Kicking It: with television and gluten-free food

I am still in Anchorage. Having passed my 14-day quarantine, I can now wander amongst the locals.

No. I have not been working out. My good intentions are there, but I tell myself it’s because this apartment is on the second floor sandwiched between the first and third prohibiting me from actually doing jumping jacks.

And you ask, “What about pushups?” “Squats?” Oh, stop! I have a guilty conscious that is why I just cranked out 15 squats before returning to my typing.

But, if you recall, the only reason I started writing this column was to keep myself in check. Admitting to strangers that I have a weak will was supposed to make me stay on target. And it did, but.

OK, I’ll promise myself to get back on planks, pushups and squats. Situps require a weight of some sort on my feet… and I’ll have to wear my face mask over my mouth because I grunt and swear like a longshoreman with each one.

Now you know how weak my convictions really are. While there are many activities that hold my interest, it is sad to report that exercise is not one of them.

If you recall, I had a goal. See, I am goal-oriented. I lost a whole dress size from August to February.

The goal was to get in shape for my European adventure. But like so many of you, my trip fell apart, along with my interest in exercising.

It is my hope to maintain my weight loss by avoiding food I actually like. My daughter’s kitchen is gluten-free. I have been forewarned should I desire any food that contains gluten, I must eat it in the car. Gluten-free toast really isn’t bad at all.

It took numerous phone calls to get my e-reader connected to the internet. The Samsung company technician told me the Alaskan network needed to be updated. I still doubt the company would do that for me. Instead, I called and spoke with one of the Alaska provider’s internet specialists. She had the good sense to do an internet search on how to connect a Samsung e-reader to the internet with my issue. As it turns out, it required a simple check in the general settings.

At last, I can again enjoy endless hours of borrowing books from the Fallbrook Library 24 hours a day.

But that isn’t the only thing I’ve been doing. Besides not exercising, I spend a great deal of time on the computer, yet, it barely compares to the endless hours of dumbing down watching television.

It should come as no surprise I now feel as though, albeit unlicensed, fully qualified to remodel every type of poorly maintained abode and put it up for resale making a huge profit.

I have watched infinite spaces across time from Waco, Indianapolis, and various small towns throughout the South stretching north through Canada and back as they transform smelly, old, tired residences, flipping, restoring and converting them into refined residences for a variety of individuals, families and their adopted pets. You, too?

Because it is only rarely that HBO offers a free weekend to view movies I already own. Which consequently leaves little else to view. Turner Classic Movies has exhausted the reruns of every imaginable movie ever filmed.

And wouldn’t you know, just as I learned the new channels for the Anchorage market, the television died. It was a painless end for the old Visio except now it needs replacing. After two days of watching movies on my Microsoft Surface 10-inch screen, I am happy to report Life is Good again with a 55-inch 4K back on the wall.

By the way, Alaskans are very friendly, helpful and not a bit pretentious. Everyone seems to be from someplace else, even as far away as Hawaii. Which seems odd, doesn’t it? Hawaii, that is. The family had to escape balmy-breezes and clear, sunny days for subzero temperatures, mountains of snow and mosquitoes the size of sparrows? Imagine that.

Amongst other things I now find interesting is how small things now occupy my time. For instance, I squandered an hour watching various YouTube videos learning how to use the new K-cup for the mini-Keurig coffee machine.

That’s all for now. Keep writing those emails, I need to know there is someone out there.

Elizabeth Youngman-Westphal can be reached at [email protected].