What Noisy Cats Are We

Well, my doctor has finally beat it into my head enough that I need to get healthier.  I turned 31 years old on Friday and would like to make it another 31 without any major health problems.  That involves losing a little weight (or just converting the fat to muscle), eating a little better, quitting smoking, and most importantly, startng to exercise regularly.

G got the same message from the doctor, so we figured we would change some of our health habits together.  It’s easier to do this when you have a partner that’s willing to go the distance with you.  We weighed a ton of options and decided the best thing to do was to bit the bullet and join a gym.

You ask me “B, is that the best thing to do financially?” and I answer “yes.”  I know it costs money, but I’ve done a lot of research and have found the right balance of being able to have a place where we can go despite bad weather and a place we can afford.  There is a Bally’s near the apartment in Brighton, and if we pre-pay for the year ($404), then after four months both take advantage of our health insurance companies’ gym reimbursement ($150), it works out to just about $21 per month.  This membership is without obligation, and the contract is only for a year.  In order to be even more cautious and avoid a lot of the potential that we have for getting scammed (Google Bally’s reputation…), I’m going to try to pay for the membership in cash so they don’t even have our checking account or credit card numbers.

The gym is wicked close to the apartment, offers free parking, and is never busy.  It’s a very basic facility, with no classes or pool or anything fancy, but it’s perfect to hit the treadmill after work and play on the other machines for an hour.  It’s already started to make a difference with us, and we’re only a week and a half into the two week trial period.  Long term, I think it’ll be a great investment.

And of course, no gym membership can be complete without buying at least some new toy to accompany it.  I have been buying used iPods for many years, and my last one, a trust big old 3rd generation 30gb iPod was donated to me by G when she received an upgraded new iPod Classic last March.  I FINALLY bit the bullet, for better or worse financially, and forked over the $150 for a new 4gb iPod Nano.  I added the iPod Radio Remote (so I can watch the television stations at the gym) and a fancy new orange case for it to keep it protected.  All in all, I spent about $240, which normally I’d balk at doing, but it was my birthday week (an excuse you’ll see a lot in this entry) and I really deserved my first fancy new iPod.

I had gone to MicroCenter and bought one of those cheap MP3 players with the built in radio and everything, but the thing worked for crap and died every time it was moved even a little bit.  I returned it to Microcenter in two days and got my $30 back.  Lesson learned.

The Nano is working out great at the gym, and I can fit more than enough music for a complete workout, and I also have a reliable iPod to use in the car now.  The old one was nice, but the battery was flaky and it didn’t always turn on.