Eyes, ears, ankles, toes.

Since the start of winter I have been very disciplined about runing twice on Saturdays. The goal being not to lose too much conditioning for when summer roles around - as I have been assured it will - and I can run outside again. Today, after many weeks of doing just that, I feel a slight tug on my body to skip the second run and for once I will listen. A slight head cold and (more than usual) achy legs made my morning run miserable - the boost of adrenaline the only thing that made it tolerable - and if I plan to run extra long tomorrow I will be thankful the extra rest. Also keeping me inside my toasty house is a couple of new CDs that will be giving the honour of being played back on my yammy. Some people with nice stereos find little time to enjoy their investment and while my investment is smaller in scale I don't miss an opportunity to listen. The headphone amplifier and CD player have sat on since morning and are now nicely warmed up, taking the glare off the highs and making the sound liquid and smooth and golden. The head cold makes everything sound slightly dull - pianos' top end are sounding a bit thin and the violins are missing texture - and I find needing to remind myself not to turn it up to compensate. I could listen to this unit for hours so relaxing and unfatiguing is the sound, but breaks are crucial as listening period length is as important as sound pressure levels in protecting hearing, if I plan to listen to music for the rest of my life.