Aspirations

I went jogging tonight for the first time in months and months (at least three or four). It felt good, but of course the direction I chose to run was... you guessed it, uphill. Do I ever do things the easy way? :P It was a good run, though the uphill parts went rather slowly (especially the stairs). I did a somewhat circular route, rather than backtracking, so I went uphill (and up stairs) the steep way, and then came back down a more gradual slope to try to save my knee and shins. I think I did pretty well; my knee is only mildly complaining, though we'll see what it and my already tight hamstrings are saying tomorrow morning. I would love to start running more frequently and for longer distances, because when my body behaves it feels wonderful to run. It's just a matter of not killing my knee or getting shin splints. Maybe I should get some actual running shoes....

I think I need to get a new pair of dance sneakers, too. My feet seem to sort of spill over the edges of the ones I currently wear, because the tops are so stretchy and flexible and the sole is just a bit too narrow for my feet (hence the enormous pinky-toe blister from the previous post). Friday night's dance inspired me to explore all the swing dancing in Portland I possibly can, and I'm actually thinking about seeking out some classes, since I've gotten some recommendations and actually saw a few of the teachers dancing on Friday. I think I'd like to start with something I'm familiar with, like Lindy, to get back into the groove and get more comfortable with something I already know, and then start branching out into things I've always meant to learn, like West Coast swing and Charleston and salsa, and things I've only just begun to think I can do, like Balboa. Boy, I could just be a full-time dance student! :P One thing I thought was interesting, looking at some of the dance teacher bios on Portland-area websites, is that it seems like most of them have only been dancing for about five years, which seems like a very short time between learning a dance style and teaching it. But then again, I've seen some of them dance, and they're definitely qualified!

So those are my current fitness and entertainment aspirations. I think Alice must have set herself some similar goals as well - she's been much more active in the last week or so (don't laugh, Mom!). She wants to play with her string-on-a-stick much more frequently and for much longer periods of time, and she's getting much quicker and more agile in her chasing technique. And today she did two things I haven't seen her do before: she actually jumped up at the string, and another time she stood all the way up on her hind legs to reach waaaay up for it. In order for you to grasp the significance of these achievements, you must understand that normally Alice prefers to lay on her back or her side and sort of swat at the string as it goes by - so this is big news. I've started a fairly regular nighttime routine of making myself a cup of tea, then giving Alice a good brushing (she loves it!). That gets her all worked up and excited, then we play with her string while I drink my tea. When we're both tired out, we go to bed. Not a bad life, I think. :)

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Current magnetic poetry:

perhaps the cat
had only one life

vast feline belly