It was just a few pieces of a girl that I saw; her foot, a few inches of the bottom of one leg of her slacks sticking out the door of her SUV (I hate SUVs) and her red hair partly visible above the top of the partly rolled down darkened window on the drivers side. The foot was not small but well proportioned and arched by black strap sandals with high heels. It was strikingly beautiful considering the little there was to see. The hem of her slacks was not from a slim line such as cigarette or Capris but a full leg but while it did not show more than a well sculptured ankle the pant leg made her legs somehow seem long and slender.
I'm still excited.
I should have stopped and talked to her but I had to turn from the lane I was in, I couldn't do a U-turn because there was not enough lane to turn and there was a police car waiting at the light. So I only had those memorable pieces plus her license plate number; 4G2RV. What could that mean?
I knew that I would find her though for she was parked in front of an exercise club, UHH! at just before 1 P.M. I guessed she had exercised over her lunch hour and was returning to work.
I swung by just after noon on different days of the week but didn't see her even on the day of the week I had first seen her. I decided if I didn't see her the next time I'd hack into the DMV to get her name and address.
Lucky me, the next time she was parked just down the street from the club. I parked nearby and looked in the other storefronts to see if she was there for some reason but she didn't seem to be and I went into UHH!
The entry was all black, gray, silver and white plus a lot of glass and mirrors. The buff guy at the counter convinced me to take a trial visit and gave me a CD and a password, biceps. "Just put the CD in the slot and enter the PW. It is only good once and only for three hours. Members have a personal CD that is updated on the computer and a new CD given to them when they pass a milestone. The CD is needed to enter when we are closed, 10-6, but these trial CDs won't get you in at all. This one will set up your account and save any information you enter on the exercise machines and save it for two weeks. If you join within that time you will get the discount applied to your fee."
He went on to explain that their system was graded by where you are in fitness. "That is done by your coach who is assigned when you join but this disk will give you an initial although conservative grade. The grades begin with the normal three—Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, with each having one grade higher—B+, I+ and A+ but the latter is not available to all levels. It is for training for a marathon--you can get up to that here but for triathlon you have to go elsewhere like the Marines. All the other five can be programmed to intermediate or advanced."
He said to go into the change room to get to the exercise areas. "When you exit the change room you'll be in a hall. You'll see a series of doors open on the other wall but you should just go to Black, they are color coded, for that is where you'll find what you want."
Looking at the two doors with their International signs for the two sexes in black inside a white square on a gray door I pointed out, "I see at least you have not gone Unisex."
He raised an eyebrow, I smiled then took my bag and entered the Men's locker room to change. I hoped she was not in here.
When I entered the hallway outside the men's room I passed the exit from the women's room and entered the hall where I could see six color coded doorways to my right and the Black door to my immediate left. I peeked in and the Black door turned out to be a lounge with a glass-enclosed classroom at the far end. No redheads there either sitting at the bar, at a table or in the classroom.
"Beginner," said the first door to my right in Red. Inside there were treadmills, each with it's own TV. There were no redheads here but I got with the program and put my CD in an empty machine and was asked by the TV screen to select the level of exercise, in this case walking, I did a week. I entered 4 hours for I walk everywhere as I live in an apartment down town and walk for all my shopping and most of my entertainment. I entered 0 for running as I don't jog. I also selected a cable news broadcast to watch and pressed start.
The machine set up for a flat but fast walk for a minute when I put on a blood pressure cuff and it adjusted to a slight level as my BP was still low, and it went for a minute at the same speed then had me take another BP. It set up for the next slope level and went faster so I had to jog. After I finished my third minute it stopped and I took another BP and logged out to go to the next room.
The next room said B+ in Orange and it had stationary bicycles. I put in my CD, said I never bicycled then selected sports for TV and the screened flashed "Start" and when I did it showed me a cricket match live from England. I don't know whether my level of exercise said that was all my heart could take or if that was all that was available at Noon.
It set for what I thought was a flat level and pedaled hard before I noticed the level and speed was shown at the bottom of the screen. I was going flat but was going too fast as the speed flashed in red. I slowed down and after a minute took my BP. As before it adjusted my grade and I went up a 3% grade at a slower speed. Now it stopped every half-minute for a BP and by the end of six cycles, about 5 minutes, I was huffing an puffing. as I left for the next room.
I went on to the one listed as 'Intermediate' in Gold. It was filled with workout machines and the set up was the same. This time the only choices on TV were a variety of scenes from a plane flying low and slow over the Rockies to a ballroom dance by professionals, a ballet and a series of cheerleaders doing their routine.
I+, the next door I entered said in Green. This room was filled with sequential machines grouped in five so one individual went from one machine to the next until all five were done. Between each you took a BP. All this changing took time and I was running out.
Advanced printed in Blue was free-weights where using my CD gave me a printout of sets of weight lifting I should do. There was also an area for doing exercise while holding weights in your hands. My weights were not very heavy for I've worked out harder than this but maybe I need more treadmill and bicycle first. Now it would be fast to change and get outside before 1 P.M. to see if her car had moved.
I couldn't go into Purple, A+ as I had to be A, not just visit A, to get in but the brochure described it as being two people to help each other in a series of grueling lifting while in a machine.
So I went on into the black lounge where I learned there was No alcohol. I had lemonade and Cranberry drink to sip while I watched the girls in the glass enclosed classroom at the far end show off their bodies in tight exercise suits.
Still no redheads so I hurried to the showers after finishing my drink. There was a red head in the showers but he obviously wasn't a female. I dressed quickly and went back to the desk and handed in my CD. There she was at the desk with her red hair still damp. I couldn't have recognized her without her hair color for she was taller than I expected and a big girl with broad shoulders but showing very little fat anywhere. Her feet were shod today in flats and she was in a light ruffled, strappy, easy, breezy linen pullover and Knee length dress with a sweet feminine style. There was ruffle trim at her neckline and a deep ruffle hem. Held up by spaghetti straps there were string tie wraps and ties at waist.
I waited 'til she was nearly finished and tossed my CD on the desk saying thanks and went to hold the door for her. As my car was past her's on the block I introduced myself and asked her opinion of UHH! as a workout place.
She laughed softly and said to me, "It suits me. It's close so I can come everyday if I want, the people, both the staff and members are all helpful and I hope their program works for me."
I held out my hand and told her, "My name is Mark and I'd say from what I see UHH! has done very well for you."
She smiled, took my hand and said, "My name is Genevieve and thank you for the compliment. I hope you consider joining."
I leaned to look as if I didn't know about her license plate and asked, "What does '4G2RV' mean? Is it something about Recreation Vehicle?"
She laughed again, this time louder. "Nowhere close. It should be obvious, it means, 4 Girls, 2 aRe Virgins."
That certainly stopped me. I just stood there with my mouth open as her eyes laughed but before she could say good-bye I found my voice and said, "You'll have to let me take you to lunch so you can explain THAT to me."
She shook her head, said, "I'm sorry," but she had an appointment and turned to go. She didn't look sorry. I don't believe a girl like her ever looks sorry. I was considering grabbing her when she looked back and said, "How about cocktails before 6?"
I said yes and suggested a place about a mile from where we were as she had said she worked nearby. I said 5 would be great. She agreed and I rushed to open her car door for her. I really do hate SUVs but the sight of her legs getting into one made me an admirer of this one that was numbered 4G2RV on my very heart.
I was early for our meeting so I was sitting at the bar sipping a G&T when she arrived. She didn't want a table so we sat at the bar where she got an old fashioned. I got to the point while it was being made. "Now, about," I lowered my voice to a whisper, "4 Girls 2 aRe Virgins! You have to admit that license plate absolutely requires and exclamation point!"
"It's really not much of a story. I bought my car when I got my drivers license and invited my best friends for a ride to the beach. On the way I asked for suggestions of what I should get for a plate. Another girl said, 'That can wait,' and proceeded to tell us that she had lost her Virginity and was now going steady with the President of the Senior Class.
"Another girl in the car, I won't say who, said the exact same thing word for word. That made me stop the car as we sorted all of this out but of course we could never undo it all.
"I suggested we would write the words, 'I lost my Virginity and was asked to go steady by the President of the Senior Class,' on the bathroom walls and the two virgins of us did. We wrote it in both men's and the women's rooms on each floor plus both men's and women's locker rooms. The same words being in two different handwriting in several places made this the talk of the school. Even guys were asking 'The Prez' if this was true. He couldn't deny it so we had a miserable class president all year long.
"I decided to order custom plates for my car and have used them ever since."
Her Old Fashioned was here and I tipped my G&T against her drink and toasted, "To a very Moderne (pronounced 'Mohd-airne') Old Fashioned girl."
She accepted the toast with a smile and we sipped our drinks in silence for a few seconds. Then I asked, "What do you do for work?"
"I'm a Investment Consultant." I raised my eyebrow and she went on. "I work for my father. He's a former and very successful stockbroker plus he got his realtor's license so he is qualified to handle most transactions. Clients don't have to use our services but most do as we make it very convenient. We charge a set up fee and four consultations a year and focus on married couples. Some of our customers give a year of our services as wedding gifts. We require $500,000 in assets not counting your home. We have a formula for home mortgages and after deduction income to have a high probability our aggressive investment advice is not going to risk losing your home or going below the $500,000 in assets. This penalizes younger people but it's for their own good. We don't want the faint of heart to get into financial trouble. I can't remember if any have but we have had our share of people going elsewhere."
I asked her, "What type of investments do you promote?"
I'm an accountant and between my father and I we analyze many opportunities so we have a portfolio of stocks, bonds, insurance, real estate and other investments. We rank each with one of 5 levels of risk . . ."
I interrupted her by asking, "Don't tell me, Red, Orange, Gold, Green and Blue."
"And don't forget Black," she added without missing a beat. "Black is important not for what it does but for what it prepares you for. We manage to improve our clients net worth annually but not without some drastic shocks. We have a large liquor bill for our clients. Champagne for those we've done a good job for and their favorite whisky for those we plan to do better by."
She sipped her drink and went on, "Many of our clients call us about opportunities that we analyze for them. Then, if they are good, we call our clients with specific suggestions on how to take advantage of this new opportunity."
She set her drink down and turned to give me a view of her full front as she spoke earnestly, "To be honest we, my father and I, earn more money a year from our investments than from the business. We both find though that discussing investments with our clients improves our recommendations and sometimes we reverse ourselves after hearing the comments of a client. Don’t tell anyone but our customers advise us as well."
"It sounds like a good field for you. You get to exercise your thought processes, meet interesting people, I'll bet, and make money." I tipped my glass to her again and toasted, "You’re very impressive."
She accepted my toast with a smile then she turned up the wattage on her purple eyes and asked, "And what do you do?"
"I'm also a consultant. I consult on technical and regulatory issues for energy companies; power companies, oil companies and large industrial users of energy."
"Don't tell me you're one of those people who call us about investing in reopening oil fields in Texas."
It was my turn to laugh. "I'm probably over invested in oil since 1995. I have a friend who owns several Texas oil fields and I've advised him to lease out some depleted land. He gave me a share of the company in return."
She looked skeptical and I went on. "There are two issues on depleted recovery. First is that the investment might be like the California Stem Cell fund; the profits are divided by people who have made no investment. The other is that the field has to still have some oil. The former is your purview and the latter is mine. I work with people who can estimate remaining oil from production records although you have to recognize that production records can be a pack of lies. The Income tax gives incentive to lie about production and the divorce courts also gives incentive to lie, and I don't know an experienced wildcatter who hasn't had at least one divorce, ."
"Just how can a field have oil and be depleted?"
"Oil fields are developed originally, by oil standards, to get slim profit margins. They will accept some failures, about 40 to 60% of their attempts, but want to be sure there is profit if they find oil so with failures the profit can be small. As a result they use normal, less expensive production methods at first and may cap good wells if oil prices aren't sufficiently high. This is because they don't want to sell oil at cost let alone below cost. They wait for the prices to rise, and they are rising now, so they can afford to use more expensive production methods called 'secondary' and 'tertiary' methods. This is why a field that was capped in the '80s is now being re-drilled. It was not worth operating then but now, with higher prices, it is a good investment. In fact, it is a better investment. A new field may be a bust; the oil might be stratified and hard to get it out. But a field that produced once is certain to have oil left and production costs are certain to be low. Only 10% of oil is removed by Primary methods and another 20% by advanced methods! If they took the first 10% out before from a field that only had a one in three chance of success at the outset, the value of the second 10% that is almost a sure thing and is immense. I've talked to re-drillers who are disappointed they might only get another 4 to 6% instead of 10% but they have no failures in the sense of their being no oil. They just make smaller profits and as oil prices will go up every year, their worst operations grow in profit instead of decline. No High Tech Startup can say that. High Tech Startups may not succeed but even if they do succeed they will always have to struggle as they watch competition come in to reduce prices. Look at the High Tech Startups that were successful and now are jokes."
I realized I was on my soapbox and didn't mean to for she looked skeptical.
"I'm sorry I got on my soap box and didn't mean to. I'm not qualified to give you leads on investments but I am qualified to take you to dinner."
She suggested a place not too far away. It was small without many tables with a few outdoors where we took one that was next to a brazier to keep us warm although it separated us by fire! I asked her if she was going to have meat or seafood and when she said the latter I said, "In that case I suggest a Gewürztraminer instead of cocktails so we can enjoy it during dinner as well. My experience is that a couple have trouble drinking a bottle of wine even without cocktails ahead of time." She agreed and I ordered it at once then we looked at the menu.
She sat the menu down so I asked her, "What have you decided, Jen?"
"It's Genevieve; not Jen, Jennie, Gene, Eve or anything else. Its just Genevieve. Please remember that. I'll put up with anything by a client except lack of respect or physical contact but I expect the highest level of consideration of a date."
While I was wondering about physical contact and if it was allowed on a date She brought up oil again. "I've been hearing that the oil companies are lying about the amount of oil. Do you know anything about that?"
"Not too much, except that is an old claim and, no doubt it is occasionally true." The wine came and I went on after it was poured. "First of all, about 75% of the oil in the world has been discovered by American companies and the rest by British or Dutch. The seismic-geological data they've made is so valuable they keep the computer tapes in vaults. Acres of vaults. So each company can give it's estimates but no one can check them against the data. Of course, two investigators looking at the same data will often come up with different answers but I don't call that lying.
"Geologists and oil experts have estimated there is between 2 and 3 trillion barrels of oil in the world. That's a big spread and may be based upon different assumptions but it gives a lot of room to say someone is lying.
She asked me about Ralph Nader. "He said we are swimming in oil. A trillion barrels seems a lot."
"That’s because it is. One problem is that we are reaching the point where production limits equal demand. The trade Internationalization has created wealth in the Orient for them to buy more and more oil. Now demand equals production limits. In the 70’s we reached the point where discovery of new fields equaled demand but it took twenty years to get demand up to equal production and production can grow only slowly if at all.
"Further, there are segments of the oil buyers who don’t care as much as automobile drivers what the price of oil is. Lubricants are used by everyone in small amounts but in total it is a lot of oil. Lubricant manufacturers can increase what they pay and their customers won’t notice it for they buy it in small amounts. Similarly plastics manufacturers use oil as a raw material. When we buy synthetic anything we don’t notice the slight increase in cost but the plastics manufacturers will pay more than auto drivers else they go out of business.
"Because the tap can’t open very fast the prices are jumping. We might see declines but I expect at the end of the year the prices will be higher than they were at the end of the previous year."
"That doesn't bode well for automobiles," she said.
"Or for airlines," I answered.
"Oh, now I'm glad I took that trip to Europe," she said and laughed.
"I hope the IRS doesn't tax your capital gains on that. Where did you go?"
She told me she had taken the big four route; Italy, Germany, France and England. Then she asked, "Have you ever been to Europe?"
"Only going and returning from the middle-east."
"Oh," she said. "Of course you would. How do you feel traveling in the middle east?"
"Safer than going to Washington, D.C. I've really never had a problem. During Ramadan the Arabs drive crazily but otherwise nothing much seems different."
She asked why they drove badly then.
"They don't eat or drink during daylight hours so that makes them dizzy, especially when it is summer and the days are longer and hotter. It is compounded by they’re overindulging after sunset with late parties so they get little sleep. They can't indulge in sex during the day either so they feel honor bound to do so at night. It is very disruptive to the system all around. I think they are more tipsy than if they just had a cocktail at night."
"Do you ever see women veiled?"
"Yes. There are degrees of veiling. Nearly all women cover their hair and arms plus have long skirts but then they wear them a little tight so it can be distracting. I've seen some fully veiled women, Americans call them UBOs, Unidentified Black Objects. There must be a lot of women but you don't see as many as you do men. But that is true here on business travel. I see women at shopping malls and driving but when I fly on business most of the passengers on the plane and people in the airports or hotels are men."
We had a wonderful evening. I suggested an after dinner drink somewhere but she declined. "Maybe I’ll see you at UHH! I hope you’ll join."
"Oh, I’m planning to," I said and I walked her to her car.
That was our first date and at the end I didn't even get a handshake but instead I got a lot more. I got a sight of a wonderful, smart, beautiful and feisty woman and she was no lady. I knew she was in charge so I had to race to keep up but one thing was for certain, she would get what she wanted of me.
© HWS, 2005