Brains vs Brawn

I've always considered myself somewhat of an intellectual. The mind, the thoughts of others, deep insights, and revelations are things I consider to be valued. People who use their noggins are people I'm drawn to, that can hold a discourse on a varied myraid of things from the validity of deafhood rejecting Cochlear Implants to the minutae of why the Ansible in Ender's Game would not be possible due to the physics of quantum entanglement. But the rest of the book was quite spot on in terms of General Relativity. ;-)

Lately, though, I've been spending quite a lot of time in the gym, lifting weights and staying true to my goal of participating in the volleyball games for Deaflympics in 2013. Sound like it's a long way off? It is -- the 2009 Deaflympics are happening THIS MONTH in Taipei, Taiwan. How come I'm not going to this year's Games? Well, I missed out on the tryouts in Rochester in 2008 which I was informed of about 3 days before they were to begin - I couldn't get away from work commitments and plane tickets were pretty stiff, and it just wasn't a mess I could handle on such short notice. So, it became a dream deferred - I'm not one to let my dreams slip away from me. I'm where I want to be in my training, practicing vball and keeping on my fitness goals.

The weird thing is, I'm really liking this "best of both worlds" stuff. I've always felt negatively about those "gym rats" who I saw growing up as those who couldn't hack it mentally, spent all day looking at themselves in the mirrors, preening. My biggest challenge actually is making enough time for everything I want to do -- read Anne McCaffrey books, bench press my body weight, study books on Asperger's, do 150 elevated situps a day, write blogs and book material, and cook delicious gluten-free meals. Where have my time management skills gone?!

I still hope I'll be known for my thoughts, perceptions and tendency to listen to what others have to say, rather than for my making time to lift hunks of metal over my head. I do admit it is a nice boost to get called "Mr. Fit" from your buddy though. ;-) My ego's already big enough as it is!

So which is better? Muscles, or intelligence?