Author: Moby

Muscle Head

Switching gears in a major way, one of my regular readers emailed me recently asking for advice on working out. First, an apology for not getting to it sooner. However, Sir Moby has a very full plate right now and long winded rants are harder to come by. And we all know I love yacking.

So in the coming week, I’ll be adding a dedicated section on tips/tricks for working out. Over the years, I’ve gleaned tons of information about working out. Do’s and Don’ts as well as helpful insights. I was a personal trainer ages ago while living in the seaport town of Galveston, TX. Back when I was a wee lad. And I’m not refering to age even though I was very young. No back when I was no bigger than a beanstalk. And while I am no longer a personal trainer, working out and health in general has become a huge part of my life. I still keep up w/the field and the ever advancing knowledge behind it.

Most of what I offer will be for beginners/novices and will branch into diet, health, routines, etc. I will cover more advanced stuff but I feel most folks are always looking for advice on 1) how to get started 2) how to maintain or 3) how to get back into it. And if it works for you great, if not well the hell with ya then. *wink*

Stick & Stones Will . . .

I thought I’d talk about something other than myself today. Yeah, I know, there’s a first.

I do keep up my blogroll even though I get behind at times. Some more than others but I usually make it to all about once a week. Lately though, I’ve been reading Steve from Bent Collective a lot. If you aren’t a heavy reader of Bent, you should be. Here you have a man in the prime of his life giving of himself to help others. He traveled half way around the world to the bodunk country of Uzbekistan, easily a third world country, to setup a clinic and care for the ravaged HIV population there. Uzbekistan is only 2 small countries away from Afghanistan. They don’t particularly like us. Of course, being so far away does present some technological issues. Enter his friend Al who often keeps us apprised of Steve’s lastest efforts via the blog.
Continue reading Stick & Stones Will . . .

Vrooom!

I might be getting my motorcyle sooner than I thought. My buddy from the dealer called me and they have one meeting my specs. I’m gonna swing by on Tuesday and check it out.

Art or Trash?

This is a new topic for me. I rarely discuss art as 1) I don’t own any 2) what most people call art, I call trash. I’m always amazed at what folks will throw together and call art. Even more of a highbrow for me is what they charge for it. As if slapping an expensive tag on it and calling it art miracuously gives it higher meaning. In a word, bullshit. But what do I know? I’m just a hick who made it out of the sticks. True, growing up as poor as I did, it is hard for me to place value on artistic expression. And when one is wondering where your next meal is coming from, art is a low priority on the list of things to ponder. I do occasionally find work that appeals to my aesthetics (proper syntax?) as well as my wallet. So it is possible. Probable? well thats to be seen.

My rant stems from my desire to have artwork in my home. I’ve often avoided the issue by saying until I buy a home, it’s really not a “home” per say. Why buy art for it? Smelling some more BS yet? Yeah, me too. My lack of art presents an annoying detail I am hoping to change. See my afore mentioned comment on pricetags and you begin to see my dilema. Oddly enough, I have no desire to sit down, create something, and call it art. A contradiction? Possibly.

If one types ‘gay art’ into a google search your first page is littered w/mostly porn. Mind you, I’ve always had a fascination for erotic anime, Tom of Finland, explicit cartoons, etc. However, said interest is not something I wish to plaster all over my walls. Nor do I want the stereotypical black and whites you see on so many…uh hum…walls d’jour.

So my quest this year is to find artistic works that appeal to both my eyes and wallet. I’ll even take pics to show’em off. You can be the judge of my success.

Nothing To See Here…

How did I spend today? Mostly tied up in fraking meetings I didn’t care to be in. Two hours turned into four. Next thing I know, the day is over. I did manage to get a few things done. I’m just out of the bathroom from trimming all my body hair. Notice I said trim not shave. I detest the whole shaved stubbley look/feel guys get into. Nothing worse than licking a guys. . . you get the picture.

And have I ever mentioned how much I fucking hate doing laundry. *insert prayer to whatever diety you believe in here that I win the lotto and can hire a housebo.* Anyway, nothing exciting to report. I wish I had some philosophical statement to make. Something profound to wow you. Nope. Sorry, you are stuck w/plain ole me today.

In other meandering news, my new jeans from the Gap arrived today. I’m horrible at buying jeans. I always hem-haw about whether to get’em or not, if they fit me well, make my butt look good, yadda yadda yadda. Instead, I opt for several brands and styles that I’m used to. I log on, order’em up and have’em delivered. Easy said, easy done. Shirts, on the otherhand, are a whole nother story. I think I already covered the many different ways to shop.

Check back later for something profound, we’re all out today.

802’s

Ok, I sorta got my wish. I ended up riding around not in an ambulance but w/an RC. RC stands for Rescue Captain. Basically, he is a Paramedic supervsior. He was also my instructor for my EMT cert.

Nothing gruesome but my first two calls of the day were 802’s. (Dead on arrival) The first was sad as an 11 year old boy woke up to find his mother had passed away during the night. Truly impactful event for an 11 year old boy wouldn’t you say? The parents were estranged from each other so we had to stand by till the father could come onscene. The boy handled it like a trooper and his giant tomcat seemed to be a huge comfort (that was for you homer). Having already been predisposed to such tragedies on a daily basis from my current job, I was saddened but very in control. Lets face it, people die everyday. I can think of no better way to go than peacefully in your sleep in your own home.

A couple hours go by and we get another call. A typical man down/3rd party scenario. Continue reading 802’s

Finally

I’m doing a ride-along today. After the last two cancelled, I’m feeling rusty. I’ll be spending twelve hours on an ambulance or “the box” as they call it.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and get something gruesome.

Wish me luck?

New 909

One of the girls from work often refers to my boyfriends as a 909. Which is the police code for “meet with a citizen.”

My ex called me late last night. I’d actually just gotten home from work. Apparently, he and his new 909 had gotten into a big fight. He needed a place to hangout and vent I guess. He proceeded to tell me the nitty gritty as to what happened. I think he often shares details w/me that in most instances would make an ex a bit uncomfortable but it’s not really an issue for me. Besides, I’m nosey. I like hearing it.

I listened and offered my heart felt advice as to how I saw it. It’s always an issue of being right w/him. Based on his side of the story, I’d assume he was in the right. Of course, this made it harder for him to see a need to move beyond getting validation for that. hehehe. So I offered an explanation that it doesn’t really matter who is right if he hopes to work it out. And let me be frank, he’d rather cut off his fraking arm than admit he is wrong about something. However, he did seem to honestly listen and our chat did calm him down. I politely pointed out some of his rather difficult traits so he could try to see both sides of the picture. Whether it worked or not is none of my business.

He remarked that he thought the blog would be busy today. Meaning I’d post about it. I feel almost obligated to mention it now. And no, he doesn’t read my blog. While I may have a healthy view of my breakup w/him, I’m not so sure he can say the same.

I did notice that I didn’t feel any pangs of jealousy or hurt. I didn’t resent him for telling me stuff about him and his new 909. I actually felt good about it. And no, not because they were fighting. No, I felt good because I had a chance to help him correct his mistakes of the past. Namely, mistakes made w/me. Knowing this only serves to validate my principles. One, it validates that I truly did love him (and still do just differently now). Two, that I’ve moved beyond the pain and hurt he caused me way back when. It took me awhile. I can be just as stubborn at times, especially when I’m in the right. The difference, I think, is I can look beyond my self-righteousness to see the bigger picture. I just hope he learns to do the same thing.

Oh, I think it also is a boon for my Karma. Sure I could have used this opportunity to wreck havoc. But that would go against all the things that I am trying so hard to emulate and become as a man. So scratch another few points in the karma index!

Insight

Wow! So many kind words. Thank you to everyone. I hope it did provide some insight. Many of the emails expressed shock that I would share such deeply personal feelings. I offer them freely w/o reservation in the hope that someone can learn from my growing pains and mistakes. The last entry was a collage of rather chaotic thoughts from a time in my life when I didn’t have any focus. I knew my life was out of control and was struggling to make sense of it. I hadn’t yet found the impetus to push me in the right direction. This only seemed to make my situation worse.

Al’s comment was particularly touching. The simple truth in his words really affected me. I forget to look at myself from the outside at times. I really am becoming the person that I’d like to date. Someone that can offer qualities that I seek in others. I guess I needed someone to point that out to me.

I often talk about my goals and where I hope to eventually be in my life but I don’t really see myself there yet. Or I guess I don’t ‘feel it’ yet. Don’t ge me wrong, I know w/o a doubt that I am kind and compassionate person. These traits are deeply embedded in my id. I also am discovering I have an innate sense of fairness. I like to see a problem from both sides. Lacking is the assurance of self that only comes from within. An assurance normally imparted as a child. However, in my case, something I’m learning as an adult. A hard task indeed. With that is the realization of character. And I am realizing that about myself. Slowly but surely, it’s sinking past the conscious to the subconscious. Hopefully, one day it will take root and become permanent. As I’m fond of saying, hope springs eternal…