Held Hostage

I've been feeling a little bleh lately. In the sense of having all this energy, but not many ways to use it. It's gotten too cold to go outside especially when my little bedroom is sooooooo warm. Luckily, I was invited by a friend to go to her fancy gym and try out some fitness classes. I trudged through the newly fallen snow (after Ron dropped me off at the shopping mall it was at) and I was ready to have some fun. I was told that guests can get in for free if it's their first time because that's what happened with her other friend. Once we get in and she *beeps* her membership card, the staff looks at me waiting for my card. Without my own card, I got the stare that after one year of being here, I knew it's meaning. "You are going to pay for entering." I start playing the American card and trying not to understand what she was saying, but that was something else I learned after being here for a year. My face means that I understand Japanese. So, I bit the bullet and told her that a did understand a little bit. I ended up spending $20 for the day. So, I let out my frustration with Latin Aerobics and Flamenco Dancing. By the way, my friend and her other friend were caucasian (majority discrimination *angry fist*).

I stayed at the gym for three hours. I felt that I had to after paying $20. I was very relaxed after working out. It was worth it. I was very satisfied. I changed my clothes and headed out the gym, but the doors were already locked. I asked the staff if I could be let out and they said that they are only letting people out at 10:30. (It was 10:20). Ron was already waiting outside for a half an hour. But with stupid Japanese bureaucracy, I conceded and waited the ten minutes... in a massage chair. At 10:30, I left my massage chair and headed to the door, locked again. I asked the lady and she said the 10:30 group already left and I now had to wait until 10:45. I looked at the clock, it was 10:31. The security guards were right outside and the elevators were directly to the right of the gym, but I could not get out. I said in my nicest- angry voice that my husband was waiting outside, it was only a minute, they would only need 10 seconds to escort me out and I had already waited. This is why I should have kept playing the dumb card, but as another thing I learned after being here for a year... Japan makes really stupid rules sometimes. At 10:46, yeah they were late, I was escorted ten steps to the elevator, and then escorted another ten steps to the outside where Ron had been nicely waiting for an hour.

No more gym.