We Are All Fine Here

We Are All Fine Here by Mary Guterson was checked out by me on one of those days where I start wandering the aisles of the library. As we know, this usually doesn't turn out well. When I pulled it off the shelf, I noticed a quote on the cover stating it was 'laugh aloud hilarious.' OK, I dig that. I'm always looking for a book that is truly funny. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those books. A super brief synopsis is that Julie is pregnant either by her husband or her college boyfriend when she already has a 15 year old son and is dissatisfied with her life. We Are All Fine Here had its chuckle moments but I wouldn't really recommend it. I really hate when I can't say definitely, "yes, read this book." Someone, in this case Guterson, probably spent the better part of a year or more pouring her heart into this novel and it just fell flat. And since you've probably never heard of it, it clearly did not meet rave reviews, save for the cover's 'laugh aloud hilarious.' Anyway, skip this one.

Yesterday I went to the podiatrist...FINALLY! Have I told you that it feels like I'm stepping on a nail in my right foot while running? If not, it does. Thought I'd best go get that checked out. As it happens, my right foot has four strikes, according to Dr. Joseph. 1) My 2nd toe is longer than my great toe (his term, not mine). Yes, that means it's a little freakish. It also means if I'm wearing my normal size shoe, chances are good that toe is being pushed up a bit. 2) My toe knuckles are improperly aligned. Due to my 2nd toe's length, the great toe knuckle is an inch lower than it should be and puts lots of pressure on the ball of my foot. 3) I have tight achilles tendons and calves. Tightness in these areas = added ball pressure. 4) I have the beginnings of arthritis on top of my foot due to all the other strikes. ARTHRITIS! I'm freakin' 26 years old for crying out loud. Bottom line, my orthotic inserts are being re-fitted to accomodate my strikes and I'll have them in 2 weeks. The downside is that their effectiveness is best the more I wear them. This has the potential to mean that I should really be wearing tennis shoes whenever possible. I don't care for this diagnosis. I have many shoes that will simply not fit with the orthotics. Not sure what I'll do about this but if you see me in tennis shoes and a skirt, you'll know why.

And lastly, a zumba tidbit for you. There was a new woman in class today. She didn't pay me any nevermind but I was keeping my eye on her. Mostly because she had her water in a crystal mug. No joke. I heard her say it was plastic but it looked like cut crystal and was wide open. I guess if you're new to a class and you've never seen a Nalgene, Sigg or plain old bottled of water, you might think plastic crystal mugs were the right thing to drink out of. I wasn't really watching her moves because it was a kind of intense class. I was also wearing my Karhus to zumba for the first time so I was paying attention to how my feet were reacting to those (not well, sad to say). The music for Low Riders started, "All my friends know the low rider...." You know that one? And I hear her say, "Oh, I used to dance nude to this." WHAT?! Firstly, you don't know anyone but this other crazy lady (figures) in this class, what makes you think that kind of information is ok to share? Secondly, I want to thank you, weirdo crystal mug drinking lady for the visual that I now have of you dancing nude to Low Riders. Please don't return to this class and go back from whence you came.