As I drove to work today, I thought about our perceptions of people.

There are two women in the gym where I work out who are loud, somewhat obnoxious, and a bit intimidating. They're quite noticeable because I work out in the wee hours of the morning (3:30 to 4:00) and so the place is almost empty. Note I said 'almost'. It's surprising how busy it really is. I think most of the people there are coming off a night shift at work, but a few are early risers. I can tell by the Bed Heads I see.

These women are aggressively unpleasant, shouting to each other, making noise as they use the weight machines, etc. I like to use the studio rooms to work out sometimes and they've come in while I"m in there. When I pointed out there were other rooms they could use, one woman got verbally abusive, swearing at me. I left, worried she might pick up a weight and bean me.

Neither woman is in good shape. In fact, I sort of wince when I see them because they wear tight workout clothes that only shows the years of self-indulgence. Lord knows I'm not a bathing beauty, but at least I go for the baggy look and don't advertise my love of peanut butter cups. I suppose it's another way of being aggressively unpleasant.

I have a live and let live attitude. I don't believe in revenge or getting even. It's counter-productive to carry around anger, and my philosophy has always been that if I allow myself to remain angry at someone, then that someone has gotten control of my life, even in a small way. I don't like that.

I'm a bit stumped by these two -- what is motivating them to act in such a way? Are some people truly just unpleasant? Is it insecurity? Or arrogance?

I'm not sure what it is, but I know that I'm going to adjust my workout hours so I don't have to endure them. Life is too short to let odd people mess up what might otherwise be a perfectly fine day.

Despite the fact I'm at the gym at 4:00 in the morning, that is ...