bait and switch

it takes a lot of courage to stand up for what you believe in, and speak up when something is wrong. it also takes a lot of strength to keep your mouth shut. as they say, "blood in my mouth beats blood on the ground". so a few weeks back i entered to win a year membership to a well known gym, recently i was contacted and informed that i had won a vip membership to that facility for a year. after playing phone tag for quite some time the gentleman assured me that he would get me in "the best shape of my life" right... so i woke up early this morning and made the track to Appleton to check out the place. as you may imagine they attempted to sucker me into signing a contract with unlimited amount of hidden fees and dues. so i took the high road, filled out the contract and went to my car to get my credit card, where i then locked my doors and drove off. i later called the place and let them know i would not be signing up for the contact. this simply story brings me to a mach larger aspect of my personality. while i did "run away" from the problem, i realize how much i value honesty. a co-worker and close friend of mine recently commented that i don’t put up with shit, and in a way it’s true. i don't understand why we must pretend so much. just because i don't care for you, doesn’t mean i am going to deliberately be mean to you. i'll be pleasant, but i'm not going to go out of my way to pretend we're best buds. i'd rather be real than deal with all this fake glitter of high fives and hyper handshakes. the "personal trainer" (questionable to say the least) attempted to give me a high five at the gym this morning and commented that i didn't seem energetic. i told him i thought he was hokey. that people can be committed and excited without being fake. his face looked as if i had run over his week old kitten. but it's true. i believe a lot more can be accomplished if we avoid the bullshit and get down to the real stuff.