And the Band Played On...

So even as we plan our latest adventure I still have things to do. I've got work and reports and coding consistency analysis and meeting with my Trainer at the gym. Oh what, you thought I was just a big old lump of middle-aged Midwestern cellulite? Ok, maybe that is true but I am trying to do something about it.

I have been a member of four different gyms over the last ... hmm it is either 20 years or 18 months depending on if you count calendars days or days I actually went to the gym. Regardless, I went to my new gym tonight after work, changed into my gym togs and met with a sweet young thing who laughs a lot but was very knowledgeable. After all she agreed that getting into gym togs counts as aerobic exercise and that togs is a real word.

I think I'm going to like this one though. It is just blocks from my office, it has a swimming pool heated to 88 degrees, and I get to meet with this trainer every two months. Oddly though, my next visit with her is not in September but next week. In fact, the appointment is coincidentally 4:30 PM the day after we get back from Marshalltown and Ragbrai.  I told her we had to schedule it for later in the day as I expected HRH to demand ice for various parts of her body. I'm certain she'll also require that CaDiva and I deliver many Iced Venti cups of sweet chocolaty things she will call herbal tea. And we'll cater to her demands given that she will have ridden a bicycle 70-some miles over the gently rolling hills with no sunscreen.  By the way, if any of you are reading the advice regarding bicycle shorts, she has assured us that sunscreen is the only thing she is going without.

But the important thing is to remember is I'm going to be going to the gym after sleeping out of doors in an unair-conditioned tent in the heat of an Iowa July night with very limited access to PIE. Not to mention she has Friday off too and I have to go back to work...pie or no pie.

I suppose I shouldn't whine because I think TWC and our fourth member, non-Hank, are going back to work on Thursday. I have plenty of vacation days to use but non-Hank has told me if I mention again how much leave I have in the bank she will do to me what HRH says her bicycle seat does to her new shorts, so I'll leave it at that.

One last thing, CaDiva just pointed out that HRH is probably reading my thoughts and this may cause her to expect us to cater to her sad broken body after her efforts. So HRH, you need to stop reading at Marshalltown and Ragbrai and pick it up again at But the important thing is....