I have found a roller blading group that meets somewhat nearby on Thursdays. The other trails that they are using are only accessible if you have a car, but I can get to Thursdays location by public transit. I'm going to try and resist joining a gym this year, but I need to do something as I am getting out of shape. I don't want to run and wreck my knees, but I think that I will join a yoga or pilates studio as well and work on toning.
Spring is feeling good. All about renewal.
I was walking from the subway to D.'s birthday dinner last night. On the way I passed a store window and the reflection showed this haggard schlep with really unflattering shoes [that was me, btw]. Yes, I was coming from work and work clothes are often uptight, but really, there is never a need for ugly shoes.
I was near John Fluevog shoes so I went in. I saw a pair I had been coveting for a while - a decade or so - tried them on, and handed over my credit card. Way more than I thought I'd ever pay for shoes, but when I left the store, I left feeling great.
I stopped into a store to buy a birthday card for D. and next to me in line was a guy who used to work in the same building as my last job. We knew each other to recognize each other, but I couldn't remember his name and I don't think he knew mine. That didn't matter though, we got caught up in line about recent travels and my new job. As we were both walking in the same direction we kept talking until I reached the restaurant. And then I got around the whole "so what exactly is your name?" awkwardness by handing him one of my business cards and telling him to email me. I think he'd be really fun to hang out with. I tell you though, it was the extraordinary power of the shoes that caused this chance meeting.
D's birthday was fun and I got to meet some great people.
All in all, a happy evening out.
Now excuse while I get ready for work and put on my fab new shoes.
This week Robert Baltovich was found not guilty. He had been accused in 1990 of murdering his girlfriend Elizabeth Bain - whose body was never found. He served eight years before being released on bail, pending an appeal. The book No Claim to Mercy had been published two years earlier and speculated that notorious Canadian killer Paul Bernardo might have killed Elizabeth Bain. The book was excellently written and researched. I know because I reviewed it for a publication. I was a book reviewer for criminal justice books at the time and had to read a lot of poorly written crap. But this book was excellent and quite convincing. Convincing enough that Baltovich got a retrial and was cleared. I am so happy for him, and SO GLAD we don't have the death penalty [although mind you, even in most places with the death penalty since the case was all circumstantial he may have avoided it].
