Week 12: Coping with life as a "suit"
I haven't written anything in over a week because I've been drowning in this 8am-5pm nonsense society forces us into. I mean seriously, whose idea was it to sit one place for 8 hours staring at documents or computer screens? That sounds like a terrible idea. And just to ensure we're actually working for 8 hours, they've extended the work day to include our lunch break. Sneaky suits. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the work I'm doing and I find it really interesting, but the structure is forcing me to do strange things like have a stretching session in the corner or take my shoes off and play with a ball under my desk when no one is looking. I'm constantly searching for new excuses to go walk around. By the time it's 5pm, I'm just as aggressive as all the other metro users elbowing for a spot on the train. But rather than heading home like everyone else, I eagerly head towards the gym where I can shake off the cobwebs and allow my body the freedom to move once more.
A friend visiting the city a few weeks ago told me he didn't like DC because everyone looked so unhappy all the time. I started to look for this after he mentioned it and I did notice, especially on the metro to and from work. But I don't think it's because they're actually unhappy. I think everyone just takes themselves too seriously here. We think that work is the most important thing we're doing and it's a constant competition of whose workload is more significant than the next person's. As a city, we don't spend enough time doing things for ourselves or having pure, childish fun.
I finally understand the other guys I train with who do parkour just for the workout. At first this didn't make sense to me. You mean, you come here just to get a good workout? You're not completely obsessed with parkour? You don't live to move? But after sitting in an office all day, I can see how going to a "normal" gym for a workout would not suffice. Parkour allows us to get a little fresh air and free our minds. It allows us to interact with others while we exercise instead of checking out and watching TV on the machines or staring at ourselves in the mirror while we lift (I see people do this all the time at the AU gym and I find it endlessly amusing). Most importantly, parkour gives us the opportunity to have fun—a concept a lot of office zombies may have forgotten about. For example, the other night we played an exciting version of dodgeball that had us all running around, up and over things, into each other (oops), and jumping in the air to throw or catch the ball. Try to do that in a conventional gym. People would probably assume you've gone mad. Stop acting like a child, they might think. Why? I like acting like a child. It keeps me grounded. Granted, there's a time and a place to be an adult. But we have to let loose every once in a while, don't we?
It makes my days a little longer, but it's absolutely worth it to me to keep up with my training. Because the gym is the opposite direction of home for me, I head straight there from the office. The guys didn't even recognize me the first time I rolled up in a skirt and a button-down instead of sweats and a tee. Once I drop my stuff, I lie down for a few minutes to disconnect then eventually get back the energy to change and warm up. As soon as I'm moving again, my mind completely relieves itself of all thoughts related to work or life in general. The only thing I'm thinking about is my body and the concept of movement. Nothing else. When I'm training, when I'm moving, I'm completely at peace with myself and my environment.
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