Birthday Gift

I don't really know what to tell you in regards to the transportation issue. Maybe you can convince your gf that she wants to join the gym too or find another gym buddy and carpool. Otherwise, you just have to kind of suck it up and take the bus/subway tot he gym. I don't know what public transportation is like where you are, but I take it in NYC on a daily basis and no one really bothers you.

In terms of working out at the gym, there's really no need to fret. Just put on your headphones and ignore what everyone else is doing. You're there for you. Also, it's doubtful you know anyone there, so who cares what they think? Everyone started out where you are or worse. No one was magically born with a perfectly sculpted and toned body. Everyone had their first day in the gym, so they all know how you feel. If anyone is rude or makes you feel uncomfortable, just walk away and take pleasure in the fact that they are clearly more self conscious than you because they need to put someone down, and take solace in the fact you will probably never see this person again. Also, you probably won't be using any of the machines for longer than anyone else (you really don't want to work the same muscle group for 2 hours anyway) and there are always multiple of the more popular machines. I know some gyms have a 30 minute cap on treadmills during peak hours, so if you like to spend time on that (I know I love being on a treadmill for an hour) then make sure to find out if this policy exists in that gym and if so, at what times.

Good luck!

What kind of workouts do you do? Nobody should get impatient if you are doing cardio on a machine. If you are using weights then you probably won't be doing one thing for that long. Just don't use more than one thing at a time, clean upafter yourself and ignore anybody else.