| April 3, 2002 2:05AM (Abby's Thoughts) Wow, it's been a long time since I last updated. But not as long as SOME people (you know who you are...hee hee) I would like to title this update Escapades at the RSF So, this semester Jessie and I decided to be good and go to the RSF to workout regularly. We had a quest to become more healthy, more active, increase our energy level, and become more physically fit. We decided that Tuesdays and Thursdays after Poli Sci 137 would be good cuz we could go work out for like half an hour and then go home by 4:30! (And don't laugh about the half an hour thing...we're soooo out of shape and we wanted to be realistic here. hee hee) Anyways, we decided that we needed to start getting into shape. And Hannah said she would join us on Thursdays. The RSF is a very complicated place. Jessie and I had limited experience at the RSF going in and on our first day, we were a bit confused and rather intimidated by the vastness of this workout haven. Kevin and Jeff showed us a NEW way to get in! We went through Haas Pavilion! ( See how sad we were? we didn't even know we could go through Haas. That's how often we had gone to the RSF before...) So finally we make it into the RSF and Jessie gets a lock for the lockers. It's a standard combination padlock that we had both used countless times in high school. We thought we were gonna be pros! Alas, pride comes before the fall and it took us 3 tries each to get the stupid thing unlocked. But we persevered and did not let that discourage us from our mission to become more physically fit! We changed and got ready to head for the gym. Unfortunately, we didn't exactly know where that was. Cal should not assume that people know how to get to the gym from the locker rooms. They need more signs. Like for Disneyland, there are signs EVERYWHERE as soon as you get even near the park so you know that it's coming up! So Jessie and I walked back and forth for awhile trying to figure out how to get to the gym. We went to where the showers were and where the toilets were and where the swimming pool was and where there were MORE lockers.......There are TOO MANY EXITS!!! It was like a maze!!! (well, not really, but we just couldn't find which exit to use...hee hee) Finally, we broke down and decided to ask someone. We chose a girl who looked nice and looked like she wouldn't make fun of us for asking. "Um, excuse me, uh, how do you get to the RSF from here?" She smiled and pointed to the door that we had come in from. We walked out the door and then saw a sign that said "RSF" with an arrow underneath. We breathed a sigh of relief and felt victorious. We were on our way to becoming more physically fit! We had planned to use the bikes but they were all occupied at the moment except for one. So Jessie got on a bike and I decided to try one of the stairmasters. Very poor judgment on my part. How the heck do you use those things? I felt like I was climbing unbelievably slowly and I felt my arms being worked more than my legs because I couldn't figure out how to make the steps go up and down! It was very sad. Jessie came over to see if she could figure it out, but she had the same result that I did. We abandoned the stairclimber with heavy hearts, noticing that others next to us were happily climbing their way to better toned legs. We've decided that the stairclimbers are evil. =) After a few more visits to the RSF, we felt more and more confident. We could use the locks much more easily; we could find our way to the RSF without help; and we were getting good at using the bikes. Then came the day where ALL the bikes were occupied. We then looked up and saw some more bikes upstairs. They looked a little different than the ones we were accustomed to but we figured we were quite good at bikes so the new ones must be just as easy to use. Turns out they were "racing bikes" where you lean over the handlebars as if you were racing. The seats were also much more uncomfortable than the other ones. But we would not be daunted and we climbed on. 5 minutes later we climbed off, exhausted and embarrassed. =) Stick to what you know. Hee hee. We had been encouraged to try weight lifting so we decided that since we had mastered the "easy" bikes, toning our arms might not be a bad idea. So we decided to try it out for one afternoon. Kevin and Jeff tried to show us how to lift this weird bar thingy. I'm sure it has a name and I'm equally sure that I will never remember the name. Anyways, we decided to try lifting the bar alone. It was HEAVY! And we were being loud so people around us were looking. And then it was embarrassing that we were complaining about lifting the bar by itself. So we allowed Kevin to add some weights. And then he added more weights. And more weights. Needless to say, we have not gone back to weight lift again. I think my arms were going to fall off. I think we have to build up to that. Our workout skills have not reached that level. =) But, we will persevere and perhaps one day we will be able to lift more than just the bar with ease and confidence. Today we did our bike workout and then noticed that there were 2 rowing machines open! SCORE!!! We had always wanted to use those things. So we sat down, unsure of how to exactly use it but surely we could figure out how to use a simple machine. We had been regulars at the RSF for 2 months, after all. Rowing machines are complicated. A very nice girl on the crew team came over and saw our dilemma. She showed us the proper technique and away we went..........for about 5 minutes. Maybe next time we'll be able to row for longer. We felt like Mark Darcy from "Bridget Jones' Diary" but less graceful. We'll work on that. =) Despite all these minor "setbacks" in our quest to becoming more physically fit, Jessie and I are confident that in the coming weeks, we will become queens of the RSF! Or at least be able to go to the RSF once without incident. Oh well. At least we have stories to amuse others. The End |