Those of you who have grown to know me will know I am not an especially remarkable specimen in a physical sense. The best description I could give myself would be ‘scrawny’. I do not possess big muscles, defined pecks, or a rippling six-pack. Sometimes I’ve had a four-pack, but that’s of beer, and thus does not count.

With that in mind, how is it that I often end up involved in some of the more physical tasks at work?! Even worse, what makes me sometimes volunteer for them?! Case in point, the recent trade show that I attended involved the lifting and lugging of large, 1200mm x 600mm tiles. Now, we had a fair bit of help at dismantling the displays and moving the tiles, but even so, there was a fair bit of work involved that required physical effort on my part.

I don’t like physical effort!

In many ways I fit the classic (or stereotypical) description of a geek, and these days, I wear that label with pride. I am not sporty. I am not into outdoor activities, save sunbathing and swimming, and let’s face it, sunbathing is hardly strenuous! My interests lie in sci-fi, gaming, and in providing social/political/personal commentary via this blog.

Alas, my interests and what’s required of me do not always align. Then again, I wasn’t required to attend this trade show, and I still did! I know I’m not great with the heavy lifting, and nor do I have particularly good coordination (something my colleagues also know!), yet I will try anyway. I guess I want to feel useful in such circumstances. I don’t want to stand back whilst my colleagues exert themselves. As much as I could easily and happily avoid the hard labour, it wouldn’t feel right.

I should go to the gym, but I A: don’t have the money and B: don’t have the patience. I would want the exercise to pay off more or less instantly, which is obviously an unrealistic expectation, but the thought of a month of weight-lifting and sore muscles, to achieve slightly bigger biceps, does not appeal to me. There is still time for me to do so, but I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever ‘feel’ it, so to speak. I guess I’ll carry on putting myself out there to do the tough stuff, and then moan that I don’t like it!