It's fun to stay at the...

My counselor has been insisting for awhile now that I need to get cardio exercise for my SAD, to help with endorphin letdown. It isn't like exercise wouldn't help City Mouse, either. So today we went out to the YMCA in Wauwatosa to check it out, get a tour, and see about membership.

The tour was interesting; they have a huge room full of cardio equipment, like elliptical machines, treadmills, stairclimbers, Nordic-track type machines, and the like. They also have free weights and weight machines (and you can program your own fitness goals into a computer that helps you monitor your reps). They have two pools and a whirlpool and smaller groupings of fitness equipment in the locker rooms (if you prefer a more private space).

Through our employment with the Bullseye and having insurance through them, we get a free month's membership and a free trial week. We are taking advantage of the trial week this week, and then will pay for our first month on Friday when we get paid. Now, it's just for us to make the hearts-and-minds commitment to get to the Y after work. It is about the same as joining a gym but with many more options outside of fitness to have fun (one of the local Y branches is arts-based and offers ceramics classes, for example). We can use any branch when we get our membership.

This afternoon I'll just be spending more time working on my Stornoway gansey. Tomorrow begins the Mouse quest for a better body and a fitter life.

It's been awhile...

Lots has been happening here in the City. The biggest thing is that City Mouse and I have to change stores. Our original store down here (West Milwaukee) is moving their logistics process to a 10pm start, thus making it an overnight shift. This does not work with the lifestyle to which City Mouse and I have become accustomed, so we had to find another option. Our options were: take a different job on the day shift, transfer to another store's logistics team, or quit. We decided to transfer, because staying with our current corporation will allow us to keep our medical insurance, while staying with an early-morning process will allow us to keep that shift differential that makes a big difference in whether or not we can pay our rent. So in a little more than a week, we will be starting at the store in Menomonee Falls, about 20 minutes away from our place. I'll be glad to be working a little later in the morning again.

Also, I have finished my program in nanotechnology, and yes, I am keeping an eye out for career jobs now. I'm starting by looking for medical laboratory jobs at local hospitals and clinics. I would like to be a lab tech. I would have to be certified within a year for most MLT jobs, but I am okay with that--a little experience to add to my knowledge and I should be set. In the meantime, I will probably be working on a part-time basis for my internship advisor as a research tech. Not a bad job for now!

I've been kept busy by Celtic Nations, too. I performed with the band at a wake and the Tripoli Shrine's Tartan Ball in November, and at the local Scottish club's Hogmanay on New Year's Eve. We're learning new music for the summer, and we're already booked for several performances/parades through March, including a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Racine. Next event is a Robert Burns Dinner. Yum, haggis...

Pumbaa the Wonder Pig is, unfortunately, starting to show her age. She sleeps more, has issues with her health, and is getting a wee bit more ornery than Her Divaship usually is. She is geriatric for a guinea pig, at 3 1/2 years old, but she still shows her pup self on occasion. She likes to rearrange her own furniture, and has discovered a love for all types of parsley, especially cilantro.