gonna make you sweat.

this week, one of my tasks is finding a new gym. with a new job in a new location, the old gym will be just a little too far away. oh, i love the old gym, a club one with free towel service, decent non-communal showers, and lack of local creepazoids. this weekend i priced my two new alternatives, the koret center at usf and the jccsf.

first option, koret at usf:
i had a 15-use pass at koret a few summers ago, and the fitness center met all of my expectations: rowdy students, old professors, and satisfactory equipment. there's a pool that i, as a hydrophodic landdweller, would never use. but there are classes, all of which are included in the yearly fee of $600. location is ideal, as it's 6 blocks or so from my apartment.

second option, jccsf:
so this one was trickier, as they don't post membership fees or yearly rates on their website. they required me to call. and call. and call. it would have been nice if someone picked up the phone. once in a while. as i might be giving them all my money. now, i thought the rates couldn't be too high, as i paid $710 for a year at club one (with the membership fee/application fee waived), and they don't post on their website either, but of course, i was mistaken. the jcc has a $200 membership fee and then they rob $79/month from my credit card. no year-round discount, no lack-of-jewish-nose-but-have-jewish-heritage discount, no slave-away-at-a-local-non-profit discount, nada. and they're a non-profit! that's $948 for the year and $200 just for them to swipe my credit card once. $1148 total. i don't care if they have an unlimited number of classes in strange forms such as tantric color-coded yoga or that there's free daycare for my non-existant siamese twin children. it can't be worth the trekking up to presidio heights and shelling out a good deal of my paycheck, post-tax.

with all my new knowledge and enlightening information, i can now choose the gym that costs the least, as money somewhat dictates my choices in life. and i'm not sacrificing much, just some qualities and comforts that are not part of life's necessities. now if i had unlimited resources and an endless supply of moola, i'd build my own gym complete with jennifer garner's trainer, a roving juice bar that doesn't serve beet juice, supima cotton towels, and marble-enclosed showers. sweet. sweat.