I Walk, Therefore I Am
Well, okay, maybe not. Let's just say I like to walk, and walk a lot. Though maybe not anywhere near like a pro. My walk is about as brisk as an ambulatory dinosaur on a long trek to the feeding grounds. When outside, there are frequent stops, detours, sightseeing, and moments to stop and take photos. There is nothing rushed or vigorous about my outdoor walks to, well, anywhere.
Inside, however, is a different story. This is usually where I do my serious walking because, for seven months of the year, due to something called winter, I'm a caged animal, stuck inside, going stir-crazy, and like any pre-historic saber-toothed pussy cat, I need an outlet. Mine comes in the form of doing circuits, because the layout of my apartment has provided me with interconnecting rooms. Rooms being a term used loosely to describe partitions dividing up one large room into several smaller spaces.
Here, I am in my element doing mindless circuits timed by the meecro-wah-vay (thanks Nigella for that.) Where my mind is left to ponder the great mysteries of the universe, like, "where do atoms go when they blip in and out of existence?" or, "what do ants do when it rains?" or more importantly, "why does the tumble dryer always eat my left sock?"
When the mindless walking isn't working, and I'm tired of seeing the same household items over and over again, I head for the tunnels. With six interconnected buildings making up our apartment complex, there are any number of routes I can saunter, including the large atrium and public/commercial areas in building one. I often meet people, like myself, who I think are probably doing the same thing, pretending to go somewhere while, in fact, going nowhere at all, other than to promenade in order to combat their cabin fever.
After all, no one wants to dress in several layers of bulky uncomfortable clothing, in order to go outside in a winter blizzard, where the temperature is hovering around minus 35, or worse. That would be crazy. Summer, on the other hand, you'll find us all at the local park doing our promenading around the flower beds.
As a result of all this walking, which started during that first lockdown of Covid, I've become proficient at averaging between 7,000 and 10,000 inside and sometimes twice as much outside.
Not bad for a grumpy old ankylosaurus.
And you, do you walk a lot?