Furry balls

I stopped using an office chair a few weeks ago and started using a 65cm exercise ball instead. I saw a client using one and thought "perfect!". It's supposed to be good for the core muscles, and I thought it would help my lower back and tum.

Besides, I can bounce on it when I get excited.

Nobody had warned me that it needs pumping up every few days. The desk got higher and higher, my back was having to get longer and longer; then it got to the point where my chin was virtually at desk level and I dug out the pump. But how to remove the bung? It was in tight, flat to the surface of the ball. I tried fingernails but gave up after a few seconds - it's not that I spend a lot of time admiring my nails, but I do like to have them intact. The blunt edge of a knife? No good. I ended up using pincers, nervous that the sharp corners would pierce the rubber. It seems all right though - I've had to do it several times now, and no visible damage so far.

Then there's the problem that rubber is - well - sweaty stuff. Which is fine if you're working out and expecting to get damp. Sitting in my office, quietly typing away to myself, I don't anticipate a perspiring bum, and I can't say I enjoy it much. I draped an old, dog-damaged pashmina over it, but it kept slipping off. So I looked on the internet and found Furriballs, with a whole selection of covers. You can have long-haired pink, ocelot, black panther - you name it, there's something to match most decor. Sadly no persian rug patterns, so the one that arrived yesterday is brown-and-white-cow. It will add a certain je-ne-sais-quoi to the surroundings, I like to imagine.

Now all I have to do is let all the air out of the ball, fit the cover, and then pump it all the way back up again ... by which time I shall be sweaty all over. Next time someone asks me "Do you take regular exercise?" I shall look them firmly in the eye and reply, "Yes, in my office, without ever going near a gym. And I work as I work out".

Ah, the joys of modern materials!

Still waiting for the results on my lower back and (especially) my tum...