Wow, working a full week suddenly seems like such a burden.  One measly four-day weekend has totally spoiled me.  It’d be nice if my place of business let us do a four-day work week for a while.  Some companies are doing that in an effort to save money.  You still get paid the full week, and you’re expected to fulfill your job description, but you only show up four days.  And on the fifth day, the company saves money by not having to open.  Win-win!  I sincerely doubt my boss would be up for it, unfortunately.

So I skipped my neighborhood running group last night.  I felt a little guilty about it, but it was cold and dark out, and as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a cold-weather runner.  Some runners glory in 45 degree weather, whereas I curl up and die.  Or wish I could.  Or both.  Plus, Dice and I have social engagements almost every evening this week, which means he won’t get much time to work out.  So all those factors together sent me to the gloriously climate-controlled gym where I ran a delightful 5 miles on the treadmill.  And I further justify it by stating that if I’d run outside I probably would’ve just done the 4 mile loop because I was uncomfortably cold, so I actually got a better workout.  I’m a master rationalizer!

I like to play mental acuity games when I get the chance, like the games they have on Brain Age.  The purpose of these games is not to kill time, but rather to exercise your mind and, in the process, hopefully stave off senility.  People who engage in different mental activities are usually sharper as they age.  I put a high priority on mental acuity.  So I was pondering this as I was running the half marathon on Thursday (as you’re wont to do, right?  who doesn’t ponder staving off senility while running long distances).  And I came to the realization that people who are lazy about their vocabulary are basically making themselves dumber.  You know all those people who use the word “amazing” to describe everything?  By not trying to find a better descriptor they’re actually passing up the chance to exercise their brain a little.  When all they would need to do is to use a word that actually describes what they’re talking about and not only would they be better understood (since “amazing” has no meaning anymore) but they might also be immuring themselves against senility in the future.  Also win-win!