Saturday, October 16, 2010

Hank gets fit

Hank is a couch potato. Yet his work requires him to stay fit, or at least seem to attempt it every once in a while. He failed his physical test at work and was reprimanded by his boss today. Part of his punishment was that Hank could not return to work the next day. He could not actually return until he works out enough to lift more than a bag of chips. Hank did not want to exercise, but more than that, he didn't want to lose his job. So that afternoon he hit the gym, for more than a shower and some food this time.
Hank tried the treadmill, but fell every couple of minutes. His main work out with this was falling and getting back up repeatedly. So after about thirty minutes of this he chose to try the weight bench. He strained and struggled, and could hardly lift the smallest weight.
Only taking about thirty more minutes, he pushed himself until he just couldn't go on anymore. Then Hank realized he was hungry. Famished actually.
Falling back to the garden plants growing behind his workplace, Hank picked his dinner. He then found the nearest place to lay down, and slept for the night. Benches were pretty uncomfortable, so Hank never has a great nights sleep. He was up bright and early the next morning. When you sleep outdoors you notice the sun a lot quicker than you would sleeping in a comfy bed inside a warm building. Hank wanted to go to the park to meet someone today. He was feeling a socially ignored.

Hank met this Nick Alto. They only talked for a brief 3 minutes, when Hank noticed what a snob this guy was. Nick Alto also noticed Hank's clothing, and then strutted away offended. Hank stuck his tongue out and blew a rasberry at the guy as he walked away. He turned and caught sight of a big fish jumping out of the pond. "That could be a nice dinner tonight. I could cook it on the grill on the other side of the park" Hank said aloud to himself. A nearby woman heard him and gave him an odd sideways glance, also a look of disgust. Hank seemed not to notice. Hank failed to catch anything worth eating. Disappointed he looked around for another source of food. He spotted a rich looking house. Rob it? Maybe, or...

Hank rang the doorbell. Gobias Koffi lived here. He greeted Hank and they conversed for a little while. Gobias then showed Hank around the house. It was then that Hank noticed a beautiful, and huge, garden out back. Unable to pass up collecting food for the future Hank went outside. He picked a couple of plants, not too many though. He didn't want Gobias to think anything of it. If he asked, Hank would just tell him he was out of garlic and hoped he wouldn't mind. Gobias did see Hank in the garden, but didn't care. That had been his wife's garden. He hated the outdoors.

Hank came back inside and looked around some more. He found an automatic fireplace. This was the coolest thing he had ever seen. Look, he could change the color of the fire, with just the click of a button. Gobias called from the kitchen. " I am starving so I'm making some autumn salad," he stated "Would you like some?"

"That would be nice, Yes I would." Hank replied. Gobias finished making their light dinner and they sat together at the bar and chowed down. Hank tried to make conversation with him, but Gobias never really replied. He was too tired.
After eating, Gobias made a few funny faces at Hank that made him laugh. They talked for another minute, and then Hank asked to borrow some money. Gobias handed him only §1, and said that was all he had with him. Hank wondered for a brief moment where Gobias had kept this one bill, since he was only wearing swim trunks, but shrugged it off. Beggars can't be choosers.
That night Hank slept on Gobias's couch. The best nights sleep he had actually had, ever. He slept like a king in front of a warm fire. The couch was comfortable. It wasn't made of wood, stone or metal. The next morning, Hank was basically refreshed and ready for work. His boss was pleased that Hank was putting in an effort and Hank was rewarded with a §3 raise per hour. Maybe Hank could go out to eat tonight with his earnings. After work, leaving a green trail of stench wherever he walked, Hank went straight to the trusty gym. Not to work out this time, only to shower.

Hank then went upstairs for a little television time, just for a little fun. He got bored with that though and left the gym. Wandering around the streets Hank was unsure of what he could do to occupy his time. He spotted a bookstore, and for some reason remembered the fish he was trying to catch. Then he thought "I would have no idea how to cook a fish if I caught one!" So Hank went into the bookstore.

He browsed the shelves until he found a good cook book. There were two, stage one and stage two of cooking. Hank knew nothing, so he picked up the stage one book. He paused and then picked up the stage two book as well. Now he won't have to come back for a while. On his way to check out, Hank noticed stage one and two books on gardening. He picked those up as well. Maybe Hank could start his own garden. Not in the near future, but maybe someday.
Just around the corner from the bookstore was a diner. Hank was just about to enter it when he saw a picnic setup just outside. Free dinner is always better than paying for it. Hank grabbed a plate before someone saw him and loaded it up. After eating he sat right there and started to read his stage one book on cooking. He had to work in just a few short hours, but Hank had nothing else to do so the book seemed the best choice. That day at work, Hanks building had a surprise visit from the cops. Hank, unable to move as quickly as the rest, was caught and taken to jail for the day. They had no compelling evidence that he had actually done anything though, so could only hold him for 8 hours. Hank was then set free.
Hank was starving. Just across the street from the jailhouse was the park. People grill and picnic here all the time. Hank was bound to find food. He did, but it was bad. No one else was around, and there was no other food. Hank had just decided to pick it up and eat it even though it wasn't the freshest when a lady came up and set her picnic basket down. She invited Hank to have a plate. He accepted and ate a hamburger. Feeling very exhausted Hank filled up on his burger and left the table satisfied. He was glad he didn't have to eat the spoiled hotdog. That would have been unsettling on the stomach. Hank found the nearest park bench and settled in for the evening.

3 comments:

  1. ha ha! Love the treadmill photo! :D

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  2. Oh me too, it is one of my faves. Wow Have you read everything up to here? That was quick! lol
    Thanks for reading, Comments are definately welcome! xo

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  3. I'm a fast reader :) What takes time is clicking on the pictures, but then, I really enjoy seeing them. The trouble with reading so fast, though, is you don't retain as much...

    (I'm re-reading Hank's story and just realized I did not reply to this earlier)

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