The New Schedule Physical Challenge

Remember those old Double Dare physical challenges? First off, why did they call them "physical challenges"? I always thought it was obvious that the challenge would be physical. Nickelodeon wasn't all that great with branding games.

My new work schedule has become a physical challenge especially considering we're a one-car household. Amanda wins the coin toss for the keys with her commute to Seattle.

I have two ways to get to work now -- by walking 20 minutes or by busing 5 minutes. Before continuing, let's all close our eyes and take a deep breath. On the exhale, think about how happy Paolo is about these options compared to the previous 90 minute commute. Isn't that nice? Like yoga for the mind.

Neither option is all that bad, but the bus will become more preferable as the weather turns in a couple months. The real challenge is the timing. The buses come every 20 minutes, so if I just miss one -- and I have already -- I'm torn between waiting for the next boss or getting to walking and being home in the same amount of time. With the new dress code, shoes have definitely come into play, and while I think my dress shoes are comfortable for the office, they haven't passed the 4-mile roundtrip walking test.

I've also opted to adjust my work hours slightly. I'm still getting up with Amanda at 5:45 a.m., and I twiddled my thumbs the first couple days waiting for 8:10 a.m. to arrive so that I could get to work by 8:30 a.m. Now I'm leaving more like 7:40 to get to work by 8 a.m. so that I can leave work by 4:30 and get home just before 5 p.m. To that point, being in my own home by 5 p.m. on a weekday is like living in an alternate reality. Still getting used to that and what to do with my time. Speaking of, I have a bus to catch.

Now, enjoy the genius that is all-star TV host Marc Summers tossing these kids around the obstacle course. So much humor, so much liability.