TALKING POLITICS AT LIFETIME FITNESS

I love Lifetime Fitness. Every two or three days I go there to get fit. As most of my gentle readers know, I start with running a mile or two around the track, then the stationary bike, then the weight machines. My muscles are all firming up.

After that I hit the lap pool for an hour. Then I reward myself with the oh so soothing and relaxing jacuzzi. All this for only $80/month. Not bad when you consider the rewards.

There's always someone to talk to in the jacuzzi. Today it was a young man originally from India. He was quite political. He had campaigned for Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar. Now he's getting involved in local/state politics. We had a good discussion about the gubernatorial race.

Smira said he really likes Rybak for governor and he also likes Thissen. See, we had something in common right away. He volunteered that he likes Dayton but is voting for Rybak or maybe Thissen. He asked me what I thought of Dayton. I thought it best not to go there. It's still pretty raw. For Secretary of State, he is in awe of Mark Ritchie. Aren't we all? We both agreed that Ritchie did a fantastic job on the whole senator recount issue. For State Auditor, he's a big Rebecca Otto fan. Me too.

He did mention that he didn't like the way a particular legislator treats people from India. I thought that was odd, as the legislator he was discussing is of Indian (from India) descent as well. He thought it was the caste issue. I was surprised.

Smira is now a new friend in person as well as a new Facebook friend. Am I having fun again yet? Not yet, but maybe soon.

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FROM PARKING TICKET TO COURT

My job was to shovel our whole driveway...

I got a parking ticket last week. It doesn't happen often, but every now and then I have to make a trip to the big courthouse in downtown St. Paul. It's only several blocks from where I work in the Golden Rule Building. Through the skyway and down an escalator at Crown Plaza Hotel, then outside for half a block. Little baby steps today. Very slippery sidewalks.

Getting in the front door was the hard part. There's security. Empty the contents of your pockets into the little bin. Place purse through the scanner. Watch the campaign button; it's got a metal pin. Ooops, the security guard must not be a Dayton supporter. Hey! Give that back, mister. It's the only one I've got left. The nerve of some people...

I finally made it into the waiting room with about thirty other people. Not all were there for parking tickets. Some were there for not wearing their seatbelts. Naughty.

Wait, wait, wait...I guess that's why they call it a waiting room. Thirty people of all ages, races, ethnicities, gender preferences and political persuasions. People with tattered jeans and people in business suits. All at City Hall to beat a rap.

Have you ever sat in a crowed room of people and no one wanted to say a word? Kind of like the silent elevator. I had to speak up. Right?

"Anybody here ever been to a Toastmasters meeting?" I asked. One person had. The others didn't know what it was. That gave me an opportunity to tell them. They listened. A few were interested. I handed out my Toastmasters business cards.

One guy asked me about my campaign button. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked.

"It's easier than wearing a sandwich board," I replied.

Then the waiting room crowd all started talking at once. "I'm voting for the Mayor," said one. "He'll be a good governor."

"I'm voting for Rybak too," said a large football player type man.

"I'm suprised," I commented. "I thought you would vote for Dayton.

"And I thought you would vote for Kelliher or Gaertner."

Touche.

A woman who said she was a nurse said she was determined to vote for Paul Thissen. Another said her choice was John Marty. The field was wide open. No clear straw poll results here. Was a persuasive speech in order?

It was.

There are now seventeen new Dayton supporters running around in downtown St. Paul. My job was done, my parking ticket was dismissed, and I was on my way back to work.

I hit the skyway and stopped at the University Club. I wanted to check out Lifetime Fitness in downtown St. Paul. No thanks. I like my club in White Bear Lake. The one housed at the University Club has elevators that only go in one direction. Down. Guess they want you to get fit by taking the stairs up. Also, the running track on the 9th floor stops before it gets all the way around the circle. I left the building scratching my head in perplexity.

Going back to work at MDH was a pleasant diversion.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2010

This is me in Michigan's UP sometime during the

early 1980's. I took the three kids I had at the time

on the circle drive around Lake Superior.

On my way out of my apartment complex today I stopped in the office to say hello to Evelyn. She works there parttime. She and a couple of other ladies said that they should run this state. They'd have everything whipped into shape in no time.

The office is connected to the community room. An elderly gentleman is always sitting at a table putting jigsaw puzzles together. When he saw me he came over and commented on the caucus. He asked if I saw in the paper where only one person showed up at one of the precinct caucuses. "No, I didn't," I replied.

Then he said, "And where was your Dayton? He didn't show up at any of them. I hear his name wasn't even on the ballot."

My Dayton? I let that one slide by. After all, this man is very elderly.

"He's not interested in the endorsement," I told him. "He's going straight to the Primary."

"Yeah, he can do that. He's a rich feller. They can do what they want."

"Why don't you talk about it with him when I have my Meet and Greet here?" I answered sweetly.

"Good idea," he muttered as he sat back down to continue working the puzzle.

I went down to the underground parking, got in my car and stepped on the gas. I was going to see Gym again today. Better hurry so I can get back before the snowstorm.

Today I ran ten laps around the indoor running track. Then the stationary bike for half an hour. After that the stair climber. By now I was working up a good sweat. Where's that Frest Start that Susan Gaertner has? Oh yeah, Rob Hahn has it. Hey Rob, pass it over this way, will you?

Soon it was time for the treadmill, which I like because you can hook up your headphones and watch tv. I saw a media person interviewing President Obama. He was talking about Health Care Reform.  He said that his job is to try to get the Republicans and the Democrats to agree on something. Sounds just like us here in Minnesota, except Pawlenty doesn't act like a mediator. He acts like a dictator.

Twenty laps in the pool and then I treated myself to a relaxing soak in the jacuzzi. There were about ten other people in it. Soon I was holding court with a discourse about why we should vote in a DFL governor. The jacuzzi was almost evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans with one IP person who said he would vote for Rob Hahn. All of the Republicans were agreed on Seifert, while the Democrats were divided between Rybak and Dayton. I knew it would come down to those two.

I Twittered a lot this morning. I gave Luke H. from MDE a hard time. The nerve of some people. He's not as bad as Michael Brodcrap...er...Brodkrob...but almost. He wrote a blog on MDE that made me post a comment defending my candidate. Who never bothers to return emails anymore.

Say, this creamy butternut squash soup I'm eating with shredded cheese in it is really good.  It's organic, too.

Here it is Sunday night already. It's going to be a long week. Then another three-day weekend. Presidents' Day. Thanks, George and Abe.

What's on the agenda for this week? Tuesday is Cultivated Toastmasters Open House. Noon at the Freeman Building. All are welcome, as always. Also at noon is the Capital Toastmasters Club Speech Contest at MNDOT. Tuesday night I'll be at Positively Outspoken Toastmasters. I'm their new club coach. Wednesday at noon is Lafayette Park Toastmasters at Pollution Control Agency.  Also, at the same time River Park Toastmasters will be having their club contest at the Department of Revenue building. On Thursday, Free Speech Toastmasters club is having their club contest at noon at the DHS mother ship on Lafayette. After work on Thursday I get to meet my personal trainer at Lifetime Fitness. His name is Tyler.

Then on Saturday, February 13, SD53 is having its screenings by the nomination committee from 10:00 to noon at the White Bear Lake library. Looks like I'll have to fill up my gas tank again before the week is over.

Sometime this week I'll need to talk to Rybak and Thissen and maybe Marty and Rukavina. It's going to be crazy from now through November. I wonder what everyone will do for excitement after that?

POLITICAL PIN PLEASANTRIES

Today I felt puffy, lethargic, frumpy and icky. I happened to notice a flyer on my desk with a special deal for Lifetime Fitness. I grabbed my towel and swimsuit and drove down Highway 61 and up Highway 96 to White Bear Parkway. Turn right and there you are. Hey, that used to be White Bear Swim and Raquet. Apparently Lifetime bought them out. Gee, I can even afford it now. Well, I really can't. At all. They had a deal, though, so I didn't have to pay the sign-up fee. Since you can't put a price tag on your health and you can't put a price tag on your life, I went in, took the tour and heard the spiel.

Todd Amundson was my member advisor. Is that what they're calling the sales reps these days? Very nice man, but I noticed he wasn't looking at me like I was a likely sale. I came as I was: old sweats, tacky pullover, no makeup. He obviously thought I was wasting his time. He was polite, though. I have a talent for sensing how people are really feeling.

He showed me around the club. Very nice. Swimming pool, whirlpool, jacuzzi, lots of exercise equipment, a healthy cafe, racquetball court, inside tennis courts, outside pool (closed today for some reason) and wi-fi for someday when I have a laptop.

When we sat down to talk business, he noticed my political pin. If I were taller, he probably would have noticed it earlier. (I better watch what I say because in the end, I gave him my blog url.) So he asked me if I were a Mark Dayton supporter. That is why I was wearing the political pin. He's a big supporter too. He told me about The Marsh. I asked what that club has that this one doesn't. He said it's huge and they even have physical therapy. He's in awe of Dayton because he practically owns The Marsh. He was so impressed that Dayton started up a fitness club. I had an extra Dayton pin in my coat pocket so I gave it to him along with my blog address written on the back of my Toastmasters business card. It's pretty exciting to put a plug in for both Dayton and Toastmasters in the same encounter. In return he said that if I ever wanted to go visit The Marsh, he would have his friend Tim, who works there, get me in. Todd knows a lot of people in the business because he used to sell exercise equipment before he went to work for Lifetime Fitness. I wouldn't mind seeing what The Marsh is like, but Minnetonka is a long, long way from White Bear Lake. Where's the light rail transit system when you need it?

After signing away the meager bit of my life savings I had left (if you will recall, Rybak won most of it in a bet), I grabbed my bag and  headed downstairs. I haven't been swimming in a couple of years. It's like riding a bicycle; you don't forget how. The jacuzzi sure felt good. Next time I come in I get to have a personal trainer. Can I have a pool boy, too?

If I get my weight down to where it used to be not all that long ago, MNGastro said that I can try treatment again. Oh joy. Treatment for hepatitis C is a gruelling 48 weeks, if you last that long. Many people can't tolerate it that long and have to go off. I tolerated it fairly well for the 12 weeks I was on it last time. It did wreck up my thyroid for about a year afterwards. It's ok now, but won't be if I go on the protocol again. 

By the time I finished all that exercise, including running around the indoor track ten times, I was hot and sweaty. Where's that Fresh Start that Susan Gaertner gave Rob Hahn? 

I'll go back again tomorrow, either before or after the annual TakeAction Minnesota meeting. Gotta get my money's worth.