Goodbye fat slug, hello healthy rabbit

I did it. Luck was on my side. The gods were smiling down on me. My life will take a turn for the better. Various other sayings of good things.

I joined a gym.

I hadn't joined one since I moved here almost a year ago (!). Even though I do a lot of walking, I no longer have karate classes and my sedentary job does not give me the trim girlish figure I deserve.

I would have joined a gym sooner, but I had lots of criteria which weren't met:

1. Convenient location.
I'm very much less likely to go if it takes a lot of effort. I wanted one that I could go to after work, without a lot of hassle getting home. That means it has to be near not one, but 2 specific trains. Is that asking too much?

2. Cheap, cheap, cheap!
Yeah right. This is NYC. "Cheap" is not a word often heard. Even the gyms that were okay locations were hundreds of dollars a month. They would kick my ass to the curb for not even paying my first bill.

3. Simplicity.
I don't need a personal trainer. I don't need specialized classes (though the "Stiletto Strength" and other hilarious classes at Crunch would be fun times). I don't need a juice bar. I don't need a sauna. I do need some regular cardio equipment and weight machines. If there is a pool, I'll use it. But I don't need 98% of the superfluous crap that these "other" gyms offer.

So I couldn't find any gym I liked. As a result, I've become an inactive, fat slug. Keep your salt away from me. That's really gross.

And then....!

Walking through the Lower East Side, via teany, haircut, and on to Chinatown. Buff guys in matching t-shirts handing out flyers. I never look at flyers. But this time as I walked by, something kept poking my brain. Turning around.

"Are you opening a gym right here? Right above the exact train station where I switch trains when I come home from work? And you're offering a special opening price of $299 for a year's membership? Isn't that $25 a month? And you specialize in cardio and free weights? And you're the owner and you're really nice? And all sorts of other good stuff?"

They had my number. Exactly everything I wanted, in one convenient, cheap, brand new location. Sure, it won't be open until September or November, but I have a "trial membership" card to this other gym, paid for by my gym's owner. That's included in the fee. Free access to this other, crappier yet more expensive, gym so I can start working out now. Awesome. I probably won't even go there, but it's really nice of that guy to make sure I could work out if I wanted to.

Another great thing is that for some reason, my credit card company decided I needed a new credit limit. I agreed. However, my new limit is $11,600. Eleven thousand dollars?!? Because they are a credit card company, they want me to stay in debt. Because I am poor, I will. But I was able to charge the gym membership. That was very good timing on everyone's part. I just have to resist the urge to buy $11,000 worth of stuff for my new gym. A gal's gotta look good while she works out right? No.

But I should have some great stories to share with you all.



p.s. you can tell I'm bored because I've included lots of unnecessary links.