Four Unconnected Topics in Search of a Title

There was a really pretty sunrise this morning, and the pictures of it that I took came out as complete crap. Why is that?

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I was puzzled last week to receive a catalog in the mail from Green Mountain Coffee, for two reasons.

First, I'm not exactly a dedicated coffee drinker. Somewhere around five years ago, after being a once-a-year coffee drinker, I started drinking a cup of coffee-and-cocoa most mornings at work, particularly in cold weather, but I never use the coffee maker at home (I should just get rid of that, really). I do love the caramel frappuchinos from Starbucks, but as a friend of mine pointed out, that's more like dessert than coffee.

Second reason was this note printed on the back:

Haven't heard from me in a while? I've never ordered from them before. I've never received a catalog from them before. I admit, I thought about ordering the caramel vanilla creme flavor online somewhere, to use at work, but before I got around to it*, the company switched systems and now K-cups are not the format of choice**. I understand about getting on weird mailing lists (you get this magazine, therefore you want that one!), but how do I get on a list of previous customers who haven't ordered recently?

*For once, procrastination pays off.
**Which is too bad, since they aren't getting many flavors, and no light roasts at all. Hopefully that will change? Am I the only coffee wimp at the company?

Weird.

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There was a story in the Globe yesterday about how Halloween spending keeps going up, and it validated my feeling that everyone didn't used to do this wild over-the-top decorating the way so many do now. (You kids get off my lawn!) If it's gone up this much just in the last few years, no wonder my childhood memories are of taping pumpkin shapes to the kitchen windows, not of creating a graveyard on the lawn with an animatronic zombie, flashing lights, and dry ice.

The best part, though, was the way they showed the increase in spending. Standard bar chart material, right?

Sure, if you consider Kit-Kats standard. Clever!


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I had a moment of disgust yesterday with my perpetual and ongoing not exercising, and tried to think about a way to make it work, to overcome what obstacles I am placing in my own way. Walking outside isn't going to work, and not just because we're heading right into dark-and-cold season. I've come to realize that when I say that I like walks, I mean strolls with frequent camera stops in nice weather, preferably with company or with a destination, rather than power-walk-exercising. And I'm just not riding the bike, even though it could hardly be more convenient. I thought that perhaps I should just join a gym and use the machines, though I am fairly certain based on past experience that I would hate it. Still, if I could find a place between work and home I might be able to make myself make it part of my routine. Maybe?

The thought didn't fill me with joy, but I went to my health plan's website to look up gyms (they refund part of a health club membership, which is nice). My mood did brighten slightly when I saw the search selector for "pool" and it occurred to me that maybe I could join a place with a pool, and swim instead. I think I might like that more? Maybe? It seemed like a less repugnant thought, so it would be worth a try. But my search revealed not only a dearth of options in the exact area where I was looking, but also a surprising number of suggestions of Boys and Girls Club locations. Am I missing something? Are they not intended .. for boys and girls? I may not act like it most of the time, but technically I am an adult. Something weird there.

There is a YMCA in my town, and I've thought about joining there. I blanched to see that the yearly cost is over $600, which seems like an awful lot, but that's partly a first-time joining fee, and when you break down the rest it isn't really that much per month. I don't know. I hate to spend so much money on something I'll hate, even if it is good for me. I can afford it, but I'd rather spend the money on things I like. Books, yarn ... Bruins tickets even.

I know plenty of people who say, sincerely and earnestly, that I will feel better if I exercise regularly. Perhaps if I could bring myself to keep exercising for a long time with no other feedback, that would be true. I can't say for sure that it wouldn't. But repeated attempts to make exercise part of my routine have demonstrated that I am only going to keep it up for two to three months before finding the lack of a single positive result too much to overcome. Exercising takes time and energy, and leaves me hot and sweaty and tired. That's it. If you get the endorphin rush when you exercise, good for you. I don't.

(And anyone who says that maybe I'm not working hard enough to get it will get hit. Just a friendly warning there.)

I don't have an answer to this yet. I'm thinking on it. Meanwhile, kitty wants a lap.