CURVES IN THE ROAD

26 March 2003

Well, I was a slug-a-bed today. Last night was a strange night. I had no typing to do and so was able to sit down and watch television which meant, of course, that I fell asleep early in the evening. It's not unusual for me to, then, wake up at 2:30 a.m.., but it is unusual for me to be unable to get back to sleep. Part of the reason was that one of my favorite movies from my past was on -- Love in the Afternoon (Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper) and I thought I would fall asleep watching it, but ended up staying awake to the end. By then I was wide awake.

At 5 a.m. I was up checking e-mail and then decided to see if I could get some sleep, which I did. I slept so long that I was too late to get up to my weigh-in at WeightWatchers. I don't know if I'm going to the meeting in Sacramento on Friday or not. If I do, I'll weigh in there. I did check on our home scale, which pretty much parallels the WeightWatchers one, and it appears, from that, that I stayed the same this week. So for purposes of this journal, I'll take that as my weight for the week.

However, the big thing I did today was to have a meeting at Curves, an exercise place for women, which just opened up in the complex where our office is located. They were offering people who work in the complex the "corporate discount." I liked it already.

I had done some reading on the Internet and it really looked like something that (a) I could do, and (b) would enjoy doing.

[I'm pausing here to let that sink in for me....a new exercise place....and I'm talking about enjoying it. Was it only a year ago that I referred to exercise as "the 'e' word"??]

They had come through the mall a couple of weeks ago handing out flyers and I had called for an appointment for noon today (a good day, since Dr. G was off doing somethig else).

I met a British woman (whose name I didn't get), who wore a button that said "owner." I think she was going to give me a spiel about why it was a good thing to do, but I was really there to sign on the dotted line and get started. From all of my reading, I already knew that I wanted to join--and I knew how much it was going to cost.

Now, I must insert in here that the club I've been going to this past year is falling apart, and it saddens me. It's part of a national chain and has been involved in an Enron-type scandal.  It is tearing our little pre-breakfast club apart. Those who can't come in as late at 7 are having to drop out because the club has lost two employees and can't afford to hire new ones, and so they have moved the opening time from 6 to 7. Then, the guy who runs the place is opening a new place, but not until May (assuming it goes well) and this is only March. I am really sad to think of not working out with this group of people I have come to enjoy so much. But it appears unavoidable. Curves came along at just the right time.

Ms. Britain took me through all the paper work, writing in big bold letters with curleyques on them all of my information. She asked how much I weigh and what was my top weight. (She misunderstood me and added 40 lbs to the top weight; I decided not to correct her since it made me look much more virtuous for having lost so much weight!) We went through all the necessary medical precautions and other information, and then all the financial stuff, where they sucker you in by requiring you to commit to 12 months, and set up an auto download from your bank to do it. I don't really like that, but on the other hand, it's like buying 10 WeightWatchers meetings ahead--it commits me to actually sticking with it.

When all the paperwork had been signed, she invited Ms. Perky over to set me up for my first session, at which time I'll work with a trainer, learn how the system works, go through each of the machines and how best to use them, and then let me go on my own.

This gal was so over-the-top enthusiastic that I finally told her I was already sold and she could turn down the "perk," which she did, becoming a very nice "normal" person. I'm set up for my first session on Friday at 9:30 (assuming they get the facility finished by then--there are still carpenters in the main building).