If you can read this, I'm not lost.

Every so often, someone closes one of the tunnels through Missionary Ridge. That makes it a lot more difficult for me to get home, as it happened last night.

The first time, I drove from the road I was on to the other road with a tunnel, just under two miles. The second time, I had an "Aha!" moment and took the interstate (which is between the two roads with tunnels) over the ridge. The third time, I had a vague idea of how Froggy drove some back roads to get back to campus, bypassing both tunnels and the interstate, and I managed to find my way home. (Thankfully, it was kind of light outside because I never would have managed it in the dark.) Last night, I found the back route again (and it was light again), so if you ever come to visit and the tunnels are closed, you needn't panic -- as long as it's not dark.

Also last night, I stopped by Walgreen's to pick up a couple of bottles of glucosamine chondroitin pills. (Actually, GNC has better deals when you consider retail prices, but Walgreen's -- and Rite Aid, CVS, and K-Mart for that matter -- has them on sale this week.)

It was shortly before I moved last summer that Gym Rat opined that tall people (such as me) might wear out their knees more quickly because of greater stress on the joints. (I presume that it has already been proven for obese people, but I don't want to bother looking that up right now.) For the past several months now, my knees have been bothering me. Plus, I can hear them when I do my lunges. (Note: a Google search for "lunges" brings up a whole bunch of results oriented toward women, but at least this video is done by a guy, so you can pretend I'm that buff.)

It can't be because of what Gym Rat said. (Could it?) He can't curse people. (Can he?)

It can't be because I'm getting old. Old is what happens after you turn 40, and I still have over a year before I get there. I'm still young, darn it! I can't be falling apart yet.

The third option, which is the one I prefer, is to blame all the darned hills in Chattanooga. Walking up and down campus all day (on the stairs or roads) must be what's wreaking havoc on my knees. Yeah, that's it. That's the ticket!

My dad tried glucosamine chondroitin, but it didn't work for him. However, the pills do work for my friend Gimpy, so if they don't work for me, either, at least there's a backup plan for using up the extras.