confessions of a New Yorker, 3rd in an Occasional Series

This past weekend I once again went home to NY, but this time I’m not going to talk about the city. This time I am going to talk about a birthday party for a relative who turned 90. It was a wonderful event. It was all about getting caught up, eating and drinking, and everyone generally having a good time. However, something interesting also happened. It was something that I was not expecting, but a good learning experience for me.

As the afternoon wore on, people showed pictures of other family members and friends. Everyone was truly enjoying the party. I noticed that although there were many attendees who were of a certain age, only one or two people had a cane. Everyone looked very fit regardless of age. However, my big learning was when I sat and visited with different groups. Invariably almost all of the conversations at one point or another turned to politics. I’ve known for years that the family is politically active, supporting both republicans and democrats.

As I listened to the different conversations I was very impressed with the genuine conversation. Both sides were being respectful to each other. Additionally, people were knowledgeable and engaged in what is going on in the world. The discussion groups contained adults of all ages and political persuasions. The 90 year olds particularly impressed me. These people were right up-to-date on what is going on in the nation and the world. I found it interesting that some of people in this age group are not what we would call life-long learners. Well at least not in the traditional sense. They don’t actively seek to learn through classes or discussion groups or other formal learning events. But, they constantly learn from life and their interactions with others.

Some of the men play cards on a daily basis with others in their senior communities. They play from early morning until the late afternoon. They eat lunch while playing. But, what they also do is discuss current events. Others play golf almost daily and they too appear to learn from each other. The women also interact with others on a daily basis. They too play golf, they also go to the gym, eat lunch together, attend plays and movies, and often perform in plays as well. And yes, they also go to dinner as couples. They all have active social lives that lead to interest in life and informal learning.

My learning this weekend was that life-long learning can happen in any way in any setting. It is just important to keep listening with an open mind to what is being communicated by others. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with what you hear, but it is important to listen to what is being said. When I watch the political conversations on TV, all too frequently the people on the opposing sides talk over each other, making it very difficult to even hear what is being said let alone having the opportunity to digest and think about what each side is saying. Another learning for me this weekend was that one is much more likely to learn and perhaps change one’s way of thinking (or not) when able to truly hear what the other side has to say.

As I said I had a wonderful time this past weekend and while not expected, I learned a lot more about informal methods of learning and interacting with others.

Confessions of a New Yorker, 2nd in an Occasional Series

I so love my trips home to New York City! This trip was particularly enjoyable in that I not only saw family, but I also was a tourist. I saw places I hadn’t seen before and also some long-time favorites.

There were three of us on this trip. We decided to take Amtrak. Our trip began with mistakenly getting on the Acela rather than the train for which we were ticketed. The conductor caught our ‘upgrade,’ but we were able to switch at the first stop and all was well for the rest of the trip. Well, almost, I somehow lost a pair of expensive sunglasses. When I checked at the lost and found as we left NYC they brought out a huge bin full of all kinds of glasses and sunglasses for me to search. I was amazed, and slightly comforted, that so many people had done the same thing as me. But, alas, my glasses weren’t there. However, I did buy another pair to replace them in while I was in the city. And I think I like them even better.

On our first night in the city we saw “All One Forest” in Central Park, a mash up of three Shakespearian plays “A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night and As You Like It”.

Barefoot Shakespeare Webpage

If you like Shakespeare I think you will like this play. It is an open-air performance in scenic Central Park and all performances are free! The play will be performed again June 14 – 17 2018.

The next day we went to the New York Botanical Garden. We very much enjoyed walking through the Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai’i exhibit. I felt as though I was traveling with her as I walked from one display to the next. We then went to the Conservatory and Native Plant Garden. We ended our visit by taking the narrated tram tour. All in all it was a very educational and enjoyable experience. I love New York!

The next day we walked the High Line.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line

The High Line is relativity new – to me at least! I wasn’t sure what to expect when we went to meet local relatives to do the walk together. The first thing I noticed as we climbed the stairs was that it was very crowded. I heard many languages spoken as we made our way up to the High Line.

When we got to the top, wow was all that I could say. I could see so much of the city! I really appreciated how the planners had been farsighted enough to take advantage of the natural environment as well as the view of the city that it provides.

Walking in the city at any time day or night always gives me a sense of the diversity and culture of the city. People are always out and enjoying all that the city has to offer.

We had one more ‘adventure’ before we left my hometown. Heading back from one of our trips, our city bus was rerouted due to an accident elsewhere and needed to off-load all the passengers. I wasn’t sure why we had to get kicked off our bus because someone else’s bus broke down, but what can you do? We saw it as an opportunity to skip the 30-minute wait for the next bus and we walked the four miles to our destination.

On the way we passed an optical shop where I was able to replace my lost sunglasses. I was very happy to have them, as my eyes have never done well in the sun.

So that was my weekend in New York. All in all, I rate it as a great trip. But, then again, it was a trip home and to my mind, those are always good!

I’m already thinking about my next trip to my hometown. Maybe this fall?

What is Healthy?

It seems like we keep learning more and more about what works in learning situations, business situations, and other situations. Most of what we learn builds on what we already know. In some cases things change, but for the most part our learnings add to our knowledge base. We move steadily forward with a better understanding of how things can be improved. I am not saying that it is always a direct build, but I think there is almost always information that can be applied to how we develop and deliver training.

But, when it comes to learning about making healthy life choices I don’t think we do as well. It seems like every year or two we are starting over from scratch about what is or isn’t healthy. I loved coffee, but for many years I didn’t drink it because everything I heard and read said it was bad for your health. Then one day articles started saying why coffee was good for you. Researchers are still trying to find problems with coffee, but so far it is still in the “good for you column.” Then there is chocolate; same thing, first it was bad, then chocolate with high percentages of cacao was good, and now, just about all chocolate seems to be good for you in moderation. The same goes for alcohol. I think by now we all have the picture. We just don’t know and that is frustrating.

Recently researchers have shown that the amount of time spent exercising can be cut way down and still yield improved health and well-being.

https://www.thriveglobal.com/stories/29066-science-says-1-minute-of-this-kind-of-exercise-may-equal-45-minutes-of-jogging
“The short- and long-term benefits of exercise are absurdly well-documented. Exercise lowers your cholesterol, boosts your mood, decreases your stress, and increases your flexibility (plus about a zillion other good things).

In an increasingly packed daily schedule, though, carving out the time to fit in a workout can be a challenge.

Enter new research that shows you can get away with as little as one minute of effort.
……. one group spent about 10 total minutes on each workout, while the other spent 50 minutes. The SIT [sprint interval training] group got the same benefits in a fifth of the time. ……But the hard scientific fact is that we could get the same results from one minute of flat-out exercise.”

It would be great if we could always consult the experts to make healthy choices. We need to determine what will work for us. We are all unique and different, but I think we do know a few things that, at least for now, will help us decide how to maintain our health.

Here are a few things that are currently in vogue:
Eat Breakfast
Drink lots of water
Drink green tea
Don’t drink soda
Eat less meat
Eat more plant-centric meals
Eat more local and sustainably-sourced foods

I’m not sure whether or not these recommendations will still be around in five years, but for now they are recommended. If one or more of these recommendations are no longer at the top of the scientific lists I hope that at least they won’t be on the “don’t eat” list.

Painful Learning

Two of my friends working for different companies recently found themselves unemployed. After some discussion, they decided they needed to take some action to move forward with their lives. At different times in the past I’ve helped both of them update their resumes. They contacted me and asked if I’d like to join them for an extended weekend away to help them update their resumes. I usually help people update or develop their resumes through back and forth email messages. However, since my friends wanted to develop and update to their resumes in real time I was willing to work with them over the extended weekend.

My normal process is to start by sending an individual a series of questions and ask them to think about the questions and send me their responses electronically. I tell them not to stress and it won’t be a problem if they don’t answer some of the questions on the first pass. When I receive a response I ask additional questions, drilling down for more information. We go back and forth electronically until I think I have enough information to take a pass at developing a first draft for them. This has worked well for many people over the years. Of course there are some people who decided my process wasn’t for them and they opted out. Which, since I rarely charge for the service was just fine with me.

My friends and I met at a bungalow on Cape Cod. We had a relaxing first day, which included a very nice dinner at an ocean front eatery. The next day after breakfast we took a brisk walk and returned to the bungalow ready to begin working.

I had developed a modified process to account for the fact that we would be working together in real time. I began by asking my first question. One of the women challenged me to explain the full process to her before she answered my question. I was surprised as I had worked with her before, but I explained the process and asked if they were ready to begin. The second women said she didn’t think she wanted to participate. Again, I was surprised but said fine, no problem. The first woman said that it wasn’t at all what she expected. She said she wanted to work on figuring out what she wanted to do next. She said what she needed from me was career and life coaching.

I was taken aback as this isn’t what I had offered and I wasn’t sure I could help her with what she needed. But, and here is where I made my mistake, I said I would try to help. I asked a question to try and get a sense of what direction she wanted to go in. But, she was expecting me to guide her in figuring out what she should explore next. I tired a few more questions and realized I was getting nowhere. They were now both disappointed with the process and disappointed with me.

I felt awful but didn’t think it would benefit any of us for me to say that I didn’t have expertise in career coaching. I realized too late that in my desire to help them, I had only frustrated all of us. At this point we agreed we weren’t getting anywhere and agreed to go out for another walk. We walked and talked about other things. The weekend then moved forward as any of the others we had spent together without having an agenda. I suspect that we all came away from the experience a bit unhappy. I believe that I learned that I have to make sure before I commit to do something that I really understand what I’m being asked to do. I also need to make sure it is something that I know how to do and is something that I want to do.

I have always said that if I learn something from an experience then it was worthwhile. But, while I certainly learned from this experience, it was a painful learning. Going forward I will make sure that if things appear to be going south I will stop immediately, recalibrate and then determine whether I need to end the event or move forward with it.

Why do some learning experiences need to be so painful?

Confessions of a New Yorker (Part 1 in an occasional series)

I have always been one of those strange people who like to exercise. For years I asked my family for workout equipment for my birthday and other gift-giving occasions. I have joined many gyms.

But, recently I find myself walking instead of using the gym or my home equipment. I think it is because, even at the gym, I feel like I am working out alone and I am not walking alone. I am walking with one or more friends and we talk and walk and I enjoy our conversations.

Don’t get me wrong; I fully intend to go back to the gym when the weather gets a little bit better. And in truth I don’t walk every day. When I don’t walk I often use my home equipment.

I don’t want to sound like someone who exercises constantly or excessively; I’m not that good (or bad, depending). But, I do enjoy how I feel after exercise. Even if I only work out for 18 minutes, it makes a big difference. Some days, getting all the way up to 18 minutes is my goal. But, again, some days I do nothing in the way of exercise.

My walks have been in various locations and each has advantages. We have done the mall walk. In truth, I lobbied for the mall because I needed to get my new phone and wanted to get into the store before the crowds. (No I didn’t get an iPhone X, but I did get a phone that meets my needs.) Anyway, the mall lets the walkers in before the stores open, so it’s just us fitness nuts and mall personnel.

The mall has two levels and we walked both of them hitting every corner in 90 minutes. We saw lots of people walking. Some were walking alone, and some in groups and pairs. Some people had weights that they used as they walked others, like us, walked more casually and talked.

I saw the different stores getting ready to open and other sites in the mall. There is one display that turned on each time we got close and stopped as we moved away. The motion caught my attention, but not closely enough to see what was being advertised. I guess that display was targeted at shoppers not walkers.

Our latest walk was on the sidewalks of a business complex. It has winding sidewalks and some hilly terrain, which we found a nice change from the flat floors of the mall or the local walking/bike path, which was built on old rail tracks.

The bike path is probably the most interesting place to walk. Of course we haven’t been able to walk that path in a while. But that’s only because we can’t walk it in the winter.

When I last looked at an entrance to the path it was full of ice flows. I could see several layers that had formed over each other. This path has perhaps the best visuals of all. We have seen deer and dogs other small animals and lots of people. We are sure to greet each and every dog we meet. Sometimes the dogs greet us first. There are mothers with children in strollers, or on bikes or skates or in carts or walking on their own. So nice to see children being brought up with a love of walking!

In case you haven’t noticed yet, I really like walking. I suspect it comes from being a native New Yorker and New Yorkers tend to be walkers. But, I’m really starting to miss working out at the gym, so I suspect I will be returning to the gym very soon!