Exercise

Aiya, what a start to a workout regimen.

 After I got home, I picked up a tension-rope for stretches and strength training (after trying the one Tess has and noting the good results), and one of those exceedingly large inflatable rubber balls (a friend of mine once used one as his computer chair, and it was a marvelous workout for my abdominal muscles). I already possess some five-pound dumbells, so I figured it was a decent start.

 Well, today I've been sitting on my arse all morning and afternoon, writing, doing schoolwork and talking on IM. I put on some Avatar episodes after everyone left, and it occured to me that as long as I'm just staying indoors and not working on anything, I might as well fill the time with exercise. Within minutes, the following occured:

 -My workout ball, which is a beastly thing to inflate with the small pump they provide, lacked an air seal. It's a factory-standard part; they simply didn't include it in the package for some reason. I didn't realize that part was missing until after I inflated the thing. Looks like I have to return it. It seems a bit too small anyway.

-The tension rope has a serious design problem that seems to be absolutely endemic to US consumer goods these days: it's over-stylized, poorly-designed and made with the cheapest materials available. I did precisely three stretches before one of the flimsy plastic handles snapped (it was not a very big stretch, either). I'll be fishing plastic shards out of the carpet in my bedroom for days, I'm sure.

-The dumbells work fine. I'm just really out of shape. Three sets of ten repetitions later, my wrists feel amazing but my arms in general want to quietly seperate from my shoulders, crawl away on disoriented little finger, and expire peacefully under the bed. 

 Oi. Fortunately, I don't seem to feel defeated by this--just irked. I'll be earning this, I can tell.