Early to Bed and Early to Rise — Riiiight!
Then again, I’m here, aren’t I? I can’t believe how exhausted I’ve felt these last few weeks, and yesterday gave me a message that fully explains why.
For those of you who don’t know, I live somewhere just about the middle of the megalopolis known as the Northeast Corridor. This area received a relatively unusual rainstorm from Friday evening into Saturday with over three inches of rain, blown by a fairly strong Northerly wind. This didn’t seem to be that much of an issue at first; our home is brick-walled and pretty sturdy. At least, that’s what I thought. Instead, for the third time in four years, my living room ceiling presented me with wet outlines of wallboard and significant drips of water onto my entertainment center and carpeting. The first time, we attributed this to a leaking toilet on the second level, which we eventually replaced with a brand new model. The second time, the leak was attributed to the shower drain, in a different location on the second floor.
This time? Well, let’s just say that with two additional holes in the living room ceiling (hadn’t repaired the hole from repairing the shower, yet) we discovered the water was coming from the direction of an extension that penetrates the brick wall and gives us a little extra square footage. The problem is that this extension has a gabled roof rather than a straight roof, meaning that the brick opening isn’t necessarily square and a host of potential exists for leaks, which would be difficult to locate, at best.
That’s where I stand now. I don’t know enough about how the house was built, and we have an obviously-recurring leak–obvious by the fact that examining the roof of this extension you can see a second layer of roofing shingles and a second attempt to flash and seal the roofing to the brick. The problem is, a detailed examination shows that not only did they not fix the leak, but might have managed to make it worse instead of better. In caulking the bathroom window casing, the previous owners also sealed the holes that drain standing water away. In other words, in a vinyl window frame, there is no way for water to drain from the holes at either side that accommodate the hinges that allow the sash to be swung into the room for cleaning. So there’s a very real chance that the leak is in the window itself and not the roof of the extension.
What does this have to do with my exhaustion? Well, when I cut those two new holes in the ceiling, I got so weak from the strain of using a jigsaw to cut the holes that my legs were shaking. I am so grossly out of shape that I could almost be suffering from Muscular Distrophy. Actually, I’m suffering from Muscular Atrophy. I’m not personally a fan of going to the gym (or the Y) to do boring, monotonous repetitions of nonsensical, non-productive weightlifting, stationary bikes, treadmills and stair-steppers. It’s not that they can’t do the job, just that they give no sense of progress in the short term and really make you feel like you’re wasting time–even the medieval serfs and slaves had it better, knowing that their labor at least served some real purpose. (I’m not saying that slavery of any kind is good, but at least they had a sense of purpose.)
So what am I going to do about it? My wife and I have a Jeep for traveling to out-of-the-way places, great for hiking–but we don’t hike, we just stand around and take pictures, lately of other Jeepers doing insane things with their off-road vehicles. We purchased camping gear, but due to other factors, haven’t had a chance to use any of it, and camping season closes around here with the first frost, about a month away now. Bicycles? Yup, we have those too. But we consistently find reasons not to go riding because things need to be done around the house or we need to go out to pick up groceries or whatever. In other words, we keep finding excuses to not do what we need (and want) to do. Why?
I don’t know, but once I finish this posting I’m going to brave what misting drizzle we have left over from yesterday’s rain and ride my new bike for the second time since its purchase almost three months ago. I think I’ll ride until my legs shake. At least riding a bike on the streets, you get a true sense of distance, much better than riding in place. At one time I used to ride an old, heavy, single-speed cruiser 25 miles in a single day. A lighter-weight multi-speed crossover bike should carry me even farther.
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