My love affair with the Equinox Gym on West Georgia Street continues. I love the trainers and the staff and we have the best time together. I got a little miffed with the billing system but Boss Lady took time to have a chat with me and she worked it out beautifully. She is very good at what she does. I had a brilliant idea and told her about it but some stupid corporate policy will probably prevent it. I tried. Here is the idea. The Vancouver Art Gallery has a rental department and I rented a painting by a South African woman for my apartment. You will see a picture of it after Pierre the Handyman does his thing on Monday morning. . Well – there is a fireplace wall in the Equinox – very striking – but it does cry out for art. Art would serve two purposes (perhaps more): !1) Remind gym attendees that there is more to life than muscles 2) Encourage them to beautify their homes with rental art which would profit VAG and the artists 3) Provide a liaison as artists and patrons probably need to get in better shape. “My artist” has a huge painting for rent and it would look amazing on the Equinox wall so I went to VAG, took a picture and sent it to Boss Lady. (who did say that it probably was not worth the time and effort on my part due to corporate policy). But I did it and the photo is attached to the blog. The painting Late Morning Burnaby Heights. Leanne Christie is the artist, her web site is rather amazing https://leannemchristie.com. I am really proud to have one of her paintings on my wall – well after Pierre gets here. I did everything I could to get art at the Equinox. So there! So there! So there!
So one of the staff members was complaining that he was injured.
Me: So where is your hurt?
He: Its my bum.
Me: There is nothing worse than a bum ache. Want me to kiss it better?
Honestly, that is what I said. I have no filter. It was a joke of course. But he made a very good observation about another matter. I was complaining that my life was complicated.
He: But at least it is not boring, a complicated life is not a boring life.
Me: Thank you for that. Can I blog it?
He: Of course.
So I really enjoy being at the gym but most of the young women attendees rush in at lunch, exercise, shower, put their makeup back on and then rush back to work,.
Me: I pity you guys. When I was your age I had martinis and nooners at lunch. Usually on alternative days – you can get only so much in. (even with a long lunch).
I am not lying, but perhaps exaggerating about the frequency of such events. I am so glad that I was born when I was – things were fun. The primer was The Joy of Sex showing hippies in doing ‘it’ using strange positions. These days it is pornography whose purpose and message is downgrading and brutalizing women. Something went wrong somewhere and I do not see that anyone is trying to fix it, in fact the opposite seems to be occurring. If somebody made a pass at you NO sufficed and still does work. I did not say yes to all of those sixteen guys who made a pass at me beginning in April of 2016. I am not lying nor exaggerating this time AND I had fun when I did say yes. I have been wearing the engagement ring from my second marriage since May 1, 2016 in an effort to keep men away. It didn’t work and has had the opposite effect actually. I said to Funny Man:
Me: Dinham, what effect does the ring have on you?
He: It is like a red flag to a bull!
So I have stopped wearing it – for awhile anyway. It seems rather dishonest as I am not engaged or married and actually proud to be alone. At my age guys who are ‘age appropriate’ are too old and soon to be wheel chair bound. Furthermore, young ones are a lot of trouble. One woman at the gym told me that she had a young one and it seemed like babysitting and he was threatened by her success.
So to leave the gym on a positive note this is what Boss Lady said in an email: “Thank you so much for your time, for the chat and for your continuous positive energy. Congratulations on the results thus far, I cannot wait to see what the next few months have in store for you as we approach your one year anniversary with us this summer.”
All of the above is from the gym that will appear in the fictionalized version of my life as the Twice A Year Gym because the Equinox happens twice a year and most people (when they join the gym) only come twice a year. I am not taking credit for that brilliance – thanks Larry.
The attendants at the fictionalized wedding are increasing in numbers. I have reconnected with a woman who will be called Wonder Alice. I met the real life version in the loo of the Sausalito ferry a few months ago. She is a New Zealander but is presently attending law school in Melbourne Australia. We hit it off immediately and spent a couple of days together in San Francisco and its environs. She reminded me of those days and this moment.
She: I do remember your envisioned wedding. We practised me walking you down the aisle on the docks of the market in San Francisco after our bumpy, wine fuelled trip back from Marin. Oh what a lovely memory.
Me: I almost forgot about that! You will have to walk me down the aisle in the fictionalized wedding. We will have to figure out what you are going to wear. This wedding planning is getting so complicated!
But we have agreed on a venue as Dolphin Square proved unworkable. It is a winery in New Zealand. The Poos are from Singapore so it will be a rather short trip for them on the family jet.
Here is the link: https://www.craggyrange.com/visit/
