The Open Stages, 8th Day of Hagwinter, 526 M.E. (Aldebaran): Fuck "doctor's orders!" Fuck "every other day!" I walked again today, even though I had walked just yesterday (ironically cue up Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild). I took in a full Washington today, 1.2 miles, my greatest distance since the 52nd Day of Autumn and the second greatest since the 30th of Autumn. 

This coming from a person who formerly averaged about seven to ten miles per walk, every other day.

I can't just sit around my house all day. Believe me, I tried. For five weeks. Almost seven weeks in the New Revised Universal Solar Calendar. I can't do it. I have to get outside, I have to breathe some fresh air, I need to move around, even if only a little bit. I need to see things that aren't on my computer, television, or phone screens. I need to hear the laughter of children in the local park and the babbling of the brook that runs through that park. I need to see my neighbors, and feel the change of the seasons. I need to live, in order to survive.  

My PCP and my cardiologist agree that I should refrain from any "exercise" until they can run some more tests, and then schedule the next test for the 60th of Hagwinter. I can't lie in limbo at the convenience of their schedule, and I honestly believe that getting out and walking isn't going to kill me. I honestly believe they underestimate how easy it is for me to walk several miles - I really don't even consider anything less than five miles to even be "exercise."

That's it for today's rant. Thank you for your attention to this matter.