LessonLearned

Today I made it to work without getting rained on, even though it was pouring rain and lightning out when I woke. There was a break in the storms, enough for me to ride in to work mostly dry. Good stuff. I've had bad rain luck lately so maybe it's turning around.
I don't mind getting wet most times but if I'm coming into work, to sit in my frigid office (the A/C is turned way up for all the fatties)... then it does bother me to be soaking wet.

misskaz

C'mon dude, is that necessary? Sigh.

LessonLearned

Dude, you're just as skinny as I am. I met you. The jig is up. You're not a fatty.

Seriously, I thought you were kinda scrawny. Not that that's a bad thing.

LessonLearned

I just don't get why they have to have the AC on 62F or whatever it must be on in order to make it like a meat locker in here. I have to keep a jacket at my desk, no joke. It feels nice for the first 5 mins after my ride in, but after that it's terrible.

misskaz

Why would *I* have to be overweight to find that kind of language off-putting?

LessonLearned

Oh haha I misunderstood. Thought you were putting yourself into that category. Even if you were, I know you weren't serious (like I said).

And sure, the fatties remark was a bit much. But to be fair, you don't work in my office. 50% of the folks here are fat bastards who stand on escalators, next to each other, leaving no room for those of us who can walk/climb/descend. Seriously. It's not a ride. I won't even go into the restroom tales, or the breakroom messes. I work with a bunch of overweight slobs.

I work for a bank. Actually I work for an investment firm but we're owned by a bank. But I'm back office (operations). It saddens me to see the condition of these people. There are one or two other guys who bike to work but most of the crowd here is in awe that I would ride a bike to work every day, even when it's hot outside. And they know I only ride 4.5 miles each way. They think that's far.

misskaz

You seem confused. Escalators are in fact made so people don't have to walk up/down stairs. I don't walk up/down the escalators to the cafeteria where I eat lunch, and they are only wide enough for one person so if you're stuck behind me, tough ****. Usually I'm wearing 3" stiletto heels and don't feel like navigating stairs in them if I don't have to. But the reason doesn't matter.

You don't get to be your body shape (rail thin) by riding your bike 10 miles a day and eating well. It's your metabolism, you were born with it, and you've done next to nothing to earn it. (I realize you run marathons and I'm not trying to downplay your accomplishments on that front.) Even if you did used to weigh 100lbs more and worked really ****ing hard to lose that weight, well, congrats. Other people get to make the decision that it's not worth working that hard, and it doesn't make them bad people. I'd guess by looking at you that you're an ectomorph. Some people are endomorphs, and it makes losing weight really hard. Or maybe they have thyroid or PCOS or take antidepressants or other meds that make your body hold on to weight. Or maybe they are dealing with other stress in their lives and just don't have the energy to diet and exercise. Should they, for their own health? Yeah sure. But is it any business of yours? No ****ing way.

Hating/judging someone because they are overweight is just really, really lame.

I have sympathy because I did diet once, to try to lose some of the extra weight on the lower half of my body. I didn't have a bike back then, but I worked out 5 days a week and counted every damn calorie I ate. I eventually lost 5 pounds, and then I plateaued. I also became an obsessive, miserable person. Dieting is not ****ing fun, and I have no problem with people that just don't want to go through that. I have overweight friends and I often eat more than they do, yet people assume they are the ones eating pizza for dinner three nights in a row (guess what, that was me). I'm just lucky that my body only turns that into 1 extra pound rather than 5.

People that don't bike don't realize how 4.5 miles feels, so to them it sounds like a lot. That's true whether they are fat or skinny. I used to live 8 miles from downtown and before I started biking I thought that was WAY too far to ride to work.

prooftheory

The temperatures they keep office buildings at is stupid though, regardless of how athletic the people are. Why are they spending so much money to keep the buildings that cool?

misskaz

Now THAT I completely agree with. I keep several sweaters and wraps at the office because it's so cold in the summer. One girl has a ****ing Snuggie.

P.S. I really like this video about being fat and people hating you for it.

LessonLearned

@Kaz - I realize my viewpoint is pretty narrowminded. It's not like I have a huge vendetta against overweight people, I just thought it would be a fun thing to say (fatties). But then since you called me out, I had to let you know where that may have come from. But rest assured, I don't have hatred for obese people.

As you said, on a one-person escalator, **** happens. Oh well. But I will not back down from the fact that it is common decency to move your ass to the right so people can walk on the left. Same with walking down the sidewalk - I often encounter groups of people who see no problem with them walking 3 or 4 wide and taking up the entire sidewalk. Then they get bent out of shape when I blast through them and don't say excuse me.
Same with the morons downtown with umbrellas. It'll be barely raining and here they are almost poking my eyes out with their busted-ass umbrellas that aren't keeping them dry and only get turned inside out by the gusty winds we have here. Very inconsiderate and just plain stupid to rock a dollar store umbrella. Talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight... they all end up in the garbage can after 5 minutes anyways. So yeah, I just blast through those jerks with umbrellas and they get all bent out of shape about it too but does my face not have a right to NOT be jabbed and hit with metal spines from umbrellas?

I don't really know where I'm going with all of this, but I'll end it by saying - I don't have a problem with fat people. I do have a problem with lazy and/or inconsiderate people who can't clean up after themselves in the bathroom/breakroom, and who can't find it in their hearts to stand to the side and allow others to pass (if they don't feel like walking).

LessonLearned

Also, Kaz, if fat is just this random thing that happens to people and they can't help it... why does it randomly happen to so many more Americans than any other country? Seems a bit odd, no?

misskaz

All I meant was that there are a LOT of factors that go into being fat. Absolutely, eating too much and not exercising enough is a big factor. But my point is that 1. You can't tell by looking at a person why they are fat and 2. Even if they could be skinny by choosing to work really hard to lose weight, it's ok for them to choose not to, to have other priorities.

I mean, everyone could get a PhD if they tried hard enough, right? Just study hard, be willing to take on debt and go to school for that long... What's that you say, some people just don't have academic aptitude? So they should just try even harder! Get tutoring, have to study 3 hours for every 1 hour their classmates have to study. Otherwise, they're just being lazy.

LessonLearned

I am definitely "lazy" when it comes to academics. I dropped out of UIC after 1 year. But I still managed to land a good gig eventually. My job allowed my wife to go back to school and get her Masters. So even though I may be lazy when it comes to school, I'm not lazy when it comes to taking care of business or taking care of my wife/family.

Point taken though - I shouldn't assume things just because someone is overweight. I usually don't, but I will keep that in mind and try to be a better person in that respect.

nuhtowel

page 666 is a hate fest, so I hate lazy people.

dddavid

what's all this page 666 talk, it's only on page 555

settings > general settings > number of posts to show per page > show 30

fewer page loads = win

misskaz

Yeah, it's cool. Sorry to go on a rant like that. I just try not to conflate people's behaviors with their body type or other attribute. (I don't always succeed, but I'm trying.) Is it inconsiderate to block the sidewalk? Yes. Is it inconsiderate to leave a mess in a shared office kitchen? Yep. Do either of those things have anything to do with being fat? No. Is it inconsiderate to just be overweight in the presence of other people? No. Being fat is not a moral failing.

Today I have to figure out how to write a proposal and what to charge for a potential social media strategy consulting gig. Also, I'm gonna be interviewed for a film about Twitter, and will probably go sing karaoke with the filmmakers afterwards. Woo!

jimmytango

LessonLearned, I'm not what most would call fat. Even relative to Kaz, who is a tiny person, I'm not fat. However, I'd much rather sit in a room that is 65 degrees and wear a sweater than sit in one that's 80. Also, I sometimes stand on escalators. That doesn't make me lazy, it simply means that my knees hurt or I'm tired.

I decided to take public transit today to give my body a rest, and so that I could wear nicer clothing. I immediately regretted it, because I hate public transit, but I needed the nicer clothing because after work I'm headed out to apply at my second favorite LBS. Wish me luck.

LessonLearned

Well the fatty comment originated from the comment about the air conditioning being set too cold. Am I wrong to assume fat people get cold less quickly than skinnier people? It's a simple matter of insulation, no?

All of the fat people I know "run hot" and prefer colder temps. (my dad for example)

LessonLearned

@Bryan - I don't consider everyone larger than me to be fat, fyi. I'm grossly underweight. Sickeningly skinny. Believe me, I realize. I am not "normal". So don't take my comments the wrong way. I'm sure you're an "average" size person, not that it matters at all anyhow.
And stand on the escalator all day long if you want, that doesn't bother me in the least. Just make sure you allow room for folks to walk past you if they want to (if the escalator allows it). I know what it is to be sore and tired and want to stand on an escalator. After some of my races my legs were so trashed I had to walk backwards down the stairs to the blue line and I would have given my soul for an escalator to stand on. No harm no foul there brother.

Jared.

Yes.

jimmytango

I used to be huge. Like, 6'3" 315lbs big. I have found little to no difference between temp preferences then and now.

prooftheory

I suspect that if this is true at all it is by a very small margin. Fat does help insulate the body but it also doesn't generate much metabolic heat. Overweight people probably vary on temperature sensitivity close to what thin people do.

Mumonkan

Lol +1

yummygooey

i get cranky when it's too hot.

LessonLearned

Alright then. Sorry everyone. Sorry for the assumptions and for the fatty comment. Won't happen again. Was just trying to be colorful. Epic fail.