Year 2, Day 324: Chuck E. Cheese

Ruby and another kid who's a friend of Ruby's missed a party that was held at Chuck E. Cheese last year. They missed it because the party was during the middle of the day following an early release day. Neither parent could arrange either the pick up or drop off. We promised them that since they missed the party, we'd (I'd) take them there some day by themselves. It so happens that day was today. I made sure I went to the gym early in the day so I'd have extra energy and not be crabby. Adults at a Chuck E. Cheese are likely to have their last nerves on display and I did not want to be one of them. My plan was pretty good, except for the fact that the pizza they were bringing out every 10 minutes smelled FANTASTIC. I was glad we left when we did because it was starting to get to me. I did notice that they had a salad bar, though, for which I awarded them a lot of style points. The salad is probably atrocious, but it's nice that they offer an alternative.

Another word about Chuck E. Cheese: what's the big deal? When I was growing up, places like that were called "Game Rooms," by kids and "A Waste of Money" by parents. I think the only thing new is the bright lights. When I was growing up, the game rooms were dark, unrentable lots in a mall where lots of arcade games could be stored cheaply and children could be left while their parents were free to shop.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Ikea Muesli
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch
Hamburger
Salad

Snack
6 oz. plain yogurt
4 tblespoons super chunky peanut butter
.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
6 tortilla chips with melted cheddar/montery jack cheese

Dinner
Breast of Chicken
Cauliflower

Did about seven miles on the elliptical, though I was thrown off one machine and had to finish on another. It is very difficult to keep your pace when you are switching from machine to machine. Some have different controls, and when they added television screens to the machines, they added the TV controls on the handles of some of them, making them annoying to avoid. Recently, the crowds have been such that in order to stay on a machine without getting into trouble, I reset the mileage. This is because there is a post 30 minute maximum when people are waiting, which I think is foolish, but probably necessary. As I from New York, I do what all New Yorkers do, which is take advantage of the situation with the knowledge that everyone will do it when they need to. Following that, I Did 3 sets of 10 reps of ab crunches, too. I am starting to like the downstairs gym, where all the strength training equipment is. I just have to get past the part where I get light-headed.