She's Back!

Orange Hat Lady is back.  She sat down right in front of me this morning.  Finally.  I haven't seen her in several weeks and thought she had escaped from the morning commute.  But there she was this morning.  Orange knit hat pulled down over her eyes napping away.  I almost said something to her, but decided not to disturb her.  As we pulled into Union Station though off came the orange hat and The Voice wished us all a good day.  All is right with the world.

Magazine Mogul

My stack of unread magazines is literally more than a foot tall.  I just measured it this weekend.  This is a bit disheartening.  I told myself when I took the new job with the long commute that I would use the time to catch up on my reading. But it seems as if my stack keeps growing. 

Now let me be clear.  I don't actually pay for a subscription to all these magazines.  These are things we've gotten with extra frequent flyer miles or as gifts.  But still I feel guilty if I don't read each and every one. 

So not only did I measure my stack this weekend, but I put the magazines in chronological order so I could read the oldest ones first and then move on to the more recent issues.  Unfortunately, by the time I move on to the more recent ones, they'll be old too.  Just to give you an idea as to how far behind I am on my magazine reading -- I just learned who was best dressed at the Oscars and who actually won the golden statues.  I don't know how I functioned all this time without knowing that important information.  But I managed to make it through, several months in fact, blissfully ignorant.

Nonetheless, I'm determined to get through the stack, one by one.  Tomorrrow, for instance, I could read a  fitness magazine that guarantees I will be bikini ready by the first day of summer (NOT!) or I could read a holiday issue of a cooking magazine.  (Yes, I'm really that far behind.)  So while it's not too late to get in shape for next summer,  I decided to read the holiday issue instead and see if I can come up with some new recipes for Thanksgiving.  I just hope no one has tried them though.  After all, they're a bit outdated.

Sneaker Fitness

Fellow blogger Kasmira (she writes http://whatiwore2day.blogspot.com/) wore sneakers this week as she trekked all over her city of Cincinnati.  Apparently this is out of the norm for her and she wanted to know what footwear other commuters chose.  I, for one, opt for the sneakers as I make my way for train to metro to office.  Not only are they comfortable and save wear and tear on my heels, but I feel like I can squeeze in a mini workout as part of my commute.  After all, when you have a commute as long as mine (at least two hours one-way) finding time to exercise is practically impossible.  So I opt for my sneakers.

Right now I'm wearing Curves sneakers, which are those funky looking, curved-bottom shoes, designed to help you tone your backside and burn a few extra calories.  Do they work?  I don't know, but at least I feel like I'm doing something.  Here are some other ways I sneak in some exercise.  I take the stairs whenever possible -- even if it's a Metro escalator. I never just ride, I walk too.  I also walk up and down the six flights of stairs to my office.  Of course I huff an puff at the top, but that doesn't deter me.  Then there are the bicep curls I do with my still-too-heavy tote bag.  Finally, at the train station I do some quadricep stretches while I wait for the morning arrival.  In total, it probably isn't a full 30-minute workout like experts say you should get daily, but at least it's something.  And, I just wait until the weekends to do my longer workouts.  By the way, enjoy yours.

It's A New Car . . .

I rode in one of the new passenger cars this morning and frankly I have to say I like the old ones better.  Sure the new car is all shiny and bright but since the seat backs are white, it also is rather sterile looking.  And did I mention there are more seats.  A lot more!  Which also means there is a lot less leg room.  Of course, this lack of leg room makes the morning nap (if I actually were able to sleep) much less comfortable.  Except that while there are more seats,  I noticed there weren't enough riders to fill them.  So I suppose I could just lay across the vacant seat.  The conductor tends to frown on that though and I'm sure MARC is betting that pretty soon all those empty seats will be filled.  Here's a hint, MARC -- stay on schedule and maybe they will.

Paring Down

As you know, I've been trying to lighten my load.  So I spent the weekend taking a long, hard look at what I'm actually carrying to and from work.  I did it by dumping out everything in both my purse and my tote bag and repacking them with only the items I thought were absolute necessities.  In my purse, I decided to whittle down the three make-up brushes and the three packages of dental floss to one each.  After all, one make up brush is sufficient and one package of dental floss should be enough to get me out of any McGyver-like situation I might find myself in.  Also gone are the three or four magazines I was carrying.  I decided to opt instead for the one-at-a-time approach.  So what if I have to ride the train for an hour without any reading material.  There are plenty of interesting people to watch to keep me entertained for at least one trip.  The end result of my paring down activity was a lighter load.  Maybe not a whole lot lighter but lighter none the less.  I'll continue to work on it.

Orange Hat Lady

Where are you, orange hat lady?  I haven't seen you for a few days.  Perhaps, though, you're incognito, wearing a blue or green hat.  The truth is, if you changed your hat color I'm not sure I'd recognize you.  I'll keep searching though.  Hope all is well.

Diesel Does It

At the risk of jinxing (is that a word?) tomorrow's commute, I have to say that ever since MARC brought in the diesel engines to tow the trains during this scorching summer, the trains have been running closer to schedule.  According to one conductor I spoke with, they really help in the heat.  And I know the passengers seem to appreciate it as the sense of relief is almost audible when people realize the trains are pulling out on time.  MARC, keep up the good work.