The One True Gym I Mournz It

Well, that was faster than I expected! I went to the new gym tonight.

I've been hung up on logistics for a long time (the shower, the gym accoutrements, the timing) and tonight I just did the very easiest thing: came home from work, changed, got in my car, and went to the gym near my house.

The bad things about this gym: it is kinda ghetto. My old gym had beautiful high-def televisions and sanitizing wipes for the equipment and a rack of trashy magazines and lockers where your stuff was perfectly safe even if you didn't lock it. This gym has tiny televisions mounted in the corners, no sanitizing wipes to be seen, and no magazines. The lockers are in a shady area with signs plastered everywhere saying things like "THINK TWICE BEFORE PUTTING ANYTHING IN A LOCKER, EVEN IF YOU LOCK IT YOUR SHIT WILL PROBABLY GET STOLEN." They suggest fanny packs. Dear god.

I didn't realize I would need a fanny pack, a lock, or a subscription to Star Magazine, but I absolutely need all of the above. I also need new tennis shoes, as the ones I bought are painful and need to be returned. And sanitizing wipes.

All this being said, it was a great workout. I got a parking spot right in front of the gym (tragically, parking also sucks at this gym). There were plenty of free ellipticals and I hopped on one and queued up my "Elliptastic" playlist. As dorky as this sounds, I never allow myself to listen to the playlist, or to some of the individual songs, even, unless I am exercising. I don't want to wear out the energy of the song! So as soon as the playlist started, I was totally pumped.

(The song list is even dorkier. "Accidentally In Love" is one of the sacred Elliptical songs, and there's a clip of an American Idol performance to kick things off. It's, um, "I Think I Love You" by Constantine Maroulis. I know he's a tool. At this point it's Pavlovian: when I hear it, my heart rate goes up.)

I worked out for 20 minutes with an average heart rate of 134. I could have worked out longer but I don't want to overdo things on the first day! I am already excited to go back again. I had no idea how much I'd missed the gym. It turns out, I really had.

Still Here!

People have been commenting and e-mailing because the blog feed is all mixed up with the book blog, and some of the archive pages were messed up. The problem with the archive should be straightened out; I may have to republish the book blog, but I absolutely do not want to risk losing those archives, so I will have to back it up first. As for the feeds, I sometimes accidentally post to the wrong blog, and that totally recently happened. If you're having any problems or issues with posts, feeds or archives let me know.

As for me, I joined a gym and am looking forward to getting back to elliptical training and biking this summer. (Oh, beautiful summer.) However, Ian gave me some horrible wasting disease and I am still sniffling, sneezing, and coughing all over the place. I've been trying to walk more; in fact, one day last week I was so purposeful in my "more walking" that I had jelly legs while walking home. Believe me, I am so lazy, that never happens.

I feel the desire to focus on exercise, and I am ready to hit the gym. It will be my first time at the gym by my house, so I will give you a full report. I am going to make it there this week. So stay tuned.

Argh!

[Moved from the book blog, where I initially published it for some weirdo reason.]

I am having an annoying day. I just drank what I thought was a 20-ounce Cherry Coke Zero but it was regular Cherry Coke! Number one I can't have that much sugar; number two I did not enjoy it extra because I thought it was diet; number three what a waste of 260 calories. Ugh.