Hug in a Cup

The Lonesome Muscle Maries

Who goes to the gym on Valentine's Day? The Desperate, the Dateless, the Valentine Haters... and me. Of all the people who regularly lift weights, 10% do it for health reasons. Everyone else is trying to get laid, or keep their partners (which might include the mirror) interested. I left work today with a crank in my back and a thousand excuses not to exercise. But, as the tube train reached my neighbourhood, I mustered some will and headed for the Mile End Leisure Centre.

The place was so empty, I jokingly asked the receptionist if they were shutting down. The treadmills were empty, the free weights area had only one or two teenagers and the bench press wasn't swarming with peacocks strutting guys. The regulars, unsurprisingly, arrived and went through their routine. It doesn't matter which day I go, rain or shine, I always see the same faces. The day will come when we'll nod at each other in recognition, small talk just around the corner.

My boyfriend wasn't very happy when I got home. Apparently, we had agreed to go to a bar tonight in Stoke Newington, where an acquaintance of ours arranges folky gigs. I thought I was going to cut his hair tonight (the trade off for him hanging my wet clothes from this morning's washing machine.) Saint Valentine didn't aim his arrows at our apartment today.

I re-heated some pasta sauce from the weekend for the dinner and we're going to watch some feel good romantic comedy on Channel 5 (with Clive Owen and Helen Mirren).