Before we start, I need to get something out of the way. Piloerection* is nothing more than the scientific name for goosebumps. Don’t say that you never learned anything here at 1500 Days. You also have a fun new word to try out on your friends, family and coworkers.
A battle is brewing in my town and it’s starting to get nasty. The source of the conflict is the parking situation at the town’s gym. Now that New Year’s Resolutioners are in full swing, the gym gets really busy. This has caused people to have to park in the overflow lot which is an extra 100 steps or so. The horror. THE HORROR!!! The patrons of the gym are not happy. So that you have a better idea of the situation, here is a picture that I took from the indoor running track:
The amount of angst over the situation cracks me up. There are angry letters in the newspaper (yes, I still read newspapers). I even heard one upset gym patron complaining to the people working the front desk:
The parking situation is ridiculous! I had to park in the remote parking! By the time I got into the gym, I was so cold that my skin was covered in piloerections!
OK, she said goosebumps, not piloerections. The latter is a lot more fun to say though, isn’t it?
To my dismay, the town is discussing building a closer lot. This is completely ridiculous for many reasons.
First of all, you’re going to THE GYM to EXERCISE! You’re probably going to go up to the track and run a couple miles or hit the spin class. Now, you’re telling me that you can’t be bothered walking an extra hundred steps? What the heck is wrong with you?!?
However, what really bothers me is the idea of building another lot. This is a ridiculous solution because the parking problem, if you can even call it that, lasts for one month of the year. After January, the resolutions fizzle out and the gym attendance goes back to normal. Building an extra lot that will be used 1/12 of the year is just crazy.
All of this got me thinking about efficiency. I try to live as efficient as possible and here are a couple examples:
4 cylinders
I heard someone once state they he needed his big V8 car for driving into the mountains. I drive in the mountains too with my 4 cylinder car. While it struggles in the steep passes (I’m the guy doing 45mph in the right lane), I make it to the top, just a couple minutes later. Having a 400hp car to make a small percentage of your driving more convenient is just ridiculous.
Big house
Our last home was a 4000+ square foot monster. We justified by telling ourselves that it would be great for visits from friends and families, ‘Everyone will have a room!’ However, those visits are minimal; usually less than a month per year. We soon realized that the house had vast amounts of unused space for the other 11 months. Since we lived around miserable people, the decision to move was easy. Our current home is less than 2000 square feet and suits us just fine.
An efficient life is a good life
Realizing what you need to get by comfortably and sticking to the plan is a good way to live. Forget the McMansion and the SUV that seats 7 for your family of 3. Do you really need a new phone with a 4 core processor when you can get by with a lower spec one? A 4K TV probably has an awesome picture, but I have a feeling you’ve been getting by just fine with the one you have now. Forget that stuff. Put your money to work for you instead of flushing it down the consumer crapper.
Back to the gym
The lady who had her piloerection tantrum disturbed me a bit. I wanted to say something, but kept my mouth shut. I thought about the situation during my workout and realized that I could use some improvement too.
Often, I drive to the gym, even if I don’t have my kids with me. This is a bit ridiculous because the gym is only a couple miles away. Whenever I’m not taking the children, I will ride my bike there from now on. As a bonus, the bikes get the best parking, right up front as it should be. I’ll just have to make sure to dress warm in the winter so I arrive free of a large piloerection problem. That would make for an uncomfortable situation.
*Hat tip to Poppa for bringing “piloerection” back to the forefront of my conscious. I had learned the word in my schooling, but had since forgotten it. As soon as I saw Poppa’s piloerection post (wow, that sounds dirty), I knew I had to find a way to use the word myself. I just didn’t know the opportunity would come this quickly**.
**After the post idea jumped into my head (on the gym running track), I enthusiastically told Mrs. 1500 that I had come up with a way to use the word. She rolled her eyes and sarcastically told me how thrilled she was about it. With any luck, I’ll be able to use this fine word again very soon. Maybe, I’ll even change my tagline:
1500 Days! Now with 50% more piloerections!
Join the 10s who have signed up already!
Subscribing will improve your life in incredible ways*.
*Only if your life is pretty bad to begin with.
Oh man, that is absurdity upon absurdity! I feel like it’s all about what people acclimate themselves to–you can convince yourself you can’t walk across a parking lot in the winter or you can convince yourself it’s possible to bike commute during Boston blizzards (ahem, Mr. FW…). Either are possible, it’s just all about what you’re accustomed to.
I like your parallels to efficiency. I increasingly find that frugality/simplicity/efficiency all work together very nicely. It’s been an awesome revelation for me and made me realize there are efficiencies to implement all over the place!
P.S. Do not include piloerections in your tag line unless you want a whole new traffic pattern from Google 😉
Mrs. Frugalwoods recently posted…Frugal Hound Sniffs: DebtFreeJD
I have to say that I love walking, especially in blizzards! What is more fun that walking around in a big storm? Only thing better may be a beach in Calfornia or Hawaii.
“P.S. Do not include piloerections in your tag line unless you want a whole new traffic pattern from Google”
LOL! Yes, I’d have a lot of confused people visiting the blog!
I just complained about the same thing yesterday, it’s crazy how far people will go to avoid doing exercise on the way to the gym… Or hire some to do manual work on their property AND pay for the gym.
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” it’s crazy how far people will go to avoid doing exercise on the way to the gym…”
Ha yeah, I wonder if people even think about it?
As far as I’m concerned, the gym is a luxury and necessary evil. I’d much rather work out passively as you’ve implied or ride a bike to the grocery store. So, the gym in a compromise when I’m to much of a wuss to ride in the snow.
Nice blog name by the way!
I personally don’t go to the gym, so any little obstacle would probably really stand out for me. I’d probably complain for a bit, then stop going.
What gets me is that this is obviously a once a year thing, but it’s being taken seriously? I’m a big baby and wouldn’t expect big construction problems if I whine. What are they going to do, fill in that nice pond to build another parking lot? That’s rediculous!
Emily @ Simple Cheap Mom recently posted…It Feels Good to be back on Tracking
You make a good point about lowering any activation energy required to actually go to the gym. Make it as easy as possible. I say we should install a tube system like the Jetsons from everyone’s house right to the gym.
Seriously though, the gym should love these people who go one month and then don’t for the rest of the year. I’m sure they buy the full year plan just to “force” themselves to go all year round!
Chris @ Flipping A Dollar recently posted…January 2015 Profits – Need More Listings
Tubes! Yes, the Elon Musk Hyperloop!
Wow! Yes – the gym/parking/driving situation always cracks me up – andit happens everywhere! It just seems so ridiculous. Right now I walk about 10 minutes to my gym and I consider it my ‘warm up’! At another gym, I used to laugh as I watched people circling the lot trying to get a closer space. No wonder people need to go to the gym to lose weight – they have perfected the art of being lazy!
Mrs SSC recently posted…January 2015: Our money went where???
“At another gym, I used to laugh as I watched people circling the lot trying to get a closer space.”
This drive me nuts. Especially since about the most important thing in Mrs. 1500’s life is to get a close spot. I swear, she’ll wait 5 minutes for some slow poke to move out of the spot than to drive another 50 feet. It’s not even about laziness. I have no idea why she is so competitive about it, but I tell her just to let me out and she can circle the lot all day if she wants.
At least you didn’t try to use “piloerection” as a way to woo your wife. 😀
I drive to the gym now but that’s because I generally take my daughter with me, and she gets to play in the daycare there. This is tough for me and makes me feel a little guilty since she’s in daycare all week. She does seem to enjoy it, but I don’t like doing things when she’s awake because I don’t get to see her most of the week! Catch-22. either she gets a fat dad or she has to go to daycare at the gym for an hour.
Chris @ Flipping A Dollar recently posted…January 2015 Profits – Need More Listings
“At least you didn’t try to use “piloerection” as a way to woo your wife.”
Ummm, no comment!
Yeah, kids are a whole different story. If I had to bike with my kids, it would take an hour to get to the gym. In the snow, it isn’t an option either. They just are too young and don’t have the skills yet.
You think its bad where you live. I just can’t help but laugh at people trying to park here in Sunny Southern California. It could be a perfect 72 degrees out, with the back half of the parking lot empty, yet people will literally wait for a closer parking lot. God forbid you have to walk yourself an extra 100 yard to the GYM.
I personally don’t like spending the extra time driving to the gym requires. So I converted a 1/3 of our garage into a gym.
No driving or parking 🙂
Gen Y Finance Guy recently posted…January 2015 – Detailed Financial Report #1
I’d walk or bike everywhere if I lived in SoCal! The wife and I went to San Diego for 3 days recently. We walked at least 15 miles, mostly up and down the beach. It was friggin’ glorious.
“So I converted a 1/3 of our garage into a gym.”
If I had the space, I totally would.
It helps having a 3 car garage 🙂
Gen Y Finance Guy recently posted…Thursday Rant #1: The Office Time Keeper
Ahhh, I had one of those in a past life. It was sweet. My dream home would be 1000 square feet, but with an 8 car garage. 1 bay would be for the car. The second bay would be for our bicycle collection. The remaining 6 would be for mad scientist experiments. Dare to dream…
I love that you pretty much based an entire post off of the desire to use a fancy word. Next time you could try some other fancy word like “supposedly.” 🙂
We downsized our home for exactly the same reason– we had a whole upstairs at our old house that NEVER got used. We used to go weeks without going up there, and I was always worried we’d be harboring a homeless person up there with knowing it. Now we have one extra bedroom in 1500 square feet, and it serves us well for the occasional visitors we get. (read: not many.)
Robin @ The Thrifty Peach recently posted…Lazy Girl’s Guide to Valentine’s Day
“I love that you pretty much based an entire post off of the desire to use a fancy word.”
Exactly! And you should hear some of the other words I have in mind.:)
Now we have one extra bedroom in 1500 square feet…”
What a great number! 🙂
As I was reading, I was REALLY hoping that the proposed solution was going to be offering patrons the opportunity to buy parking passes to guarantee their spot in the close lot! Instead of shelling out money to build a new lot, the gym just found a new income stream without adding any extra work. Isn’t that the ultimate in business efficiency??
Mrs. Maroon recently posted…Moneystepper 2015 Savings Challenge
I like it and maybe the town should hire you as a consultant? We’ll call it “Parking Prime,” similar to Amazon Prime. Each month of PP (hee hee) comes with someone to help you lift weights at the gym and Segway rentals for the running track!
This is definitely absurd. I live in NYC and my gym is ten blocks from my apartment. I like the walk as it is in essence a warm-up to my workout, plus I can do some people watching along the way.
“I can’t believe this gym is making my exercise on my way to exercise!!!” – I’m siding with your town’s residents. 🙂
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“I can’t believe this gym is making my exercise on my way to exercise!!!”
Nice, love it!
In our previous town, the gym was 12 miles away with some pretty nasty hills. I’d ride to the gym work out for 90 minutes and then ride home. Man, those were awesome workouts.
Oooh the parkinati really make me mad. I actually had something come up today involving the parking mindset of city council. We got a letter from our city saying that our neighbor a few doors down wants to add a fourth apartment to their building. This is a small, historic city so they’re probably converting a basement or an attic. But they need a variance from the city because they have no off-street parking. Uh, duh, it’s an old city!
So they’re having a meeting to approve the variance. The last time this happened, our next door neighbor wasn’t allowed to add an apartment for the same reason – no off-street parking. Let me tell you, I was upset for him! Parking is not an issue on our street, or in our city at all. If I can’t park in front of my own house, the farthest away I’ve had to park is a block away, less than a minute’s walk! What our city does need is more people. I’m actually going to voice my opinion this time and see if I can get them to approve the additional apartment.
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Wow, if I was that dude going for the extra apartment and got denied, I’d be angry. Sounds like the town needs to reconsider some of their policies. If the surrounding neighbors don’t care, the town shouldn’t either.
“parkinati ” Love it!
I think you also deserve recognition for “consumer crapper.” Love it. As other commenters have mentioned, it’s really amazing how resistant people are to walking at all in SoCal, where I currently live (San Diego). I’ve also lived in NYC and Boston, and walking is just a matter of fact in those places, even in winter. I suspect it’s a function of the age of the cities and how developed they were when the automobile came in, but otherwise it seems so illogical. I hope your town lets the new parking lot idea go!
Oh wow, we were just in San Diego and walked all over the place (Mission Beach). We felt really silly renting a car since it didn’t move the whole time we were there.
PS: You live in paradise!
I mean the real solution is building an escalator from the extra parking lot to the gym, enclosed with heaters and if that doesn’t work maybe motorized carts also heated off course because it could be 2 minutes before you get into the gym and start sweating. I am a busy person here I demand results.
New Idea: Start a Parking Lot Exercise class. I could see the commercial now, do you want to get in shape in 2 minutes really feel the burn, well that’s right just drive into our parking lot and we have you covered. We will shape and burn your way into the best shape of your life.*
*Actual ideas and results are crazy but entertaining.
Even Steven recently posted…Spothero the Ultimate Parking App #MoneySavingWeek
“New Idea: Start a Parking Lot Exercise class”
Ha, yeah! Now everyone, we’re going to get out of the car and walk to the front door. Can you handle it? Parking Lot X90!
Haha great rants. On the gym topic…. that’s like taking the elevator or escalator to go to the gym. That is just stupid. Walking is good for you, stop whining!
Can’t agree more on your point that an efficient life is a good life.
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Oh wow, people take the elevator at the gym too! That is even worse. The friggn’ place is 2 stories. high. One little flight of stairs. Come on now.
Perhaps your swinging neighbors are rubbing off on you…pun intended? Wow…this kinda stuff is contagious.;) I digress. The park as close as you can to the gym front door crowd has always baffled me as well. I guess you’d hate to do any sort of exercise prior to entering an exercise facility.
Ha! If I ever talk to them in the street, I’ll have to bring the word up! How is life at the Piloerection Palace? Then I’d explain it must be cold getting out of the indoor pool…
I jog about 10 minutes to get to our gym. For some reason people always seem to find that surprising. You would think if there’s anywhere you run/job to and work up a sweat, it would be the gym.
Adam @ AdamChudy.com recently posted…The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe – Book Review and Notes
Yep.
Personally, I love the fact that everybody else crowds into the spaces closest to the door.
This leave the back part of the lot completely empty and I like the walk. Plus I can park where there is not another car within 110 yards, reducing the chance of some boob opening their car door into my car’s side.
But this leads to one of the great mysteries of life.
Often as not, I’ll come back to find one car now parked within 110 yards of mine. A rare like minded soul, perhaps. But the mystery is that, of all the scores of empty spaces to be had, that car will be parked right next to mine.
For the life of me, I can’t fathom the thought process that would lead someone to do this.
If you want to be out in the back 40 by yourself, then park out there by yourself.
If you crave the closeness of other cars, park in by them.
But why oh why, plop your car right next to mine?
jlcollinsnh recently posted…Case Study #11: John, a small business owner in transition
Jim, I’m with you 100%!
Good to know, Maverick…
..just don’t park next to me out there! 🙂
jlcollinsnh recently posted…Case Study #11: John, a small business owner in transition
Ha, I have similar experiences in public bathrooms. There could be like 50 empty stalls and you take the farthest one out. Then, someone takes the one next to you. Why oh why?!?
Compare points, clearly.
Dunno. Perhaps I don’t want to know…
Eh, I have sympathy with the gym goers today. My morning run was rained out and it was raining so hard this morning that I didn’t even want to make a mad dash from the car to the gym door to hit the treadmill so I stayed home and cuddled with Kitty PoP instead. Nobody wants to get their gym shoes wet from rain/snow and then work out with cold/clammy feet for an hour. Yuck!
But I’d have more sympathy for them if they were year-round gym goers and weren’t going to quit going before February is over. Heck, by the time a new parking lot is built they’ll all have stopped using the gym!
Mrs. PoP recently posted…PoP Balance Sheet – January 2015
“Nobody wants to get their gym shoes wet from rain/snow and then work out with cold/clammy feet for an hour.”
Easy for you to say Floridian! 🙂
Colorado is very dry. If it snows, it usually is gone withing 48 hours (mountains are a different story). I really think these people are actually too lazy to walk the additional steps.
Oh yes, 4k TV’s. I love the equivalent resolution of 4 (yes 4) 1080p TV’s! They are beautiful to behold! It’s a good thing we have optical disc formats that are 4 times as large as today’s blu rays. Oh, wait… nevermind i guess i’ll just stream it. Because downloading 200 GB for a single movie is easy to do. Don’t worry though, compression to the rescue! I’m sure you won’t notice a difference since you probably already have no idea what compression even is and how it works. Just sign here for a new 2,000$ 4K TV and all will be well. I’ll even make it “internet enabled”! Because the Internet-TV at 4K resolution increases your bragging rights exponentially!
Love it Zaxon. Can I hire you to write a guest post? I’ll pay you in beer and plastic dinosaurs. I have no shortage of either.
I understand wanting a good picture. But really, can you really tell the difference? Dunno. I’m guessing not though. What is after 4K? Real people coming to your family room to act stuff out?
I love, love, love music, 5000x more than TV. But the audiophile set drives me nuts too. $20,000 for a tube amp or speakers? Don’t get me wrong, I want quality gear. But you don’t have to go broke for good sound reproduction. Or to make it Internet enabled. 🙂
Oh this is one of my pet peeves…people complaining about having to park far away. They usually waste so much time stalking people trying to get a closer spot. I ranted about something similar awhile back and posted a pic of a guy taking an escalator up to the 2nd floor to go to the gym rather than take the stairs. Taking the stairs one flight…another pet peeve of mine.
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply recently posted…Stop Being Time Poor
I know right? Instead of whining about walking, be thankful that you have sophisticated and reliable motorized contraptions to get you around town.
In our local newspaper comments section, some of our pampered state government employees were complaining that after having a day off due to snow storm, they had to cross the parking lot in the cold in order to get to their office. Don’t know what they expected….I guess a shuttle to pick them up at their free parking spot and drop them off at the door. Poor things.
LOL! Maybe you should invent Star Trek style teleportation devices to get them where they need to go instantly. At the same time, invent a robot that insert Cheetos directly into their mouths so they don’t even have to lift an orange tinged finger…
The whole complaining about thing is ridiculous, not only for the ironic reasons you’ve noted, but also because, by definition, these annex parkers are the ‘late birds’. The early birds got there and started working out while these complainers were still at home drinking their smoothies.
If I show up to a concert late and have to stand farther away from the stage, should I ask the venue to build a second, side stage to accommodate my tardiness?
First come, buddy.
Done by Forty recently posted…Shifting the Spend
Yep, DBF. My first world problem is that I’ve been to your town 2x in the past 2 years and haven’t been able to talk over a couple beers with you. That will change shortly.
people just love their first world problems
I know, right? There are people who on our little blue-green sphere who don’t even have easy access to clean water. Meanwhile, in our 1st world paradise, we deposit our “you know what” in it and flush it away. Anyone who complains about parking should have to do a 2 year stint in Afghanistan or Somalia.
I always find people’s penchant for finding the nearest parking space to be one of the most annoying things in the universe. I just don’t get it. Parking a hundred steps more away or toward the end of the aisle isn’t going to kill you. It is called walking people. Exercise is good for you. I don’t get it.
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“I always find people’s penchant for finding the nearest parking space to be one of the most annoying things in the universe.”
I know, right? I’m biased though because I love to walk. Nothing better than a 2 or 3 miler with with the family in tow on a warm summer afternoon.
Hilarious and so true at the same time. Well, some people drive 2 miles to the gym to run 2 miles on the treadmill.
Perpetually perplexed.
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