I should warn you right now. This journal entry is completely frivolous. Instead of reading the text below, you may wish to do something productive, like writing a letter to your aunt, cleaning out your belly button, or petting a kitten.

Why are you still reading this?!

This page has a few Quicktime movies in it, so you may have to be patient for them to load. Why do that when you could read an article about smelling salts in this month's Oprah magazine instead?

Ok. I tried. You're on your own...

Once I was done with chemo several weeks ago, I started to exercise again, preparing my body for the rest of my new life. Exercise, along with eating healthy foods, has really increased my daily energy (it's like wizard magic, but it's real). This new-found vigor should help me get through the radiation treatments I'm currently undergoing. I'm on week 3 of 4 for my upper chest -- I then have 4 weeks on my abdomen.

I've joined the local YMCA to get access to weights, stationary bikes, and treadmills. I've been going for about a month now, and I can really see a difference. I took a picture of myself the other day:

Not bad for a few week's work, eh?

After going several times to "the Y," I started to notice different types of work-out people. I've classified them as "guys," but there are plenty of women that fit these categories as well.

• Ultra-Sweaty Guy - This dude has obviously been there for hours. He carries an extra big towel and is soaked from head to toe -- like he's a victim of his own personal acid rain storm. Most have some form of noticeable body odor and have biceps larger than my head.
• Ping-Pong Guy - The weight room has a set of exercise equipment labeled 1-16. You should start at number 1 and make your way to number 16 (skipping those machines that just aren't fun). Ping-pong guy starts at 7, then goes to 4, then 12, then 9, then back to 7, then to 1, then swims a few laps in the pool, then goes to 5, then clips his toenails, then finishes at 10.
• Sleepy-But-Not-Really Guy - This one does a few sets and then stays in the workout machine, usually with his head down on one of the pads. He's just giving himself a few moments before starting up again, but he looks like he's taking a cat nap -- or he's really sad about only doing 9 reps instead of his usual 10. Unfortunately, these guys can cause a bottleneck in the work-it-work-it-work-it-go-home pipeline.
• Chit-Chat Guy - This one comes by proxie, as I haven't spoken to anyone at the gym. A friend of mine told me about this type of gymite, who enjoys starting conversations during the workout. Now, I'm fairly internalized when when my muscles are flexing, so gabbing about which cafe serves Illy coffee while holding 350 lbs over my head (see picture above) is not an ideal situation. I guess the best solution is to be polite and move to another machine as quickly as possible.

I just realized that if Ultra-Sweaty Guy meets enough Chit-Chat Guys, he'll turn into Ping-Pong Guy. This might upset Sleepy-But-Not-Really Guy, causing the world's largest muscular logjam.

If we could only use the weights to bop these people on the head, like a giant, macho game of whack-a-mole.

Now for our next athletic topic.

I've mentioned how I fell flat on my butt during my first roller blading adventure since I was diagnosed with cancer. Well, my brother Stuart and his wife Lexie came to visit this weekend, and we decided to give it another shot.

Now, I'm not stupid (well, I'm not that stupid). I knew that I couldn't expect to just get back on the horse, so to speak, and roll around town. I had to take precautions. I had a few choices here:

• Wear a hemet and knee pads
• Have Stuart and Lexie walk next to me as I skated
• Use my walker

I didn't want to purchase pads just for a few weeks, and Stuart and Lexie didn't want to be my support (they'd rather watch and laugh). So I chose to use my walker.

I took my walker and roller blades from my car trunk (did I mention that the two things that I keep in my trunk are my walker and my roller blades? Prophetic, huh?) and prepared to roll (and fall).

Stuart helped me understand how to hold steady and where to grip the handles on the walker (like he knew). We then practiced a few standard positions.

Skating.

And stopping.

After practicing a few other positions (half-turn, full turn, double-ollie, cab-hailing, and of course, the tricky-yet-spiritual hidden-dragon), I was ready to give it a go.

First, I had to get into position.

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Clearly, the walker was doing its job.

I then took a test run, making sure I didn't go too fast.

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Stuart and Lexie were very supportive, as you can see.

After several practice runs, I started to get the hang of it.

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By this time, I was cruising, achieving speeds of up to 75 miles per hour. I can't wait to move up to only needing a cane.

We had a great time this weekend. We saw butterflies, had dinner and played games with friends, walked along the beach, drove around this beautiful town, and had several tickle fights (Stu always won, but he cheats).

One of my friends is a pilot and I'll be flying with him today. I'm excited about getting a bird's-eye view of the town. I hear there is a swimming pool and tennis court behind the Santa Barbara Mission. Those frolicing Franciscans.



See. I told you this was a frivolous journal entry. And you just had to read it, didn't you?

Well, maybe the rest of your day will improve after closing this browser window. Go outside and play. It's a beautiful day, and it has nothing to do with the weather.

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