"Feelin' hot hot HOT"

I hate Abilene for a multitude of reasons. Today I hate it because of the weather. I'm not sure exactly hot it was when I walked today, but it maxed out at 106 - it's 91 right now and it's 10:30 (I walked 7:30-8:30).

I shouldn't have walked. I should have stayed instead and played on my Wii or something because I'd say this is actually a step backward. I have now coupled walking with an image of negative reinforcement instead of positive -- walking, drenched in sweat, my pace slower than usual... feeling like I'm being punished. No, this will never do.

It's supposed to be worse tomorrow. Summer isn't for several more weeks, but, yea, this is pretty par-for-the-West-Texas-course.

This means I have to make a decision: do I buy a gym membership? I've been thinking about it a lot lately and there are a lot more choices to consider than before. Abilene has a lot more gyms, more options. I have had 2 gym memberships in my life - once when I was probably twelve (Power Shack - the first time Mom drug me to Weight Watchers), and then once in college (World Gym - it's closed down now) - I went gung ho for about three months and then just stopped.

So if I go by previous experience, I won't use it.

...or will I? If it means, I can avoid the blast furnance I walked through today? I think I might.

So: Hendrick Health, Power Shack, Anytime Fitness, or the YMCA. Power Shack and the Y have pools and I think that's probably important - if nothing else, for variety. Anytime Fitness has the "anytime" thing going for it - I could wake up in the middle of the night and decide I just really really need to hit a treadmill or something... I don't know much about Hendrick 'cept it's connected w/ the hospital and my friend Seth teaches some sort of horrible "crack of dawn" ass kicking class there.

The dilemma I'm dealing with here is the fact that walking is free (mildly boring), my recumbent bike (extremely boring) and the Wii (pretty boring) are long since paid for. Comitting to a gym membership means I won't flake out on this... and flaking out is my style.

Anyone who watches me crochet and tells me, oh golly, I must have oodles of patience, doesn't know me very well. I get bored instantly. Crafts are probably the one area where I do have some amount of patience and even though I've been knitting and crocheting pretty steadily for several years now, I haven't touched a counted cross stitch kit (my old love) in seven years.

For awhile, I lived for WoW, later I was crazy for gardening, one summer, all I wanted to do was go fishing. Each time, I lived for my new obsession and each time I woke up one morning and didn't want it anymore.

I guess I should stop holding myself to my old M.O., I've flaked out on a lot of things, but I'm 30 now. There's no telling what that means. In a year, if my efforts pay off, I could take up Championship Bodybuilding or have an infomercial about not being fat anymore ala Susan Powter.

So, yea, I'm gonna join somewhere.

The question is where?

I am newly relinquished of my most recent obsession (a band I won't name & an experience I won't get in to right now) so I'm looking for a new place to belong. Who knows? Best case scenario, I can pour all my passion in to the pursuit of bettering myself the same way I used to do trailing fruitlessly after them.

We shall see... we kind of have to, the Hot Time has only just begun....