Working out

Ernie brought a camera to the gym today - you can see him in the mirror.

That's my trainer Mike, the highly-caffeinated 21-year-old who is an exercise nerd, meaning that he not only knows his stuff but he's really into it. That gets me motivated because nerding out over just about anything is fun for me. He might look small but he's all lean muscle - for example he can do pulldowns 50% higher than his bodyweight so he has to have someone push him down to the seat so he can wrap his legs around it to do a set.





I love this gym. It's less than 1/2 what it cost me in Manhattan and training sessions are equally inexpensive. It's huge, never feels crowded, and has some impressive italian and latino eye candy (although most of them are young enough that it feels wrong to think of them in that way.)

It's been great for me this summer. I had felt SO out of shape for so long it's wonderful to feel in touch with my body and to feel strong. Coming up on my 51st birthday that's one of several good things I've done that makes me feel optimistic.

New pants

Inbetween an appointment and a meeting this afternoon I browsed through the Goodwill in Chelsea and found a pair of black denim bellbottoms with a shiny reptile skin pattern.

I think they're way cool. I just need to photograph them with more light.