Made it to the gym today. First time in…hell, before Isaac was born, at least! The convenience of it being right across the street from the job should shame me into going consistently twice a week.

It should be noted that I don’t really know my way around a gym. Don’t know the names of most of my muscles or their corresponding exercises. The little bit of stretching I know comes from the Army and my old acting workshops! (Improv is great exercise, physically and psychologically; much better than preparing to die.) Mainly, I use the bike or the treadmill, a couple of the upper-body machines that have descriptive pictures on them, do some crunches and pushups and hit the sauna.

Of course, HRC has a Chinese menu of options so I was a little overwhelmed when I first got in there. Add to it the feeling that I was like the guy in torn jeans and Pokemon t-shirt at the trendy SoHo bar and it was enough to make me cancel my membership! Tried to find somewhere out of the way to stretch while checking out other people for ideas of what to do. A few were using those big plastic balls to stretch and do sit-ups so I tried that and nearly rolled off the damn thing! Ended up doing just over 7 miles on the bike, a couple of machines and some half-assed sit-ups. In the locker room, as I was getting dressed after a most relaxing shower, I realized you were expected to tip the attendants who were handing out towels and making available various toiletries and I had no cash on me. Fortunately, I brought my own stuff (other than a lock, which I had to buy there for $6.50!), and was able to sneak out while both were occupied with tipping members.

Other than my sore calves and the need for a nap, I feel good. Exercise is one of the hardest things to get back in to but, seeing as I haven’t smoked in nearly a month and have already lost 6 pounds from all the moving we’ve done, it’s the perfect time for it.

Have a busy night tonight as I’m meeting up with Cristin who is interviewing me for the book she and Phil West are writing for Soft Skull, The Oral History of the Slam, or something like that. Hopefully SS hooking up with them means BPE’s insipid little slam book will never see the light of day! Afterwards, I’m going to run over to the BPC to catch Shawn Randall’s Faith Project performance. Sabrina, Mara and Elana are in it, along with Shawn and a few others I dont' know. The premise, “a collaborative performance piece exploring and exposing the similarities and intersections of the many faiths of the world,” sounds intriguing.

Think I'm going to walk up Broadway again. It's a nice day and I have to work off this cheesecake I had at lunch!

Kucinich 2004 Watch: Abolish the Death Penalty!