Updates and new features

A few changes going on around here.
For one thing, I'll be including my weight every week. Today I went to weight watcher's and got weighed. My official weight today is 528.6lbs.
I was 550 at one point, and I haven't managed to screw up enough to make all that weight back, but I still have a long way to go until I'm anywhere near healthy.
Yesterday I almost didn't work out. I've been penniless for about a month because of a snafu with my unemployment. I didn't get the money until today and yesterday my truck's gas tank was all but empty. So the night before, I asked my mother if she would fill up the tank. My folks are ok with helping out with the gas because of how much I burn going to my Dad's gym. (Not sure if I explained this, it's not his like he owns it, it's his company's gym.)
She needed to fill up in the morning so she said she would wake me up to come with her. She woke me up around 7. That was real pleasant; Because I'm such a loser, with no job et al, I normally sleep til about 1 in the afternoon.
She got me up at seven so I could help her put a new mat on the trampoline for my sister. (The mat is the part you jump on.) We had to disconnect all the rusty, stubborn springs and then reattach them to the new mat.
Mom had trouble once mat was almost done. At that point, the mat is really stretched, and holds on tight to the last springs. I did most of the work putting the mat back on. That was tougher than taking it off. You have to stretch out the spring, and hook it onto the metal dooohicky on the mat. Not to mention making sure they are spaced right. You can't do one after the other, it's like putting on a tire. If you mess up the spacing, you have to remove that spring and do it again.
When I was done my shoulders were seriously aching, like they were raw, like someone had hammered a pole through them, front to back.
I considered skipping the gym yesterday as a result of this, and decided to go to weight watcher's instead. As I was getting ready to go, I noticed Mom was heading somewhere as well. Turns out she was heading to the gym at the University I go to. I figured what the hell, and hitched a ride with her.
I've never been to the gym at my college. I've only gone one semester, and I never made the time to hit the gym. I have been inside, just to look around, and it looks nice, but I was in for a surprise.
The first problem I realized was that I didn't bring my mp3 player. No fucking way I'm exercising without my music. Yes, I know they play their music, and sometimes there's a good song, and sometimes you're listening to bullshit, and it's not loud enough to keep my mind occupied anyway. Mom has an iPod, but the screen doesn't work and it was repeating all Al Green songs. I like Al Green, but not over and over and over.
I decided I would figure it out, and we went inside. I flashed my card and she filled out a form. Since she's an alumni, she gets a nice discount. For me, it's free.
I realized quickly that this place is nothing like my Dad's gym. For one thing, at Dad's gym, the towels are complimentary. All of them - handtowels, washcloths and large towel for after your shower. At the University gym, you can rent a hand towel. That's it. Otherwise, you bring your own.
You gotta rent a lock too, or bring your own, or you ca n just leave it up to luck that you're szhit won't get stolen. The lockers aren't big enough for my bag, which is really a small suitcase. I know that sounds like a woman thing, but I not only keep my workout clothes in there, but my sneakers in the there and my swimming clothes and sandals for walking around the locker room and shower. I need some room. And this bag wasn't going to fit, and I wasn't leaving it out. Also, I had no towel with me and I wasn't going to work out and then not shower!
So, I met up with Mom and told her I wasn't going to work out. She wasn't happy about this, and we argued about it. She offered to let me use her towel, and she would shower when she got home. She offered to rent me a lock and a towel. Still no dice. I sat down and started fiddling with the iPod, I got it to change bands, I could get it to go on shuffle. It just kept repeating bands.
Mom found me again and offered to wait for me outside the locker room, and put my bag in her car while we worked out, then bring it back in again when we were done. (For the record, my mom is a saint!) That did it. Except for the iPod. She fiddled with it for a minutes, and managed to get it on shuffle, without a screen, even!
The worst part about that is when I got down to the locker room and started changing, I realized that in the pocket of my workout shorts, was my mp3 player.
The workout was ok. I was already a little sore, especially in my shoulders, but I grinned and bore it. I finished mine well before mom finished hers. My middle walk (the main one) broke 8 minutes, so things are pretty much back to normal. I just needed to hold back a little and not push it.
The equipment at this gym is different than Dad's, though. In between walks on the treadmill, at Dad's gym, I use a set of machines that use air pressure instead of weights. They didn't have that at the U(University) Gym and I really didn't know what to do in between sets. I just sat there until I was ready to hop on again. As a result my workout went even faster than normal.
I will say this though - the treadmills are better at the U Gym. At Dad's gym the treadmill's track is narrow, and my feet keep rubbing the sides, and threatening to rip up the hard plastic that borders the tread.
At the U Gym, the track is wide, nice and wide, the whole machine is, and my thighs never bump into the side, a problem I have at Dad's gym, as it causes my mp3 player to skip to the next song.
So there was an upside. The locker room was the biggest downside. To begin with, it stunk. At Dad's gym, they go out of their way to make it seem like any other room, with a normal smell. At the U Gym, I felt like I was back in High School again.
I went into the shower and found that they had a handicap shower, which is good. I can sit down for my shower. But no soap. And I didn't bring any. What a bitch!
So I just washed real good with water, and laid a little heavy on the Axe deoderant. As I left though, something caught my eye in the shower area. All the shower spots had soap dispensers, like the ones by the sink in public restrooms, all of them, except the handicap one!
I mentioned it at the front desk, I assume that will be remedied soon.
Not a bad deal, but I was truly sore last night, and more than happy to go to bed around midnight.
I woke up at 8AM today feeling pretty good. I checked my account online, and the money has shown! But only half of it. But half is something. It allows me a haircut, shopping, etc.
It has gone to a lot of good use today. And there's still some left.
I talked to unemployment. They don't know why the other half didn't go through, they are going to try and push it through.
I went to Weight Watchers this morning. The last time I went was last month and I've lost 5 pounds since then. (My official weight, again being 528.6 lbs.)
I also bought a tape measure. That's the other feature. Periodically, maybe every week, I will measure my waist. Maybe other parts too! (Don't be dirty, I meant like my legs and my chest.)
It was tough finding the right tape measure. mostly they only came in sewing kits and the longest one was only 5 feet long. (Riiiight...ONLY 5 FEET!) But I found one that was sold alone, that was 10 feet long, and I got that. Standing up, my waist is 69 inches around. Tha t's about 5 feet, 9 inches. Around. Interestingly enough, I'm only 6ft tall, which means I'm only about 3 inches taller than I am round. Pretty fucking sad. But the whole point is to see the numbers go down, right?
Or maybe for you folks out there, see them go up. Until one day, you just don't hear from me anymore, because I'm dead.
My family gets on my case all the time about smoking. I used to smoke cigarettes, now I smoke cigars. They get upset about my drinking too! I tell them, do you really think smoking can kill me? Drinking? They have my weight to contend with, and my weight's kicking the shit out of them. I'll die from my weight LONG BEFORE drinking or smoking!