Déjà vu

The standard cliché for doing something multiple times is "Shampoo, Rinse, Repeat." I wonder how many times normal people actually repeat their hair-washing cycle?

I don't have enough hair to merit a second wash/rinse. In fact, the first time through requires only a few molecules of shampoo. A single bottle of Pert lasts me a couple of years.

The reason I bring it up is this: I had started to type a blog about last night's track practice with my brother, but then realized that I had said the exact same stuff more than once in past posts. We may not do it every week, and some workouts are better than others -- but it IS a routine. As is most of my life.

Every week is pretty much the same. On workdays, I get up early, check email, make lunch, work out, go to the office, endure the cruel lashes of corporate taskmasters until the whistle blows, then go home to eat far too much comfort food in front of the TV before I fall asleep as the clock strikes 7. Once in a while, I have a track practice in the evening, or perhaps stay up a tad later after getting caught up watching an episode of Batman. But it doesn't vary much. On weekends, I do housework and bookkeeping, exercise more, and might throw in a bubble bath nap, or perhaps a movie or something. But it would be accurate and fair to say that I'm living a loop.



I'm not complaining. I have a pretty good life, and most days enjoy myself immensely. But every now and then I get to thinking that I should intentionally veer off course, at least temporarily.

I mean, I never go skydiving with squirrels, or play music in the park with a monkey drummer. I don't spar with ninjas, bungee jump off skyscrapers, nor waterski with elephants.

Well, OK -- I guess you could count the fact that my college waterskiing mentor was the guy we all called "The Fat Man," which is pretty much like hanging with an elephant. The frustrating thing for me was that despite his rotundity, he was a far better skier than I was, and could even ski barefoot. I just fell down a lot.

But at least I was trying. What have I done lately that has stretched my own performance boundaries, or even my intellectual horizons? I should get my unicycle out of the closet, take a trip to Minnesota, or visit some weird art exhibit or something.

No, wait a minute. I'm not giving myself enough credit. I am taking a yoga class. I'm signed up for a marathon. I risked my sanity by traveling to hippie-infested Seattle last year, and I have listened to every single bizarre song on the Tellescope website. Hey -- I'm even planning to finish my taxes in January for the first time ever, since I received all my W2 forms yesterday. I'm living out there on the edge, baby, and don't you forget it.

Still, I'm open to other suggestions. Let me know if you have any ideas for fun (inexpensive) stuff I could do or places I could visit. In the meantime, I'm going to head off to work so I can put in my hours and then come home and crash. Should be a great day -- I hope you have one, too!