Skip The Repetitive Exercises And Go For A Walk To The Grocery Store

Exercise DVDs and videos are a good way to stay in shape if you do not have time to go to the gym or for walks during the week, but do you really want to do repetitive exercises on your day off?  I found exercise tapes helpful in the past, but I got bored quickly because I like a change of scenery, and I like my workouts to have a purpose.  As a pedestrian I get both of these things, but even drivers can experience this by walking to the store on your day off.

If you live two blocks from the store you could walk there for a change of pace, and a change of scenery.  Believe me: you will notice birds in the trees, the man walking that fluffy dog, and a myriad or things you would never notice if you were zooming by in your car.

Once you get to the store keep your shopping trip small because you are walking back, and pack exercise into it by taking one of those carry around baskets.  I limit amount I buy according to what fits in the carry basket, which really helps you assess whether you need the stuff you are putting in or not.  With all the exercise you are doing you really will rethink purchasing that frozen meal, or that ice cream as well.  I know if I go shopping with a shopping cart I can push around that I will mindless throw lots of stuff in, but with a carry basket I just will not do that!

In repetitive exercise videos you always see those moves with weights, but I always found these boring!  I just do not feel like concentrating on lifting the weight to the side, and contorting my my arms behind my back.  As I said if I am moving about I want a purpose, and carrying the bags home from the grocery store I am lifting weights in a natural way, and my journey home gives me a purpose. 

They always say to take reusable bags with you, but I say it is okay to get the plastic bags at the store.  Do you know why I say that?  A lot of people think they are helping the environment because they use reusable bags at the grocery store, but then they have to buy plastic bags for their trash.  What I do is limit my trash to the small plastic bags from the grocery store, which are made of recycled plastic.  Now if they start charging for these bags I might start rethinking this approach, but right now I just cannot see the point of paying for a large plastic trash bag, which would take me weeks to fill, especially when I can cut down on my waste and throw it all in a small plastic bag from the store.

June Gloom In May

I know they call it June Gloom, but we often have overcast days in April and May as well. Actually, the last few days have been overcast with a bit of sprinkly rain here and there, but I am always expecting a larger rainstorm when the sky is gray and blustery like this. In other news I noticed they have finished cutting down a large portion of the orange field, so I am glad I photographed and documented it before those beautiful trees were destroyed.

There are still more trees that can be seen in he distance since this is quite a large field, but I just do not see the point of destroying perfectly good trees that are still bearing fruit. If they are planning to build a business in the cut down orange field this seems redundant as there are several empty buildings already, and one is a store that never opened. I am just way too much of a conversationalist/environmentalist, but I hate to see trees cut down when there are empty buildings that could have been used for whatever they plan on building. Oh well, I really do not have much of a say about this.

How Did Jaywalking Come About Anyway?

As a pedestrian I never jaywalk because I find this way too dangerous. There are some people who jaywalk across larger streets where there are no cross walks for about half a block, and I always find this practice way too reckless. I would rather walk two blocks to cross at a cross walk rather than putting my life in jeopardy to run across several lanes of traffic. Here is an article in the Atlantic that talks about how the concept of jaywalking has evolved over time, and it is very interesting to read. Honestly, I see people jaywalking on a daily basis, and these pedestrians seem to think nothing of the potential danger of being hit. Maybe I am overly cautious, but this walker is too afraid to jaywalk.