Category: Bullying

Planet Fitness

On By Michel McDonaldIn BullyingLeave a comment

planet fitness bakersfieldAs a child I dreaded going to gym class. I hated sports, but the exercise part didn’t bother me. I actually enjoyed the exercise part because it didn’t involve me being hit in the head by a dodge ball, or a baseball, or a football, or a tennis ball. I just really hate being hit in the head by balls. Well…

I used to go to the gym when I was in my early 20’s and I loved it. I stopped going for many years, but I started going to the gym again in 2005. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get there on the bus because we didn’t have a car. I only went there for maybe 3 or 4 months. I stopped going because I went to a friend’s wedding in Colorado Springs and I got my right ear pierced. My left ear was already pierced, so I evened myself out and started wearing earrings again on a regular basis in both ears now. When I came home and went to the gym, one of the female trainers who was so friendly with me that we were practically best friends asked me why I pierced both my ears and I told her the story of having my left ear pierced when I was 17. I also divulged some personal information that she wasn’t expecting. I told her I was gay. I made a joke about it and said “well I am gay…” and you would think that someone had just shot her dog. After that she stopped talking to me, she wouldn’t even look at me. That was when I decided to stop going to the gym.

So fast forward 10 years and I saw an advertisement on Twitter for Planet Fitness. I’m thinking of what happened to me at the last gym and I don’t ever want to have to go through that ever again. It was so depressing to be judged like that by someone who I considered to be a friend. I am very guarded and naturally want to go to Facebook and ask if anyone in the Bakersfield gay community has gone to that gym and one person told me that she hasn’t had any bad experiences. I’m taking her word for it, and I trust her, so I might take a chance. The only problem is, the plan I want will lock me in a 12 month contract.

Planet Fitness has 2 plans. Their $10/mo plan has no commitments, but you get very little benefits from it. This is what you get with their $10 plan.

  • Unlimited access to home club
  • Includes T-Shirt
  • Unlimited fitness training

Their $20 plan seems to be more what I am looking for because you get so much more.

  • Reciprocal use of all Planet Fitness® Franchise Locations
  • Unlimited guest privileges at any Planet Fitness location
  • Unlimited Hydromassage
  • Use of Tanning
  • Unlimited Total Body Enhancement
  • Unlimited Use of Massage Chairs
  • 1/2 Price Cooler Drinks (Restrictions may apply)
  • PF Black Card T-Shirt
  • PF Black Card Key Tag
  • Unlimited Fitness Training

I really like the hydromassage and the massage chairs. Well, my back will like them more. I have scoliosis and I am in constant pain every waking minute. I’m in absolute agony right now as I type this. I have a shiatsu massager that you put on a chair, and that does work, but when I am at a gym working out, I want to get in the shower and then sit in a massage chair. If I’m paying $10 a month and I can’t sit on that massage chair, I’m going to regret even being there. I would much rather pay the extra $10 every month to be able to get a few more benefits. I also wouldn’t mind getting a tan every now and then. Oh and half price cooler drinks? Yes please! I don’t know what total body enhancement means, but if it’s unlimited I’m so in. Oh and a black card t-shirt and key tag? Yes please!

I just want to be able to walk in and get on the treadmill or elliptical or even the stair climber and do cardio for an hour and then start building muscle which will help me burn fat faster. I also REALLY need to work on my butt. When I lost 70lbs a couple of years ago, I looked at my butt in the mirror when I got out of the shower and it was flat as a board. I don’t want to ever see a flat ass on myself again. If I am able to lose some weight, I want to have a nice bubble butt that is all muscle and no fat. Although, if I do get fat again, I’m gonna have a HUGE ass.

This $20 a month deal includes a $39 a year membership fee, which I honestly don’t mind, and a 12 month commitment. If I am committed to a year, then I will have no excuse to not go, in fact, I will feel obligated to go. And the $20 plan includes a unlimited guest pass which I am hoping will get my partner in there for free. So we’ll be working out for the price of one. Although, he may not get the benefits from the massage chair and bed or tanning bed. I’ll have to see how that works.

I’m really looking forward to going to the gym now. I’ve seen pictures and they have TV’s, so you can watch TV while you are doing your cardio. I was thinking of buying a bluetooth transmitter for my Dell DJ. I have bluetooth headphones for my phone, but my phone’s bluetooth doesn’t work. I’m sure I won’t need to listen to my own music if they have TV’s. And I’m sure they have very loud music, so you may not even be able to hear the TV’s lol. Then again, I haven’t gone in there yet, so I don’t know how they work. They may have headphones for the TV’s. Who knows. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Anyway, I really want to go and I hope I have the opportunity. I’m broke this month, so I’m afraid I will have to miss the special they have now. I hope they will have this sale next month.

#Sochi Problems and Boycotts

On By Michel McDonaldIn Animals, Anti-Gay, Boycott, Bullying, Gay, Gay RightsLeave a comment

sochi

Wow!  I mean just wow.  It seems like the Olympic committee would have done a bit more research before committing the Olympics to such a horrible place.  I’m reading tweets and articles about how the water looks like beer, or very dark urine that is harmful to the skin.  Then the horrible conditions in the hotels and in the guest rooms and public bathrooms.  2 toilets in 1 stall, a sign telling people not to flush toilet paper with a little bin below, which is beyond disgusting.  There is even a picture of 2 urinals with no plumbing attached.  No light bulbs, no internet, and as soon as they sign in, they get hacked.  One hotel didn’t even have a lobby, or reception, you had to go to the hotel managers bedroom to check in.  The list literally goes on and on and on.  Yeah, I’d say they were not ready for the Olympics.

I have heard of animals being fed poison to kill them because they have such a bad stray problem.  Well, wasn’t there an issue similar to this at another Olympics, but with homeless people?  No I don’t mean killing them, but relocating them lol.  Instead of killing the strays, why not find them good homes?  What about foster homes?  I mean really?  Killing them?

Putin said that gay people would be safe, yet I’m seeing videos and articles where the gay people are beat up and arrested.  How does that make them safe?  Coca-Cola and McDonald’s are “proud” sponsors, but how can they be so proud of such a travesty?  That is why so many people are not only boycotting the Olympics, but also their “proud” sponsors.  Budweiser, thank goodness, backed out because they didn’t want any part of that.  I don’t drink, but if I ever decide to, I’ll drink Budweiser.

I am glad that I don’t have to suffer through all that mess.  I honestly don’t understand how any of the gay athletes could even step foot in that country knowing the residents are being kidnapped and murdered simply because they were born gay.  How can they think that that kind of behavior is okay and they would be safe?  They have got to take off those rose-colored glasses because that is not the way things work.  I feel sorry for anyone who suffers at the hands of the Russian police and/or security for the Olympics.

I never really cared for the Olympics and now I care even less for them.  I will definitely not be watching now or ever again.  This whole thing has put the worst taste in my mouth that will never go away.  Shame on the Olympics committee for doing this.  This whole thing is nothing but a joke.

The Racists and Bigots Hate Miss America Nina Davuluri

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bullying, TV, TwitterLeave a comment

Miss_America_Nina_Davuluri

I haven’t watched Miss America since I was a kid, and even then I wasn’t paying very much attention.  It’s just not something I really care about.  Give me RuPaul’s Drag Race any day of the week.

I didn’t watch it, but apparently on Sunday night, Miss New York Nina Davuluri, who is the very first contestant of Indian descent to be crowned was crowned Miss America and the internet nearly exploded in a mushroom cloud of pure putrid racism.

Here is a link from Buzzfeed showing a few of the vile tweets.

Some people called her Miss Arab, Miss Al Qaeda, Miss Terrorist and Miss 7-11.  People were saying that Miss Kansas should have won.  Why?  Because she’s white?  I don’t understand what makes Miss Kansas a better candidate for Miss America.  Because she hunts animals?  Because she has a tattoo on her stomach?  Because she loves her country more than Nina Davuluri?  How do they know the level of love Nina has for her country?  I mean, honestly, do they even know her at all?  Have they met her?  Have they had a conversation with her about how dedicated she is to the United States?  I bet you if you asked her some history questions, she probably  knows more than these bigots do.

It’s funny how they don’t care if a person’s ancestors (or parents) were born in Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Hungary or England, but if your ancestor was born in India and your skin color reflects that, all of a sudden you’re not a true American. White doesn’t mean American.

Nina is from New York, so what is a typical New Yorker to these people?  Is she supposed to be like Fran Drescher?  Or what about Julie Chen?  Yeah, she’s from New York.  Check it out.  I mean what is a typical New Yorker supposed to look like?  Is she supposed to be white with brown hair and a thick New York accent?  Please tell me what the expectations are for being a true New Yorker.

This is 2013.  I just can’t believe there is still so much hatred and racism.  People from India are not terrorists and they are not affiliated with Al Qaeda.  Indians are not Arabs either.  I feel if you are going to make a racist statement, you should at least look at a map so you can see that India and Saudi Arabia aren’t the same country.  Here, take a look if you don’t believe me.

saudi arabia and india

I don’t know the rules of Miss America and I don’t know Nina Davuluri, and I’ve already said I don’t even watch the show, but I’m pretty sure that they wouldn’t crown a woman Miss America if she weren’t an American.  Like I said before, having white skin does not make you a true American.  If you want to know who the true Americans are, go find a reservation and ask around.  The Native Americans might have something to say about your racism.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions just as I am entitled to point out their ignorance.  We all as Americans have free speech, but I think free speech and hate speech are two separate things.  Get your facts straight before you start calling someone you don’t even know names.

“Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

You know what my mother always said to me when I was a child?  Come on, you know this one.  “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  Do us all a favor and just keep your mouth shut if all you can do is spout your racism and hate speech.

Depression

On By Michel McDonaldIn BullyingLeave a comment

depression-1

Do you mind if I vent for a minute?  I wouldn’t normally blog about this because it happens to me a lot, but sometimes I just have to get it out.

Imagine being in high school and the other kids are pointing and laughing at you because of whatever reason.  You don’t quite fit their definition of the perfect human, so they point and laugh.  Well, imagine being 42 years old and people (adults) driving by your house while you’re walking the dog and they slow down as they are passing you and are blatantly pointing and laughing at you.  Not just one person in the car, but the driver and his three passengers.  It doesn’t feel good, I know because that happens to me a lot, in fact it happened to me again today.

There is an apartment building in our neighborhood that just so happens to be a section-8 apartment building, not that there is anything wrong with people who have to be on section-8, but that apartment seems to attract the lowest of the low.  There are mostly gang members and ever since they moved in to that building last year, they have been calling me “Big Gay Al” whenever I ride to the store.  As a matter of fact, I was exercising on my bike, riding 23 miles a day trying to lose weight and it was their “Big Gay Al” that made me stop riding.  It put me in a deep depression and I just gave up on trying to lose weight.  Since then they drive by laughing at me.

What’s funny is that they walk by the house all the time either alone or in groups and never once say a word to me, it’s only when they are in their car when they start spewing all this vile hatred at me.  That to me is cowardly.  I mean, calling me names is cowardly on it’s own, but doing it in a way that they don’t have to worry about confrontation because they have a vehicle to drive away is even more cowardly.

Look, I know it’s not going to be the rest of my life, that these asshats are only here until either their lease is up or until they get so many complaints that they end up getting evicted, but it still hurts that I have to be the target.  I’m sure they pick on other people, but I seem to be one of their main targets.  And it’s not just them, there have been other tenants who have targeted me and they tortured me for the duration of their tenancy in that building.  I don’t know how or why I have become the target though.  Is it because I am bald, fat, gay or all of the above?

I am just so irritated.  I’ve been down in the dumps the whole day because of it.  When I get upset I have panic attacks and all of a sudden I’m really hungry and have to eat whatever I can get my hands on.  I don’t want to blame people for my obesity, but they are certainly a factor.

“It Gets Better!”  I just have to keep telling myself that.

I just want to cry my eyes out because I don’t know what else to do.  I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired.  I know blogging about this didn’t make me feel any better, but it was a step.  I’m sorry you had to read that lol.

Bully and the National Day of Silence

On By Michel McDonaldIn Anti-Gay, BullyingLeave a comment

I have been invited by two groups here in Bakersfield to see the movie Bully at the Maya Cinemas theater.  I think Bully is an important movie that everyone needs to see because it shows the reality for the victims of bullying.

I myself was bullied in junior high school.  They called me a faggot and a queer and many other horrible names.  Being a bully does not show me how cool you are, it only shows me what an animal you are.  It wasn’t just the kids in school who bullied me, no it was my step-father who began the bullying when I was less than two-years-old.  I suffered at the hands of an abuser throughout my entire childhood so I know all about being bullied.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8kNYV5EAVw

April 20th isn’t just a day to go see Bully, it is also the National Day of Silence.  You don’t have to be silent the whole day, just remember those who were kept silent when they were killed for being gay.  You can celebrate any way you want to, just as long as you remember the innocent victims of bullying.

Keep Your Chin Up Jonah

On By Michel McDonaldIn Anti-Gay, Bullying, NOH81 Comment

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdkNn3Ei-Lg

This was shared with me on Facebook today and I couldn’t help but cry throughout the whole video.  This kid named Jonah who just started the 8th grade this year has been bullied since the 1st grade is showing that although he is terrified of being bullied, he has a million reasons to not kill himself.

He talks about cutting himself and even shows where his scars are, you can’t really see them but I’ll take his word for it.  I think that was when he started to cry which was what set me off and I started bawling.

Dear Jonah if you are reading this, I know what you are going through because I went through something very similar.  I know how tough life is and I’m sure you keep hearing “It Gets Better” but it really does.  You have to hold your chin up and just try to get by day-to-day.

Let me tell you something about me.  I didn’t actually start to get bullied until junior high school and the only reason it took that long was because we moved around so much that nobody really got to know me to start bullying me until the 7th grade.

I was abused by my step-dad mentally and physically since I was a baby so I know what it’s like to be bullied on a daily basis.  When the kids started bullying me was when I tried to end my life because I just couldn’t take being bullied at school and at home.  I attempted suicide almost every night.  I almost killed myself when I was 13 years old by choking myself.  I would choke myself until I became unconscious but then I’d wake up in the morning.  I finally gave up after weeks of killing myself every night because it wasn’t working.

It isn’t worth dying over because even though you are still so young, you will have something to offer the world and I know you will succeed because I believe in you.  You do have a million things to live for and I applaud you for making this video to hopefully open people’s eyes to what you are going through.  Maybe you will write a book some day and when you do I hope you share it with me.

Speaking of which, I wrote my own book and I would like to give it to you for free when it is published.  It is a bit depressing and you have enough to worry about but perhaps it might provide some inspiration.

I believe in Karma and I know that those bullies will get what is coming to them when they are older.  Believe me, they will be fat, bald and in the middle of their third divorce while paying $1000-$5000 a month in child support.

Stay positive and keep being you. *hug*