Sunday, July 31, 2005

My boyfriend Gym, the commitment

Apparently this is the season for triathalons. Why didn't anyone tell me? I checked my email this morning to find myself as the recipient of yet another mass email detailing the emotional and physical duress and subsequent pride one feels as a result of enduring this masochistic undertaking.

It was from my friend Andra, who I had known was preparing for this, yet I hadn't realized the event was this weekend. It was actually a mini-version of the Ironman - a half mile swim, two mile bike ride, and 3K (5 mile) race. But it's still more than I could do. I could knock out the run okay, but not after swimming and biking for an hour and a half. The last time I swam I lasted a few laps and odd muscles hurt the next day. The last time I sat on top of a bike, I fell off. I'm graceful like that. Interestingly, Andra's email went in much less physical detail than Doug's, and took an entirely different focus:

"A lot of thoughts went through my head during the race. I thought of my friends and family who encouraged me through the adventure of preparing for this and all the last minute advice, especially my grandma who told me if I got tired to picture her slapping my ass telling me to keep moving! Most of all, though, I thought of my students. We had a 30-minute discussion once on commitment, dedication and persistence. I showed them a picture of a man crawling across the finish line of the Boston Marathon on his hands and knees. That is commitment. And then I shared with them my commitment to tackle this triathlon. If they can learn to read and write, then I can learn to run. So I said I would. And then I did. I actually bumped into a mother of one of my students during the race (way to go Liana!!) and when I thought of her going home to her son and telling him she saw Ms. Jacobs cross the finish line, it gave the whole thing a purpose for me that's worthy and real."

So that was very inspiring at 10 AM this morning while I was committed heart, mind, and soul to my venti iced coffee. I did actually make a fitness commitment today, and that is that I finally bit the bullet and signed up for Equinox. By signing up this month (for a gym that is not even going to open until November) I get locked into a discounted rate all year. And because I paid for the year in full, I got a month for free. The contract doesn't start until the club opens, so in the meantime I paid a set rate to go to the Equinox in Pasadena by where I work. I think it's a fair deal. If my club opens on Nov 1, as they say, then my Pasadena rate will be slightly more than the monthly rate that I am paying for Westwood. If my club opens any time after Nov 1, which is entirely possible - and god help me, probable - then it will work out (significantly) in my favor. I already gave my notice to LA Fitness, which means I still have a month to use their club, which I will probably do just on weekends when I don't want to drive to Pasadena. I am beyond excited.

Of course, this means I have to start bringing my gym stuff to work with me, but it's a small sacrifice. And did I mention how it will improve my commute? Not to put the cart before the horse, or all my eggs in one basket, but it should improve my drive home significantly. I did ask what would happen should an earthquake knock the building down before the gym ever opens (or in the case of some other unforseen event that might cause me to be royally screwed), and I was assured that I could get my money back anytime up until three days after the club officially opens. So, despite Mercury being in retrograde, I dare to think that I did the right thing.

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Friday, July 29, 2005

Ironman or just plain crazy, man

I came into work this morning to find an email from my friend Doug, who had, over the weekend, completed the Ironman Triathalon. I have heard of triathalons, and in the back of my mind, I guess understood what they entailed, but I never before allowed myself to believe that people actually swim for a couple miles, bike for over 100 miles, and then go on to run a marathon. At least not people I know. I'm so floored that this kind of self abuse actually takes place that I've read and re-read his email thirty times over the course of the day. Some highlights:

"I’m back from Lake Placid and successfully finished my first Ironman in a respectable 13 hours and 37 minutes. There were three goals: 1. Get out of the water alive and under the cutoff 2. Finish the race, and 3: Finish under 14 hours….done, done, and done! Total miles covered = 140.6

We woke up to 46 degrees at 4:30am.

Total swim was 1:35. Total Miles = 2.4

I think my total bike was about 6hrs and 35minutes. Bike miles – 112, Total Miles = 114.4

Then it was on to the run. When in the changing tent we have medical staff asking us how we feel. I told my guy that I felt my stomach being empty. I hadn’t gone to the bathroom in over 6.5 hours and that was my problem. I consumed at least 6 or 7 bottles of Gatorade and 4 bottles of water on the bike, plus energy gels, and endurolytes (which are electrolyte supplements). He instructed me to go to the bathroom right away and start pumping more fluids on the run – man, I still had to run 26.2 miles.

I left the tent and set out for the marathon. It was tough to start and took 2 or 3 miles to get going. From there it was a run-walk-run marathon. I was fortunate to make friends with another athlete and we buddied up for the last 20 miles and helped each other through it. We talked a lot and walked the aid stations making sure we pumped ourselves with fluids. We even waited for each other at the portapotties. Somehow I managed to even get a beer in at mile 25 as we passed a pub. [Ed. note: Of course he did. We went to Syracuse.] They loved it. Although my stomach didn’t. I had to get a water right away.

The last 400 meters I was floating. I was running a 6-minute mile pace and came into the Olympic oval and sprinted to the finish with fists pumping. The journey was done. Family was waiting and 8 months of training and 13 hours and 37 minutes of racing were now done. Run Miles – 26.2, Total Miles = 140.6

The next day I felt great. I had a pretty mean sunburn on my thigh and that was the only residual pain other than some minor tightness in my shoulders and a little in the quads."


Sunburn. There's nothing else to say. Except that I feel like skipping the gym now and diving into a brownie sundae, because really, what's the point.



Thursday, July 28, 2005

Will Blog for Beer

I guess it is a testament to how much I enjoy what I do when I volunteer to help publicize an upcoming benefit concert for the friend-of-a-friend.

My friend Andra's friend Joe is a high school math teacher at a charter school which serves the south bay area of Los Angeles. As he explained it to me, the school was created to offer an alternative to (relatively underprivileged) families who don't want to send their kids to their neighborhood public schools, which in that area are often unsafe or at the least, ill-equipped to prepare students for college.

To help raise money for the school, Joe is throwing a concert featuring local bands and a DJ on August 13th. Because Andra is coming to visit that weekend, she put me in touch with Joe, and after taking a look at his flyer and press release, I offered to help him with the event marketing.

Joe came over last night, and we drafted a media alert, which he will distribute today. We also created a blog for the event, and I gave him some tips on how he could direct traffic there. The blog/site is still a work in progress, but for now, it will do.

It's funny how much we in the public relations world are coming to use blogs. My friend Cara gave a workshop on that exact subject at her company conference last week. And when I was preparing for my Scottsdale trip, I ended up making friends with a young publicist there. He runs his own PR firm, and frequently uses blogs (including his) to generate attention for his clients. At the event we had a lengthy discussion about how they could and could not be effective. My take was that while they might benefit some industries, I had yet to see how they could work in conjunction with the beauty industry. Yesterday, in light of the whole Jolie debacle, we were emailing, and I decided that she had quite possibly (though inadvertantly) created the first effective beauty blog. The jury's still out on that, though.

In any case, it's amazing how easy it is to own a small piece of internet real estate these days. And if you invest wisely, you can (hopefully) make a boatload of money. Now, when and how am I going to do that for myself?



Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Where are they now?

I just learned that the commander of the Discovery Space Shuttle mission, Eileen Collins, is a Syracuse University alumni. Go Cuse!

I'm more likely to end up on a billboard like this than in space, but that's still encouraging for those of us with less lofty ambitions.



Friday, July 22, 2005

What to wear to a chocolate party

The Arizona Republic goes in-depth. I'm number 7 in the July 16th slide show.



Wednesday, July 20, 2005

One more reason for leaving New York, part 3

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

(I need to start tagging these - it has become a category all its own).

One day I might get this bitter and jaded about LA traffic, but for now, I'll take the 405 freeway over the 4 or 5 train any day.

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Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Today's lesson brought to you by the Talented Mr. Ripley

You can be as genetically perfect and fashionably renowned as Sienna Miller, and guys will still treat you like crap.



Monday, July 18, 2005

Hot Chocolate

I went to Phoenix this weekend for our store's chocolate party, which was wildly successful if I do say so myself. Lots of shoppers, lots of media, lots of product sold. It was nice and validating to see an idea that I had go from just that - an idea - to the talk of the town. Even if it is a small town (well, not so small, actually - I learned recently that Phoenix is actually the 15th largest market in the country). So good for me.

The other talk of the town of course is the heat, since Phoenix averages about 110 degrees this time of year (106 according to this article). We were worried that no one would be around in that kind of heat to attend an event in the middle of July, but the timing actually worked in our favor, I believe, since we had very little else to compete with. I'm an odd bird in that I am one of very people who actually enjoys the heat - the hotter the better, I always say - but even this was (almost) too much. For what little time I spent outside, it felt like someone was holding a hair dryer to my face, and just standing there. The event was inside of course, so in a way it was exciting to step outside and pretend to mind the hotness.

I stayed overnight at the Westin which was wonderful, and did spend some time on my balcony after the temperature had dropped down closer to 100 or so. There was something very peaceful about sitting in the heat in virtually the middle of the desert, and again, I felt truly at peace with my decision to move out here. Not because of Phoenix my job, but just the overall sense that things were somehow aligned. Or maybe that was just the leftover champagne from the party.

Oh, and four months ago today, I moved to LA.

One year ago today I was here for the Umberto trip. (I am actually going to him to get my hair cut this weekend.) That trip directly followed the Nagy wedding and weekend in the Hamptons, and will always be remembered for my first dinner in Malibu and night dancing with Carson Daly. With that, how could I NOT move here???

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Thursday, July 14, 2005

Cracking the Crunch Code

I went back to Crunch last night. I didn't think it was possible for my comfort level to decrease with time and familiarity, but what do I know? First, I was truly one of the most unattractive people there. I am used to gym scenes, but this is something altogether different.

The mind started reeling as I was on the treadmill. What I saw and what I'm about to describe is somewhat raunchy, or, for lack of a better word, just - ick. Have you ever looked a scene or a photograph, and there is something off about it, but you don't know exactly what it is? Then as you continue to look at it, or later on, when you are thinking about something completely different, it hits you?

I'm running on the treadmill, and am staring at the back of a guy running on the treadmill in front of me. I first notice that instead of athletic shorts, he's wearing cargo shorts, which is kind of bizaare, but like I mentioned, this place is more of a fashion show than a traditional gym. The reason I notice his shorts at all is because they kept riding down, and he had to keep pulling them back up. I'm thinking, hmm, I've never seen that before, but okay, it happens, I suppose. The more I watch, the more they fall, until his butt crack is in front of me every other minute. Slip, moon, hide, slip, moon, hide, etc. I'm thinking this is definitely weird, but maybe that is part of the whole cruising scene. I've never seen that in a straight gym, but I'm not in a straight gym, and I reiterate - what do I know?

That's when it hits me why I've never seen this before. I mean, surely you've walked down the street and noticed that 50 percent of the guys on it have their pants hanging down to mid-thigh. The difference is that their butt cracks don't show because they are wearing underwear. Which changes the issue altogether. The fact is, this guy has been running for 45 minutes with no underwear. Running. On a treadmill. For 45 minutes. With no underwear. Gay, straight, whatever... ouch?

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Monday, July 11, 2005

The end of the Crunch affair

I went back to Crunch tonight. Oh, I do love it. But it's just not meant to be.

The drive from work wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. Even if the freeways are always as clear as they were tonight, there will always be that 3 mile strip of Sunset that takes 20 minutes to pass through - more time than it took me to go from the 134 to the 2 to the 101 altogether.

I got there, and everything is perfect. The machines, the music, the layout, the crowd. Oh wait, there's something about the crowd. They ARE ALL GAY. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I have never so badly wanted to be a gay man in my life, b/c if I were, Crunch on Sunset would be my happy place. My little slice of heaven. But I'm not, and I want to meet straight boys, or at least look at them while I run. The funny part is, I have never seen so much flirting between straight people at a gym. This place was a bigger pickup joint than most of the bars I've been to. And I was more intimidated in the weight area than I had ever been around straight meatheads. I just felt totally out of place (and worse groomed than 90% of the people there).

So, if that weren't my sign from above, the nail in the coffin was the drive home. That 25 minute drive that didn't bother me this weekend completely sucked at 8PM when I was tired and hungy and parched. There's no way I am going to suffer a crappy commute everyday for a crowd that's not going to enhance my social life. Or even my imaginary social life. Especially when Equinox is so close.

I'll still go back for the rest of the week to take advantage of the pass, and also because I absolutely can't bear the thought of ever going back to LA Fitness. Then maybe next week I will do the Bally's, and by then, maybe Equinox's deal will get sweeter as the month comes to a close. I so wanted this to work out, I really did. But I guess it's better that I know now, and aren't pining away without ever really knowing the man behind the club. I mean, we totally don't play for the same team.

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Sunday, July 10, 2005

My Boyfriend Gym, the Crunch Affair

Because July and August are typically the slowest months in terms of gym membership, most gyms offer the best deals of the year during this time. After my Equinox experience, I went online and found that Bally's was offering a free two week membership and Crunch a free one week membership during the month of July. Perfect opportunity for me to try them out, and not to rush the experience with just a day pass.

So, today I went to Crunch, which is located in Sunset Plaza in West Hollywood. Not exactly close, but in the scheme of things, not too bad either. It took me about 25-30 minutes, which I think I could handle most weekends. After all, my LA Fitness which is only a mile down the road sometimes takes me 20 to get to in traffic. Oh, it was like coming home again. I've never been so happy. Bright red, purple, and yellow walls. Great music. Normal-great gym equipment. Fun people. The locker rooms were gorgeous -- and more like Equinox than even the Crunch in NYC. The only thing that could be a downer (besides the commute) is that I can see that the clientele is largely gay men, which makes sense given the WeHo location. But it was pretty empty, which is to be expected for a Sunday afternoon, and I plan to go back this week after work and see how it is. I'm also looking forward to seeing what the commute will be like coming straight from work; in fact, I'll be taking an entirely different route.

I don't know if I will bother checking out Bally's or not. I've never been in one, and don't have the highest hopes for it. Tracy goes to the one in Studio City (and worked out next to Justin Timberlake last week), and Seth goes to the one on Bundy which would probably be the one I would go to as well. They both say the same thing -- that it is fine, but nothing special. So that doesn't exactly motivate me to go there.

In other exercise news, I played tennis yesterday. Playing was great; I was not. Nevertheless, I loved it, and it made me want to commit to playing a lot more often. We did a 2-hour group clinic, where about 12 of us received instruction and also got to play a few sets. It was great to get instruction, since I have not played for so long, but embarrassing to be on the low end of the skill spectrum. I think I would rather do a private lesson or few, and then just hit with Tracy the other times, but I would do the clinic again, I guess. I didn't think I got a great workout, but I woke up this morning and found that some odd muscles were sore - like my hips, my back, and my hand and wrist from gripping the racket. Also, playing in the sun from 11-1 kind of tired me out, and I slept until about 10:30 this AM. It's nice knowing that the weather here is consistent enough that I can basically play whenever I want to. No rain cancellations, or winds blowing the ball, and no rushing to get in all the tennis I can for the summer before it gets cold again for the winter. I do like this town.

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Thursday, July 07, 2005

Name Change

I want to change the name of my blog; I felt "Lori's Blog" was getting too familiar. (I did a random google search today, and OOPS, there it was! Three times. That will teach me to blog about ex-boyfriends. And write their actual names.).

Three Dog Bakery was the name of a dog bakery (they make treats for dogs only) that opened at a store we used to represent at Behrman. My very first media event as an assistant back in 1999 was for the opening of said bakery, where we hired a celebrity pet trainer (or something) to conduct a dog wedding ceremony. Oddly enough, there is another Three Dog Bakery about a block from my office, but the name was the most random I could think of in a pinch. Plus, it sounds kind of fun and circus-y, which at least makes one think it could be an interesting read.

I welcome other suggestions. (Hint, hint).



Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Chinatown

I went to Chinatown today. That was quite an adventure.

I'm preparing the next editor mailing, and one of our new products is this .45 ounce rollerball fragrance. On its own, it's nothing special, but I thought if we could position it as "purse perfect" - as in, great for on-the-go, we might have a chance at getting in some holiday makeup bag or stocking stuffer stories. The best way to do that of course would be to send to the editors in a cute little purse. I've reached out to some designers I know, but also thought it would be a good idea to scavenge some cheap places as well. Hence, Chinatown.

Three of us from the office went. We took LA's public transportation system there, which was an adventure in and of itself. Very clean trains, above ground (better to avoid death by earthquake), with no one on them. We had to wait about 15 minutes for each to come, but maybe if we had looked at a schedule we would have planned better. I have come to realize that the system is closer to Commuter Rail rather than Subway.

In any case, we arrived in one piece about 20 minutes later, and walked half a block into a mini Canal street. One main strip contained row after row after row of crap after crap after crap. We saved the shopping until after lunch, though. I don't know that I've been inside a Chinese restaurant in nearly 20 years. About the time I was a young teenager, I decided that I would no longer eat Chinese food because it was fattening. If people suggested it, I claimed not to like it, and over time, that came to be true. Once in a while on 44th street I would order the steamed chicken and veggies over brown rice, but that was all I ever had any interest in. That and the fortune cookies.

Well, I learned that when you decide you don't like something for long enough, it finds a way to make itself true. A self-fulfilling prophecy, I suppose. It was gross. We went to a really nice restaurant - it's famous, in fact - but my body just does not appreciate the sauces, the grease, the iddy-biddy meat slivers, the mess. Of course I ate, because I was starving, but I pray that it be my last Chinese meal for another two decades. I'll still eart the fortune cookies though.

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Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Hanging ten on the fourth

My first July 4th on the west coast was a good one. Tracy and I went down to Manhattan Beach on Sunday, which was truly the embodiment of LA surf culture. Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo Beach are all adjacent and make up what is known as the South Bay. The beaches themselves look a lot like the Santa Monica/Venice stretch, complete with bike path and all, but it's the people ON the beach that make the difference. First of all, there are no, or at least very few, tourists. Secondly, the beach is comprised almost entirely of good looking people. I think the whole area is comprised mostly of good looking people. Practically the first person I met that day was an Old Navy twin. (Not sure where his other half was).

The boys/men all play volleyball and/or surf, while most of the girls/women are pretty thin and have great bodies, and a lot have fake boobs. Of course, as a trade off, everyone's faces look about 10 times as weathered as normal people, and you can tell they have spent their lives living on that beach. (In that neighborhood, why wouldn't you)? We got down to the beach around 1, and stayed on the sand until about 5. Then we walked about 20 blocks to go to this house party, which, when we got there was the closest I've been to a frat party since college - Jersey shore included - but by the time we left around 8, was more mellow and fun.

Everyone I met all day was so cool, in the sense that everyone was very friendly and fun and easy to talk to. When we started walking back, the sun was setting over the ocean, and it was nothing short of breathtaking. That was soon eclipsed by my excitement over passing the house in which Kelly, Donna, and David lived in on 90210, and so of course I took the obligatory tourist pictures. Six of us went to dinner in town, and then Tracy and I decided not to spend the night, even though there was a full itinerary planned for the next day. We both wanted our own beds, and were exhausted at the thought of spending another entire day in the sun.

I spent yesterday on the couch, relaxing. My body is thanking me today. Except for my back, which is so sunburned, it almost hurt to sleep. Hazard of the holiday, I suppose.

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Friday, July 01, 2005

My boyfriend Gym

Anyone who has ever asked me what gym I go to out here probably thinks it sounds something like "LAFitnessIhateit" or "LAFitnessit'sdisgusting". I feel the need to include a descriptor in the name or else people might think I actually go there by choice. My gym experience since I moved to LA is probably the one area of my life that has suffered from this move.

I won't even start with how much I loved Crunch in New York. I loved it like I would love a boyfriend, if I ever had one of those. I think I loved it more than I could ever love a child. It was truly perfect, made just for me, created with me in mind, I am sure. There is one Crunch out here, and it is supposed to be a good one as well. Good if you like a scene - which I do. The unfortunate part is that it is on Sunset Plaza, which is completely inconvenient - probably about a 20 minute drive from home, and 30 minutes from work. Not a far distance if you're going out for dinner or shopping, but too much for a four day per week commitment.

So, when I moved here, I learned that I had two gyms relatively close to my apartment. Sports Club LA, which is the best of the best, and charges about the same price I pay in rent for a monthly membership (I'm exaggerating, but not by much); and LA Fitness, which supposedly was comparable to New York Sports Club in its amenities, clientele, and number of locations around the city. Knowing that Ted's brother went to LA Fitness, I checked it out, it seemed fine, and with no year-long commitment, I could cancel anytime. Since then, I have been dreaming of the day I could cancel and enter the arms of a better place, one in which offers towel service so people who sweat all over everything can actually control their environment, one in which has machines that were made after 1965, one in which is NOT filled with college students, and one in which things are actually maintained so that I can find my 15 pound weight where it says "15 pounds" and not under the 65 pound section or over by the stairmaster, or one in which I don't have to look at the same dirt on the same machine for weeks at a time. And don't even ask me about the traffic and parking situation. Just don't ask.

A light appeared at the end of my tunnel about two months ago, when I noticed the big happy sign across the street from my gym that said "Equinox Coming Soon!". Equinox is a step above Crunch and a step below Sports Club LA. In NYC, it was the expensive gym where a lot of Wall Street types and power people worked out. It wouldn't necessarily be my first choice, but I believe in trading up when the situation calls for it. So, optimistically, I called, and was told the club wasn't opening up until late-summer, early fall. Bummer, I thought, but I can stick it out until then. Everyday, when I walked into the LAFitnesspit, I would gaze longingly across the street, hoping to spot some sign of progress, something new to let me know that my wait was not in vain.

This week, with summer being in full swing, I thought I would call again for an update. Surely it can't be much longer by now. But the guy on the other end of the phone told me that we are now looking at November, however, we have a great deal going until the end of the month, and if I sign up now I can save however many dollars. Tempting, but I didn't think it was the best idea to put money down for a club that hasn't opened yet. I mean, what if an earthquake destroyed the club before it opened - would I get my money back? I hung up. I mentally prepared the funeral for my dream of changing gyms this summer. Then because I couldn't turn away from the website, I noticed they had a club in Pasadena, near where I work. Now, I've never been one to bring my gym clothes to work - I need to go home first, just to make sure I pick the right outfit, choose the right music (no longer an issue thanks to iPod), and basically just make sure I don't forget anything. It's too much pressure to always have to try and remember everything in the morning. But you know, life is all about sacrifice and compromise, and I thought, I'm willing to play with change. In NYC, another issue was always about the transportation of the gym bag; here I have a car with a trunk, it just might be time.

So I called back. At the thought that he might make a sale and meet his monthly quota, the guy put me on the guest list for Pasadena for Wed night. All day Wednesday I felt like I was preparing for a first date. It could have been my date with destiny - the day my gym life changed forever. Or at least for the immediate future. (And that's all we really have sometimes, isn't it?)

Anyway, I wanted to love it, I really did. I drove into an enormous parking structure with row after row of welcoming spaces. Pick me, pick me! I found out that Equinox comps 2 hours of parking - not 1 1/2 hours like LA Fitness - which was a sigh of relief. (Not that I work out for two hours, or even an hour and a half necessarily, but when you factor in looking for parking, changing, waiting for equipment, stretching, and all that, it's easy to cut it pretty close). The club was immaculate, but almost too immaculate, to the point that it felt sterile. It did have the most current equipment, and plenty of it. But the club seemed empty. A selling point in that there were no lines, but it looked more the way it should on a Saturday afternoon, not a Wednesday night. The manager explained how each cardio machine had it's own audio box to connect to the TV, but frankly, now that I have my iPod, it's not really a selling point for me to consider that that's how my dues are being spent. Same thing with the Kohler sinks in the bathroom that really belonged in a spa or at the restroom at Spago. On the upside, the locker rooms were fabulous, the towel service is beyond, the machines and weights are top of the line, they have everything I could ever want and more. I guess that's the thing - I don't necessarily want or need the "more".

In any case, I am going back after work today, since I was put on the guest list for three days. I can always use this gym until the Westood branch opens, but I still feel a little weird about that - especially because I didn't love it. If it was something that I absolutely couldn't live without, I'd say, sign me up right now! But I guess that's a good thing, because at least this way I can make an informed decision. Which brought me to my next idea, that maybe I should call up every gym in the LA area (Crunch, Bally's, 24-Hour) and ask for a guest pass. Then I can try out everything, and see what I really love. Take the online dating approach to choosing a gym. Of course, the danger is that I will fall in love with Crunch all over again, and it will be a distance issue, but what is a relationship without a healthy dose of heartache? So, I don't know. We'll see how much free time I have on my hands and how much effort I want to put into making the calls, finding the gyms, figuring out the parking, learning a new layout, etc. On the other hand, whoever said that love was easy?

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