Keep Plodding

In April, a coworker started a Strava group for employees with the goal of walking or running 100 miles during the month. I figured that might be a good idea since I've really embraced the fine art of quarantine snacking. But then I found out there was a group leaderboard, and my competitive streak -- which is normally very well hidden -- came out, and that's how I made it to 168 miles last month. I've been in a death match with another woman (whom I don't think I've actually ever met) and I'm not saying I've climbed on the treadmill at 10pm to add a couple miles to take over the top spot for the week, but I'm also not saying I haven't.

This month (May, in case you've stopped keeping track), my goal is 200 miles, which I am well placed to hit. It's just over halfway through the month and I'm around 145 miles.

This is my secret weapon:

That desk is kitchen flooring leftover from before I bought the house. Works great.

I can work on all the stuff that needs to happen to publish my novel, or waste time on Facebook, or even write a blog post, all while racking up two miles every hour. I'm a lot more productive than when I'm sitting down. If the treadmill didn't squeak, it would be even better, but noise cancelling headphones will take care of many problems.

I was feeling kind of tired and sore today and I thought maybe I was getting sick, and then I remembered I'd walked over thirteen miles yesterday.

But let's face it, the really important thing is that I am five miles ahead of the coworker I've never met. Victory is mine!

Surely This Can't Be Normal

Okay, sure, there are a lot of things going on right now that aren't normal, but what I really meant was this:

I've made about a dozen masks, and so far I've broken six sewing machine needles. The last two were needles meant for sewing denim.

I tagged in my expert (my mom, the master quilter) and she thought it might just be the number of layers, and we were talking about it as I worked on one. I was zipping along and she said "Wow, it sounds like you're going really fast." So... you're not supposed to just push the pedal all the way to the ground and zoom along as fast as you can? No wonder I don't sew. I don't have the patience for this sort of thing.

Anyhow, when I broke the fourth needle and I was on the last one that came with the machine, I ordered new ones on line. Then I realized I wasn't going to get them quickly enough, so I called the local sewing machine/vacuum cleaner store and talked to Pavel. Or rather, I called the store and listened while Pavel talked to someone else for a good 20-30 seconds as I said "Hello?" and I tried to figure out if someone had accidentally knocked the phone off the hook to keep it from ringing. But eventually Pavel came on the line and I explained my problem and he agreed that I needed more needles. So I gave him my credit card info, walked downtown, called him again to let him know I was there, and then he passed a bag out to me and locked the door again. Shopping in-person during the pandemic is a little weird.

Eventually my online order came in as well, and now I am set for needles for a while.

But really, this can't be normal, right? I'm beginning to think I'm just bad at this...