Don't Walk

I walked about eight miles this weekend--all the long walks I took with Chloe and the walking I did at the Seattle Center on Saturday. My friend and I thought the Seattle Travel Show might be a fun outing, so I took the bus up there for a couple of hours. Verdict? Meh. It's fun to dream but having that many vendors in one place was a little overwhelming.

I took plenty of glossy brochures and magazines to keep me dreaming, though. And entered every drawing I could find, which means my email spam filter will probably be working harder very soon. But it will all be worth it if I win $50,000!!!

Ahem.

Then after walking around all day Saturday I went rollerskating to celebrate a friend's completion of her Master's degree. She is now a Master, and I am still a Bachelor, or something. (Don't tell Mr. Thel!)

I do envy friends who have a firm idea of their career goals. I had a supervisor for a brief period last year (she didn't last long here but I still miss her) who was like that. She was very interested in my long-term goals and I just couldn't come up with anything very impressive for her. I'm not very specific in my head about what I want out of a career. I want to be competent at what I do; I want to feel like I'm making a difference in the world, even if indirectly; and I want my skills to be respected. What skills? I don't care. Whichever ones I'm using at the moment.

Anyway, rollerskating. I secretly dreaded it but forced myself to go anyway, and hey! it wasn't that bad. It was hilarious to be at a rollerskating rink again, 17-odd years after the rink in Hometown, OR closed for good. Are all rinks set up in exactly the same way, though, or was it just a crazy coincidence that the floor plan for this one was exactly the same as the one where I attended so many birthday parties in elementary school?

Mr. Thel turns out to be a rollerskating god. I should stop being surprised when the man busts out a new skill I didn't know about, and just accept that he is a Master Of All Things. I am unfortunately not a rollerskating goddess who can float around the rink with him, but I managed not to fall down at least.

I should really take up an activity that will make me learn how to inhabit my body more gracefully. Walking is good but perhaps, after doing it for almost 3 decades, it's time to move on to something more advanced.