Odd. After sleeping for a solid twelve hours on
Sunday, I woke fairly early on Monday. I
hadn’t closed the heavy curtains on my windows so that might have had something
to do with it considering the day outside was starting out very sunny. Getting up early wasn’t a problem though
because I had slept very well and didn’t mind getting an early start to the
day.
In an effort to keep a
promise I make to myself every time I travel (and rarely keep) but, in
particular, prior to the start of my British Adventure, I dresses in exercise clothes
and headed down to the hotel’s gym.
Immediately I discovered
I had a serious problem. After selecting
a built-in exercise routine, the machine asked me to enter my weight. This is pretty common since it needs basic
data in order to make sure the workout is customized to the individual. What threw me was that it asked for my weight
in kilograms. Anyone who knows me is aware
that mental math (meaning doing calculations in my head as opposed to using
paper and pencil or a calculator) is not one of my strengths so I was
immediately confused. Still, I was
determined to get a workout in so I took an approximate guess (which wasn’t too
far of I later learned) and punched in a number starting the belt and my
workout.
The machine is designed
to start at a slow speed with allows the user to increase it to a level of
their choice – not a
surprise. Unfortunately, the speed on
the machine was in kilometers and not miles per hour so here I was facing
another metric challenge. This one I was
prepared for, however. Knowing that
there at 1.6 kilometers to every mile, I was able to do a rough calculation of
my intended speed and adjust accordingly once reaching that level. Finally I was on my way!
Until the treadmill shut
itself down. It just stopped for no
apparent reason with all the displays and lights turning off at once. My first thought was a blown circuit breaker
(a common occurrence in England with their weird electrical system?) but I
decided to just hit a button on the console to see what happened. And the machine came back on. After re-entering all the data it requested,
the belt began rolling again and I quickly adjusted the speed.
And it shut down
again. While still determined to get a
workout in, but realizing the treadmill failures as a sign I was not going to
get a walk or run in that day, I gave up on the cardio portion of my workout
and decided to focus on the physical therapy exercises for my shoulder (For
those of you who don’t know, I had shoulder surgery in February which is the
reason for physical therapy). I had
packed the rubber bank the therapist had given me so that I could do the
exercises in my room but since I was in the gym and they had the appropriate
machines, it only seemed logical to make use of the available equipment.
Until I realized the weigh
was calibrated in kilograms again. After
a little trial and error, I was able to come up with a comfortable weight that
didn’t over-stress my shoulder so I managed to get the workout I had planned.
Since that initial
classic exercise failure, I have not been back to the hotel gym. I chose instead to keep doing the band
exercises in my room but, considering the amount of walking visits with Molly
tend to include; I really haven’t felt the need to attempt the treadmill
again. Of course, the real test will be
the scale when I get home but I’ll worry about that when the time comes.
Monday, of course, was
also the first day where we had a real plan in place. As usual, my goal for the week was basically
to make it up as we went along but I did have one special thing I wanted to
accomplish: attending the David Bowie Is… exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
I can’t remember where I
learned about it but Molly and I agreed that it was a good plan for
Monday. Checking for tickets online
Sunday night created a brief bit of panic when I thought they were all sold out
until June which was not going to fit in with our plans. But, when I actually took a minute to read
what the notice was saying, I discovered that it was only the online sales that
were full and that tickets were still available at the door. Why they would suspend online sales wasn’t
explained but, knowing we would be able to get tickets once there, we were good
to go!
The tickets were timed
entry so our early arrival at V&A gave us plenty of time to explore the
museum. Despite having nearly 2 hours to
kill, we saw only a small portion of what we agreed was one of the most schizophrenic
museums we have ever seen. The “Alice in
Wonderland Effect” comes into play at V&A as you wander among incredible
and exceptionally diverse exhibits only to somehow end up back where you
started. There are certainly much worse
places to get lost and the V&A is a fantastic museum and certainly worth
the time spent.
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Unfortunately, the David
Bowie exhibit provided one major disappointment – no photos allowed!
In all honesty, photos would not have really done justice to an exhibit
that is designed to be a multi-media event with music, film clips, and visual
displays of the “Sound and Vision” (play on words intended for you Bowie
fans). The impact of the exhibit would
have been lost in still photos.
If the exhibit ever
comes to the US, I encourage you to attend and I know that I will certainly see
it again if possible.
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