I have about a half an hour before I begin my annual Handle With Care trainer training.  This is the training I take every year so that I can teach the rest of the people in my building Aggressive Patient Managment.  It's an all day thing where we talk a little about verbal de-escalation and then spend a lot of time working out what to do if the verbal thing does not work out.  It's a hard day physically, partly because my body is getting older and I'm not in the best shape I've ever been in.  Today, however, I have an edge.  I am wearing my Warrior Socks from Sock Wars.  I dare any of these men (they're all security guards from the hospital and 99 % of them are men) to take me on! 

As for being in sad physical shape. Pk and I are fulfilling a promise we made to ourselves a long time ago.  We are joining a gym.  A new health club just opened that is literally in our path as we wend our way home from work.  We usually cut through the parking lot that it is now situated in.  As soon as the Walmart finishes construction, we will be doing it again (Yes we are getting a super Walmart not 2 miles from our house.  I shudder to think of what the already overburdened local roads will be like after it opens).  But, the club is an LA Fitness.  It's a brand new facility and looks nice.  It's certainly filled with very enthusiastic young salespeople.  I had to remind our young man to talk slower because I have 52 year old ears and they can't listen that fast.  The price is reasonable and they have nice facilities.  Pk is especially impressed with the sauna and whirlpool.  I'm happy that they have t'ai chi and yoga classes.  Mostly, we want to get into shape so we can ride our bicycles without passing out.......

We are going today to sign up.  We had a tour on Tuesday and talked about it and today we will put our money where our mouths are.  I feel positive about this but am a little apprehensive.  I belonged to a gym about 15 yrs ago and while I didn't like exercise (still don't) I felt better.  But my body is older and it's going to take some time and some patience this time around. 

Pk is home sick today.  It's my fault.  I was brought up to share and share I did.  He got the cold germs from me.  He tends to bounce back quicker than I do so he'll probably be fine tomorrow.  He's waiting at home for the Verizon tech to show up (AGAIN).  He is having a battle of tech-wills with the company.  They say we are getting download speeds that our machines are definitely not showing.  Since we're paying for this speed (and have been for some time now), Pk is incensed that they cannot fix the problem.  This is the last straw. If there is no satisfaction today, we will be switching to a local cable company.  I really don't want to do this but I'm staying out of it.  I have a basic understanding of the tech issues but not much and I let Pk handle this as it's his area of expertise.

I am up to 8 inches on Pk's sweater.  I can see subtle shifts in the material as I switch from ball to ball of the handspun alpaca but I think I may be the only one who will notice so I'll keep quiet about it.  I am having some trouble with the swatch for the Evenstar shawl and keep coming up with the wrong number of stitches.  I've tried three times.  I may have to check and make sure I have the correct version of the pattern.  I think I am going to go for the beads.  If I don't like them, I can always not use them but since I am using a plain ivory yarn, the little bit of shimmer they'll add will be magical.  If I don' find some I like at the craft store this weekend, I'll order some.

Well, my half hour is up and it's time to go roll on the floor.  Have a good weekend.  We're planning a Sunday morning brunch/bowling outing.  My family and my brother's family.  I won't bowl (hurts too  much) but I can knit and cheer (and eat!) 

Oh, and the snowflakes?  It's 15 degrees  (-9 C) here this morning and I'm still thawing out......