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Friday, February 26, 2016

naked and (almost) alone

I went swimming at the university pool yesterday.  I've gone swimming there on a few occasions when I've had the time.  As usual, there was hardly anyone else there.  Traditional students just don't seem to use the pool much even though it's a perfectly nice facility.  So I was in there with three other people, and we were all "old" by university standards.  In fact the only person there of traditional student age was the lifeguard.


I'm not complaining.  I had a whole lane to myself and could just lazily do some laps like the others.  Afterwards, I was getting dressed in the locker room when one of the other old swimmers rounded the corner, totally naked except for the towel wrapped around her head...

which struck me as a bit strange since, I don't know what goes on in men's locker rooms, but women typically don't traipse around so naked in women's locker rooms.

Oh well.


"Isn't it funny how empty the pool locker room is, but they assign people to lockers right next to each other?", she commented.  (When checking into the rec center, the desk person assigns the lockers.  You get what you get).

I agreed and moved a little so she could access her poorly assigned locker while I could continue my own outfitting.  Thus began a conversation.

She, too, wondered why the young students don't use the pool, and commented how she'd just begun swimming, and how nice the pool was, and what good exercise it seemed to be.  The pool area also has a large hot tub, where young people could hang out and do... hot tub stuff.  But they don't use that much either.  I agreed on all counts and added that I didn't necessarily dislike how uncrowded it was.

Anyway, we continued gabbing along, and I learned she's a member of the faculty.  She teaches 2-D and 3-D art.  This university isn't exactly known for it's fine arts program, but apparently it does have one.

The whole time we were gabbing and dressing - about 20 mins. or so - not one other person was in the locker room.  I mentioned this to Magnum during our China beauty walk last night and we reminisced about our earlier college days.  Back then, the university rec center was always teeming with activity - weight room, cardio room, raquetball courts, gym, and especially the pool.  I suppose our university had a larger enrollment, and more students living on or near campus?

Or is the campus rec center just  not as much of a thing as it used to be?  Ours is a nice rec center and just recently completed the construction of a large addition.  Most of the young students I see there are usually hanging out playing ping pong or shooting hoops, while just a few are actually using the fitness equipment.

This after Wolfgang stopped by this week.  He just recently joined a fitness center - I wouldn't actually call it a "gym".  It's this huge facility that's in that ritzy neighborhood Magnum and I biked around last weekend.  A couple of Wolfgang's friends have memberships there, so he'd gone as a guest a few times to work out with them and decided to sign up too.

He could work out at the rec center for "free" since it's included in his student fees.  Same goes for one of his workout buddies, but they'd rather pay their hard earned money for the private center.  Maybe that's the trend these days:

"Campus rec center?  Pffft, that's for stupid freshmen and old people!"

Okay, fine.


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12 comments:

Tee said...

I think encountering a naked woman, even in the locker room, would um ... startle me. Although, you've gotta admire her confidence. Or maybe she just thought she was completely alone and now that she's run into you, she'll wrap up in a towel from here on out.

My youngest took advantage of her "free" gym membership while she was in school. She was all about whatever she could get for free. Now that she's no longer a student, (but still living on the edge of campus,) she's joined a fairly popular not-free gym. Many of her friends who are still in school were already members there. So I think you're right about the trend.

I'm fortunate that "my" gym is just blocks away. It's fairly large and I pay a very fair price of $30 per month. I don't use the pool though, and I stopped using the locker rooms long ago. There had been a string of thefts in the locker rooms at several locations of this particular chain. Since it's so close to home, I wear a light jacket when I go, and as many do, just carry my stuff around with me as I move from one piece of equipment to the next.

Lori said...

I agree with Tee - you gotta admire the woman's confidence! I'm not a gym person. I used to go with my sister but I really prefer to exercise at home with my little yoga mat and weights. And I can walk around naked if I want and not bump into anyone except the dogs. We used to have a pool, which was great, but since we moved 6 months ago - no pool. I will miss that.

Abby said...

I'm thinking her nakedness was a sign of confidence more than thinking she was alone in there. That and the fact that she's an artist - generally more "free expression" than non artist types.

Chaco and Wolfang each used the rec center sometimes when they were living on campus, but once they moved out of the dorms, they didn't miss it.

Too bad about your gym thefts. Locker rooms are typical targets since it's illegal to put security cameras in there.

Abby said...

Yeah, we should all be comfortable with walking around a locker room with nothing but towels on our heads! Easier said than done. But yes, dogs don't judge...

Gyms - I can take them or leave them and don't feel a need for a membership anywhere, but I do like to use the pool. We used to belong to the YMCA which was handy for taking little kids to go run around.

Marcy said...

I used to belong to the Y years ago and enjoyed using the pool for laps. My husband and I would play racquetball sometimes too, which was so much fun but I never really got the hang of it.

Abby said...

I almost wish there were gyms where you could just sign up for some things and not others on a sliding pay scale, but that would probably be a pain for the gyms. We had fun at the Y, but mainly just used the pool and the basketball court

ShadowRun300 said...

NEVER. I don't even like to walk around my own house naked. And if I ran into someone naked at my gym, I'd be almost just as uncomfortable.
That being said, I admire those who can do that. Good for her!

Abby said...

I felt the same way, "good for her!", but "not me!"
It did help that I hadn't yet put my glasses on. Horrible eyesight comes in handy sometimes.

Sparkling Red said...

I haven't been in a locker room in 20 years, so I can't say what current trends are for women. However, my husband just joined a gym in December, and apparently the men there are not modest. They let it all hang out.

Abby said...

Hmmm... there's an image...

Anita said...

Before I decided to read some blogs, I looked back over a few of mine and found my "spa" story. And then I come here and get a vision of your naked locker room lady! giggles
As for gym memberships, no more! I tried 2 during my "trendy" twenties. What a waste. Tried to explain that to a certain person in my family who hasn't seen twenty-something in ages, who signed up anyway. Arrrrgh! Btw, neighborhood has an excellent workout facility.

Abby said...

I remember that spa story! The "power wash"?
Years ago, I used to use the "employee health center" where I worked. They gave lots of freebies for milestones. I had lots of t-shirts, towels, sweatbands... Never had a real gym membership. Maybe the certain family member is trying to return to twenty-something?