Thinking Makes It So: A rat for a day

In a foreign country, with a tour group full of people you don’t know, sometimes the best thing you can do is go to the gym.

I need to pause for a disclaimer: If I am a rat of any kind, it is not a gym rat. I’m a road rat, a trail rat, a barre rat – but I don’t like the machines, the musk, the towels, the TVs or any of the complimentary ambience that comes along with a trip to the gym. I can’t stand the sound of the treadmill, the way my face looks in the mirror while I run or the useless, tiny cups of water.

I enjoy running when I have a canyon to overlook and a staircase of igneous rocks to wobble up. I like sudden breezes and trying to smile at passers-by near the breathless midpoint of mile six. I need that literal movement through space: I start in one place and after maybe a hamstring stretch or something, I leave that place behind me. It doesn’t make sense to me to stand on a belt the whole time, caught between the same unspectacular walls.

I have many prejudices against the gym, but I left them in the States when I went to China.

If you subscribe to the newspaper, you receive FREE access to all the exclusive content of the web site! Simply register to receive uninterrupted access to our award-winning and in-depth local online content!

Renew Current or Past Subscription / Register for Online Subscription

If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Los Alamos Monitor, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.

Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.

Newspaper Acct. ID:
Street Address:	(exactly as it appears on the label)

If you are a subscriber and you do not know your account ID or don't have a copy of your newspaper available that shows the information on the address label you can click continue below to search for your account.

New Subscription/30 Day Free Trial Account

If you are new to the award winning Los Alamos Monitor and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.

ZIP Code:

Create a limited access account.
Register to participate in community forums, post on the community calendar, blog etc. This registration does not give you full access to read our award winning content, etc.

The Los Alamos Monitor | lacirculation@lamonitor.com | 505-662-4185
256 DP Road, Los Alamos, NM 87544
Office Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday