Holiday wishes from Spain!

A very merry Christmas to all of you from sunny Spain. I'm staying at my parents in Spain, enjoying some well-deserved rest. I'm happy about every single day I don't have to spend at my callcenter job. I hope your Christmas is as good as mine:

Vote 4 Brat Boy School!

My postings on this blog are (and will be) reduced to a minumum untill the end of the year due to other pressing issues... but I am doing this quick post to ask all of you to vote for sweet cutie Ethan (see picture below) and his Brat Boy School at the Weblog Awards! The poll closes on December 15th, 11:59 PM (EST)... he's at second place right now. He's hot and sweet and... did I mention he's hot? He will be featured on Instinct Magazine's next cover.

SO... CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

If you're still not convinced: he has promised a strip show on his site if he wins the award! Now, go and vote and check back here in a week or two!

Sub-zero runs

Okay, I've never been a real sports type of guy. I started working out at the age of 21 because I thought I was too skinny and wanted more muscles... It really was (is) working out for results in stead of just for the fun of it. But last spring/summer, after quitting smoking, I finally found something I really like: running. The only problem is, I hate cold weather. This morning I've ran at -1ºC (30ºF); there was a thin layer of ice on all the ponds in the park. And although it was a sunny morning... I really HATE running at a temperature below 5ºC (41ºF). Maybe I should start to run on the tredmill at the gym... but that's no fun either! Sigh... life's hard. ;-)

Autumn

I'm no fan of rainy weather, but I do love autumn if the weather is like this:

This was Groningen at 5 PM somewhere during this past week. The fresh and chilly air made my nose run... I got home and I fired up the heating, lit some candles and curled up on the couch with a friend. This is how autumn is supposed to be.

Hilarious cats

Thank you Hot Lunch for bringing the site My Cat Hates You dot com to my attention. I've laughed my ass off while browsing through the cat-pics and the captions below the photos; some are hilarious! Check it out!

(Click photo to enlarge.)

On a more cheeful note

It seems my intestines are calming down a bit... I haven't been to the toilet in more than an hour! I've just eaten my first solid food of the day. ;) And I'm going to bore you with a second post to compensate for my absence these past weeks.

All this while listening to Madonna's new album for the 7th time today. MY GOD, it is fantastic! Of course it's an illegally downloaded copy, but hey... a fan can't resist the temptation to hear it several days before it hits the stores of course. (And I'll still buy my CD the very first minute I can.)

And on a more ambiguous note: our climate really seems to be changing... Normally we have depressing cold and rainy weather from late September onwards. Not this year though. The temperature still is close to 20ºC (68ºF), the sun shines very often and while normally all trees should have lost their leaves, most trees are still totally green mid-November! The rose at my patio is blossoming again (picture taken last Sunday) and butterflies and ladybugs can be seen flying around... Although the gradual change of climate is no good news, the warm weather is good for my mood. This morning I heard on the radio they expect us to have Southern France's climate in the Netherlands in about 50 to 100 years...

Sorting things out

My life is too hectic. (Hence the lack op posts.) I've got to start getting my priorities sorted out. My job takes a considerable amount of time and because I hate the job, it consumes even more energy. Then there's my voluntary work consuming about ten to twelve hours a week... all while I should be studying the bigger part of my time. (And I'm not. I manage to spend about 20 hours on my study if I have a good week.)

This realization is finally setting in while I'm sitting at home, being sick. Studying is not really an option today because my intestinal cramps, my constant runs for the toilet and an annoying headache. I'm not doing anything today so I've finally had time to think about the way things are going.

I really need to start saying 'no' to people more often. No more extra tasks. No more sleepovers at my place. No help painting your new home. No extra hours at work. I'm finally realizing I'm really too tired and too stressed out! I'm always there to help out others, but I need to start to think more about my own life, health and career. I need to sleep more, work out more and study more. All other things are of less importance until I've got my PharmD degree. Unfortunately I have to keep working to be able to eat, but I should keep an eye out for a better job. I've got a MSc in Pharmacy for heaven's sake! There should be some better part-time job out there.

Still shocked by The question: Are you gay?

You might have heard read it before and I'll probably say it again many times in the future: I have a very crappy job as a call center agent ("warm outbound" for those who know what that means). But my working hours are very flexible and it pays my bills so it matches my needs right now.

While working yesterday evening, a customer suddenly asked me if I was gay or straight after being on the phone for about one minute. I was flabbergasted! I didn't know how to respond; the first thing that popped into my mind was saying I thought that was a very personal question, so that's what I said. The customer told me he was curious if his suspicions were right, so I told him he was right: I am gay. He was content he was right. After my confession I asked him if he was gay; he wasn't.

The incident left me wondering about two things. First of all: is it that obvious I'm gay just by hearing my voice? Maybe... but most of my colleagues are still totally in the dark about the fact that I like men, even after working with me 16 hours a week for more than two months. The second thing that's bothering me is: why didn't I just respond by saying that I indeed am gay? Why was I flabbergasted and why did I consider refusing to tell the customer my sexual preference? If he had asked for my age or hair color I'd immediately answer him. I thought I was past the point that I made a point about telling anyone I'm gay. If someone asks me face-to-face, I've always told them I'm gay, even if it might have been wise not to. I'm confused... maybe it's because I was at "a non-sexual environment" like my job. (Ehrm... well, non-sexual... that's not entirely true. There are several very, very hot guys at work so I tend to think about sex regularly at work). Maybe it's because it was none of the customer's business. But still... The incident will probably haunt me for several more days.

PS. The customer did buy what I wanted to sell to him, even though initially he had doubts about buying it. He had no problems with the fact that I'm gay.

Webdesign escapades

I've finally (almost) finished the first version of my friend's website. She's a poet and I agreed on taking her photo's and making her a website. It has taken me a considerable amount of time due to other pressing issues, but it's finally getting close to completion. Lots of extra content will be added in the next few weeks, but her bio and first poem are finally online (in Dutch).

As a result I'm happy... a mood amplified because I'm listening to Hung Up on repeat for the 30th time today... and I'm still lovin' it! (Thank you Hot Lunch for posting it!)

Ouch, that hurts!

Ouch, my legs hurt! Hurt really bad! I tried running my usual round this morning, but my joints and tendons started to become really painful after running just for 5 minutes. It was a very beautiful morning, so I had to try to go running. About 20ºC (68ºF) and sunny weather in mid-October is incredible weather for Dutch understandings. Here's this morning's photo from my phone/mp3-player/camera:

The cause of my sore joints and tendons is the run I did last Sunday: I participated in the annual '4 Mile of Groningen'. Just 6 months ago I wasn't even able to run for 2 minutes; after quitting smoking I took up running and the result was running the 4 mile in 36 minutes and 54 seconds. I am becoming a running addict... who would have guessed that last spring. Next year I want to go for the 30 minute mark... :)

Loves it!

Posted on madonna.com is a singalong version of the upcoming single Hung Up. It sounds totally different from other "leaked" previews... the ABBA sample (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme) is very obvious... I love it!! I know now on what music I'll be dancing on in the local gay club in Groningen until (at least) Christmas. :)

Summer Storm (or Sommer Sturm)

Great movie I saw last Saturday: Sommer Sturm (that's the original German title, in English it's 'Summer Storm'). Yes, it's another coming of age movie, but this one was sooo incredibly recognisable for me. I watched it with a strange feeling in my stomach; it felt like a movie about my life about ten years ago. I think the film will be in theaters in the US in 2006. Here's a link to an English synopsis and a trailer (in German with French subtitles).