Number crunching

Friends tell me that they get somewhat bored on the treadmill. That they generally walk because at least then they can read while they are walking. I have given it some thought as to what I do. I do occassionally take a book. It is with the intent of walking for a long period of time. So more time than speed or even distance. I will snag a magazine from the shelf at times. I usually find that with a magazine I stare at a particular page for minutes at a time and then realise I need to turn the page. The music is always blaring in my ears - which impacts my speed. And lastly I do watch the tv with closed captions at the front of the gym. All these things seem to keep me occupied as I walk and jog along.
The other thing I am constantly doing is running the numbers in my head. Trying to figure out my average pace. What that first mile? What was the second mile? How fast was that warm up? What impact did it have on my pace. Numbers crunching through my head.
Well wouldn't you know the tv added to my number crunching earlier this week. On one of the channels they had some expert on about investing. It is inevitable these days - one tv is sports, another sitcoms and the 3rd finance. We are junkies for this crap. So the commentary was something along the lines of a 25 year old saving $500 per month in a retirement plan. And on they went about how much this would accumulate to (I don't know what rate they were using). I was just thinking $500 per month saved into a retirement plan at 25?!?! That sounds great but what does that really mean... And off my brain went calculating as I was trucking along on the treadmill. At $60,000 that would be 10% of income. First of all, how many 25 year olds are earning that much? And second of all, how many people are really saving that much into their retirement plan. So as always I just got pissy at that station and focused on the sitcom.
BING - 30 minutes over...