Nothing To Look At, Move Along

I've dragged my sorry carcass back to the gym after slacking for awhile. When I was there on Tuesday night I remembered something that really annoys me that some people. I get out of work at 5pm and immediately head to my closest NYSC. Anyone who goes to the gym during the "rush" hours of either early morning or just after work around 5:30pm knows that you change your clothes and get thee directly to the treadmill, if that's the machine of your chose that day. For some reason, the treadmills are in high demand and at the peak hours it's virtually impossible to nab one unless your timing is perfect. Then there's the rule of "30 minutes maximum during peak hours" at the gym, which is just another rule that no one pays any attention to (see "No cell phones while using equipment" or "Do not touch the temperature gauge in the sauna.") I'm approximately a third of the way through my 60-minute (yeah, that's right I said one hour) workout at 5:30pm when suddenly I realize there's three or four people standing around, towels over their shoulders, waiting for a treadmill looking very impatient. Because of the 30-minute rule, I'm forced to hide my timer with a towel, lest someone cause a scene because of my "selfishness." Let me point out why it's not selfish. I arrived at the gym before you did. Is there another machine that you can work out on while the treadmills are in use? How about the StairMaster, the Elliptical or a bike? How about those weight machines? I have never stood around wasting time waiting for someone to vacate any machine so I can jump on. Personally I've never once stood around waiting for any one machine. Plus it's just plain rude to stand around and stare at other people's tushes. But above all I have 97 reasons why I won't abide by their 30 minute rule, and that's 97 dollars per month as in that's how much I pay for my gym membership. So you are not going to tell me to get off my machine because my "time is up." Move along to the stationery bike, fellow NYSC member. I'll be done when I'm done. If you choose to stand around and be annoyed, stop fixating on my rear. I'm working on it.