I went shopping for my heavy bag stand and boxing equipment yesterday. Started out at Fitness Depot -- they didn't have any in stock, but they said that they were getting some in in two weeks, for $288. I was going to buy a pair of street fighter gloves there (or some other weird name), but they were $100 or so before tax. Nuts to that.

Headed over to Sportchek, where there was a sale going on -- they had stands in stock (all of which sold out in the time between when I bought mine and we got it into the car), so I bought a stand, boxing gloves, skipping rope, and two 3 lb dumbbells (good for warming up the shoulders), for $264 with taxes -- still less than the stand would have cost me at the other place. Suck it, Fitness Depot!

I was there with a friend of mine (some of you may recall the puppy dog), who is 6 feet tall, and built large. He works out, has done martial arts for years, and is a decently bulky guy. The clerk was asking if we had plates at home (like you'd add to a barbell for assorted workouts), and PD said he did. The clerk mentioned he'd probably want to put them on the stand to help balance it out, since PD's a big guy and would likely be making it move somewhat. I stuck up my hand at that point and said that actually, it was for me, and then the clerk said I probably wouldn't need the weights, since I wouldn't likely be moving it as much. PD defended me, and I think I jokingly offered to beat up the clerk. He had a sense of humour, so it was all good. :)

I found the whole exchange funny, 'cause I'd told PD at the start of the excursion that I bet that, with both of us walking into a fitness store for boxing equipment, that any clerk we got would automatically assume the equipment was for him.

We dropped the stand off at my place, when back out to that end of town and got some food, then went over to his place so he could show it off. I razzed him about his porn collection (such as it was), and surprised him somewhat when I said I didn't have one of my own. Now, no one asked about toys or books... Anyhow, after checking out his place, it was off to the parents' place to collect the heavy bag. I met his folks and sister, befriended the pets, and then we went back to my place to move the bag into the apartment.

I learned that he's not allowed to read the directions for anything, so I took over as foreman and got us all tricked out in putting the thing together. We had to run over to Sears to buy a proper-sized socket wrench (those things aren't cheap!), and then decided to carry over today, since I was supposed to meet someone for dessert and was already going to be late.

So, tonight I will have my heavy bag set up and ready for abuse, and I'm looking forward to it. My patience level is currently pretty good, but it will get tested in the next while, I can tell. I'm hoping to put the bag to use in the mornings, instead of lying in bed and sleeping for awhile, or dealing with the kitties.

Speaking of kitties... they are not to be trusted around flowers. Ex-boyfriend J bought the lady folk roses at the bar on Friday night, and my kitties systematically abused mine during the evening and away hours. Even when it was on top of the fridge. My kitties have no romance in their soul... maybe 'cause I took away their girl organs. Ah well.

Let's see, moving backwards through time... New Year's Eve. Went out to the bar with Jay and his girlfriend, ex-boyfriend J, OFK, Greg, Madeleine, and a former coworker of Greg and OFK's. The bouncer, when he was checking my ID, greeted me with, "Hi Jennifer!" to which I replied, "Just Jen, please." Then he said, "Okay, Marie," and I made some comment about us being on close terms, and I think I might've asked what his middle name was. He said his name was Cru, and I couldn't think of anything witty to say, so we moved on to get our party favours. The girls got tiaras with "Happy New Year" written on them, plastic leis and sequeakers, and the guys got "Happy New Year" hats and squeakers.

We managed to snag a table upstairs in the perfect location -- far enough from both stages to not be jostled by dancers or deafened by speakers, and enough seats for all of us. As the night wore on, things got louder and I know I had to talk/yell louder to be able to be heard, but otherwise we were good. Highlights of the evening:

* The aforementioned exchange with the bouncer
* Drinking alot and being convinced that I'd be sick the next day, only to discover that I was perfectly fine in the morning
* Shocking the *crap* out of Jay with a revelation about my past (that in retrospect, was not something he knew, and in fact was likely not something that anyone at the table knew or possibly wanted to know... maybe I was kinda drunk)
* Kissing Jay's girlfriend for free, 'cause she'd kiss me for free!
* Feeling bad that we'd wound up bumping faces/noses and thinking that it wasn't the greatest demonstration of my kissing abilities
* Hearing I had soft lips :)
* The boys trying to convince Madeleine and I to kiss for money (we had the pot up to $40 at the end, but no go)
* Group consensus that champagne (or the champagne given out at the bar) isn't good
* Arm-wrestling Jay twice and being close to winning the second time, but having to cave because I was laughing too much and distracted
* Hearing Greg announce that my biceps "are like, three times the size of Jay's!"

All in all, a fun evening. It's always entertaining when we're out at a bar and OFK is there, 'cause people will buy him shots when they buy rounds, and he passes them to me. I think I must be fun when I'm drinking. ;)

This was the first year that I had actually decided on resolutions, too. They range from the specific to the broad:

1 (for importance): To not allow my self-worth to be determined by others.
2. To get to the gym 3 times a week, as my trainer demands.
3. To write more (i.e., at all).
4. To stop being such a friggin' martyr in my lovelife. So an ex- of mine is pissed off at me and so on -- not much I can do about that if he's not willing to talk to me.
5. To try to start eating better. Hah.

I'll also likely be learning some form of tae kwon do from PD, but that hasn't started yet and isn't necessarily a resolution/goal so much as it is just increased exercise, so it's just here for noting, not resolutioning.

In retrospect, 2004 was kind of a bleah year. There really weren't many major highs to it (well, except for moving and my two kitties), in my vague recollection, and I'm hoping that'll change for 2005. Bring on the James Marsters-lookalikes! Bring on the oiled, naked slave men for sexual purposes! Bring on the hot lovin' along with the courtesy, respect, intelligence and great personality I have come to desire and have certainly earned!