Got a question or topic you want to see blogged in December? Email me or post it here.
Hey guys, first off I really wanted to thank those of you who have sent in questions. You would not believe how much easier and thought-provoking it is to write on a specific topic coming from people other than myself! It makes the whole blog-everyday thing so much more manageable. Please keep them coming!
And speaking of which, I'm going to try and answer a few more of your questions here. Don't worry, I will get all your questions answered by the end of the month. I'm slowly gathering my thoughts for each one and some definitely take more than others, but they will be answered, rest assured. Anyway, here we go:
Question from Jeff:
So why do you have the moniker "ClosetCarGuy"?
Well, it was mostly because when I started this blog, I was a closeted gay guy who happened to like
cars. It was supposed to be a theme that I was planning to run with a little
more than I have so far; a bit of an extension of my personality and interests. You can probably bet on seeing more car-related
posts this month (did you like yesterday's post? =P ). I also wanted to put it
out there since being a car guy is seen as a kind of masculine hobby, and of
course the assumption is that masculine =/ gay, so if I can write/share
something I love while demonstrating not all gay guys are some sort of stereotype and being a sort of advocate, great.
Along that line, I guess now would be a good time to mention that I
also work at a dealership part-time as a detailer/lot guy (it's why the first BEDID was posted late in the day) for some extra cash. It's a great job that satisfies my inner car guy, but I definitely sense that machismo that's in the automotive industry bouncing around sometimes. I’ve heard managers and
salespeople refuse to take home cars because they’d “look like a fairy driving
it” and I've also heard some pretty off-colour statements about customers' dress or mannerisms or even their partners. I'm a little disappointed that I haven't outed myself there yet to make a bit of a statement, but for one, I don't work there frequently enough; two, turnover's pretty high, so it's hard to build a relationship to trust someone enough; and three, I'm there to work first and foremost, and I'm usually by myself detailing a car anyway. Perhaps in time though. Funny thing is though, I know for a FACT there's another gay guy working there, I'm just not sure if he's out to anyone at work or not.
Question from Kevin:
How about your preparation for that though mudder thing? Looking like a
para trooper by now? lol
Haha, I wish. Nate, Cara and I joined a 5K. running clinic for Cara to
start off running and for me to ease back into it (last time I seriously ran
was probably 2 years ago). We can probably run 5K pretty consistently now, but
that’s nowhere near the 10mi./16K Tough Mudder course, so we’re looking to ramp
up to a longer distance running clinic. Ideally, I’d like to be able to run a
half-marathon so I can complete the 10 mi. and still have something leftover in
the tank to handle the obstacles, but we’ll see if I can make it in time for
this year’s event in June.
Nate and I are also supposed to be getting a gym membership at the
local community centre so we can do some strength training, which I sorely,
sorely need. If anybody's got some good strength training workouts that can be done from home, I'd like to hear them too. It's probably easier to go to the gym and use the equipment though...that is, if I don’t get distracted by other guys’ technique while
I’m there :P
You might want to give yoga a try. My workouts are at home, am is aerobic (summer, run - winter, bike), dumbbell routine (30-45 min, 3x week) and 1 hour of yoga daily generally before bed. Now that is a fair bit of exercise, so I don't feel guilty if I drop some of the weights during the summer, or miss 1 of the 3 on a winter day. While I have some theories, and no doubt a better diet is part of it, I'm convinced the yoga enhances the effects of the other exercise - I gained 10 lbs over 6 weeks in the summer and it was muscle mass, mainly legs, glutes and upper body and arms - I was only running and doing yoga. (I believe it has something to do with the stretching, ??>) There are many other benefits as well, I rest better, less muscle ache and pain, as well as reducing chance of injury (our pro football included it in their train regime when they discovered one player had no injuries and attributed it to his yoga routine).
ReplyDeleteI go mine to a dvd at home, but just think of all that yoga butt you'd see at the studio, lol.
Take it from somebody a lot older, do NOT "out" yourself at work. You'll know when it's time, but even in 2012, out gay guys have unneeded trouble. And be very wary of connecting with possibly gay coworkers. Most of your actions will depend on where you work and the social-economic level of your fellow employees. Don't shoot yourself in the foot when you don't have to. Those of us out now will welcome you when the time is right for you. Besides, how many of your straight coworkers "truthfully" discuss their sexual activities at work?
ReplyDeleteDealing with "off-color" remarks is a little tricky. I've found it is always better to ignore those comments and move on (like a fart in church).
Cool you're still building up. I started running again too, I'm about 12km now (on my own). And I started swimming again too (together with Stof and his sister). I've thought about trying a triathlon (a quarter or half of course) but don't know about the cycling. I suck at that I suppose lol.
ReplyDeleteI personally hate gyms - except for the eye candy part ;-)that is - but work out at home. We've bought a multi-gym machine for legs, arms and schoulders etc some years ago (def cheaper than one year gym), and I do some floor excercises for my abs too, but I suck at English names for excercises so I wont bother you with me talking nonsens lol