Strangers in the Workplace #1: Captain Persuasian

(To be honest, I'm not certain this series will have many entries, but it felt like it might, so this one gets a #1)

At work, reaching the nearest restroom requires walking out of our offices, across the main hall into the employee fitness center, and then all the way to the back of the fitness center to the locker room where there is one bathroom stall, just sitting there in the locker room. This means that several times a day, I get to walk past whoever happens to be in there exercising at the time. And some of these people fascinate me for a variety of reasons. And one of them is a man who I like to call Captain Persuasian for reasons I'm about to explain.

El Capitan can almost always be found on the one elliptical trainer in the fitness center. He's an Asian man, probably in his 20s or 30s. And he's working hard. And sweating hard. Persuasian = Perspiring Asian. As he is working and sweating hard, he has his eyes closed and his head goes back and forth, as though he is the Stevie Wonder of the Elliptical.

You can tell how long Captain Persuasian has been working out by the progression of the sweat stains down his workout attire. And he's always wearing the same clothes every time. I hope he washes them regularly. This morning there was only the beginnings of a dark patch spreading down his gray cotton T. One time I found him cleaning up at the bathroom sink following a workout that left him with a dark patch encompassing all of his shirt and at least two-thirds of his forest green workout shorts. I was on my way to the single stall in the back, and after finishing my business, I sat and waited several minutes while he vigorously scrubbed his wrists and forearms. All while wearing his gloriously soaked gym clothes.

Here's a picture of him that I took with my camera phone. Remember his eyes are always closed, so I wasn't worried about him noticing me taking his picture.



Anyway, that's Captain Persuasian, one of the strangers at my work.