The Health Club

Howdy,

Well, I did it. I joined the club. Our local health club had a Christmas Special so I took the plunge.

Now I join other "sluggards" young and old, male and female, 5 times a week on the tread mill and the other diabolical machines designed to carve those pounds off, tighten up those muscles and make me "buff" again. Okay, so maybe "again" and "buff" are not to used by me in the same sentence. I used to be in pretty good shape but you know how it goes. So I'm really trying to get more healthy and if the pounds come off and all the rest, so be it and praise the Lord.

In one part of the building are the free - weights being used by those who don't seem to need it. They have bulging muscles all over their bodies that just accentuate their tatoos. I read somewhere that genetics has a large say about whether or not I could develop 6 pack abs instead of the keg I'm sporting now. I have no intention of venturing into free - weight territory.

Instead I'm using the treadmill, stationary bikes, and resistance machines. I actually am enjoying it. It's fun to see other people suffer. It motivates me. I'm not the type to go off running by myself somewhere. Just to see someone else sweating and straining gets me going.

The whole experience has been rather comical. What do I need to pack in my gym bag? Oh, and what kind of bag should I take? I can't stuff my stuff in a Wal Mart bag. It just isn't done. I'm certainly not going to go out and spend money on a bag since I must have something in my closet that will work. Actually I'm not really concerned about how I look coming into the club / gym or whatever it's called. I don't know if I should call it a club since you might picture a members only tea room off to one side where soft music is played and people sit around in winged back chairs reading the paper. To call it a gym doesn't seem right either. Isn't a gym where a bunch of sweaty oofs work out at punching bags while others are clanging free weights around and grunting. It's sort of like a gym but nicer. Anyway, back to the bag. I began by using a small duffel given to us when we went on a cruise so it says the name of the cruise company on the side. Now I'm using a back pack that my daughter used to use in school I believe. I'll see how that goes. Then how am I supposed to dress to go there? Do I wear my exercise stuff under my street clothes and simply strip down when I get there? Do I wear sweats or office type work clothes? Does that depend on whether or not I'm stopping off at the "gym" on the way to work or on the way home? I want to do what's right. Of the agony of deciding.

So far I've used the treadmill. You can program those things to give you a real workout but first you have to figure them out. You can simply hit a quick start button and get going while adjusting the speed but that would be bush league. You really need to program it so the bed goes up and down and the speed varies to simulate uneven terrain. Wow! So far I just turn it on. Then you plug in your headphones so you can listen to the audio coming from 5 different television screens up front. I like that part. After each workout you are to spray down your machine with disinfectant and wipe it down. You want to do your part to keep everyone healthy.

The resistance machines have proven challenging and that's before I use them. I CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT MACHINES! I went through an orientation about the machines when I first started but they all look alike. I've spend what seems like most of the time I have available simply walking up and down the rows of machines trying to identify the ones I'm supposed to use. After 20 minutes or so I end up going back to the treadmill because I know where they are and how to turn them on.

I know that all of this will come together eventually and that I won't be so intimidated just walking into the building. Soon I'll know some of the players, I'll have figured out how to dress and what to carry my gear in, the machines will do wondrous things at my command and all will be as it should be as my body gets even better looking.

Pray for me. I'm visiting the "gym" this afternoon.

Shalom

New Years Eve 2007

In the distant past New Years Eve was a time only "the old" apparently were allowed to celebrate. I'm sure you remember asking your parents where they were going as they got prepared to go out on that special night filled with unimaginable revelry. Or perhaps you remember the time when your parents invited friends to your home so you were relegated to your room where you were supposed to be sleeping but you really were silently peeking out into the living room to see what all the laughing was about. I know that sentence was too long but honestly I didn't know how to punctuate it, so there.

Eventually you were allowed to get a taste of New Years Eve. Do you remember the thrill of being allowed to stay up to watch the ball drop in Times Square in New York for the very first time? You probably ate exotic foods like Ritz Crackers with cut up summer sausage and cheese or some of that great Velveeta cheese dip made with melted cheese and salsa. I'm certain you also remember then being shuffled off to bed at 12:05 am. The excitement for you was all over.

The time came when I was always awake after midnight so New Years Eve lost a bit of its shine. There were parties of all sorts I attended with friends then.

Then after some time our kids arrived and they went through the same stages we had.

Now that I am more "mature" New Years Eve is nothing very special. If I can keep my eyes open I can stay up late any night I choose. So what do you do for fun on New Years Eve?

Well let me tell you. You invite anyone who wants too to come to the church fellowship hall to be together with others. Our church did just that and we had a great time.

I believe 17 had signed up and 40 came. It wasn't long before laughter filled the room. At first we laughed at each other in those ridiculous hats but then we laughed as we played games together. We started at 4:00 PM and ended somewhere after 9:00 PM. Finger foods of all kinds were spread out on a serving table and we grazed all evening. Every so often there was a drawing which meant another person won a door prize. Probably the best part of the evening though was playing games. One group played some sort of dominoes game. Another couple of groups played a word game that was very frenetic and got people all worked up. Yet another table played Trivial Pursuit. But every table was having fun. It was hard to hear sometimes because of all the laughter coming from all over the room. The evening was a great success.

Then when the evening broke up we went home and still managed to stay up till the bewitching hour. I remember hearing "we missed it" coming from the other room. We forgot all about watching the ball drop but we made it to the new year anyway.

Shalom