Of all the gym joints in all the towns in all the world, you walk into mine

So BF has to work for most of the upcoming weekend, and my thought was that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to spend some time at home, rent some movies, see some friends, and log in some quality, unhurried hours at Healthworks. And honestly, it's the uninterrupted gym time that I'm looking forward to the most. During the week, my gym time is squeezed in, but it's never without time constraints. If I'm in Boston for the weekend I usually workout with BF at the EC campus gym, which is fun because we get to workout together, but it's still not my gym. BF can't come to HW (gender restriction), so even if we're together in my neighborhood, I still rarely get to go to my gym both Saturday and Sunday - we're usually way too busy anyway (and yes, lying in bed snuggling, eating, napping, and reading until noon constitutes busy in my world).

So this opportunity is an anomaly, and I plan to make the most of it. But this morning I got an email announcing that it's Bring the Whole World to My Gym weekend. That's right: the infamous Healthworks Open House.

I hate to be snotty - I really do. But I'll tell it to you straight: gym rats hate open houses, promotional times involving free day passes or coupons, and post-New Year's Everybody Joins My Gym at Once peaks in membership. We like things how they normally are: we share the gym with the other steady gym-goers and settle into our routines.

After New Year's, it takes about 3 weeks for the Resolute to drop off the face of the earth (or the gym floor, in this case). It's a difficult 3 weeks, because they're in your way that whole time. They don't have a set routine, so they stand around - dawdling, chit chating, whining - and don't follow proper gym etiquette or procedure. And I know the gym is supposed to be for everyone. But let's face it - everyone is annoying. The showers are at capacity, you have to fight for a locker, and the likelihood of someone tapping you on the shoulder and asking you how much longer you'll be on the elliptical machine increases exponentially. And touching at the gym shouldn't happen. Tapping shouldn't happen. For the most part, talking shouldn't happen. (Okay, talking is allowed, I just got carried away there with the t words.) But the point is, it's maddening to share your space with people who you know won't be there come February. It's like when you're in the roped off lap lane at the pool doing sprints, and someone hops in to "take a nice little dip". You want to shout "This space is only for the people who mean it!"

I guess I shouldn't be so impatient. Now that I give it some thought, that's what people must think of me every summer when I hit the trails for the 2-3 warm months of the year and pretend to be a dedicated runner. I fade in when the sun shines, and fade back out when the chill hits the air. I can't hack running with year-round regularity - it's too intense (and too cold in the Northeast). So I suppose I should have sympathy for the seasonal gym member.

But I'd actually rather not. So I'm going to make a conscious effort to ignore how hypocritical I'm likely being right now and stick to my guns: Healthworks Open House Weekend sucks the big one.