Corbin: Post-College part 35
By Corbin
"When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day." -Marty Bucella


Introduction/Observations:

This society is going thru an age crises. I watch in horror at how people line
up to get plastic surgery...you just have to look around and see how men and
women are desperate to roll back the years. My primary concern isn't with the
vanity of it, no my problem is this obsession with erasing history...removing
the scars of our past in an attempt to stay young for tomorrow. When I look in
the mirror, or wash my body...I see the scars from where I fell off my bike,
or a few from playing soccer, and even a few from a couple of fights...these
are a part of who I am. And as the years take their toll on my body, that too
will become a part of who I am, just as much a reflection on how well I took
care of my skin when I was younger. When you watch TV, nobody has any wrinkles
or lines on their face...everything is grossly pulled tight...nasty...gross.

Subconsciously I think I may have some anti-social issues :) I was in Dick's
Sporting Goods yesterday, just browsing when I passed a long rack of Aluminum
baseball bats. I never knew there were so many different styles...shapes and
sizes. I also had this strange desire to pick up one of those bats and beat
the crap out of some inanimate object...you know, just to vent. Maybe I have
some suppressed anger issues? So anyway, there I am holding this bat like some
dummy when I get a vibe someone is looking at me, just over my right shoulder.
So being the ever discrete person that I am, I jerk my head to the right to
see, expecting some guy or guys to be lurking around. I was awkwardly shocked
to see this very attractive brunette picking thru some jogging shorts across
the aisle way, I have to say...yes...yes she was very, very attractive. So I'm
fumbling to put the bat away and glance back over at her as looks up at me,
again, and gives a lingering smile...so what do I do? I blush like some idiot
and smile back. Now I'm fumbling some more to put that stupid bat back on the
rack and now I want to beat myself over the head with it. I just kind of slink
away feeling embarrassed at the fact I had even flirted a little with her,
checking her out a little bit as well as we kept exchanging glances and some
awkward hellos. 'You look really fit!' She even said to me and that's when I
knew I had to get the hell out of there, I was all thumbs and tripping over my
own feet...gheesh...like some stupid shy school girl. Besides, I'm involved
with someone! So I just head for the exit because I don't normally act like
this...maybe I was flattered...but so what, I see lots of attractive women and
men walking around, but every once in a rare while I make this unspoken
connection with someone that leaves me feeling flustered and at a loss for
words. That's exactly what was happening back in that store and I needed to
put some distance between me and that girl less I fall into temptation. It's
happened with guys too just so you know, and it kind of screwed with me for
awhile to have my body firing off responses to both sexes, but I just go with
it and don't worry anymore :)

As I was now hustling my way out of the store, I passed a section with all of
their exercise equipment all nicely spread out on display. Amongst the shiny
displays I saw something called the 'Ab Recliner', that's right, my eyes could
not believe it...the ultimate Ab exercise for the laziest people in our
society. An exercise machine, cleverly disguised as a recliner...so you fat
asses can sit back...drink your beer, watch TV and work those Abs. PATHETIC!

"Geee I don't know why I can't get rid of this tire around my waist?"

35

I got out of College and jumped right into the corporate world, but that was
just a means to an end...which was to pay my gym membership. And I won't
mention the name of my gym either, although some have asked...you guys think
I'm nuts?...or is it Naive?

Anyway, back on my favorite topic; I was wearing a lightweight jacket and long
sweats during my workout. It helped to keep the cool air, pumped in from the
overhead vents from zapping the moisture off my skin, thus cooling down my
body and muscles faster then I would like. But that day was a little
different, the A/C was partially on the fritz and so off came the jacket and
sweat pants. Even with the overhead fans turned on, the lack of cooling air
meant that the entire gym had become its own sauna, reeking of bodily sweat. I
could only smile as I watched the 'can't hack it' clientele enter, do an about
face and exit; All the while, Management profusely apologizing, promising
"Soon, very soon" the A/C system would be back online. I was truly amused at
watching Mike curse the repair company for their lack of promptness in getting
the system back up and working; with only one unit now functioning on top of
the building, it was doing an inadequate job of cooling the large structure.
(Mike is the owner of this nice little gym I go to.)

After an hour and a half I felt like I had stepped out of a hot shower and
right into a sauna; My tight, thigh length shorts and sports bra were soaked,
so much that they seemed to ooze perspiration on their own. Dropping to my
knees with my back to 'the machine' I looked over head, my arms reached
skyward and grasped the upside down 'V' shaped handles, tilting my head back
down as I pulled the weights, slowly traveling down until the handle barely
brushed the back of my neck. I would sometimes curl until tears fell from my
eyes, now that's a burn baby! Each time my forehead came close to touching the
floor, I would hold the position for a few seconds, hunched over, as my arms
and stomach muscles burned with greater intensity until I slowly sat back up.
Over and over I repeated the movement, god it was awesome, like a small rain
shower the sweat was pouring off my head. I stopped periodically to replenish
the quickly depleting bodily fluids with a drink, while taking the appropriate
breaks to stretch.

I was tuning everyone out, especially a group of guys that didn't seem to have
anything else better to do then 'gawk' in my direction. I guess I rarely
stripped down to shorts and workout bra, but it was damn hot, god it was
hot...I mean it was one of those sweats that had a thick sheen of perspiration
covering every inch of my skin. But with the help of tiny headphones, blaring
"Alive" by P.O.D. into my ear canals, the music was like an added adrenaline
rush thru my veins and muscles. I was damn near the end of my set when my
concentration was once again broken, this time by the annoying presence of a
girl pacing nearby, inching closer into 'MY' space, and obviously waiting to
use the piece of equipment. Yeah, I knew I tend to 'hog' the equipment at
times, 'but at least I don't pose, I actually use the damn stuff', but I
relented in any case, letting the weights drop on purpose, almost smirking
when the meek girl jumped as the heavy weights fell with a loud clang. Still
kneeling, I gave a tug and each earpiece 'popped' out; I tried to keep my cool
and casually hit the stop button on my player. So there I sat, squatting down
on the ground with my hands now resting on my hips as I glanced up at this
invader; a little thin and pale with light brown hair, standing about 5'4",
average body and not that unattractive, the girl stood clutching a workout
towel in her left hand, then she would nervously switch it to her right and
perform a slight awkward shuffle with her feet. Her eyes darting away when I
finally looked up and stared right at her.

"Would you like to jump in?" I raised my arm, yeah I did it just to show off
my bicep and shoulder muscles, my thumb pointing over my shoulder to the piece
of equipment. The girl nodded 'Yes' and smiled, I looked away and almost
chuckled, not as an insult, but because I actually admired the girl's
willingness to try such a difficult routine. So I wiped my sweat off the floor
and slowly stood up. The pale smaller girl approached the equipment cautiously
and looked down at the weight setting, the poor thing tentatively pulled the
pin out, it was set at well over 100lbs, and I watched her face turn red as
she moved the pin up and up and up, looking for an appropriate weight, given
her strength and size.

I couldn't resist anymore and dropped the towel, stepping forward, "Would you
like some help?" my voice softer and friendlier this time.

"Thank you." The girl said softly.

"First time?"

"Yeah" Shaking her head nervously.

"By the way, I'm Corbin." Sticking my hand out, the girl enthusiastically
reached to shake my hand but I was easy off as the girl had the grip of a wet
dishrag.

"I'm Wendy."

"Well, okay Wendy, let's walk thru it a couple of times." I kneeled down next
to the girl. Once she got the hang of it, I stood up and stepped back, picking
my towel up and wrapping it around the back of my neck. I really don't know
what there is to be nervous about?

"Oh my god, is that you Wendy? I don't believe it, you're going to kill
yourself!" His voice rang out, a slight sarcastic laughter followed quickly. I
watched the girl look up with a nervous expression and she almost let go of
the bar. "Hey Matt." She said and smiled.

I was eyeing them both, but now the guy a little harder. He was about my
height, a 'lightweight' as I would categorize it, but still he looked like he
took working out semi- seriously at least. His hair was a dark, wavy brown,
his complexion almost as fair as Wendy's; he wore a tank top, but didn't have
much to show off.

"Corbin, this is my boyfriend Matt." She smiled and tried to get back into her
reps. I stepped forward and offered to shake his hand; he hesitated, his eyes
having gravitated down to 'other' areas of my body (typical!), specifically my
breasts, and then arms, thighs...everywhere. But he quickly recuperated and
reached out, I smiled and he nervously smiled back, 'guys never cease to amaze
me'. His grip intensified, 'Ahhh, gonna' play that huh.' I noted and my
forearm muscles flexed and suddenly his eyes lost all confidence. But I
quickly pulled back, he seemed to be enjoying the 'touching' of our handshake
too much and quickly collected himself, I guess remembering 'his' girlfriend
was a couple of feet away.

"I'm just giving her a few pointers." My hands reached up and gripped the ends
of the towel that draped over my shoulders, I just smiled and added, "She'll
be fine."

"Uggghhhhh..." Wendy groaned and slowly stood up, "...that's going to hurt
tomorrow."

"Well, I think we better get going, it's getting late." Matt glanced up at the
clock '8:00pm'.

"Okay, I'll be right along, just want to talk to Corbin real quick."

"Alight, I'll go get our stuff" He glanced over, "It was nice meeting you"
Matt smiled, maybe more then he should have.

"Nice meeting you" I replied.

"What's up?" I leaned off to my left side with an inquisitive look back in
Wendy's direction.

"Could you help me, with some of my workouts, I'll understand if you say no."
She looked away frustrated and almost ashamed to ask. "I know you like to be
left alone and such, they way you keep to yourself, but even just a few
minutes..."

I closed my eyes, I really hated this, 'I am not some personal trainer.'
Should I where a sign around my neck or something? But this time, maybe the
timing was right, and I felt kind of bad turning the girl down. Wendy stepped
back, I guess she knew her request wasn't going well, "I'm...I'm...sorry, I
shouldn't have asked....my mistake..." and she went to turn away.

"Yeah, sure..." I sighed "...I'll help." Have I lost my mind I wondered.

The girl stopped and grinned, her eyes lit up. "I really appreciate it, it's
so hard to get motivated, you know. God if I could even come close to having
your..." she stopped herself short, "...anyway...".

"Look, I'm here mostly in the evenings and in the mornings on weekends, so if
you see me, just come around and I'll see if can be of any help. But keep it
on the DL, okay?"

"DL?" She scrunched her face up.

"Down low...hush hush...don't blab to anyone I'm helping you." I firmly
reiterated.

The girl nodded enthusiastically, almost tripping over some free weights as
she backed away quickly catching herself as her face turned red. "I'll see you
around, thanks!" and she briskly walked to catch-up with her boyfriend,
waiting near the exit. I just shook my head, 'I hope she doesn't expect me to
be at her beck and call.' Taking a sip of water out of the bottle and caught
sight of the owner Mike walking in my direction. 'Oh dammit, not now.' I
groaned and lowered my head while playing with several wet strands, 'Here
comes Mr. Pain-in-my-ass.'

Now I didn't really need to explain that little event above, but I guess it
sticks out in my mind because it happened right before a moment when Mike
approached me with an offer. You see, Mike had been dropping hints for months
now, looking to sponsor a girl(s) in a Female Fitness competition and/or
Amateur Body Building competition. I would just nod my head silently when we
talked in great length about it, but I never thought he would come right out
and ask me. While the thought of competing gave me a thrill and Mike's
eagerness to promote me boosted my confidence higher then it had ever been
lifted, I already knew that deep down in side I saw myself rejecting it. I
mean, the fitness competition sounded nice, but I wasn't sure, and anytime my
gut hesitates that is a sure sign to back off of something. As for the body
building competition, I knew for sure that I did not want to get THAT cut,
although Mike was dropping hints that I wasn't that far away from competition
material right now. But the real reason for not getting involved in either was
more personal, for as much time and effort as I had put into working out,
along with all the compliments men and women paid me, I suffer from severe
shyness. The thought of wearing some of those skimpy uniforms was just too
much to contemplate, and 'In front of an audience' my anxious mind would warn
me, 'no freaking way!'. I mean, how could I pose on a stage when my hands are
covering my face, because I wouldn't be able to look at the audience.

"Those bastards..." Mike cursed with a smile, which broke me from my daydream,
"...they're up on the roof now, fixing the damn things now."

"Hey Mike" I glanced up with a look of suspicion, you see I also knew that
Mike had a major crush on me, but he managed to keep himself in check, never
getting too friendly, and I never gave him any reason to think otherwise.
Besides, he had a girlfriend at the time...but go figure.

"Soooo....I think you know what I want to talk about." He cocked his head to
one side with a big smile.

"Oh come on Mike, I don't know about all that stuff, I need some time to
think." I reached down and began slipping on my baggy, dark blue, nylon
running pants. Pulling the sweat soaked towel from around my neck I slipped on
my jacket. I did this as a hint I was leaving, and he would hopefully not
bagger me. I know, I'm an idiot...I should have just said NO...HELL NO...but
maybe I liked the attention...I guess.

"I'm running out of time Corbin, I'm sorry." He glanced around the gym, noting
they were out of ear shot, he could tell I was teetering on accepting or flat
out rejecting, "Besides, if you aren't interested, I need to line up someone
else."

"Really? Who? Someone here?" Now I was a little shocked at the way my
competitive juices began to flow and sat up a bit, turning my head to look
around the expansive gym.

Mike just smiled, and I relaxed a little, he was playing with me, trying to
get me jealous. "She's not here tonight."

"Oh, I think I know who you're talking about, good choice." I said, but didn't
know the girl's name and just slowly began to zip up my jacket.

"But you're the better one." He smiled. Sneaky bastard, and I was now fighting
back a flushing in face, but it was obvious I was turning red. "Thanks Mike."
I mumbled.

"Better still, if I could convince you two girls two work as a team..."

"Whoa...stop right there." I looked up a little frantic, "I don't know about
that!" and I wasn't even sure why that even came out of my mouth, I just
blurted it out so spontaneously, I didn't have time to even think about it. I
didn't have anything against the girl, 'hell I don't even know her.'

"What's wrong?" Mike leaned back a little confused. "I mean, if you've thought
this thru at all the competition between you two in the gym would be
beneficial, it's a shame neither of your have ever worked out together before.
Even at the armature level things are very, very serious and require allot of
commitment. I just thought that what better motivation then the two best girls
in the gym to help motivate one another." Mike fell back on a very innocent
expression, his posture slumping a little.

"Have you talked to HER about your idea?" I shot a weary look in his
direction.

"Well I...yeah...very soon..." He stammered.

"I thought so" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; deep down in side I
really appreciated the opportunity and recognition that Mike was giving me.
But it conflicted with my day-to-day life style, just wanting to workout and
be left alone, this was my place to come and focus on one thing and have no
interruptions. But I also felt like Mike deserved a decent response.

"Look..." I sighed and could read the instant hopefulness light up his eyes
and face even while my expression turned somewhat sullen as I sat back down on
one of the nearby weight benches, "...I really have my doubts."

I figured all of my bitching and moaning would really test Mike's abilities as
a salesman, and I wasn't interested in winning, medals or trophies, or so it
seemed.

"Just to show you I'm sincere and on the up-and-up, I'll call a meeting with
you, me and Jenna..."

I now made a quick mental note of her name as he talked.

"...we can all sit down and talk in my office. I promise, it will be very
professional and if you're still not sure at that time, then I will take that
as your final answer and respect your decision. Okay?"

So I took a deep breath and sat up straight, the fact he was willing to handle
it in a discreet and formal manner made me feel a little better and at least
there was some light at the end of the tunnel. I didn't care if Jenna ended
competing or not, I had to make this decision for myself and no one else,
"Okay, just let me know when you want to get together and talk."

"Great! Give me a few days and I'll catch up with her and then give you a
call. Good...good...good...." He rambled to himself as he turned around,
completely lost in his own thoughts, his little wheels spinning quickly

Exiting the Women's Locker Room taking a long detour around the gym to avoid
walking past the weight room, 'Just want to get out of here and get home.' I
knew that if I walk past the weight room I would get stopped by Scott. A
regular at the gym, he had been closing in on me for weeks now, hinting that
he wanted to go out, a good looking guy who at least took his workouts
seriously and didn't waste allot of time chit-chatting with people the whole
time. Fortunately, I had dodged that bullet several times, but it was only a
matter of time before he flat out asked for a date.

(Well, that was kind of long winded, but this is really the beginning of my
transition from College into the Workforce. So, well see how it goes.)