Exercise

Since arriving in Brisbane, I have been pretty good about exercising on a (nearly) daily basis. If I do not get up and spend time in the cardio room downstairs, I probably spend an hour or two traipsing around the city, kilometer after kilometer, sweating my butt off in the 85-90 degree weather. I actually prefer exercising in the air-conditioning and then relaxing outdoors in the sun, rather than running around while my pony tail turns into a mini Afro-puff.

Where am I going with all of this, you ask? Well, I cut my workout a bit short this morning. After only half an hour I was having trouble breathing. Now you might be thinking to yourself, what good is all of this exercising if she can't even last thirty minutes on a stationary bike? Well, I was feeling fine. In fact, I felt great! Until my gym partner showed up, that is.

After about fifteen minutes of alone time (I even took my headphones off this morning and pedaled in silence, enjoying the quiet rhythm of the bike), a gentleman in long black basketball shorts, a teal ribbed tank top, a few tribal tattoos, and mesh baseball cap strolled in. I think he was wearing dog tags too, but that might be beside the point. This young guy was wearing more cologne than a thirteen year old boy at his first school dance.

Anyway, when he strolled past me, I think I gasped. Luckily he had his headphones on. After only a short while, I decided to call it a day and head back outdoors, into the fresh air. Before I did though, I stared at the nut running on the treadmill for a bit. He probably thought I was interested in him. Maybe he was thinking, "I'm busy after this, but how about we meet up tomorrow?" Yeah, right. (Who takes themselves seriously in a mesh baseball cap? Nevermind a mesh baseball cap at the gym?) Good grief.

While this whole experience was rather annoying, it is not nearly as weird as the Asian twins who run together around 10am each day. I have only shared the cardio room with them twice, but they are definitely a sight to see. They usually come and go in the time I spend biking. I don't know what they would do if they arrived and found me jogging on one of the two treadmills. It would throw off their entire routine, I am sure of it. I have considered warming up on the bike a little before 10 and then jumping on a treadmill when I see them coming. I bet they would turn around and return later. I don't think I would get any joy out of that. I am still a bit curious though.

Since I didn't last too long on the bike this morning, I decided to meet Conor downtown for lunch and wander around in search of a pair of black shoes (required of my new job). Enter frizzy hair. God bless Conor for taking an hour and a half to visit four different shoe stores with me. He must have been terribly bored at work. I did treat him to a frosty beverage once I had a new pair of Keens in hand. Dansko does not exist in Australia, or at least not more than two boring varieties priced at $150 each - don't bother to search. My new black Mary Janes will work just fine though and I am sure they will keep me from slip-sliding around. They also somehow seem appropriate for my new somber French attire.

Yes, I know the sunglasses in these photos are ridiculous. I wish I had a shot of Conor wearing his new shades. Unfortunately, we were both without sunglasses this past weekend at the beach and needed a pair desperately. After searching the boutiques for about 20 minutes we found a sale rack with shades for $6. Bingo! Yes, they are HUGE. Conor's are sleek and very Matrix. But $6? What a steal.