I am not an overly social person. So, self-isolating during the pandemic hasn’t been especially difficult for me. Of course, I have virtual meetings throughout the day and can walk downstairs to be with my spouse anytime I want.

What has been challenging has been getting regular exercise. Rachel and I walked twice daily earlier in the year. But, with the now sub-freezing temperatures and a new job, consistently walking outside has been problematic.

For some time, I had been going to a gym. It was kind of refreshing to jog at the gym each day before breakfast. But, with the ongoing pandemic, I’m still wary about some places. Also, I had to wake up at 3:30 AM to have sufficient time for a round trip to the gym and an hour’s workout before getting on with my day.

Now that I’m working remotely permanently, I combined the savings in gym membership and Black Friday days to buy a new treadmill. I think it has been over a decade since I’ve had one at the house.

I was a bit overwhelmed by my options. While there is some very cool technology on newer treadmills, I don’t need what is effectively a tablet or touch-screen computer embedded in it. Also, I don’t want to pay a monthly fee to use it.

Once I chose a no-frills treadmill, the next challenge was installing it. The delivery team was able to leave it in the living room. But, I still had to move it to our spare bedroom. It was too heavy for me to lift. And, while I could “walk” the package across the living room, it was too tall to fit through the doorways.

I ended up laying the package on its side and began sliding it towards the hall. Rachel had a good idea of putting something underneath it to make it easier to slide. A smooth log would have been ideal. We choose soup cans.

Perhaps you can see where this is going. While the cans made a marked improvement, I had only moved the box a few feet when I heard a loud “pop.” I thought that the can had punctured the package. Instead, the treadmill’s weight had popped open the soup can, similar to how Popeye might open a can of spinach.

Getting the treadmill off the now soup-impregnated carpet took a bit of maneuvering. It took even longer to clean up what looked like a bout of projectile vomiting. Fortunately, the smell was rather pleasant.

After two days of cleaning and assembly, the treadmill’s in its new home. I look forward to getting back to jogging again!

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