random rant #1

So it’s the third week of January and I’m still going strong on my New Year’s Resolutions…surely I deserve a cookie for that, right?

To be honest I thought going to the gym would be autopilot for me by now, but nope…it still requires intention and discipline, and is kind of a chore. It doesn’t help that my nice work gym is closed (thanks Omicron) and the 24 Hour Fitness I go to is a dump.

Exhibit #1 is the men’s locker room: it has the most disgusting bathroom I’ve been to in my life, and I’ve been to China. I first went to that 24 Hour Fitness over 10 years ago, and the bathroom is just as gross as it was back then. At one point there was even a locker room remodel, but I think it was more of a preventative than a corrective gesture (i.e., it prevented the bathroom from becoming a complete cesspool of human filth).

Second, I found out a couple weeks ago that it closes at 9 pm (!?!). For context, it actually used to be open 24 hours/day, or at least until midnight…maybe it should consider renaming themselves because now it’s straight-up false advertising.

Alas…I pay $49/year for my grandfathered membership, and don’t feel like upgrading to a Super Sport membership that would allow me the privilege of driving an extra half mile to a slightly nicer gym that closes 2 hours later (still far short of the 24 Hours the gym purports to be open).

The whole situation annoys me and I kind of want to write a letter to the CEO, but I wonder…after writing that letter, shouldn’t I just move on with my life and stop complaining about it? I’m reminded of a friend who told me, “If you keep on complaining about something but do nothing to change it…at some point it’s really just your problem.” To be clear, she was talking about another friend, but it could have just as easily applied to me: if I don’t like 24 Hour Fitness, maybe I should cancel (or upgrade) my membership and go somewhere else.

The only problem is — it’s a lot cheaper (and way more fun) to just continue going to the same gym and blog about it.