man and manly works!

Ah yes, the mystical, magical world of masculinity...A world full of sweat, beer, odours, sports, red meat and trucks!! Clean nails!? WHAT!? Napkins!? who needs them!? and what is that green shit on my plate? Broccoli!? Get that the fuck outta here!! I am a MAN, and this is MY MANLY WORLD GRRRRRR!!!

...right.....well, I am a man, and i can safely, and proudly say I am not a citizen of the testosterone-fueled country of manliness. I don't even like visiting for a weekend. I very much prefer the much more gentlemanly and open-minded township that I live in...one where you can be a man, but still enjoy and participate in things that may not be considered manly, and no one cares...in fact, a lot of people actually prefer a man that can do un-manly things whil still remaining masucline....did i lose anyone there?

For example....I am not an overly manly person...we've established that in past journals...but does that mean that i don't exhibit manly things? No. I still LOOK like a man, talk like one, dress like one, and so on, but i don't do it in the ridiculously over exaggerated and stereotypical way that inhabitants of Manly World do. Some guys like to sit around and play guitar hero all day, or watch family guy, or whatever...me, i prefer chilling out watching a movie (that ISN'T a road trip type frat boy comedy)while reading or writing, or even just playing on my guitar...is that un-manly? No, just a different type of manly. Some guys drink Blue Light or Coors Light and think they have to because it's manly. I don't always drink beer, but when i do, i prefer Dos Equis (i couldn't resist, but it's actually true in my case), or a martini, or amaretto on the rocks, or something slightly more sophisticated than sucking beer out of such a stereotypical bottle.

My dress is a mix of Musician/rocker attire with a slightly GQ touch (as much as i can afford of course)...a combination many people have commented on, even calling my mix of military cut dress shirts, and skinny ties my "signature" look... but there is always a manly edge to it...so why do i have to wear baggy t-shirts or ball caps to look manly? I don't...

What brought this post on was a recent comment made to me after i mentioned that I had made a stop at Bath and Body works. I mentioned it in passing conversation, and this person, a man of course, stopped me mid sentence to say; "Wait did you say bath and body works?" to which i replied yes....he just looked at me as if i told him i wear high heels on weekends and touch young albino children in their no-no spots. I took immediate interest in his comment asking him why i got the weird look. He replied with "Oh no reason...just wondering if you bought your vagina there too"...

Now, normally i would laugh, which i did a little bit, but it's not like i was watching all my children and flipping through a victoria's secret catalogue. I was at a store purchasing hygiene products to better myself and my lifestyle. Yes, i purchased body wash. yes i purchased hand lotion. Yes, i sampled almost every scent in the store to find the right fragrance for the right room, moment and occasion. And i find absolutely nothing wrong with that...and neither should you.

There is nothing wrong or unmanly about preferring your soap to smell of sweet pea instead of Dial. There is nothing wrong with wanting your bedroom to waft of the scent of fresh bamboo...there is nothing wrong with wanting your hands to have the faint scent of Japanese cherry blossom, or your skin to smell of Sea Island Cotton...it doesn't make you un manly at all. If anything, it makes you MORE manly, and gives you, and people who perceive you the ideal that you actually have some substance, and, dare i say it, some culture!

But no, you run out to your nearest Shoppers Drug mart and buy whatever spike TV tells you to buy...which means you run to the Axe bodywash and body spray section and stock up because you think chicks will fall all over you...but you just end up smelling like a giant douche bag. Although i will admit, the Axe hair products are actually worth the purchase. Here's an idea...get some depth in your life, and start looking at things from different angles...stop buying cologne because it's cheap, and start looking into what smells you enjoy and what smells the best on you...cologne is worth the money spent if you find the one you really enjoy...and don't buy it because of the name...buy it because you LIKE it. Me personally, my fallback scent is Lacoste Essentials...well, for the right occasions of course...i have a very VERY wide selection of colognes for all different things, but that will be another post.

I am a very happily taken man...but i got my lady by just being myself. So for those of you guys reading this that are "manly men" maybe you should realize that the tough guy act isn't what women are always looking for..newsflash, that bad boy thing chicks talk about, yeah that's just a phase...so you might want to reconsider the constant spike tv watching chauvanism.

What i'm getting at is FIND YOURSELF. step out of your head and your ideals of what you think you should be, and just BE. get a manicure if your hands are shot to hell...spend $80on a cologne that makes YOU feel good...try a different type of beer or drink just to see what it's like...buy that shirt you think "isn't me"....wear a fedora...download or buy an album from a band you know NOTHING about. Try cooking yourself dinner...something different...for fuck's sake, LIVE a little bit. Be YOU, stop being what you THINK a man should be!!

Now dammit, GO to Bath and Body works, find 3 smells you like, buy 3 body washes (buy 2 get 1 free!!) and start discovering your hidden self!!