The Gym
I just got back from the Gym. We have a community rec-center that's literally at the end of our block that I've been meaning to sign up to for well over a year - since I started living at Ana's actually. My ability to procrastinate knows no bounds.
My first thought after I started my diet a few weeks ago was to go over and get myself a pass, but the center was closed all during August, so today was the first day I could go. I am PSYCHED - $25 for the month with no signup fee and it had a full gym with all modern equipment, open til 10 p.m. and it was EMPTY. Perfect. I got to run on the machine, which I love because I can't pace myself for shit, and then use some of the weights and stretch on the mats, all within 45 minutes and then be home 30 seconds later. Rockin'!
I want to tell you about the last time I went to a gym - I was living in San Francisco. I loved San Fran - it's so gorgeous there, it's unbelieveable, with amazing interesting people. I lived in the Yuppie section of town called The Marina because I liked it over there (better weather with views of the Golden Gate), but I used to get no end of slack for it. As much as I love San Francisco, I was terribly, horribly, suicidally lonely there. I worked, and then came home and was alone until the next day at work. I loathed three day weekends because I would be devoid of human interaction so much that by Monday I would start talking to myself by the third day - even in public like in the grocery store and people would look at me funny. I kid you not.
In an attempt to get the hell out of my house and improve my bod so some Marina chick would give me the time of day, I signed up for 24 Hour Fitness. It cost me $700. Like $450 for the sign up and a couple hundred more for a private trainer, etc. + $35 a month. I probably went 12 times at the most. What would happen is I would get home from work, watch TV for a while, get bored, have nothing to do, drive down to the gym (the one near Fisherman's Wharf next to the Blockbuster if anyone reads this from SF) get there and immediately feel like crap. No matter how late I went, it was usually packed with gorgeous yuppies doing their best to ignore everyone else around them, speaking to you with those obnoxious frat-voices, "Dude. You done with that machine?" Ever been alone in a crowd of people? There's nothing that feels worse. Ugh.
I would do my excercises, trying not to feel mentally smaller and smaller as the minutes passed, get out of there, go over to the Blockbuster, rent a video and drive home, THANKFUL to be out of that torture chamber. However, that would last all of five seconds as I opened the door to my apartment and realized that I was once again alone.
Contrast that with this evening. I got home from work, and my baby was asleep and my wife and I got to chat for a while before she decided to go running. Ana likes to run outside... the baby woke up and I fed him his bottle and after, since he was in a good mood, we read some more Winnie The Pooh (for his English which he's not getting enough of. I CANNOT procrastinate on that), then when Ana got back, I ran up to the Gym for the first time, had the place virtually to myself, got back in 45 minutes feeling great, and had my wonderful happy family waiting for me. Is that awesome or what?
It's like waking up from a nightmare.
-Russ