I have met some of my most cherished friendships at the gym. Even though some of us have moved on from working at the gym, we still keep in touch; certainly not as much as we used to or would like to but, as most of you can attest, lives tend to move in different directions. It especially becomes difficult to spend time together when you start to pursue different careers.

Even though other friendships can be just called acquaintances, others, despite the time apart, remain strong and fulfilling. The times we spent together and continue to spend are always fulfilling, exciting, and nourishing. Finding people that can bring these moments to your life can be very difficult. One such friend of mine is Diane.

I met Diane when I was a Weekend Manager at a Health Club. I was working at the front desk one day when this lady came in and said that she was doing some temporary housekeeping work for us. She was a friend of the General Manager and she needed to make some extra cash, so she agreed to come and work for a few hours. She was so funny! I remember her just making comments about all the members and oggling the cute members. She made me laugh more than I ever remember laughing at the gym.

A few days later, Diane came back to the gym to work at the Front Desk with me. She said that she had picked up some Front Desk hours and was going to be there 3-4 days a week. Our shifts just happen to overlap for a couple of hours. In those couple of hours, we used to laugh so much, members would come in, look at us with bewilderment, and walk away wondering how we could be so jovial in such an unforgiving job. Little did they know that we were making fun of most of them for their idiosycracies and stupid behavior.

We did so many silly things that would make us laugh that would not necessarily make anyone else laugh. For some reason, we shared the same unorthodox sense of humor. We would do things like use a stack of towels as a foot rest. When a particularly nasty member would be bitchy and request a towel, we would take from the "foot rest" stack and hand them one. The member would continue to be bitchy at us while wiping their face with the towel we just gave them. This would send us into fits of giggles that would irritate the member even more. We would purposely call an abnoxious member by the wrong name evertime they came just to get them irrate. Needless to say, we had nicknames for everyone who came into the gym. We would spend our two or so hours together laughing so hard that our stomach's would ache.

When Diane quit working at the gym, we continued our friendship. We would get together for theatre, dinner, and various things. It seemed that there was an endless amount of things to laugh at. We also hung out with another friend who was equally as mad as us. The three of us would do things like bring framed pictures of us to dinner and prop them up as if nothing was unusual sending us into fits when other diners and restaurant staff would walk by and stare.

Well, the other day, Diane told me that she was temporarily moving back to her hometown to go back to school for her teaching certificate. Although, I wish her the best and know that she will be back in NYC soon enough, there is still a piece of me that will miss the fact that she is just around the corner from me. She is one of those persons who represents New York City to me. The type of individual who, although gets irritated by things that New York City embodies, STILL loves and embodies New York City. I will miss her during her absence from New York and look forward to her returning.

So, to Diane, thanks for the laughter that helped me get through though times at the gym. Thanks for your brightness that was always a source of hapiness for me in New York. And here's to more times together when you return. Later.  ¶ 10:09 AM