FitWit Foundation

Some college friends of mine in Atlanta are doing something that I greatly admire. They're trying to improve the community where they live by mentoring and providing healthy lifestyle choices to the youth in the city. They are doing so through a foundation that they created called The FitWit Foundation.

My friends Ben and Josh are spearheading the foundation's efforts, and I know that they also run a separate fitness and tutoring program called FitWit that I believe involves Josh's wife, Erin.

It sounds like things are going well for them in Atlanta, and the best part is that they're truly helping to make a difference.

If you're interested in donating to The FitWit Foundation (registered nonprofit) to help them with their mission to battle childhood obesity rates, please register at Network for Good so that you can do so right now online.

Alternatively, you could write to Ben (ben@fitwit.com) or Josh (josh@fitwit.com) and share your thoughts on what they're doing.

[photo stolen from FitWit's website]

FitWit Foundation

Busan Government Works to Improve Quality of Life by Giving Space Back to Citizens

The city of Busan did a nice job of cleaning up the filthy canal/river that stagnated under the elevated train tracks on line number one. The water now smells like, well, water, and much of the area was reclaimed for public use.

In many areas there are basketball courts and other public recreational facilities that now sit on the flat land beside the water. Additionally, a many-many-kilometers long rubberized-track path was laid so that people could get some exercise.

This picture was taken near the entrance to Jangjeon-dong train station (장전동 역) which is along an elevated portion of line one. The bridge spanning the gap sports a rather large sign informing people of how much exercise they need to do to burn off a certain number of calories.

In other train-related news, most of line number three has been completed and is open for public use. Line three (the red line in this map) connects Suyeong station, which is not far from the beach, with Daejeo station, which is a short cab ride from Gimhae International Airport. I'm pretty sure that train service should soon extend all the way to the airport, and my eyes confirmed as much when I saw all the construction there a few weeks ago, but this map doesn't have any information on that. Instead, it seems to indicate that line three will become a one line transfer station as it forks and intersects line one at Dongnae station and continues on until it reaches Bansong.

The official Busan Urban Transit Authority website, however, says that line three will terminate at Anpyeong which is a little bit further out than the Bansong region of Busan. Their map also has line three ending at Daejeo, so it seems that an outside company or authority is responsible for the line that will attach Gimhae airport to the rest of the city.

Anyway, it was nice to have extra commuting options when we were there last. I'm sure that the transportation system will have evolved even more the next time we visit.

Update 1 [April 9, 2008]:
The connection between Gimhae airport and downtown Busan will not be connected to line three. It seems that it will be a completely elevated line stretching from Sasang station on line two in western Busan, which also happens to be a large inter-city bus terminal, to the growing suburb of Gimhae city west of Busan. The line will travel through Gimhae International Airport on its way through.

All of the trains will be unmanned and the line is scheduled for completion in 2010. Capacity is projected at a maximum of 300,000 passengers per day.

Busan Government Works to Improve Quality of Life by Giving Space Back to Citizens

Tipness Oddballs: Part 2

The last time I wrote about exercising at Tipness, I concluded the post with a story about a man who was treating the locker room like it was his private bathroom.

Here's another one.

Maybe people are just tired after their workout, and their brains sort of shut off once they reach the locker room. That's where I most often witness extreme cluelessness when I'm at Tipness.

Today was no exception.

Between the lockers and the showers are the sinks. Six of them. Some guys like to plop down on a stool in front of the the mirrors and start their regimen of grooming after getting out of the showers. Q-tips, tissues, hairdryers and soap are provided, so it's not uncommon for four of the sinks to have a half-naked guy perched in front of the them at any one time.

The hairdryers get a pretty good workout themselves. Some guys like to use the hairdryers to dry off more than just their hair. Chest, back, and pits are all fair game. This was happening so often, apparently, that Tipness felt it necessary to post a sign saying that hairdryers are not supposed to be used to dry one's chest, back, or underarms no matter how hairy said body parts might be.

The gentleman at the sink closest to me when I was getting ready to take a shower was technically following the rules. He didn't have much hair up on top, so I was a bit puzzled to see him pick up the hairdryer. But he didn't use it to dry his wet torso. No, he went a bit further south and stuck the dryer directly between his legs.

The sign on the wall doesn't say anything about that body part.

For the first Tipness Oddballs story, click here.

Tipness Oddballs: Part 2

Tipness Oddballs

I exercise. I have to. Something must be done to keep all those beer calories from making a home around my belly-button.

A few times a week I work out at Tipness in Tanashi. Tipness is a chain of gyms that has a substantial presence in Tokyo.

The place is nice and clean, so I don't really have many complaints. Furthermore, they just redid the place with all-new machines back in May. Every single treadmill, climber, and exercise bike has its own TV monitor (which are all touch-screen, by the way). Finding something entertaining to watch is occasionally a challenge, but they have CNN so I can get my daily dose of half-assed news coverage.

The key to happiness at Tipness (for me anyway) is going when the gym is least populated. I'm not going to share my secrets at this point, but it's safe to say that I'm not as cliquey as some of the senior members of the gym, so I don't feel that it's necessary to be there at the exact same time as all of my friends. I like to work out by myself and then get the hell out of there in less than an hour.

There are some interesting folks at my Tipness branch. Yakuza types, wannabe yakuza types, corporate warriors, housewives, office ladies, college kids, 90-year-olds -- you name it! And then there's me. I'm not sure which of those groups I fit into.

While everyone at the gym is civil to each other (for the most part) and mindful of the fact that we are sharing the facilities, there are a few individuals who forget where they are and start behaving like they are at home.

Case in point: after my workout today I was in the locker room getting ready to take a shower. An older gentleman sharing the same corridor of lockers let one rip. I'm not talking about an SBD; this granddaddy let off a three second, two octave air biscuit. To make matters worse, he had just gotten out of the shower, so he wasn't wearing anything that might help filter the fumes.

I began searching my locker for a gas mask.

He didn't react. It's probably the smart way to go after you've just dropped a bomb like that. However, as a safety precaution he should have gone to the toilet because about a minute later he did the same thing again.

Or maybe he just didn't care. With five people glaring at him he just ignored us and proceeded to towel himself off. I waited until he tawdled off to the scale (I wonder how much of a difference in weight there was pre- and post-explosion) before I made my move for the showers. He was sort of blocking the way, and I didn't want to risk getting dusted.

That was one of the most creative displays of disregard for one's surroundings that I've seen in a while, but it's probably not the worst transgression (and certainly not the last). For safety, I won't be using that column of lockers anymore.

Tipness Oddballs

No Exercise on Fridays: Tipness and Other Gyms Don't Play Fair

My gym is closed every Friday. Not just my gym actually; many gyms are closed on Fridays. Why? Good question.

I've asked a couple of times, and the answer is different depending on who you talk to.

The end result is that you are required to pay for a month of membership, but you don't actually have a full month of access to the facilities.

Pretty clever, huh?

For the record: I used to belong to Renaissance, but now I'm a paying member at Tipness. Both are chain gyms, and both run a little over 10,000 yen per month.

No Exercise on Fridays: Tipness and Other Gyms Don't Play Fair