Walking

Mike has to dress up tomorrow, and lately we've been discovering that his supply of dress clothes that actually go together is running low. I'm amused by this because he always dresses up for his band shows (you can see a picture of how they dress up here), but I guess he mostly wears short-sleeved shirts while playing. Since it's work he's dressing up for tomorrow it would be nice for him to have a shirt that would hide his tattoos. So I told him that today I'd pick up a long-sleeved dress shirt while he's at work.

I wanted to go to the Grand Avenue Mall downtown, but I couldn't remember where to park. Ashley showed me once, but I forgot. Instead of paying for a spot in a parking garage I decided to walk. It would be a round trip of a little over three and a half miles, and I figured it would make good exercise.

I also had another reason for walking instead of driving - I've been having a tough time adjusting to living in Milwaukee. It's so big that I can't get my bearings, and there are bad neighborhoods within the city. Unfortunately they're scattered around I don't know where they are, so I've been pretty much stuck within the familiar three-block radius of the apartment unless Mike comes with me to tell me where to go that's safe. Not being able to get out and do things by myself has made me exceedingly cranky, and I've been snapping at Mike more lately and becoming kind of a control freak about the things I can do, such as keeping the apartment clean. Walking cures that. On Saturday night I walked all the way to the bookstore where Mike works at 9 PM at night, and it made me feel very free and happy. I figured another excursion would have the same affect. So this morning I strapped my mp3 player to my bicep, put on my most comfortable sandals, and headed out to the mall.

After walking a few blocks I realized that I hadn't brought my camera, which I regretted. There are so many things you see while on foot that you never notice when driving. I stopped admire the slightly melancholy air of the old, empty factory buildings, and the stubborn beauty of a wild chicory plant growing around a chain-link fence. The morning thunderstorms had given way to bright sunlight, and the air was hot. It was a beautiful day.

I got to the mall and hit up Old Navy's clearance aisle as well as TJ Maxx, which had surprisingly good men's dress clothes. I think you have to plow through a whole lot of gaudy to find anything good in the women's section, but men's shirts are fairly generic and safe. Plus, they had boxes with dress shirts that come with matching ties! What will they think of next?

I started to make my way back home, and realized that my feet were beginning to hurt. I probably should have worn sneakers instead of sandals, but it didn't occur to me until it was too late. On the way home I stopped three times to rest my achy feet. By the time I got home my feet were throbbing, I had a stitch in my side from climbing that last hill, and my shoulders were sore from toting the bag. It only added insult to injury when I hopped on the computer and learned that my 3.5 mile trek had burned only 155 calories. Curses!

Despite the tiredness though, it was a good walk.

In other news, I don't think that I would have eaten Planter's peanuts prior to 1962, because up until then their mascot was nothing short of terrifying. Check it out and just tell me I'm wrong. That little peanut was the stuff of nightmares.