I have an abundance of exercise options in very close proximity including a couple gyms with classes, including Pilates. The gym in my building is almost always empty and I can swim an elevator ride away. No excuses, Laura. They moved us from row 31 to row 7 to balance the plane. I packed my sugar free powdered creamer which TSA dude tested. Didn’t think about it. It could have stayed north.

I don't think we're past the point of no return here so we should keep on fighting - but I'm pretty sure they're crashing the economy deliberately

I'm really not sure if that's what's happening (though I'm certainly not discounting it) or if Trump is just stupid and intransigent and likes to bully people. There's just a lot of evidence for that. The whole Signal chat supports the notion that these people are idiots.

Also the Trump family is making big bank right now because the chaos, so...could just be his usual grift.

Say outrageous shit. Do outrageous shit. Make billions. Worked in his first term.

For anybody doing anything physical with the time and work and life restraints you have to juggle - you're doing great.

Setting goals is fine and I know we've got a lot of achiever beavers here, but I'm here to say modest and mediocre activity is way better than nothing.

Set your goal at the lowest bar and just try to do something every day, or if you're more active and need rest, then take those rest days.

JZ got a lot of exercise at the hospital simply by taking the steps instead of elevator every day, and riding her bike to work and back.

I'm here to say modest and mediocre activity is way better than nothing. Set your goal at the lowest bar and just try to do something every day, or if you're more active and need rest, then take those rest days. JZ got a lot of exercise at the hospital simply by taking the steps instead of elevator every day, and riding her bike to work and back.

I'll have to dig up this study, but it's honestly true that just 10 minutes of activity is where people start to see real improvements in their health and life expectancy. You obviously need longer amounts if you're training for a sport, but, for real, 10 minutes is good in terms of health outcomes. Doing more has more benefits, but doing a small amount is worth the effort.

Yah, the neighborhood Y is seven minutes away and pretty new and very clean and spiff -- so we are MUCH better about actually going than we were to the Planet Fitness, which was 15 minutes away and in a weirdly in between industrial and commercial place. These things make a difference, apparently!

Some drama llama totally flipped out about her cut at the hair place. The stylists are foreign; not sure they know what a "choppy cut" is, and she wasn't finished.

Oh, dear. I hope it eventually worked ked out OK.

I really need a haircut. I probably need a soft perm (American perm, apparently?) to get it to look like what I want. It'll be an experiment, for sure. I want it short but not pixie or stick straight. But it's too long now, and all I ever do is put it up because I don't like how it looks long.

So I've been having some email exchanges with my Dad about Trump etc. So far I've stuck with tariffs.

His responses were not what I was expecting. I had been under the impression he was a reluctant Trump voter not someone who would be in favor of what is going on because Trump is negotiating and "at least he is trying to do something about a very real problem".

I have been deluding myself and not talking about this with Dad because I didn't want to damage our relationship that isn't that great to begin with. I mean he loves me but we've always been kind of distant and hard to get to know

I really need a haircut. I probably need a soft perm (American perm, apparently?)

Yeah, you just need a perm with larger perm rods. Personally, I'd recommend getting it done at an Asian salon if that's an option, just because they handle so many more perms than most regular salons nowadays.

However, there is Korean which is more of a texture/body perm. I can give you more details if you're interested.

Yes, thank you! Replied in Messenger!

Almost all of the instructors in my studio came to Pilates after significant injury and it became a way for them to reclaim their bodies.

Makes sense, as rehab of injured WW1 soldiers was one of the early uses of it, back when it was still called Contrology. (My sister-in-law's training included some from Romana Kryzanowska, who Pilates trained and who took over his studio. As a result, I know a pretty stupid amount about Pilates for a couch potato, and most of my Pilates instruction is a mere two degrees from Old Joe.)