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The End of an Era…

For many years, I’ve maintained a VIP membership at a gym in Orange County.

As part of that membership I had access to the VIP locker room. This was not the locker room you’d be familiar with if you attend a “normal” gym.

This locker room was all wood. It had a private Jacuzzi, wet & dry saunas, private access to the pool, and ample sinks and mirrors, where it was not uncommon to see 8 to 10 men shaving in the morning and often in the evenings if they were going out on a date.

We all had private lockers, towel service, the gym would wash our dirty workout clothes and leave them in our lockers when finished. There was fresh coffee, and fresh fruit available in a lounge area that seated 10 around a big screen TV usually tuned to the financial news or on weekends to one of the various games. They even had a place where you could drop off your laundry and pick it up a couple days later all conveniently billed to your Gym account with a monthly itemized statement delivered to your locker.

Occasionally one of the guys would bring his son or sons into the gym and the locker room to change clothes, or shower after father and son(s) worked out or used the pool. No-one paid any mind as long as the youngster wasn’t misbehaving. It was a place of Men.

In a time when places for Men were disappearing and feminism was taking it’s toll on even Barber Shops, it was a place that was a welcome sanctuary from the hubbub of the business day. I can’t count how many business deals I heard being closed in the lounge chairs over coffee or a cool post workout smoothie.

I spent many happy hours in that locker room. Sometimes finishing a report for work, but more often just starting my day there.

I’d drive to the gym, workout, shower, shave, have breakfast, then walk across the street to work. Sometimes I’d start and end my day at the gym, using cardio to burn the frustrations of the day away waiting for traffic to die down.

The gym had regular locker-rooms for men and women too. But I was worth the added expense and really enjoyed the VIP locker room because it was always quiet and comfortable. I guess you could call it a “Safe Space”.

The Gym itself had a pro shop, dining area, the usual array of weight machines, free weight areas, racquet ball and basketball courts, spin classes, yoga, aerobic studios, conference rooms (that you could reserve a month in advance), a hair salon, child care for the kids who were too young or not interested in working out with Dad or Mom. It was a big place and for a time, only the best of the best trainers got to work there.

While trying to figure out when the Gym would re-open due to COVID I discovered that my gym would never re-open.

24 Hour Fitness is in bankruptcy and apparently my gym was one of the casualties of their default, 130 gyms in all.

There’d been no notice, no email, no letter… nothing. This left me wondering where, when, and how I’d get my things from my locker. I tried calling corporate and all I got was a recording telling me that due to COVID there was no one to talk to. I wrote a strongly worded letter to corporate and heard nothing.

Last Friday, I got an email from 24 Hour Fitness telling me that I needed to call the number provided as soon as possible, to collect my things. I called the number Monday and made arrangements to drive down to grab my gear.

It almost wasn’t worth it. One shoe, my workout clothes, racquet balls, and all my toiletries were missing. They did manage to get my shower shoes, my racquet ball racquet, and my favorite yoga mat into a big plastic trash bag. They had no idea about the other items or why they’d not made it into the bag. Except for the racquet, the drive to OC was almost not worth making.

24 Hour Fitness, is giving me a great rate on their All Gym package in consideration of the closure. I can literally go to any of their gyms which is no different than what my membership always provided.

It won’t be the same. I’ll have to hump my shit to and from the gym, fiddle with a padlock and remember what locker I put my shit in when I’m done with my workout. I know this is the normal way gyms work but I’ve tasted better, and I liked it. I liked walking into the gym like a zombie, getting my stuff out of my locker dressing to work out and actually waking up at some point during my workout. I liked going to the locker room and having a cup of coffee before I showered and got on with my day.

That’s all a thing of the past now. I haven’t made any decision yet about the membership. I think it’s best to let the wound scab over a bit.

The gym where I picked up my stuff was strange. No music, no TVs. It’s a nice place, but felt strange. People on cardio machines with their masks on, their earbuds in their ears listening to their own groove from phones or pads in front of them. Few people were using the weights, and those who’d completed their workouts left the gym sweaty and disheveled. The locker room was empty as I made my way through to the bathroom. It was like a weird movie. Everyone silent and isolated, even in a crowd.

I’m not sure that I’ll be maintaining the membership. I don’t like this version of “Normal”

It occurred to me that I have no ties left with OC other than one remaining friend there.

OC used to be a big part of my world. I worked there, my doctor was there, I drank there, and played there. Now OC is just another place that I used to know, but don’t goto anymore. Los Angeles, Hollywood, and The Valley all have this same feeling. Places I used to goto but don’t anymore. Palm Springs is starting to feel like this too. Distant, broken, alien.

I’m beginning to think, for me, this is more than COVID fatigue. It’s something deeper.

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Hate to say it

Watched the Apple Event today. There wasn’t anything announced that caught my interest.

That’s not to say that there aren’t interesting products and that were I in the market to update something that I wouldn’t be oohing and ahhing. But I’ve got mostly current products and I saw nothing that was compelling that I just had to have.

I think I like the woven Apple Watch Bands. But the Apple Watch v6 isn’t substantially different from the v5 I currently own. I saw nothing that was a stand out about it. I did notice that they’ve discontinued the one watch band I was looking at. Typical! About the time I’ve got my mind made up they snatch it away!

The new iPads are a lot more powerful than my venerable iPad Pro but still not enough to make me want to plunk down the cash. They haven’t updated the iPad Pro line with the latest chipsets so I’ll hold on that for another year or so.

I’ll tune in again when Apple announces the iPhone 12 Pro just to see what they’re adding. My iPhone X is still working just fine and it may be that the 12 doesn’t provide a compelling reason to upgrade. I could see myself getting an 11Pro perhaps, just for the camera and dual sim capability. Possibly the 12 Pro depending on what features it actually has, but I’m not terribly motivated, a lot depends on the pricing.

So 2020 may once again be a bust as far as my personal technology.

They claim that IOS 14 will be available tomorrow. That should be interesting when my phone gets around to downloading the update. I’m curious about Watch OS 7 too.

It may be that I can delete some applications from my phone and watch since those applications functionality will be included in the base operating systems. That may stem the battery drain caused by those applications. Or the battery drain could increase because the OS is doing more work.

Only time will tell.

I did think the Fitness + subscription was of interest, but at the price per month it might be out of my budget.

Overall, I’d call this apple announcement a “meh”

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Wounds you don’t know you carry…

As most of the country knows California is burning.

Where I live we’re pretty unaffected. There’s a haze and smell of smoke in the air and that’s it.

9/7/2020 Haze

But I’ve been antsy, really antsy! Some might even say twitchy bordering on angry.

Then it hit me, the smell of smoke, the taste of ash in my mouth. That is making me remember the early morning 12 years ago when I was looking at what was left of my house.

This smell is slightly different but it’s close enough, I smelled smoke for weeks afterwards and then, as I always do, I moved on. I got busy putting my life back in order, I went back to work. The A/C of my workplace was a welcome respite from the stench of wandering through what was left and meeting inspectors and insurance people at the ruins of my home.

I tried to put all those memories behind a big door in my head and then I slammed that baby shut. I nailed boards over it, hung a sign that said “Do Not Enter,” and walked mentally away.

That is until this last winter. I was at a friends house and he built a fire in his fireplace. He’s got the same shitty fireplace insert that I have in my house. Basically you can have a fire in it, but the odds are about 80% that if there’s a breeze, all the smoke will blow down the chimney and right into the house.

With a fireplace you expect a little of this but you don’t expect it to be smokier in your living room than at a beach bonfire.

The worst case with these shitty inserts, is that you have a fire that hasn’t quite caught or is smoldering and then catch a stiff wind. Which is exactly what happened 5 minutes after my friend left the house to go grab something from the local store and do a load of laundry.

I tried re adjusting the logs, I tried to get the fire to catch, I opened the windows, nothing worked. No matter what I tried, the fireplace belched more smoke than it could possibly have generated into the house. My eyes were burning, my nose was running, and visibility dropped to about half of normal.

Then it happened. That door in my head exploded. all the memories flooded back and I was reliving that night 12 years ago. I was right back there watching the flames rolling across the ceiling of my living room. It shook me badly. Thankfully I’m an angry person otherwise the panic would have overwhelmed me.

2008 House Fire

Instead of freaking out and curling into a little ball waiting for rescue. I did what I did that night so long ago. I got mad!

My rage engaged and I started moving the smoldering logs outside. I dumped water on them, with each log that I extinguished I felt better, more in control. Four logs and a lot of water later I was victorious.

My friend came back about 45 minutes later and found me still shaking with all the doors & windows open then remembered I’d once mentioned a house fire. Very patiently he rebuilt a smaller fire, allowing it to catch and warm the chimney up so that the updraft was greater than the downdraft.

He usually just put up with the smoke, so he’d loaded the fireplace up before he left. I spent the rest of the afternoon outside, preferring to shovel snow in a snowstorm at 20° F. The physical activity and cold crisp air helped calm me and reduce the panic effects.

While I was outside it occurred to me that I might have a slight problem.

In the intervening years since the house fire, I’d been around campfires and hadn’t had a problem. While I was shoveling, I wondered why the situation had affected me but campfires had not.

The conclusion I reached was that I’d been inside with the potential for being trapped in the case of the cabin, but in the case of the campfires I could exit in almost any direction.

Based on my reaction this morning, perhaps the problem is a little more severe than I thought. Being in the house that is the same floorplan, in the same location as the previous house, with the heavy smell of smoke in the air, on some level I’m reliving that morning all over again.

This time, with lockdowns, and covid fear, nowhere to go, I’m trapped with memories that I can’t shut down by leaving the house.

There are no distractions, nothing I can do to distance myself from the memory. I suppose that explains the simmering anger, frustration, and antsyness.

If this is 1/10000 of what someone dealing with PTSD feels, those folks totally have my respect and sympathy. They’re stronger than I am.

My brain is running overtime right now to counteract the negative thoughts and feelings.

This is temporary and I know it, intellectually. I will master my… Fear? Angst? Panic? I may have a bad day or two but the winds will shift, the smoke will clear and I’ll be fine.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to live constantly fighting to control my mind like this. But I have a new perspective and for that I’m grateful.

To those of our Military who fight this battle all the time, don’t give up. Reach out to someone, anyone, for the support you may need. You might just find someone like me. I’ve never lived on any actual battlefield, but I understand (a little) the battlefield of the mind.

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And just like that…

Fall is beginning.

I know it’s not fall according to the calendar but this morning it was 63° in the house when I got up. The high today is only supposed to be 80° and the maple tree next door went from being mostly green to having a lot of yellow in just a few days.

This morning there was a lot more red. It’s like someone flipped a switch.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I think we’re going to have an early Winter. That’s not really a bad thing if it means rain.

This tree has in years past been a good predictor of Winter and Spring. It’s often the first tree to bud, and the first to signal the coming of Fall.

This year’s signaling of Winter is about a month & a half early, so it’s probably time for me to get the winter chores started and hopefully I can be done with them before it’s super cold.

I’m hoping for some nice moderate days up here because I’d like to do some digging in the yard. Digging up here is a bit of a misnomer.

Technically I can “dig” with a broom, just sweeping away the loose dusty topsoil. The tough part is getting the rocks out of the ground. There has been more than one occasion where I’ve wished for dynamite and a jackhammer.

I’ve also broken a number of shovels trying to pry rocks out of the ground. You know it’s bad when the local hardware store has double the number of shovels and digging tools that Lowes has in stock.

I want to see if I can install a bit of a retaining wall around the steps leading up from the driveway. Every year the ground creeps toward the stairs and the house. I’ve got some pressure treated scrap lumber that would fit the bill nicely.

If I’m looking at things right, the lumber should form a nice looking retaining border. Once that’s done, then I’ll relocate the path lights from the ground to the retaining border. That’ll solve the problem of the lights being buried in the winter by snow and also the problem of them falling over as the snow shifts & melts.

While I’m at it, I’m thinking I’ll install a landing pad for the garbage cans that will get them out of the drive way for the Monday pickup. It’s always interesting to find where the trash cans end up on Monday evening when you’re trying to pull into the driveway.

There are a lot of other Fall / Winter chores to do but the retaining border is probably the biggest. If September plays out more or less “Normally” I’ve got warm dry days ahead, so I may get some painting done too. I hate painting only slightly less than plumbing so I may be grumbly off & on over the next few weeks.

Have a great weekend.

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Interesting

I’ve lived in this area for almost 30 years.

During that time I’ve seen a variety of wild life including snakes from time to time. Prior to this year I’ve seen only one rattlesnake.

This year I’ve seen two in the neighborhood. The first one was in my yard, unfortunately I don’t have a very good photo of it.

Yesterday, I heard some girls screaming that there was a snake. They’re children so as an adult it’s on me to insure they’re not hurt and that they don’t antagonize a snake that could hurt them.

I’m thinking it’s a California King snake, or a Gopher Snake and the girls are just being girls. I was wrong.

The snake had crossed paths, or rather one of the girls had stepped over the snake and it rattled at her. By the time I got there the snake had moved to a defensible position and was alert but not aggressive.

The girls guardians showed up a couple of minutes later, then the discussion about killing the poor thing began.

Generally speaking I’m not in favor of killing creatures just because they happen to exist. As it turns out the “father” shared my general opinion.

What surprised me was the bloodlust of the little girls. They wanted it dead. It had done them no harm, it had warned them to stay away, and appeared to be waiting patiently for the hubbub to die down.

I imagine that it would have left the area of its own accord had it not been for all the humans around.

Probably, if the snake had not been positioned as it was, it would be dead now. The thing is, there was no clear way to strike at it with a shovel or ax that would insure an instant kill. Meaning that if we’d struck at it, we’d have probably just pissed it off and it would have struck at us.

We had a rattlesnake standoff. Myself and the other male were discussing the options when one of the little girls was just rabid about killing it. She kept saying, “Kill it, Kill it,” in an ever increasing volume. Without thinking I said, “If you want something dead that bad, maybe you should be the one prepared to kill it,” and gestured toward her with the trenching tool I was holding.

She suddenly got quiet. I don’t know what was going through her head. I hope that it was the realization that killing anything isn’t trivial. Even if it’s not your hand on the instrument of death. I doubt that’s what she thought, she probably wasn’t old enough to make that kind of connection.

Eventually, one of the neighbors remembered there was someone in town who would relocate snakes to another canyon (unpopulated) so we gave them a call. They weren’t available, but they hooked us up with a lady who was. Twenty minutes later, the snake was safely in a box and heading to a place where it wouldn’t have to deal vicious blood thirsty humans.

The experience left me thinking.

I’ve killed snakes that were an immediate threat. I felt bad about killing ’em but given the circumstances there was no choice.

I’ve killed other creatures and ate ’em, in that situation it was because I was hungry. Even fishing, you’re killing another creature, which means that there’s supposed to be a built in limit.

You kill what you need, you kill whatever it is quickly and humanely, you eat what you kill, and you don’t arbitrarily or wantonly kill more than you need for yourself or your family.

Most men I know subscribe to the same principals. But wait, males are supposed to be the vicious killers aren’t they?

Why then were the little girls and the adult women screeching for blood? Why was it that the males were willing to take a watchful caution?

Had it only been me and the other guy, we’d have probably let the snake go its way and we’d have watched it go back into the forest. Two predator species respecting each other.

Because of the presence of women, we were under pressure to do something, anything, even if what we did was going to make the situation worse.

It occurred to me that almost every conflict I’ve ever been a part of, or witnessed was driven by women. Either the males were trying to impress, or the women were demanding action.

I makes me wonder…

I can understand that women might be genetically predisposed to eliminate any possible threat to their young whether or not the threat is real.

I wonder if men on the other hand, because we’re stronger, and usually have been the ones to get our hands bloody, might have an inherent respect for life & death that goes unacknowledged. We learn early on, that killing is bloody and final. We understand that when we kill, we’ve removed something from the world, on some level we understand that once gone it’s gone forever.

Granted some men acquire a taste for killing but most men I know have a deep respect for life, and don’t take it lightly, or for granted.

It’s strange how simple events get me thinking.