My downstairs neighbors must hate me. Yesterday, during a random craving for exercise, I set up my roommate’s Wii, which I’ve never played before, and tried my hand (my feet?) at Dance Dance Revolution. I flailed about the room, attempting to hit the steps, and instead kept getting booed by the Wii for my constant screw-ups. In my defense, it was not at all clear why the game never registered shakes of the left-hand controller, or the right-hand one.
Clearly, I didn’t read the instructions.
Ever since I returned from Europe, I’ve had a case of the fitness blahs. The food in Vienna, Prague, and Berlin was heavy and oil-laden, and rarely included anything green or brightly colored. It was a relief to fill up on salads in Greece, and the fact that I drenched vegetables in olive oil—good fats!—felt healthy. Most days I spent on my feet, touring museums, exploring alleyways and side streets, or running up 500 steps to “that seemingly-close acropolis over there.”
Now that I’m back and cooped up because of the snow, I’m desperate to sweat and exert myself—not my typical impulse. The sidewalks remain treacherous and barely shoveled. The streets have been overtaken by ice mountains and funny-looking snowmen, like the one below. And running up and down the stairs in my building just doesn’t sound appealing.
Tonight I’ll try my hand at DDR again and hope my neighbors don’t complain. A gym membership now seems essential, so signing up is on my to-do list. Until then, though, what would you do if you were me?
Weather: A slushy, nasty wintry mix. Good thing Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow today.
Moods:
Anna – 5.5 out of 10 on the “so miserable I can’t get out of bed” to “jumping for joy” scale. Cabin fever!
Hannah – 4.5 out of 10. She’s cold, even though she has heat.
FYI: Exercise is not the same thing as shoveling snow. I go to the gym regularly, and do the usual aerobic/muscle building/bone strengthening stuff. I find it a rather bland experience, but afterward I feel good. Shoveling, on the other hand, which I’ve been doing a lot of lately, is fun. The outdoors of it, the getting hot in freezing temperatures, the ice attacking aspect of it, the heave and the ho of it are exhilarating. When done, which is never, I feel the glow. But, and this is the rub, the next day my neck won’t turn painlessly and my lower back is on the verge of a break down. I guess it’s just not as good for me as the gym. And yet, if I examine my upper arms very, very carefully, I may detect a bit of bicep build up.
There better be some payoff after all that digging and flinging!
I’m lucky because my landlord takes car of the plowing and shoveling, but that also means that when I’m cooped up, I’m totally cooped up. Kudos to you for battling (and beating!) the ice and the snow!
[…] Four Winds, we took little notice—we were laughing and chattering and dancing. I (subtly) put my newly-acquired DDR moves to good use, which proved easy enough thanks to the infectious rhythms created by DJ Face. D. even […]
[…] my worst season by far, I had such a bad case of cabin fever that I resorted to a frenetic and uncoordinated evening playing my roommate’s DDR (Dance Dance Revolution). This year, in an effort to prevent bad dancing, I’ve joined a gym […]