I'm off to meet up with connected-to-my-favorite-football-team match guy. We have been exchanging pretty extensive fairly personal emails during the past week. We're both out of town this weekend and I have stuff planned the beginning of next week so we're fitting each other in tonight. At 9:00. Which is REALLY close to my bedtime (seriously!). The things I do for dates. ;)
Right now, it is him and the guy who has two cats and says, "Right on. Right on." I have not met either of them and only just talked to connected-to-my-favorite-football-team match guy 20 minutes ago, so I don't know his speech quirks yet.
Stay tuned...
***Updated***
Hmmm...I don't know what to say. One more date before I decide? This was not a real date. He is the right amount of nerdiness, something I have realized is probably important given my somewhat nerdy nature. He is also from the midwest and talks. really. slowly. I was already finishing his sentences for him.
It did raise a (not so random) observation about how people present themselves or how they talk about their daily activities. I exercise regularly, and if it comes up in conversation I will say as much. But it is just regular old exercise so that I can feel healthy and maybe live an extra year or two, not really because I am trying to impress people by saying I worked out. Usually I follow saying I work out with the fact that I am a lazy gym-goer who gets bored with all the machines, weights, and people watching after about 55 minutes. I sometimes can't even stay there an hour. People should really consider what it sounds like when they mention, on more than one occasion, that they go to the gym every day. I am not saying that it is inappropriate to mention, just that people should think about what that statement implies and use it carefully.
4 comments:
Huh. I go to the gym everyday. I don't think I mention it unless people ask, though. I'll have to think about that.
It's okay to go to the gym everyday and be proud! I guess I just realized that I may as well tell people that I exercise all the time, because it means a range of things, and means nothing in particular. I know that's vague and I am glad I exercise regularly, but I don't want people to think that means I'm all buff or something. Yeah. Look at me be articulate. ;)
How does this fit in with those news reports about how obesity is "contagious" and having overweight friends is a "risk factor" for gaining weight? Maybe sharing stories of daily exercise is a way to combat--it can support other people (like currently inactive me) in their efforts to integrate exercise into their lives?
On the other hand, I could imagine certain scenarios in which a proclamation of being a gym rat could be viewed as obnoxious.....
hmmmmm. Interesting observation. It definitely seems like a loaded statement, unless you qualify it, like you do. It seems funny that is the case. Why should it be so loaded? Perhaps, because like you said it implies something about being really buff. It is different if someone qualifies it by saying they do it to be healthy or for general fitness, you are certainly right in that regard. I wonder what this says about our image-obsessed culture.
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