Work-Out Partner

I have a new hobby. It's called exercise. Have you heard of it? It's pretty sweet.

I prefer to work out at a gym, not only because of all of the great equipment and fitness classes available, but also because I can continue to practice my Scarcity Myth Experiment techniques on the many attractive men at the gym. (Priorities, right?) Oh, and the company I work for pays for my gym membership if I go twelve times a month! So that means I'm working out with great equipment, awesome fitness classes, and attractive men FOR FREE. Does it get any better than that?

Didn't think so.

One of the other things I like to do at the gym is people-watch. There are some real characters at that place. My favorites are the guys who yell at the top of their lungs when they're lifting weights, and the people who sing along with their iPod while walking on the treadmill, completely unaware that everyone around them can hear them. And then there are the die-hards, the ones who use that one crazy resistance machine that everyone else is afraid of. Or the ones who contort their bodies in all kinds of crazy positions because they read in Rock Hard Fitness! magazine that standing on your head while curling 20-pound weights with your toes reduces the risk of throat cancer by 55 percent. These people are my heroes.

One of the main groups of people I love to watch are the couples. (I'm sure that comes as a surprise.) You can always tell when a man and a woman working out together are involved romantically. The younger couples are flirtatious, and usually very hot. The couples who appear to have been married for 30-plus years are typically diverse in their gym activities. One day they're doing yoga, the next day it's the elliptical, the next it's swimming. You can tell these people just love being active, and they love being active together.

Of course, I'm talking about the people who are regulars. But what about the average joe couple? What about the boyfriend and girlfriend who've been dating for only a couple of months? Or the husband and wife who haven't stepped foot inside a gym since before they walked down the aisle? I'm guessing that, in these cases, the desire to work out together might be a little different.

I've only had one boyfriend with whom I went to the gym, and it wasn't fun. At all. I was self-conscious, first of all. I'm not one of those girls who looks pretty while working out. No, I sweat and my face gets red and there's jiggling... it's just not a pretty sight. Plus, it was awkward to know when to talk to him and when not to. And everyone around us could hear our conversations. None of it felt natural to me, and I prefer to feel good when I exercise, not awkward and insecure.

On the other hand, I also don't like the isolating feeling of going to the gym by myself. I love my workouts and I want to talk to someone about them! I want to share the ups and downs of setting a fitness goal and then accomplishing it. I want for someone to hold me accountable, and for me to hold someone else accountable. It seems like a boyfriend/husband would be a natural fit for such a role.

What do you think? Let's take it to the polls!

Working out at a gym with your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend... Yay or nay?

Because I just LOVE experiments

Well, the online dating poll was a tight race all day, until the final comment took the lead for the "yay" team. 

Interesting responses. The people who explained the reason behind their votes (and some did so offline) were each quite convincing. The nay-sayers were especially passionate, which makes sense if you think about it. They prefer passion, chance, kismet over formulas and automated searches. I prefer the former as well, but look where that's gotten me so far. 

So here's what I'm thinking. I'd say it's time for another experiment, wouldn't you? So I'm going to start an online dating profile on Match.com or eHarmony.com or I'mDesperate.com or whatever, and I'll periodically document my experiences and evaluations here. 

(What am I getting myself into? Don't ever say I'm not dedicated to the purposes of this blog. Oh my.)

Stay tuned...

Virtual Insanity

A few weeks ago, I met a friend of a friend. This girl was the kind that every woman wants to hate but just can't seem to muster up the jealousy because she's so darn nice. She's also cool, very intelligent and drop-dead gorgeous.

So when she told me that she had met her long-time boyfriend (who also sounds like quite a catch) on the Internet, I was floored. For some reason, I've always believed that online dating either a) doesn't work, or b) works only for weird people. So to hear that it worked for two seemingly not-weird people, and has resulted in a relationship that's lasted for several years? I'm beginning to feel my closed mind open up a bit. I hate when it does that.

I've never participated in online dating myself. A few of my friends have encouraged me to give it a shot, but to me that just means accepting total desperation. Hello, I'm a single white female who can't for the life of me find a guy in the real world, so I'm going to sit in front of a tiny screen and hope THAT does the trick.

I believe that when you find someone it should just happen; you shouldn't go looking for it in such an obvious way... nor fill out an application in order to do so. Plus, I've seen some of my friends go through some crazy online dating disasters. In fact, I might just dedicate one whole post to these disasters, because they're kinda funny. Ahem, I mean, tragic. Totally tragic.

But it did work for my new friend, who is clearly not the desperate type. Maybe I've been wrong about online dating after all. But instead of making up my own mind, I'm going to let you do it for me, in the form of another poll...  Online dating: yay or nay?

Recommended reading, and some other bizness

Well, it looks like it's unanimous that sitting on the same side of the booth is a definite NAY. I'm glad to know I'm not alone. But if any of you out there DO like to sit on the same side of the booth as your snoogems, and were too ashamed to admit it, I still love you anyway. I just might think you're a little weird. ;-)

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If you like a good love story, then you must read this real-life account, written by one of my favorite bloggers (The Pioneer Woman), about how she met and married her husband (whom she calls Marlboro Man). To date, she has written 37 continual entries about it, and each one is equally juicy, captivating and addicting. When I read through them I was glued to my computer screen, anxiously awaiting every little detail. It's good. And very funny too. (FYI: When you get to the page, scroll all the way to the bottom to read the first entry, and work your way up. It may take you a few sittings to get through all of it. If you can turn away, that is.)

Also, today begins Week 2 of SME! Which means I can now officially smile at the attractive men I look at. I already did that today, with a guy at the gas station. He smiled back. But that could have been because gas is now only $3.59 instead of $10.59, or whatever price that Ike guy forced upon us.

I begrudgingly admit that SME has already opened my eyes to the idea that there are in fact more potential dating prospects out there than I realized. However, I'm not really taking it too seriously (if you couldn't tell). I'm actually in the mindset that I probably shouldn't be meeting any men right now. But I will save that fascinating psychoanalysis for a future post. 

In the meantime, I have a question. Today I was in a restaurant and I saw a couple sitting on the same side of the booth (leaving the other side empty, ya know?). The idea of sitting this way in a restaurant has always intrigued me because I like to think about exactly how and why it happens. I mean, how was the decision made for them to sit that way? Does one have to invite the other to sit on the same side as them, or is it a given? Is it a one-time thing or do they sit this way in every restaurant?

So anyway, I'm taking a poll: Sitting on the same side of the booth... yay or nay?