The Adnostic

Do you know what this Friday is? Its the third Friday of the month! Do you know what that means? Time for coffee and conversation with the LikeMind crew!

Get up a little extra early on Friday to join Jamie Rubin and I at the Susina Bakery at 8am to discuss things you find interesting with smart and interested people over tall lattes and savory croissants or sweet scones. Its also the first anniversary of the original LikeMind in Manhattan, which is absolutely worth a raise of the glass and a nod of the head.

July 20th at 8am
Susina Bakery (7122 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90036)

Likemind, Upcoming.org, Facebook (original, meta, and meta) (repetition, repetition, repetition)

The Zen Master and I had just come back inside after watering the plants. He did the back of the house while I watered the plants in front of the house.

ZM: I saw a kitty out back sniffing around. I tried to pet it, but it ran away. Then it came sniffing around again in the place I was about to water, so I told it, "You better move or you're going to get wet." But it didn't move, so I squirted it and it freaked out and ran away.

Me: You're mean!

ZM: I warned it!

Me: In English. You warned it in English.

ZM: Hey, if it's living in this country, it better speak the language.

My mother would be so proud of him.

Exercise is usually portrayed in a very heroic and humorless sort of way. Be in the "zone." Beat someone. Beat something. Beat yourself. Oooh! Awesome! Endorphins! Look at all the pretty colors...

Funny. This isn't how I feel about exercise. This isn't how a lot of people I know feel about exercise. Exercise is a necessary evil. I would much rather be using the time and money I spend at the gym doing far more productive things, like blogging, cooking a halfway decent dinner for myself, cleaning my apartment, buying plane tickets to see ZM, going out for drinks and live music with friends, sleeping, or being ordered around by my mom.

But I was surprised and impressed by this little number by Weiden+Kennedy Amsterdam. This is an attitude I can completely identify with, and it makes me laugh.

I am not an athlete. I use an exercise bike because it has a "Calories Burned" counter and I don't really care if its not very accurate. I do pilates for an hour every week because I don't want to have to hold up my arms and suck in my gut just so I can look pretty good in that bikini I just bought. I do squats, lunges, push-ups, and run up and down stairs so that when I meet with a personal trainer once a month I don't feel crippled for the following week. And finally, I pay $50 a month in gym membership fees so that I can fit into my clothes. Especially the vintage. I am not getting rid of the vintage.

Exercising sucks, but you know what sucks more? Moving up a dress size and an overhang. That really sucks.