random thoughts – Day 1,558 – (Sunday) –weather or not

Sunday clouds.

There aren't any dance classes for a couple months and there wasn’t a plan for today, which is largely how I roll. When the weather forecast and talk of a tornado watch from 1:00 to 8:00 dominated social media, the idea of attending the Finnish summer festival in Fitchburg was scratched. I drove home yesterday in an afternoon downpour with poor visibility and wasn’t thrilled with the idea of another crappy weather road trip. 

When I would ordinarily be in dance class working on shimmies and hip slides and undulations, I went to the gym. It wasn’t crowded and I headed for the 30-minute circuit training area, where “not crowded” is unfortunately not the same thing as “not annoying.” The premise in the circuit area is, do reps while the light on the wall is green. When it turns red, wipe the machine down and move to the next one. Theoretically, following this timing, all the stations can be done in 30 minutes.

There were four people in the area with the circuit stations. Half the stations are cardio steps that are supposed to be used in between each weight machine, but I’ve never seen anyone use them.

The first machine was occupied by a guy sitting there staring at his phone. The next one was occupied by a guy sitting there staring at his phone. A third guy was finishing up on the abs machine, and nearby, a woman used a leg machine.

I stood there observing for a minute or two and then jumped the numbering sequence to the third machine. After the set, I wiped the machine and surveyed the area. The two dudes were still sitting on their original machines and still on their phones. The woman had moved to another machine. The guys on the machines staring at their phones really needed to move it along. Unfortunately, design and theory aren’t the same thing as actual practice.

In the end, I used only four of the machines before bailing and jumping on a treadmill. I didn’t have all day to wait for the cell phone boys to finish whatever it was they were doing. The visit ended with the massage chair, which is still the primary reason I go to the gym at all.

It was a quiet afternoon at The BungaLowell. Laundry was done. Vacuuming took place, which sent Kiki dashing for safety to the space behind the couch. As I vacuumed the living room, she meowed so loudly behind the couch that I could hear her over the vacuum.

Supper was prepared. It needed to be more substantial than the salad that left me hungry enough to eat off my own arm by 4:30. Mushroom ravioli was topped with a pesto cream sauce with grape tomatoes, onion, and olives. It was delicious.

Possibility of wild weather.

An eye was kept on the weather. Lowell was in the “Scattered severe storms possible” area of a weather map posted earlier in the day. During the day, clouds gathered and then they broke. It got sunny. It got cloudy and windy again, with the trees flailing in the wind. At 7:00, it rained for a few minutes, but not even enough to water the plants. And that was pretty much it. 

For a day with the promise of a 10% chance of potentially exciting weather, it was kind of a nonevent on that front. But for a stress-free day with plenty of relaxation that was influenced by the weather forecast, it was a total winner.