more on lifting, more on vanity

There's another benefit of lifting that I neglected- MUSCLES! Every month or so, I find some muscles I never knew I had. Muscles remind me of a lot of people I know. They'll stay out of the way, lay low, try not to do work if they don't have to, but then give them a project and they work hard. Keep them motivated and they flourish. It started with my underarms. One day I flexed and I had triceps. My stick-figure arm suddenly had a little bulge. It was pleasing. I spent time in front of the mirror confirming that my imagination was not playing tricks. A tickle attack was in full force at some later date and I naturally tensed my stomach muscles. I knew I had stomach muscles, but these were tickle-stoppers. They shut down the attack. Now, this week as I was reaching across my body to grab a toothbrush, I found wings. I'm a few years removed from anything remotely resembling an anatomy class, so I don't know what they are, but trust me, I've never seen these muscles before.

If muscles were stocks, my portfolio would be looking good. Unfortunately, I still wouldn't be ready for retirement.