December 5, 2007

Still Moving Forward

10:36 pm | My Life

It was my last night as a member of the University Club. I extended my customary ten minute soak in the hot tub by another ten minutes, using the extra time to think over the last seven months. My plan to get washboard abs just by having the UC membership card in my pocket had failed, but the greater goal had not: I was in shape for the Academy. An era in my life was ending, the same way that many before had done. Not a moment too soon; I had just been finally enrolled in my Academy classes and had been dinged with a tuition bill far higher than expected. Time to tighten the belt. No more lavish health clubs in downtown Grand Rapids for me.

As I packed my things into the gym bag I tallied up the pros on the cons. The club afforded me a good platform for regular and effective workouts, but I also needed to start saving money like nobody’s business. It was very sad to say goodbye to the hot tub. On the other hand, I no longer had to deal with the incredibly awkward teenage locker-room employee that always seemed to be staring at my junk. I would miss running for an hour on the elliptical machine while watching Cops, but, well, on the other hand I wouldn’t have to see that teenage kid anymore. He really, really bugged me. I dropped off my keycards and walked out. When I hit the street I took a mental tally of my things and realized that I had left my bathing suit hanging in the shower room. First time in seven months that I left it hanging there before walking out the door. It was time for a new bathing suit, anyway.