I'm afraid this post may destroy a commonly held belief about me
I'm afraid this post may destroy a commonly held belief about me, namely that I'm tough and don't take crap from people. But so be it.
We've already had a taste of winter here in Colorado, and for all intents and purposes biking season is as good as over. But thanks to Tery getting a job at 24-Hour Fitness, and getting us both free memberships (almost makes up for her minimum wage), winter won't be the excuse to slack off that it has been.
I've decided to take up my old favorite sport of basketball--I don't play games, mind you, just free throwing. I realized the only time in my life when I've been thin(ner) was the summer I spent hours and hours and hours shooting hoops. (Unfortunately our hoop was mounted on the garage attached to the house, and looking back it must have been a living hell for anyone sitting inside, but my family never complained.)
Tery had warned me that evenings were a bad time to come to the gym, but I ignored her. It was a Thursday evening I boldly marched across the street, ball in tow.
She was 100% right (she almost always is). There were about 14 guys (how many are on a basketball team?) playing full court. No problem, I thought. There were 4 hoops on the sidelines, implying more than one game could happen at once. I chose one and started to do my thing.
This didn't make the guys happy. I did my best to stay out of their way, huddling directly underneath my basket, but they acted like I wasn't even there: surrounding me, throwing their ball over my head, etc. It got worse, too. With every passing minute they became more physically aggressive until one guy actually body slammed me. If I'd been a petite little flower I would have gone straight down. Then again, if I'd been a petite little flower they might have tolerated me better (the guy apologized, but his sincerity left a great deal to be desired).
I would say it was a sexist thing, and I still partly think so, except there were 4 or 5 other guys waiting on the sidelines. They would wait until the game went to the far end, then dart in and hurriedly throw a few shots, then retreat back to the side when the game came back. Is this the proper procedure? Because I think it sucks.
After about ten tense and immensely unenjoyable minutes of this crap, I said screw this, and went home.
Yes, I backed down. I wager you would too if you had 14(?) guys hurtling towards you repeatedly, getting visibly more pissed off and territorial each time. I'm tough, but not that tough.
I went home, straight to the internets, where I Googled "court etiquette." Every hit seemed to agree the general courtesy when others want to use the court is for the big game to switch to half court use. But there's the problem: general courtesy. A near extinct species.
So I go in the mornings now, 8 am, and most of the time I have the entire court to myself (that Friday morning I used every damn hoop in the place). This is enjoyable, without all the testosterone stinking up the place. (My apologies to my male friends (but I don't befriend idiot alpha male types. No offense to my male friends))
(Sort of on-topic: I needed some fresh kicks for my new sport, as my only court-compliant shoes were ill-fitting things I got at the thrift store. At the shoe store I naturally headed for the clearance section, where I thought I had decided on a pair of Nikes (looked nice, Air Jordan black with thick red soles) when I noticed some Adidas; butt ugly, but I tried them anyway (note: never try on ugly shoes) and was dismayed that they were 50% more comfortable. Since comfort beats style, I went with them. At this writing they've grown on me a bit:
Before you say, "Oh, those aren't so bad," the sole is more orange than red. But I'm quickly getting used to it. Plus they're technically running shoes, but ask me if I care
But the real point of this is, as I marched around the store with one on trying to decide, I looked down and noticed they were size 11. Yes, that's men's. I've always been a size 9.5 to 10, which never bothered me because have you seen the ghastly colors women's shoes come in? But an 11??! Do our feet get bigger or are shoe sizes expanding? That was a bit of a surprise, and has negated any chance of shoe shopping online, because apparently I don't know what size I am anymore.)
I think this Big Bang Theory clip is nicely relevant (I play better than they do).
We've already had a taste of winter here in Colorado, and for all intents and purposes biking season is as good as over. But thanks to Tery getting a job at 24-Hour Fitness, and getting us both free memberships (almost makes up for her minimum wage), winter won't be the excuse to slack off that it has been.
I've decided to take up my old favorite sport of basketball--I don't play games, mind you, just free throwing. I realized the only time in my life when I've been thin(ner) was the summer I spent hours and hours and hours shooting hoops. (Unfortunately our hoop was mounted on the garage attached to the house, and looking back it must have been a living hell for anyone sitting inside, but my family never complained.)
Tery had warned me that evenings were a bad time to come to the gym, but I ignored her. It was a Thursday evening I boldly marched across the street, ball in tow.
She was 100% right (she almost always is). There were about 14 guys (how many are on a basketball team?) playing full court. No problem, I thought. There were 4 hoops on the sidelines, implying more than one game could happen at once. I chose one and started to do my thing.
This didn't make the guys happy. I did my best to stay out of their way, huddling directly underneath my basket, but they acted like I wasn't even there: surrounding me, throwing their ball over my head, etc. It got worse, too. With every passing minute they became more physically aggressive until one guy actually body slammed me. If I'd been a petite little flower I would have gone straight down. Then again, if I'd been a petite little flower they might have tolerated me better (the guy apologized, but his sincerity left a great deal to be desired).
I would say it was a sexist thing, and I still partly think so, except there were 4 or 5 other guys waiting on the sidelines. They would wait until the game went to the far end, then dart in and hurriedly throw a few shots, then retreat back to the side when the game came back. Is this the proper procedure? Because I think it sucks.
After about ten tense and immensely unenjoyable minutes of this crap, I said screw this, and went home.
Yes, I backed down. I wager you would too if you had 14(?) guys hurtling towards you repeatedly, getting visibly more pissed off and territorial each time. I'm tough, but not that tough.
I went home, straight to the internets, where I Googled "court etiquette." Every hit seemed to agree the general courtesy when others want to use the court is for the big game to switch to half court use. But there's the problem: general courtesy. A near extinct species.
So I go in the mornings now, 8 am, and most of the time I have the entire court to myself (that Friday morning I used every damn hoop in the place). This is enjoyable, without all the testosterone stinking up the place. (My apologies to my male friends (but I don't befriend idiot alpha male types. No offense to my male friends))
(Sort of on-topic: I needed some fresh kicks for my new sport, as my only court-compliant shoes were ill-fitting things I got at the thrift store. At the shoe store I naturally headed for the clearance section, where I thought I had decided on a pair of Nikes (looked nice, Air Jordan black with thick red soles) when I noticed some Adidas; butt ugly, but I tried them anyway (note: never try on ugly shoes) and was dismayed that they were 50% more comfortable. Since comfort beats style, I went with them. At this writing they've grown on me a bit:
Before you say, "Oh, those aren't so bad," the sole is more orange than red. But I'm quickly getting used to it. Plus they're technically running shoes, but ask me if I care
But the real point of this is, as I marched around the store with one on trying to decide, I looked down and noticed they were size 11. Yes, that's men's. I've always been a size 9.5 to 10, which never bothered me because have you seen the ghastly colors women's shoes come in? But an 11??! Do our feet get bigger or are shoe sizes expanding? That was a bit of a surprise, and has negated any chance of shoe shopping online, because apparently I don't know what size I am anymore.)
I think this Big Bang Theory clip is nicely relevant (I play better than they do).
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