Which Way to the Gun Show?

I was going to use the first prompt for this blog post simply for the novelty of being unique, but on second thought, writing about bulky men lifting weights in tight tank tops is irresistible. My topic is the CCRB, and while I'm there almost every day, I haven't yet seen the heavy weight rooms. Like everyone else, I'm still in the research stage of my paper and am slowly working enough courage to even step inside.

Since I'm too timid to venture in alone, I've chosen a guide to help me. His name is Patrick and he claims he's the usually the biggest guy lifting weights at the CCRB. While I seriously doubt this, it will take an insider like him to give an outsider like me access to a world of so much testosterone and brawn. He’s not, of course, going to walk me through the entire process; it will be more of an emotional support type of relationship. As long as I have someone to walk in with I’ll be able to do my own workout routine and interact with the natives. He’ll be like Synge’s Michael, minus the pen pal relationship afterwards.

I’m actually not as worried about using satire in my writing as I thought I’d be. I think my paper will sound more awe-inspired than anything. It takes, after all, a lot of muscle to lift those weights, something I’m not used to seeing when I look in the mirror at the CCRB. The challenge is going to be describing my experience without my genuinely impressed tone falsely coming off as satire. That, and physically entering this intimidating section of the gym. My workout guide is free Monday afternoon, so we’ll see how it goes.