Out with the OLD, in with the NEW

Don't laugh, don't criticize...just hear me out.

I feel old. Period.

Once upon I time I was able to get up at 5:30 am and be at the gym by 6:00 am ready to go! I would work out for an hour, shower and head to work with fully energized feeling lasting throughout the day. If I can drag my arse out of bed before 7:00 am it's a miracle these days! I would love to get up and head for to the gym for an early morning workout, but getting to the gym at all has been challenging enough! "One thing at a time." I told myself. So I did it, I bought the gym membership and I will do my best to get to the gym at least 3 times per week (hopefully more). I am not a fan of the gym facilities here, but beggers can't be choosers - also, Tom (and I'm sure the rest of the people sharing this building) is tired of me doing my cardio workout in this thin-walled, vibration-prone apartment. (- not that my home workout happens very often either, but the sound of my aerobics shoes on the hardwood floor is annoying!) I did manage to get over there today (YAY for me!) and did some weights and stomach exercises. If I can get there daily, I will alternate between cardio (there are treadmills, eliptical machines, and stair climbers that can not be seen in the pictures) and weights.

Last year I went swimming on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The pool is very nice. My friend and I swam laps and then played volley ball or walked against the current in the swift-moving water of the lazy river for extra torture. I sometimes even climbed aboard an inner tube and floated my way around or went down the waterslide for fun. I have been there exactly 1 time since I returned to Inuvik seven weeks ago. Two new bathing suits and I have been there only once! I did more swimming during the six weeks I was home last summer than I have since being back here (Thanks again, R, J & Baby T for the swims!)

Another reason for feeling old is that I think I am losing my memory. No - really! Just the other day a student asked if he could take his chocolate money (he was selling chocolates to raise money for sports teams) down to the gym teacher. I sent him on his way, took the attendance and sent it down to the office. A few minutes later a student walked into my classroom. I asked him for his late slip and he looked at me, quite confused, and said he was downstairs giving Mr. B the money. Oh Yeah! I had to send him back downstairs to let the office know he was at school and not to call his parents regarding the absence I wrote in the attendance book. Another example of my memory loss occurred last week. A student of mine asked if he could take the money he raised selling chocolates down to the gym teacher. I let him go. In the mean time I sent my attendance down to the office and put this poor child down as absent. You can figure out the rest! These are just a few examples of many!

Finally, I went out yesterday and realized how much I need my glasses! At the beginning of the year I woke up one morning and went to work. I looked up at a poster on the wall and it was fuzzy. My eyes really started to bother me last January so I waited until my trip to Edmonton in March to have my eyes checked. He wrote me a mild prescription and I finally picked out and received my glasses in August. Now I am taking them off, putting them on, taking them off, putting them on...No doubt I will soon be donning a lovely pair of bi-focals!

So now that I have discussed the old, I would like to wish all of you who celebrated Rosh Hashana last weekend and are celebrating Yom Kippur this evening a Happy NEW Year! I wish all of you a year filled with much health and happiness!