Send My Conscience Home in a Taxi

It was around this time in 1998 I first joined a gym. This was significant, prior to that, I'd never ever done regular exercise. Partly because I didn't own a bike, partly because I hated team sports, and probably partly because when I was a kid I couldn't because of a bung hip. Perthes Disease if you're interested.

I can't tell you exactly what inspired me to join the gym. I was 28, and I put on a lot of weight in my early twenties. Drinking my way through University had assisted that, and living on hamburgers. And also, one's body changes over time, and by your mid-twenties, it starts storing way more fat than it had before. Remind me to mention this to my son as he reaches that age!

So I joined a gym, and I liked it. Although it took me a few years to really start going really regularly.

Those of you who've met me in real life, will know I'm sort of a big chap. So load bearing exercise suited me well, and still does. I'm not a body builder, which is a whole other level of commitment, I'm just some guy who likes to work his muscles. I put in my headphones and get on with it - the headphones also help to drown out the god-awful music they play at gyms. Mine seem to have Channel-V on all the time, so I get to catch really bad music videos too.

I'd always thought of gym's as the province of the meathead, until I realised that a lot of ordinary people work out as well. And a lot of meatheads, but happily there aren't too many of them at the places I frequent. I'd also read that a certain percentage of regular gym goers have the male equivalent of anorexia. For some reason, knowing that there were neurotics working out made it more like my kind of place!

In that fifteen years I've only belonged to four gyms. Let me think... There was RMIT, then Brunswick Baths gym, then Northcote Aquatic Centre, a ritzy gym in Port Melbourne which was called Southport when I was there, it's called something else now. And then Northcote again. In the mean time, I've also lifted weights at the YMCA and Gold's gyms in New York, a shitty gym in Newcastle called City Gym, two gyms in Adelaide, including one on Rundle Mall, plus a couple in the UK and... that's about it. Weird that I can remember them all. The gym in Newcastle had equipment which barely worked, and which looked dangerous. The gym in Lewisham in London was cramped and I found a magazine for Australian expats there.

I shall now celebrate by flexing my biceps!

It's a just a little over two years since I moved into my flat. It was around January 31st of 2005 that I got the keys and about Feb. 4-5th that I moved in... Cool.

Nice view, in case I hadn't mentioned it :-)

Oh, and about a week ago it was evildoom_bunny was our 19 month anniversary. Random :-)