People tell me it's taking over. You have no life, no friends, we never see you anymore. But I tell them like I'm telling you...People grow apart, things change, you lose some friends, but you make new ones. That is life. Has it occured to them that I have new friends, and they're right here in the gym?
Sure I spend a lot of time here, but that doesn't mean I'm excercising all the time. Did you know that you can get significantly more aerobic and anaerobic improvement from a 4-minute workout than a 60-minute workout? Plus, most people know that exercise can reduce stress and depression, but did you know that exercising actually produces new brain cells? Wow!
It's healthy in more ways than one. I have the opportunity to help people in the gym and that feels good too. Sometimes they don't like when I correct them if I see someone doing pushups with their elbows flared out or their hips sagging, for example. But mostly people welcome my help. Like the other day, I saw a woman pedalling backwards on the eliptic machine, and she didn't even realize it! I could tell she appreciated my tip because she had this big smile frozen across her whole face the whole time.
And people come to me all the time to ask me about the opening hours on holidays or what the best protein shake is, or even just where the bathroom is. I even helped someone check why their card wasn't working once on the computer when there was no personnel around. The employees kind of got mad at me for that one, though, so I stay away from behind the reception desk now.
But they sure don't mind when I take out the trash or clean up a little in the men's bathroom if it really needs it, or when I talk to old Mr. Bloom. He's in the gym every morning till about 8 a.m. and none of them can be bothered to spend five minutes with the old guy. They're not completely heartless though. Once, when I was talking to old Mr. Bloom, I overheard one of them saying, "I feel sorry for him; he seems so lonely."
In between workouts and helping out, I'll have coffee with one of the regulars, take an extra shower if I need it, or I'll just weigh myself one more time. Sometimes I run over to the discount market to buy some protein bars (they're cheaper there).
Then every day, gradually, without my noticing it happen, the place thins out, and the person on duty starts to close up. He counts the register, takes the sign in from outside, and walks around the entire place one time to make sure everything's okay. Their movements are usually rushed and impatient cause they're so anxious to leave for the day.
When the light coming through the sun roof fades and disappears, I slip into the maintenance closet on the second floor, close the door and wait. There's just enough space in there for me between an old mop, stacks of paper towels and a foam mattress. I feel pretty safe because no one else seems to go there in the evening. At any rate, no one has ever questioned where the mattress came from.
It's mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment