Once a cult member, always a cult member.
I finally reached a level of boredom that I was willing to push past my awkwardness and go to the leasing center of my apartment complex. I know there's an exercise room, poker tables, and a billiards table there. The reason I haven't used any of it yet is because I don't know if there are locks or codes or sign outs etc. Also: I hate to ask people, "Excuse me... um, excuse me?" or wander around a building exploring when there are people watching me. Like I can see their thought bubbles above their heads reading, "Newbie."
I went looking for my cue (badly named Secretariat, now covered in cobwebs) but left it behind when I went to inquire about the billiards table. It turns out I can sign out the rack and two cues (one heavy and one light) for 24 hours. Also: there is a separate walkway up to the recreational area that the table is in so I can go there after hours.
I practiced for about an hour and a half. I'm back to the point where I can break with some competency and actually pocket balls with better frequency than when I started out. I would have stayed longer but it was actually warm today and they kept a door open to the rec area.
But that's not the big news. I finally went inside the exercise room to see what equipment they had. At first glance there are some well-maintained treadmills, step machines, and weight machines.
THERE WAS ALSO A CONCEPT 2 ERG.
If I had gotten over my intense discomfort at bothering people at the leasing office whose job it is to make me happy, I would have wandered in there sooner and discovered it. As it is, this belated discovery is my own fault.
The erg's status: the screen doesn't work. I discovered all it was missing was batteries for the monitor, which I can readily provide. I need to find my old cache of spandex back in Jacksonville, but until then I can wear Soffee shorts. And the exercise room is after-hours accessible, too.
So... there really isn't any reason now that I can't attempt to approach high school level fitness again. Yeah, I know. There's no way I'm ever getting there. But the attempt will be nice. While I was in Crew, I hated the erg. But I've found that lots of us actually miss the damn thing now that it's not apart of our daily lives. I'm going to get the athletic band for my iPod and start shedding that last pants size I gained since Christmas.
I went looking for my cue (badly named Secretariat, now covered in cobwebs) but left it behind when I went to inquire about the billiards table. It turns out I can sign out the rack and two cues (one heavy and one light) for 24 hours. Also: there is a separate walkway up to the recreational area that the table is in so I can go there after hours.
I practiced for about an hour and a half. I'm back to the point where I can break with some competency and actually pocket balls with better frequency than when I started out. I would have stayed longer but it was actually warm today and they kept a door open to the rec area.
But that's not the big news. I finally went inside the exercise room to see what equipment they had. At first glance there are some well-maintained treadmills, step machines, and weight machines.
THERE WAS ALSO A CONCEPT 2 ERG.
If I had gotten over my intense discomfort at bothering people at the leasing office whose job it is to make me happy, I would have wandered in there sooner and discovered it. As it is, this belated discovery is my own fault.
The erg's status: the screen doesn't work. I discovered all it was missing was batteries for the monitor, which I can readily provide. I need to find my old cache of spandex back in Jacksonville, but until then I can wear Soffee shorts. And the exercise room is after-hours accessible, too.
So... there really isn't any reason now that I can't attempt to approach high school level fitness again. Yeah, I know. There's no way I'm ever getting there. But the attempt will be nice. While I was in Crew, I hated the erg. But I've found that lots of us actually miss the damn thing now that it's not apart of our daily lives. I'm going to get the athletic band for my iPod and start shedding that last pants size I gained since Christmas.