Please dont' sweat on my towel!

James and I normally head to the gym first thing in the morning during the week. It's a great routine--we usually start working out around 6:40 am and go for about an hour. Afterwards, I drop James off at his office, stopping at Tully's on the way for our standard tea and coffee (and in case you're wondering, he has the tea and I have the coffee!).

Although I consider myself a natural 'night-owl', I have to admit that it's pretty exhilarating to be up so early and get the gym-thing out of the way so early in the morning. And cliche aside, working out really does seem to set me up for the day and put me in a good mood; more importantly, it "wakes" me up, so that by the time I'm back home, I am coherent enough to make phone-calls and write e-mails to family and friends. The routine certainly makes me feel like I maximize my time in the mornings, so night-owl tendencies aside, I do like it.

Besides, what better time to work out than when you are still half-asleep?!

This morning, however, I woke up simply irate at the world. I cannot explain what brought about this seeming mood flip from the night before (although I suspect hormonal influences), and try as I might, I could not convince myself that things would get any better by going to the gym.

James did try to persuade me otherwise, but bless him--gave up shortly and let me snooze on in peace.

I'm glad he did as I am convinced that I would have bitten someone's head off if we had gone... I keep picturing the scene yesterday morning when per routine, I was pedalling away on the elliptical trainer, probably half way through my work out and this one guy walks up and says hello to the guy on the ET next to me.

Now, as in most gyms, the exercise equipment is set up so that they are not super close together, but then again, given the premium on space, they are certainly not acres apart either.

Gyms are where people work out and consequently sweat and smell. I accept this. Still, I admit to a certain anal attitude in the gym, whereby I always wipe down cardio equipment that I am about to use, making sure to wipe it down again after use.

I also always have a towel I use for myself; specifically, I lay the towel down wherever I am about to sit or lie on a mchine so that I am not sweating where someone else will soon be sitting or lying, and conversely, so that I am not in contact with the sweat of those who do not take such precautions.

Occasionally, in using the cardio equipment, I will use the towel on myself, to wipe away that inevitable sweaty build-up.

So there I am, on my elliptical trainer, plugged into my mini-iPod, noticing out of the corner of my eye this guy speaking to the guy on the trainer next to me. But then this OTHER guy shows up with literally BUCKETS of sweat pouring off him, and he stops in front of my machine to say hello to the conversationally engaged pair to my right.

There is a row of treadmills in front of the row of elliptical trainers, and although the distance between the two might not be considered very wide, it's certainly wide enough to accommodate a couple of guys stopped in between the rows for a few moments, without getting in anyone's way.

Not that there were many people there--the gym tends to empty out around 7:30am, before seeing the second round of morning gym-goers at around 8:00am.

Nevertheless, Sweaty Man decides to stop and sway RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY MACHINE.

I have my sweatshirt and towel hanging from one of the sidebars of the ET and although there is plenty of room, he seems not to notice that he is sweating enough to make Niagra Falls blush, and that he keeps backing INTO my sweatshirt and towel!

One of my girlfriends asked me as I told her the story whether I said anything to the offending gentlemen; okay, pehaps I should have done, although I'm still not sure how I would've worded it--certainly the title of this blog could not be so easily uttered by most, I would bet...

And while I winced watching all of this, you could argue that I should have simply REMOVED my personal items and placed them on the other bar. But I was convinced that in doing so, my towel and sweatshirt would inadvertently dry MORE of Sweaty Man's body than was already the case!

Needless to say, I was in a state of shock and totally unprepared for what my response should be in such a situation. I'm still working on a strategy, but hopefully next itme, I won't be be as paralyzed as I found myself yesterday morning.

Still, given my near-foul mood early this morning, I can't be sure that I wouldn't have bitten-off some poor person's head given my irritating recollection of yesterday's unpleasant experience.

Let's hope the hormones settle down and I am in a better mood tomorrow in my quest for fitness and higher serotonin levels...

How to spend a long weekend in Tokyo...

First, stay in on Friday night, make a favorite meal and eat it in front of the tv. Wake up on Saturday morning and decide that you are NOT going to the gym and then proceed to cross off the other items on your to-do list, including making pancakes for the first time in your life (even if it is using a box of Bisquick), buying an auxiliary cable for your stereo system, and picking up 4lbs. of salt to fade some tee-shirts.

Follow this up with tickets to see a movie purely for its potential entertainment value--even if its reviews are not so flattering (like "National Treasure"--opening in Japan four months after everywhere else in the world). Order pizza of your choice upon your return home. Wrap things up by retiring early, vowing to make it to the gym in the morning.

Nix the gym idea shortly after waking, (optional) get raunchy with your partner, play around on your new laptop computer, and generally laze about the house. Watch Jeremy Clarkson on a program about speed --taking care to switch off the Japanese dubbing (in English at least, that man can be very funny sometimes) and then switch channels to watch the Malaysian Grand Prix. Order in Indian food and half-watch an "Ally McBeal" re-run (called "Ally, My Love" in Japan) as you eat.

Swear that you ARE going to the gym the next day (even though it's a holiday) and pray that your box of expired Claritin has at least a couple of still effective tablets left in it (otherwise be prepared for the cedarwood pollen to turn the end of your nose a shiny red, with eyes to match, and make sure to have plenty of Kleenex on hand). Post-workout, dive into the video-rental place at the American Club and rent a movie that has yet to come out in the theaters here in Japan. Watch this in the afternoon, prior to the arrival of your personal shiatsu masseuse/accupuncturist.

Finally, drift off to sleep on Monday night, knowing that your liver (and the rest of you) is better off than if you had actually taken that flight to Hong Kong and spent the weekend there drinking yourself silly amidst all the madness and revelry of the annual HK Rugby Sevens Tournament...

Okay--maybe I AM getting old...!

Warming up...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hmmmm---not much of a warm up, but I will try to carry on and see if I get any further...

Right--I'll start with charting.

In an attempt to create a biologically viable combo of James and myself, I have taken to charting my temperature first thing in the morning.

I have been dutifully tracking the rise and fall of these readings on a website called (blush) "Fertility Friend".

The record-keeping part of the site has been great: there's a calendar that shows you roughly when you might be ovulating and what your "fertile window" might be based on past cycles and other relevant info you choose to share. And then the chart keeps track of everything from your Basal Body Temperature (BBT) to what mood you're in and what your energy level is like, from what medication you might be taking to whether you had a good night's sleep.

But then comes the bit which I keep approaching with a reluctant fascination: the Circle Posts and Chats.

Despite the best intentions of my husband and another good friend in encouraging me to shun excessive reading on the subjects of fertility and conception, I have been unable to stop myself from quietly flicking through the different posts as I update my data every morning. I find myself confusingly wistful and repelled at the same time as I read about all these different women trying to get pregnant.

I think I am wistful because I think it's rather cool that these groups of people find each other over the Internet medium and create these virtual support groups where the dynamics of friendship are not governed in the same way as they are in real life and real time.

But I am repelled because it all seems just so WEIRD! I mean no disrespect to any of these women, of course, but it's this whole little world of detecting various fertility signs and then analyzing them online in a language that is so FULL of acronyms that it really does feel like you've landed in a foreign country at first.

Here's an example--this is a composite/fictitious post to give you an idea of what you might find:

"Hi Everyone!

Just checking in to see how y'all are doing! C--, did you bake the chocolate cake in the end, or did you opt for the cupcakes? S--, it looks like you've got a great coverline on your chart! And R--, I think you should wait to use the OPK until CD 12--based on what your charting, it doesn't look like there would be a likely LH surge before then. Finally, B--, you should consider looking into possible MFI if nothing happens this cycle.

I'm 16 DPO and I'm itching to POAS, but think I should wait a bit longer... It was frustrating getting that BFN last month--I was convinced that AF wouldn't show 'cos it didn't FEEL like she would, you know what I mean?

Even DH said I wasn't my usual moody PMS'ing self! Ah well, positive thoughts for a BFP this cycle!"

(Glossary: DH = Dear Husband, CD# = Cycle Day #, OPK = Ovulation Predictor Kit, LH = Lutenizing Hormone, DPO = Days Past Ovulation, POAS = Pee On A Stick, BFN = Big Fat Negative (with a substitution for the F-word optional), BFP = Big Fat Positive, AF = Aunt Flo (menstrual period), MFI = Male Fertility Issues, and the list goes on.)

It's scary how quickly you can become embroiled/engrossed in it all, but I suppose it IS interesting to peek through these windows into other peoples' lives--in the same way as reading a blog with a running commentary on someone's life might be interesting...

At any rate, I am vowing to spend less time trolling through the posts on FF (Fertility Friend!) and more time recording thoughts and stories on here.

Now there's a start!

J.