Diary of a Reluctant Exerciser
Things of interest this week
I learned this week that two witches are opening a bakery on Chicago’s Far North side. Neighbors include a wings restaurant, a dollar store, and an Italian beef joint. A trapeze school is headquartered in an old brick building not far away. A public library is also close, as is a very dark old bar that mostly serves beer and burgers.
Such a varied collection of establishments in the same corner of the same neighborhood is quite ordinary in this town, where I recently saw a very beautiful, very large LGBTQIA+ Pride flag fluttering atop a Jiffy Lube franchise in the late-spring breeze. My friends’ apartment building lobby contains a very realistic-looking painted nun statue, just because the landlord felt like it. The nun’s name is Nancy. A lot of people keep their Halloween skeletons out year-round and dress them for seasonal holidays.
This is a city where you can be both extraordinary and very ordinary all at once, no matter who you are, and probably find kindred spirits. And that, as much as anything else I could tell you, explains why I’m growing to love Chicago. I will obviously be purchasing some witch bread.
The heat crawled around the air conditioning unit into my living room today, and we’re supposed to see hail and lightning tonight. I am drinking a teacup of cold brew coffee at the inadvisable hour of 6 p.m. as I try to catch up on work. It was hard to focus earlier, so I took a nap.
Some days are just one continuous awake flow, but after the pandemic began, I found that I sometimes required these divided days. Day 1, Day 2, and the liminal sleepy space in between, where I attempted to nap away anxiety or just regular old fatigue.
My sleep has not been regular in years, no matter how much or how little caffeine I take in. But I’ve accepted that this is how it is for me right now, and perhaps it’ll change and perhaps it won’t.
Things I Want to Share With You This Week
Diary of a Reluctant Exerciser - a new series voted on by my patrons, beginning today over on Patreon. It is not a “fitness journey” meant to attract spon con deals from belly tea companies and scented yoga mat spray brands. It is the diary of somebody who has always resisted exercise and who is now forcing herself to go to the gym regularly, fully a year and a half after her cardiologist told her to start. There will be nothing about weight or BMI or nutrition. There will be zero before/after photos. I will not tell you to exercise. Who will we meet? What shall we overhear? Will we make any friends? We shall find out, together.
I had the urge to run out of the gym the other day when I accidentally locked myself out of my locker twice in a row. I really did consider just getting somebody to unlock it and then running away forever, even though I’ve pre-paid for private training sessions and the membership itself. This is not an exaggeration. I have quit gyms forever and taken a financial hit, purely out of panic and revulsion and shame. That is the kind of reluctance I’m talking about.
If you relate to getting anxious at the thought of entering a gym or exercise studio, you may enjoy it. You may particularly enjoy sharing in the comments over there on Patreon. It’s a great way to support my work (as is a paid subscription here!) and a nice little community we’ve built over the years.
Hanging Chads, Dads and Grads - my latest advice column for
That’s all for now. My cat appears to need cuddling, here in the gloaming. The temperature has dropped a little. The humidity is 73%. It may not storm until 10. I will probably be awake.
Thank you for being here.
Love,
Sara
That area right around Andersonville is so great!