I'm about to tell one on myself (as if this entire blog hasn't been one big opportunity to bare my soul). Here goes:
I don't move.
My life in Atlanta is sedentary and unhealthy. In an average day, I assume that get in less than 3,000 steps. Life pretty much looks like this:
Wake Up: bathroom/Closet/Downstairs Let dogs out/fill dogs' bowls/let dogs in/put them in their crates to eat Sit down and check email Get into car and drive carpool
Get back home/let dogs out Sit down and work
Get up/get water/let dogs in
Sit down and work
Get up/bathroom break/let dogs out
Sit down and work
Get up/let dogs in/get into car for afternoon carpools
Sit in traffic for 2 hours
Get home/let dogs out
Make dinner (or not)/let dogs in Clean up kitchen/check email/let dogs out
Let dogs in/go upstairs for bed
I picked 5 random dates from the last 6 months and I clocked anywhere from 518 to 5138 steps, averaging 2617 steps over those 5 days.
Awful, I know!
I've mentioned several times that one of the major changes that C and I have decided to make when we move is to not purchase cars; I figure that this will be a positive change in at least 3 ways: finances, environment and health. I am so happy to report that my experience of being here only confirms that this is absolutely the right call on that.
Since being in Valencia, I have been walking almost 2 miles to school each mornings; with street crossings and traffic patterns, that averages about 40 minutes. It is a great way to start the day (my head is clear and my body is whining a little which is always a good thing) and it is right about 4,200 steps. After classes, even if I head straight home, I'd have far more than my random average.
However, I've been going and exploring the city and getting myself lost in the best possible ways. For example, today after I stopped by Los Manchegos bakery (vegan croissants, anyone?!?), and walked through Turia Gardens, I came home, did my homework, and then headed back out to the grocery store. That put me close to 15,900 steps today! Tomorrow I am going to try my hand at recording some of the sights and experiences of walk...I thought of doing that this morning but had technical difficulties (i.e., I didn't hit record).
For the last little while, I've been trying to figure out why I'm blogging this whole experience in all of it's agonizingly mundane detail, and I've realized it's because I honestly believe that C and I are average, ordinary people, and if we can reach for our dreams, you can too. The whole point of this post--and the blog in general--is that we don't have it all figured out. But, we are willing to take the risks and to look loco/horrible//silly/stupid in exchange living a ridiculously outrageous and inspired life.
Our dream may not be yours, but if your dream is gathering dust in the corner, I encourage you to brush it off and see if it still inspires you...and if it does, start taking steps to make that dream a reality.
I know for sure that it's taking far more than 15k steps to make our dreams real, but it wouldn't happen without today's 15,894.
