Whew. Well, it's being darned hard, if not impossible, to get into an exercise routine these days. I'm managing sporadic bits of this and that, but nothing sustained . . .

Part of this has to do with the changing seasons. I was managing a bike ride a couple of evenings a week for a while, there, but nowadays by the time I get home and have dinner, it's dark. I don't like to ride my bike in the dark very much. Actually, I don't like to do much of anything in the dark, so I haven't gone running then, either. And, truth be told, by the time I get home I'm usually too pooped to pop anyway. (I know that regular exercise - and enough sleep on the weekends!!! - would cure this problem . . . but it's hard to get off the ground with the cure.)

Anyhow, I went running at home this morning, for the first time in over a week - I'd gone in Haslett a week ago Monday, didn't die, and thought, "Gee, I should do more of this!" The run this morning put me in Lansing at around 10:20, just in time for my office hours - but of course, the free parking adjacent to campus was gone. And since I'll get out at 6 tonight and don't feel like walking the three blocks to the Walnut St. lot, I ended up at a meter. Which I'll have to go feed pretty soon . . .

Another alternative is to take a fitness class here - there's a personal fitness class, which a number of faculty audit (so you never have to go), and this buys you access to the fitness facility in the next building over. All I'd have to pay would be the course fee and the registration fee - tuition would be free. So for about $40 a semester I could have a health club membership, functionally. That might be cheaper than feeding meters on days when I stay home to exercise . . . Of course, I'm also considering just buying a ramp pass, because I can imagine wintry days when I'll want to stay home and ski in the morning, too. It would be nice to get here and be able to park the car somewhere where it won't get snowed on.

Ah, well. Not a very earth-shattering journal entry, but that's what's on my mind today.

Small snapshot of Ann Arbor: As I was leaving town this morning, I passed the police station. They had a big banner out, informing people about the "Stop America's Violence Everywhere" (SAVE) campaign, and a 20-foot clothesline strung with white t-shirts as memorials to people who have suffered from domestic abuse . . . I've gotta love it. I do love it. This is the police I'm talking about, taking a public stand against violence. One small reason that I love this town. You couldn't pry me outta there with a crowbar . . .