Chinese New Year Resolutions!

Belated Gong Hay Fat Choy everyone!

I'm taking on a lot of late resolutions this year, so I'm just pretending they line up with the lunar new year so I don't seem lazy :P

So I have been a casual social smoker since college, and I've found quitting to be pretty hard in the past, but I haven't had a smoke in like a month, and I've been more upfront with friends and co-workers to tell them I'm quitting and not to offer me any or even ask me to go downstairs or anything. It's progress.

As part of that general idea, I've also tried to change up my workout plan. I was really good for a while about going to yoga and some of my gym classes, but once the weather got really bad I got pretty bad at it. After the blizzard at the end of December here, I probably didn't go to the gym for 3 weeks, and in the past few weeks I've gone maybe once a week, which isn't really enough to stay in shape (and justify the pricey new york gym membership prices).



I thought I'd try something totally different. I recently bought an Xbox 360 with the kinect camera accessory for the dancing game, and cause I eventually want to get the new Rock Band, and I found they have a few different fitness games too. I went with Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, but there are a few other nearly identical fitness titles. The idea is it tracks your movement with the camera and gives you workouts and critiques your form. It's kind of like P90X or Insanity, but with a little more feedback and some positive incentives in the form of video game achievements and points. It's actually pretty fun! I just got it on Friday, and I've done a little exercising every day since I got it. I'm gonna be tracking my progress, so hopefully I'll have something measurable in a month or so.

I think that I was in the best shape right after I came out- partly because I was dating a lot then and really body-conscious, and also because I loved going to the gay gym in Chelsea and checking out the hot guys. So, I've definitely lost that definition, and I'd love to get back to just being a little more active. Hopefully by basing my workouts at home, I'll be able to keep up my activity levels during these freezing winter months, at least until the weather is nice enough to run and bike outside again.

New Hood, New Gym

New Hood!

So when Chris and I moved in together, we actually moved into a new neighborhood. I'm now in the East Village. That means that pretty much everything about this blog is outdated now. I'm no longer in Chelsea; I don't feel like such a noob anymore; I'm out; and I'm already 30. I guess I should update the sidebar at some point but I'm lazy.

New Gym!

So I recently joined a new gym too, David Barton. For those of you who don't know David Barton, they have clients like Anderson Cooper and ads like this:
Did I mention their motto is "Look Good Naked"?

Basically they blatantly cater to the gay clientele. These are the only yoga classes you'll ever see that are 12 guys and 1 girl. It's pretty hilarious. But the gym is really nice, and the yoga instructors and most of the gym bunnies are nice eye candy. I know it's shallow, but I like going to gyms with pretty men in them. For one thing, you get motivated when you see someone with really nice arms or something, and also it gives you something to look at so you don't get bored.
So I've been trying to go to yoga twice a week, and also some of the group fitness classes. These are kind of like indoor boot camp classes. I did one a few weeks ago called "Guns" that was just really intense interval training with dumbell arm workouts. This past weekend I did one called "Rope Burn" that was a jumprope class with interval workouts; that one kicked my ass. It still hurts to go down stairs. I still made it to my yoga class, but it was pain.

I feel like i'm making huge progress though! Maybe its the lighting in the yoga studio, but my arms look huge doing some of the poses. I'm also SOOO close to being able to do a forearm stand. I really think I'm gonna get it within the next two weeks if I can stick with it.

The goal of course, is to go back to the nude beach looking my best. "Look Good Naked" indeed.

Update...

OK... I'm a bad blogger. I come out, my life becomes pretty awesome, and I get too busy meeting cute boys to write stuff down here. I still have been following all the great blogs that I started reading when I was deciding to come out though, and I read this post from Doug and it just broke my heart because I was so there. It just reminded me why I wanted to start this blog in the first place- not just that I wanted to have a journal of my experiences, but that I felt like I had received so much strength from the online community, and that simply reading about other people going through the same thing as me back in January helped me get through a really rough time in my life. If writing stuff down here can help anyone else, then I kind of feel maybe I'm paying it forward.

So... where to start... since the last time I posted a billion things have happened, almost all of them incredibly amazing and postiive.

1) Coming out: Since I last posted, I've pretty much come out to all my close friends in all my social circles, the cousins I am close to, and my immediate co-workers. Everyone has been amazingly supportive, some have been not-so-surprised (my one friend said that she suspected it because I hadn't gotten laid in 3 years and I never complained about it), but what surprised me is how people open up to me after I come out to them. It even happens with completely unrelated topics- I think it's just that when I was in the closet people could feel this blocked off energy from me, and after I opened up to them, they opened up to me about their personal lives and everything. I have started to network in the gay community, and I have some awesome gay and lesbian friends now that I just have so much fun with when I go out. I have lived in New York for 11 years, and suddenly the whole city is new to me again. It's pretty fun.

2) The parents: Umm, I already just typed this story up as a comment on doug's post, so I think I'll just paste it here as a quote. Wall of text go:

Doug, I read your post and it just rang like a crystal bell in my head. I read about your nightmare and I just had chills down my spine because I was totally there too. I'm also Chinese, originally from California, with religious parents/family. I identified myself as gay around 14 or so, and I just put it away in a box and decided it was something I could never have. I actually just came out and started dating men in February (at the age of 29), and I came out to my parents in March, so it was all very sudden. And honestly, I'm not gonna lie, coming out to the conservative Chinese parents was pretty awful.

First of all, they were visiting me (I live in New York now), and of course they had to stay in my apartment even though I live in a tiny studio, and cook in my tiny kitchen because that's what my Mom has to do. They were staying with me for 4 days and I decided I was going to come out to them in person so it had to be then. I came out to them on the second day, and they became just stereotypes. My Dad just decided he suddenly had to take some unrelated business phone calls and just tried not to deal with the situation. My Mom just stared at the wall and started crying. This was pretty much the whole first night. The second night, my Mom started asking me the really weird questions, like if I was molested as a child, or if this was because she was a working mother when I was growing up. On the third day, I decided I had indulged her hand-wringing and "why-me" questions, so I told her - "You can analyze my childhood and wonder what you did wrong as much as you want, but let's just be clear here-- what you're doing there is wishing that you had a different son. I'm what I am, and that's pretty much it." She was kind of sullen for the rest of the time, but my Dad actually surprised me and started saying the right things about how he wanted me to be happy and he wanted to be a part of our lives. My Mom and I were strained for a while after.

The really good part of the story comes last Sunday actually; my Mom just called me out of the blue to talk (we hadn't really spoken much since they were here) and she wanted to know how I was doing, if I was dating, etc. She said she wanted me to be happy, and then (and I quote) "and we want to make sure you're being safe in your dealings." I know it sounds horrible and mildly homophobic, but in the context it was really sweet. And also, I'm trying to convince my circle of friends to start using "dealings" as a euphemism for rough gay sex. (Usage: "I got dealt last night"). I'll let you know how that goes.

And I can't stress enough how important the support network is going into the coming out. If you have family members that you're out to before, like siblings or close cousins, having them to talk to before and after to temper the parental craziness is important. I had my brother and sister on speed dial during the whole thing, and they were awesome.

Anyway, sorry for the monster comment. I just wanted to let you know that the Chinese parent thing can go both ways. Of course they have had our lives planned out since we were 8 years old, and make dramatic proclamations whenever we veer from the path, but they do it because that's how they think it's the best way to show they care about you. When you do decide to come out to them, make sure you give them their space, but make it clear that it is not a negotiation and that it's something you are comfortable with. When you're coming out to them, it's because you love them and you want to share your life with them, and they will accept you for that

I am going back to Cali in May and that's going to be the first time I see them in person since they were here in New York, but I'm kind of thinking the worst is behind me. Like Doug, I used to have straight up panic attacks in the middle of the day, where a rush of images would come to my head and I would imagine my family and friends finding out about me, and there are days where it made me just want to double over and collapse. I don't have days like that anymore.

I've talked to a lot of my new gay friends about this, and honestly, no one has the "Lifetime Movie" coming out story where their parents are amazing and supportive. It's almost universal that your parents are going to disappoint you a little in this space, and that's just cause they're from a different generation and culture, and because they have such specific plans for their kids that suddenly change. I'm starting to have faith that my parents are coming around though, and I think they are going to be happy for me. I may hold off on the PFLAG t-shirts for a bit though...

3) The Sex... So... since the last time I posted, I've gotten around to meeting a lot of cute boys in bars and after 15 years or so of oppressed sexuality, I've definitely unleashed it in a pretty rapid way. Man, I have no idea how to type this without sounding like some big whore. Basically, in the urbandictionary vernacular I laid out in my blog comment, I've dealt, I've been dealt to, I've tried it all. It's been fun. I've been safe of course, and I'm kind of picky, but it has been so much fun :D. I don't know if I'm ready to go and type out every vein and detail, but maybe another time...

4) The Relationship... So, this is the hard part. On every dating site and "dating" site, they ask you what you're looking for and I have to think that if they're honest, pretty much everyone is looking for the same thing. It always bothered me when people said they're "looking for an LTR". I mean, an LTR is just an R that has lasted an LT. I think I would say that I am looking to meet guys to date, and that if I meet someone I really connect with, of course I'm going to continue dating them. Right? I definitely am a pretty monogamous guy though- I know I'm the exception here, but I just don't think I can be one of those people in an open relationship. I'm totally fine right now meeting guys and having sex without commitments, but when I do meet the right guy and we start dating, I'm not going to want to fuck other guys, and I'm thinking the right guy for me will feel the same. OK, so I've laid out my simple definition of a relationship prospect, and it took longer than I thought but oh well.

Well anyway, I kind of met my first relationship prospect on Thursday, but I probably messed it up. I was out with my super gay bestie Alex, who is teaching me how to vogue (!) and we were at this bar that has a gay night on Thursdays (Aspen). It was getting really fun around midnight, there were a lot of cute guys, and there were 2 for 1 drink specials. Anyway I'm getting us a round and walking them back to our table when a guy gives me the look, and I kind of smile back at him as I'm walking by and he tracks me a little with his head. He has great eyes and something about that look just made me happy. So, I bring our drinks and I talk to Alex and he tells me I should just go talk to that guy (and Alex also wants to meet his cute friend hah). I go over and kind of nudge his chair with my foot and when he turns around I introduce myself (I know, I know, I'm like a high school girl at a dance). Anyway, we get to talking for a while, and he's really funny and cute, and I'm a little drunk, and suddenly I grab his head and we start making out on the dance floor for a while. He makes it a point to say that he's looking for a relationship and not a hookup, and that's when I actually start considering it. I hadn't really been in "relationship looking" mode this whole time, but this is really the kind of guy I would want to date. I am a little embarrassed now that I have been sticking my tongue down this stranger's throat (BY THE WAY HE WAS A REAAALLY GOOD KISSER), but it is still fun. He give me his number and we say good night.

The next morning I woke up still smelling like his cologne. Why is that SO HOT? Anyway, I had to confer with my gay oracles and straight girl friends to decide how I was going to ask him out, and I was actually walking on air the whole morning (it didn't hurt that Friday here was absolutely gorgeous weather). It was kind of like I'd never felt before. I met up with one of my best girlfriends for lunch and we basically decided I should be direct and just text him and tell him it was nice to meet him and ask him out for Saturday Night. I was sitting there with my finger on the send button, and I realized that I wasn't going to feel the euphoria anymore as soon as I hit send. It was kind of sad, but I think I indulged myself long enough to take it in. Anyway I sent the message, and then I agonized for the next few hours- he finally got back to me after work hours, and he said it was nice to meet me too but he couldn't hang out this weekend cause he was busy with friends in town (AND HERE'S THE STUPID PART: I KNEW THIS. I MET HIS FRIENDS AT THE BAR AND THEY WERE VISITING AND I KNEW THIS). But what bummed me out is he didn't suggest a follow-up. If he was really into me, I think he would have said something to the effect of making plans in the future. I still replied that he should have a good weekend and that he should text me next time he's free, but I think it's probably over. I blew it, but I learned a lot (and I made out with a cute guy in a bar, I really am not complaining that much).

And the good thing is that last night I met another cute guy (a friend of a friend), and I think he may be into me. I'm kind of going to take this slow and let him make the first move... and maybe I'll wait til an actual date to stick my tongue down his throat. Maybe.

5) This is kind of unrelated, but I love Yoga! I think I never went before cause I thought it would sound too gay and blow my cover, but I've gone like 3 times and it's awesome (and lets be honest, it features hot guys in sleeveless shirts bending over). It's like an intense workout that makes you sweat and works your muscles, but when you're done with it, your spine is perfectly aligned and you feel like you've gotten a deep tissue massage and taken a nap. It's crazy good. I'm about to go to another yoga class in like 2 hours.


So, that's my super-omni update if anyone is even still following. Sorry I have been such a bad blogger, but my life has been a crazy whirlwind lately. Thanks for reminding me why I started this though, Doug, and best of luck in everything. I'm gonna try to post more regularly now, although now that I'm pretty much out, I think I'm just another gay guy on the internet heh... Maybe I should change the name of the blog.

The Byproducts of a Revelation

So I guess when I talk about how I realized I needed to change everything in my life, it wasn't just the sexual orientation and coming out thing. My life was/is a big tangled ball of irrational choices and bad habits that were all supporting each other.

Smoking
So yeah... I was a casual smoker since college, and I would frequently smoke socially. I've made half-assed attempts at quitting, but as a lot of my friends smoke and it's a pretty ubiquitous nasty habit here in New York, it was easy to fall back into the pattern. Anyway, as part of the package revelation, I decided to just completely cut that ridiculous, irrational habit out of my life entirely; I've been pretty successful since the new year started*.

* I did have one moment of weakness and I bummed a smoke outside of G Lounge on Friday, mostly because I was just a gigantic bundle of nerves that whole night. Also, the guy smoking was cute. And had a thick latin accent. This is probably going to be my biggest hurdle to quitting smoking: smoking-hot** guys outside clubs that make me nervous already.

** You see what I did there?

Working Out
So I've always been a pretty athletic guy. I swam for my high school's swim team a few years, and it's been pretty easy to stay active in New York City (most non-New Yorkers are surprised to learn that our city is actually incredibly Bike-friendly if you know where to go).

All of this was well and fine until I ran the marathon two years ago. Now, you'll notice I mention swimming and biking up above, but not running. This is because I'm not a runner. I just find nothing interesting about running. However, I basically was drunk one night and got into a kind of bar bet? And somehow that resulted in three of us signing up for the marathon the next day. Training for the marathon was actually fantastic; I got in probably the best shape of my life since I was 18, and I could basically eat whatever the fuck I wanted and not gain any weight because I was running 5 days a week.

The thing is, after the marathon I got ridiculously complacent. For the first month my feet still hurt from the marathon and I felt a false sense of entitlement still, then after that it had already gotten brutally cold in New York so I had trouble psyching myself into going to the gym. Eventually it had been about 4 months without much physical activity at all, and I realized when I went on vacation last year that for the first time in a long while, I was being self-conscious about my body.

So just around revelation time at the beginning of this new year, I cancelled my old unused gym membership and signed up to a slightly more expensive gym, but one RIGHT near my house. It's literally like 2 blocks away- even if there's a monster snowstorm on the Eastern Seaboard, I still have no excuse not to go. Also, it was an unexpected bonus, but the guys at my new gym are way hotter. Ah, Chelsea.

Eating Well
I guess I blame this one on the marathon too, because once you get used to the ridiculously high calorie and high carb diets you need to train for a marathon, it's difficult to go back to a normal human diet. I've always been good about eating pretty low calorie, high fiber stuff, but I'm also a total foodie, so I value a really good meal and don't mind splurging and working off a big meal the next day.

Anyway, this bullet point is less directed than the other two, but I'm trying to cook more, eat healthier, eat less fried food, find a decent salad place near work, all that stuff.

The Drinking Thing
Hmmm, this is a tough one for me. I'm pretty sure that my bouts of "courage" noted in other posts like my visit to G Lounge were primarily enabled by the miracle drug called alcohol. Not only do I appreciate alcohol as a social enabler, but I also have a taste for fine wines and liquors, particularly in social scenes and with food. Particularly living in New York with the high-class restaurants we have here, there are some culinary experiences that are tailored to go with specific wines and spirits, and I value those experiences highly.

While I'm not planning on cutting alcohol out of my life, I am probably just putting this down here to acknowledge that I can't keep drinking like I'm still in college, it's going to start having more noticeable effects on my body. Anyway, I guess it will be a challenge for me to stay social and try to drink less, but is that really less demanding than any of the other things I'm going through right now? I guess not.