Last evening was a very, very bad transit day. I guess the morning was worse for a lot of people (with a Line 2 derailment in the west), but it was still incredibly frustrating. I just missed the Spadina streetcar, and the next one was 8 or 9 minutes later. It was incredibly packed, and I actually had to push my way out (which always triggers a mild claustrophobia) at College. Naturally, we had run so slowly that the next one, which was supposed to be about 5 minutes behind, had caught up. I went into The Beguiling, but they didn't have any of the comics I was hunting for. To be fair, the Carlton streetcar wasn't bad, but the various delays meant I didn't get to the Regent Park pool until 7:15 or so. I debated whether it was even worth trying to get in a few laps. I thought I could probably get in 10, though in the end, I only got in 6.5 laps, as they basically hustled us out 10 minutes early! (At this point, I won't bother going again unless there is at least a full 30 minutes prior to closing.) Then I went outside and waited and waited and waited for the Dundas bus. Three went by in the other direction, so it had been at least a 15 minute wait and there was still no bus in sight. I finally gave up and walked back up to Gerrard to catch the streetcar instead. This meant I couldn't get over to the library. So one activity was completely abandoned and the other only half accomplished due to problems with transit (and being rushed by the pool staff). There is no question that, in North America at least, transit is and will always remain an inferior alternative (because we won't fund it adequately and implement other policy changes that would truly discourage car use), and most of my career (trying to urge people away from cars and onto transit) has been pointless. I really was in a pretty grim mood, all in all.
I'm sure it doesn't help that I noticed I've been picking up weight, especially since around Halloween. I finally weighed myself at the gym, and it was worse than I thought (a gain of over 10 pounds). I've started buckling down and getting better on the snacking front. It is hard, since there are almost weekly treats at work, and I've had to stop going to even more social events just to avoid all the empty calories. When I was losing weight last year, I pretty much had to restrict calories at breakfast, lunch and all those deadly snack times in between. I haven't gone that far (yet), but I am cutting back at lunch and trying to avoid snacks, so needless to say I'm pretty cranky at work, pretty much all the time. I'll just say that it is never easy to lose weight, and it is particularly hard in the winter when your body is yearning for calories (and to generate fat) and I can't even bike to work. I think for the moment I've stabilized, but I probably won't lose any serious weight until the spring. I'll just have to take this as another hard lesson and make more permanent changes in my snacking habits. It is frustrating, as my will power is already stretched pretty thin as it is.
My knee is still bothering me a fair bit. I actually went to physio to get some advice and relief, and I mostly got some stretching exercises. It doesn't really stop me from walking (though I'm more hesitant to take the stairs), swimming or even biking (at the gym), but it also doesn't really seem to be getting better. I'm struggling to find any positives at the moment, other than things could always be worse...
I think I'll just go ahead and sign off now.
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