The best conversations happen in saunas...

Moving into the apartment tomorrow!  I'm REALLY excited to get out of the airport hotel!  BUT, I'm going to miss the old-school gym.  The place and I have had some interesting times over the past couple weeks.  The receptionists there know me now and always smile when I walk in, asking if I'm off to the gym and whether I need the key code to get into the pool.  I smile back with a "yes please!" and am off to do my routine.
 
Yesterday, in the midst of an afternoon consumed by tons to do and resulting nervous energy, I polished off a bag of M&Ms.  No bueno!  To make up for it, i spent an hour and a half in the gym burning though as much as i could.  I was BEAT by the time I was done.  My legs were jello-ish and my arms were slightly shaky.  I left the gym and hobbled down the stairs to the pool area.  I suited up, and made my way to the sauna...since I was already sweating anyway, figured i might as well keep it up for a bit.
 
I had it to myself for bout five minutes before an older gentleman came in and sat down at the opposite side.  I smiled, then looked back towards the coals.  He said the heat felt nice, and I said yes, it did.  He asked me why I wasn't outside enjoying the sun.  I said I came from California.  He had a very heavy Irish accent and kind of chewed his words. "Oh, you're used to it then," was his reply.  It was quiet for a second or two, and then he said "You know where heaven is? The beach in Santa Monica.  Jaysus that's heaven.  Have you ever been there?"  I confessed I hadn't, nor would I want to go somewhere where I would feel every flaw and extra pound on my body.  Heaven, he reiterated.  I asked if he'd ever gone back, and he said no, he was too old, that it would probably give him a heart attack.  I laughed.  He told me about a tape he used to have called "California Girls".  "Jaysus," he said again.  At that point I knew this would be an interesting conversation.

We traded stories about our respective cities.  Then we talked about driving and how you couldn't speed in Ireland because of the cameras on all the roads.  I said that was ridiculous and that in California if you weren't speeding you were moving too slowly...in MY part of Cali anyway.  At this point I was getting to be really conscious of the heat.

He went on to tell me about how he and the "missus" drove to Vegas years back.  The highlight of the trip was going to a topless bar with another couple, which was a novelty because they don't have topless bars in Ireland.  He said he and his friends left the wives to get drinks from the bar, and when they came back there were two "lads" sitting in the booth with their wives.  Needless to say they didn't stay much longer then that.  I told him about a couple of my better Vegas stories...going to the best clubs with a great group of friends...getting kicked out of Cesar's...drinking on the strip at 10am to get the day going...all good fun!

At this point it was really time for me to get out, so I motioned to sit up...and he started another story.  "You know what another great trip was..."  Uh oh, i thought to myself.  If I stay in here much longer I'm going to pass out.  He went on to tell me about a trip to Florida where he and a friend went to an indoor shooting range.  I shifted in my seat, slowly edging my way off the bench.  It was a range where you could shoot any kind of gun you wanted to, and he wanted to try out a .44 Magnum.  I was getting dizzy... He argued with the attendant who told him it was too powerful a gun for someone who had never shot before.  I was starting to see spots.  He stubbornly insisted that was what he wanted to shoot, so he got the ammo, got the gun, went into the booth, squared his footing and aimed the gun.  He pulled the trigger and just about blew the ceiling off the booth.  I laughed very heartily as i stood up and made my way towards the door.  My brain had started an absolute countdown to failure if i didn't get out.

On my way to the door I stopped to shake his hand.  He took my hand and told me his name, but between the accent and ringing in my ears I have no idea what he said. I told him my name was Gina, and I was pleased to meet him.  He didn't let my hand go...

"Great to meet ya Geyna, you're a great gerrl. I hope to see ye around here again.  Will ye be back?"  He was so cheerful.  "Sure ill be back", I half lied.  I'd be back once more, than never to return.  He said "Tanks for talkin to an old man.  No one ever talks to ye in these places.  You're great!  A nice girl from America once said I was in my Autumn years."  I smiled really big as I put my free hand on the door handle.  If he wasn't going to let me go my plan was to open the door and keep it open until all the hot air was out.  I laughed and smiled, saying "Enjoy those Autumn years forever!"  I wrangled my hand free and started stepping out.  "Come back in after ye've had some water," he called after me.  "We'll see," I smiled back.

I stepped out of the sauna looking like a snowman that had come from a Florida beach...slushy and stop sign red.  I went to the water cooler and the knob was broken off.  No water...Lovely.  I rinsed off in the communal shower and slipped discreetly into the Woman's locker room...yes, i went into the right one this time!  I found water there and drank down a couple glasses, waiting for equilibrium to return.  Once it was back, I threw my street clothes on and wandered down the corridor to the double doors leading to fresh air.  I smiled and chuckled to myself at the myriad of thoughts firing through my brain.  Another great evening....and now I really wanted a cheeseburger.