Recently at the Y, a woman parked in the handicapped space then went inside and got on the treadmill for a twenty minute work-out. I kid you not.
I'm still trying to figure this out. Not to judge her or anything, but-huh? Is this how absurd our lives have become? But before I spend all my space up pointing my finger at HER, someone pointed to me that I drive five blocks to do Tai Chi. Inspired by that finger pointing, I walked to my beloved spiritual and physical exercise last night.
And wouldn't an efficient use of my time be to read as I walked? Looking up from the printed page, of course, I looked to make sure no cars were coming as I crossed each street. The book in question is called The Cinderella Pact, a good read-not too much brain power to read it, but yet it still managed to have some surprises. This is just what I needed in a very busy, stressful week. And I walked and read managing to miss mud puddles and uneven sidewalks as I did so. Taking a book like this to my work (which is where Tai Chi meets) is a little tricky, as I think people expect me to be reading something more [insert any number of adjectives here such as professional, serious, theological, less-girly, etc].
But I have a plan for introducing my secret identity as a romance novelist into my professional life. I base it on a story I heard a long time ago. The story goes something like this: a man goes on vacation and asks a friend to take care of his cat while he is gone. While the man is gone, his house burns up and the cat dies. But instead of springing on the man all at once, his friend builds up to the great tragedy. In the first phone call, his friend tells him the cat climbed up a tree and won't come down. The next call the friend discloses that the cat jumped out of the tree and broke its leg. And on the phone calls go until finally the man is told bit by bit the tragedy which is awaiting him at home.
So, I decided to start off with the girly-book. Boldly I sat and read before the exercise class waiting for those I work with and for to notice the sparkly cover, the feminine picture, the catchy title.
It was my "your cat climbed a tree and won't come down" step.
But no one asked about the cat. No one even saw it.
How am I supposed to carry my plan out if my colleagues are too busy with "Grasp the Sparrow's Tail" and "Part the Wild Horse's Mane" (these are Tai Chi moves, by the way) to notice my whimsical reading material?!
What's wrong with these people? Don't they know it's all about me!!??