Monday, April 25, 2011

...clutter....part 2

....now let's talk about the stationary bicycle....

another strange thing happens almost annually ...a piece of exercise equipment, large or small appears in my home. occasionally it gets assembled...usually it is only partially so! I am not sure, but I think there is an exercise fairy that appears later in life to take over for the tooth fairy. this fairy seems to cast a spell on me so that I once again (yes, this is a repetitive process) convince myself that I will save money by purchasing a piece of exercise equipment vs. going to a fully equipped gym. I am also convinced that my fragile self-esteem will be protected from the harm that would befall it in a public place.

I do believe I save money. Before the exercise fairy appeared, I used to sign up for months at a gym, go for the initial training, and then within a week or two, never go back. I was what you might call a walking 'profit margin' for said establishments. I had nothing to show for it; but this did not deter me because oft times the very same year, after a cooling off period, I would go through the same process.

By having a tangible item now placed awkwardly in my living room or bedroom to trip over, I could see where my money went on a daily basis. On those times when I actually assembled the equipment, I was able to watch TV from an uncomfortable position until the inevitable laundry ended up draped all over the contraption trying to dry. I was at best reclaiming a little floor space for a truly useful purpose. After months or years, I would finally realize a $10 wooden rack offered better drying properties than the tubular steel winding from floor to ceiling, and I would get rid of the item...for the time being.

For those times when the item never actually got assembled in total, I have no place to hang laundry, and suffer many stubbed toes.

These rituals also plague me...I am looking at a partially-assembled recombinant bicycle. I have been looking at it for over 3 years if memory serves me correctly. It definitely is on my de-clutter list. It has not moved any closer to the door yet on its own. I am not quite sure what this means. Perhaps personally torturing myself with the 'you should have's serves a macabre purpose in my life? I believe I will need to think about this one a while longer. Craig's list awaits... but I need to get rid of that d#!% guitar first!

2 comments:

Jim Kipp said...

Louise your really have a way with works. I am waiting for your Novel.

Jim Kipp said...

Louise your really have a way with works. I am waiting for your Novel.