It was my first job out of college. I was a faceless wheel in the cog of Capitalism. The office I shared with a handful of other slackers was separated from the rest company by both attitude and distance as we were about half a block away from the rest of the offices. The only thing that united us was the crappy intranet site we logged into each morning. It was a repository of corny jokes, Dilbert comics, and the occasional missive from upper management.
The one thing I enjoyed about that site was the section for swapping. People traded books, CDs, lawnmowers and other, less tangible, goods. I came upon the idea one day while walking around the parking lot at lunch that I could really do for a walking partner. I needed to loose those extra pounds that I had gained at college and missed human interaction. When I returned to the office I placed a two line ad on the intranet.
No one beat down my door, of course. Most people spent their lunch hour loitering in the dank corners of the office park, dragging on cigarettes and gossiping about the people that weren't there. Yet, a week later, a reply did arrive.
"BEEN WATCHING YOU. THINK I CAN HELP. LET'S MEET AT LUNCH."
I expected to meet another overweight twentysomething but, instead, the person waiting for me in the parking lot that day looked more like he had just graduated from boot camp. He smirked when he saw me. Something about him scared me. It could be that he looked more like a bully who was there to punish me for some unforgivable crime against the pecking order than someone who was intent on helping me.
"How much do you want to lose?" he asked, jumping right over introductions and small talk.
"I dunno," I shrugged. "Maybe 20 pounds?"
"Not enough. You could lose 50 easy and still use some work. You need toning and a lot of cardio," he said, looking at me more like a piece of meat than a coworker or walking partner. I was a bit put off, to say the least.
"Come on. Let's walk," he said, starting out. I didn't want to be rude so I fell in step with him as best I could. He was walking so fast that I started gasping for breath after a block. "You really are out of shape," he sneered. "I can help you. Do you want that?"
"Yes," I said, gulping for air.
He handed me a card. "Meet me here after work tonight. No excuses." And with that, he was off and running (well, jogging), down the block, opening a distance between us.
At first, I thought that he was some kind of Gym recruiter. But, when I got to the address on the card, I was surprised to find that it was a residence. The garage door was open and there was a large, opaque screen in front of it. Unsure, I walked up to it and called out, "Hello?" I realized that I didn't even know the name of this guy.
"Open up the screen from the side and come in," he said. I was amazed. The inside of this rather innocuous garage looked like some kind of twisted version of Gold's Gym. Benches, weights, and other odd implements of exercise filled the room. He lay on one of the benches, lifting a large barbell overhead. After a few reps he put down the weight and sat up, dabbing his sweaty forehead with a towel.