refreshing life and living refreshed |
In the beginning of 2009, sitting safely and financially secure in my Minneapolis apartment I made a pact with myself. Get out of this city. Get out and explore something - something somewhere, something anywhere, and do it soon. Soon became Sept 30th, a one-way ticket bound for SFO. Join me as I establish a new life, the next chapter of my San Franciscan life. No job, no apartment, no established network. It’s time to start fresh, new; it’s time to be refreshed with life. |
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Staying Fit: 24 Hour Fitness
Just two blocks from my apartment, I thought I’d be most likely to join 24 Hour Fitness compared to my other gym options due to its proximity and open hours. Immediately upon signing up for my freebie week, I was talked into becoming a member for two reasons 1) price comparison to other clubs (this was cheap!) and 2) the offer would no longer be available once I finished my freebie, but I could test trial the highly discounted for five days and cance the membership if I wasn’t satisfied. So I did it.
Big vaulted ceilings, open rooms, this space is loaded with machines. However, immediately after stepping on one machine, I had to switch to another due to the annoying squeaking of the machine (a little WD40 should do the trick). However, stepping onto another, and then another, I realized that pretty much every elliptical machine there either squeaks, squeals, or feels like it’s going to fall apart with the straining weight and pull of the user. You would think that with the abundant machines packed in this room that there would be a large selection of machines to choose from – well there is a selection but all selections are from circa late ‘90s and early ‘00s. There are four newer elliptical, but all four were occupied the entire time I was there.
After doing two 30 min intervals on two machines (both squeaky, one wasn’t shifting elevation), I retreated upstairs to pump some iron. Besides the sunrise shining through the beautiful classic San Franciscan bay window, going upstairs was anything but a retreat. Right away I grabbed a medicine ball but quickly found out that there’s only one large medicine ball for the entire upstairs’ gym rats. (oops) After doing a quick workout, I set the ball down, only to be scolded at by a fellow 60 year-old iron pumper for hoarding the ball “there’s only one up here you know!”. Actually, sir, I didn’t know. But I smiled and politely apologized, while silently hoping he might trip as he walked haughtily across the room.
All in all? If you have a tight budget and need a basic gym with sub par equipment, this is your place. If you have any expectations of what a gym should be - skip the visit and visit elsewhere.
