ROW 80 Check-in 2/6

I'm still plugging away at my reading goals, not as much with my writing ones, unfortunately. Now, one thing I've noticed on a lot of people's blogs, and something that seems inherent in ROW80's function, that of having a life outside of writing, is non-writing goals for this 80 day period. Along with the writing, I've seen weight-loss goals, exercise goals, organizational goals, etc. So, I sorta have one of those, too. Though it did not start with this latest round--'bout a week or so later, in fact--it is something I've been able to stick to during this time. And that would be walking for an hour each morning.

I get up at 6 each day and head down to a nearby track and me and a buddy of mine walk and talk and drink our home-brewed coffee for an hour each day. Save for that one week I was sick, we've been doing it now for almost a month.

This is not something I do. Exercise, that is. I, like many of you out there probably, have a treadmill, (you may have a similar exercise-type device in your home), that makes for a terrific coat rack/catch-all. I've used it sparingly over the past dozen years. What I'm trying to say is, I don't exercise with any regularity.

Why now? Because I have someone to do it with. Someone who counts on me to do it as much as I count on him to be there in the morning when I drive up to his door. As Butters Stotch would say: I have an accountabilabuddy. Much like some of you all have one through ROW80 to help cheer you on with your writing goals.

So, why aren't my wife and I doing this? My wife will exercise her way and I'll exercise mine. She's not much of a morning person and I'm becoming more so the more I do this.

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Now, as far as writing goes, I'm almost done with Padgett Powell's latest and I'm going to write about it and him very soon. I'm still in the note-taking/research phase of my Waldropian, (I'll talk more about Mr. Waldrop very soon, too), Will Rogers story and I'm starting a story about me as a 20-year-old protester, sorta. Off to the races!