All the painting of apartments and moving of boxes back in July and August took its toll on my exercise schedule, and I was in gym limbo for two months. During those two months the time I had already spent at the gym really paid off, however. Moving our crap around and painting, among other things, three ceilings, with all the awkward positions that involves, didn’t have any significantly negative on my back. I can imagine that it would have had I not been in reasonably good shape.

In early October I returned to the Fresh Fitness gym to discover it had gone through a rather surprising transition: From being Average Joe’s half empty gym, it had turned Almost Average Joe’s packed gym. Unless I pop in on Sunday morning, the place is usually crowded, very often with the same people. There are some guys I’ve seen every single time I’ve been there since October and I’m beginning to think I might have to greet them soon. But greeting people could turn into a avalanche of social obligations and before I know it I’m someones best man in an Indian wedding. I really don’t have time for that, so I think I’ll stick to not greeting anyone.

There are even some gym babes - women who seemingly just hang around without really working out - scattered among the rest of us now. Unfortunately, the gym babes have displaced the ones who made Fresh Fitness Average Joe’s gym: People who could really need the exercise. That’s a shame, really, because there were a lot of them present earlier this year. Another problem with the gym babes is that since they just hang around looking at people, they notice you. My exercise plan takes me on a tour through most of the stations and I’m sometimes getting conscious about these women thinking I’m following them around. I’m certain it might look that way when I surface in their general area repeatedly, but it’s all a huge coincidence. I swear.

What would socially awkward penguin do!?