Summer of Dan

Happy Birthday to the Niff!!!

Today is the day of birth for the one and only Niffkin!!! Who knows how young she is, all I know is she doesn't look a day over 18 ;) Raaaawr!

After planning all week to see each other for lunch for her birthday, she was given the chance to do something a lot more fun: spend 90 minutes in a crime scene education class, with full-on ghastly pictures and forensic info. Sounds a lot more fun than just watching me stuff my maw with whatever panini I get my hands on from the cafe at the hospital where she works, so I don't blame her.

I picked her up from work and we headed down to Chunky's, a movie theater/restaurant with old skool Lincoln Towncar / Cadillac leather car seats that recliner and are on wheels. After seeing National Treasure for the first time ever this week she wanted to see National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets. Going in we knew it would be a cheesefest (especially since its a Disney flick) but we were both cool with it and it was everything we could have wanted and more.

This weekend the celebration will continue when we hit the super sushi/Chinese buffet Minado down in Mass. I wrote about early last month. Cannot go wrong at that place. If I can sneak a camera in I will.

Happy Birthday to the Niff!!!

Fantasy sports with prison bitches

At least once a year I jump into a Public Fantasy league where I know absolutely no one. It's fun beating down the average Joe and talking trash and getting them to explode for no reason.

Case in point: Schmoe Below here offered up one of the worst trades I've ever seen in my entire life. I countered, and he emailed me telling me I was an idiot and how I wasn't being fair and I could rot in hell. I replied something to the effect that he was the one that was being a little girl and something about his Yahoo idea (bolded below) looking awfully like a female body part.

Now, if you're easily offended, like any of my posts, I implore you to read no further. Small children, women that are feint of heart, and Flack may all be offended and visibly shaken after reading his reply.

Read at your own risk:

*Hey dhynds42,

You have just been sent the following note from BLACK DRAGONS (pete_gina2) in the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Hockey league named Yahoo Public 96916 (96916)...

suck my ass you little fuckin cunt!!!!!!! you need to learn something, i know you dont have any common sense. you half-assed backward little fuckin cunt. and as for my name, thats none of your fuckin business you little bitch. so go talk to someone who cares or gives a shit!!!!! cause i wouldnt give you the shit off the bottom of my shoes. asshole.

--Fantasy Hockey Commissioner http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/hockey*

Yes, as you can see, this is fantasy hockey. I know all of about 10-15 guys TOTAL in all of the NHL and in a twelve man league I am in second place, and about to be in 1st, and we just reached the halfway point in the season, while this little fairy is lost somewhere below me.

I didn't know they let prison bitches online to do fantasy sports...guess you learn something new every day.

Love what you do, do what you love

I haven't said much about my new job, but it's better than I thought it would be. It's been a month next week and I still actually look forward to going to work.

I'm actually trusted to do what I know how to do and that is tech.  When I make recommendations, they are listened to and 99% of the time taken at face value.

I get to work with stuff I normally would never have had a chance to work with, things that I might be able to get a chance to work with years from now.

I am not treated like a kid, I am trusted like an adult, and given leeway and never micromanaged.

Right now, I love what I do and I'm doing what I love. I never thought I'd get that shot, but I did. And I thank God every day.

Need your co-operation

I really think I get the best SPAM in the entire world.  My reply is attached. This guy needs my help, so what else should I do, you know? Afterall, he is a veteran and isn't stealing.

*******************************

I would love to help you. Let me know what you need from me and I will do it.

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Daniel Vincent

Date: Jan 21, 2008 12:07 PM Subject: Need your co-operation To:

Hello My Dear,

My name is Daniel Vincent, an American soldier; I am serving in the military of the 1st Armored Division here in Baghdad Iraq. As you know we are being attacked by insurgents everyday and car bombs, it will became worst now Saddam Hussein were executed. During one of our rescue Mission we came across a safe that contains Huge amount of money that belongs to the revolutionaries, which I believe they use in buying weapons and ammunitions, and it was agreed by all party present that the money will be shared amongst us. Out of the total fund my share was $9,000,000 (Nine Million US Dollars).I am seeking your assistance to evacuate my share of the money, which is $9,000,000 out of here to you, in as much as you can assure me that my own share will be safe in your care until I complete my service here.

This is no stolen money, and there are no dangers involved, as I have made arrangements with a UN representative who promised to deliver the fund to any of my choosing destination. I shall be compensating you with Two Million Dollars on final conclusion of this project, while the rest shall be for me for my investment purposes. One passionate appeal I will make to you is not to discuss this matter with a third party, should you have reasons to reject this offer, please destroy this e-mail as any leakage of this information will be too bad for me.

I do not know for how long we will remain here, and I have survived two suicide bomb attacks, which prompted me to reach out for help because I will be migrating to you to invest and start a new life not as a soldier anymore.

Please if you are capable of handling this deal, kindly send me an e-mail signifying your interest including your most confidential telephone numbers for quick communication. As soon as I receive your email with the information, I will furnish you with full details on when and how the fund shall be delivered to you by the diplomat and he will make a contact with you before anything,

Sincerely,

Sgt. D. Vincent

Let me introduce you to Matt Scott

There are so many people out there that are lazy and have no motivation to take care of themselves. Everyone needs to get exercise, everyone needs to get their heart rate up there at least a few times a week, everyone should work out in some way, shape, or form.

Too many times in the past I've come up with excuses on some days not to work out. I haven't done that in a while, as I've changed my outlook on working out and life in general over the last few months.

I won't have to worry about it anymore, as any time I feel like slacking off, I'll just watch Matt Scott, and then get my ass into the gym.

If you can't get inspired by Matt, nothing will ever inspire you. Growing up with a disability like Spina Bifida and still being an athlete says something about his character. It also says something about you if you can't get inspired.

Would you?

So I'm watching an episode of L.A. Ink and there is a guy that wanted a tattoo of a crow flying into a fire. He was burned over 60% of his body running into a trailer that was totally engulfed in flames because his friend was sleeping in the back. He got the tattoo over a huge section of his scars, and was happy to get it and walk away with it.

It made me think about that for a bit and whether some of my friends would run through a fire to save me, and I came to the same conclusion about that as I did about myself which is they would. No doubt in my mind. And that makes me feel good.

Take note: don't be a tool to me, or I'll leave you.

Too curious for my own good

The Niff sent me out for a few things at the store and I decided to try Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr Pepper. Not too dumb right?

Well, normally, no.

Except it tastes...like dogmess.

And I bought a whole case of it.

No idea how I'll choke down 11 more cans of this crap.

The Real Big 3

Last week, the Niff came down with that Norovirus that is taking the UK by storm. She wasn't able to go to the Celtics game so she very nicely offered her ticket to Kraig. Steve and Kraig carpooled down and picked me up. After getting down to the Lechmere T-stop in about 14 minutes, we hit the Gaahhden straight away, checking out the Pro Shop for some gear.

Holy crap. I think they shut the A/C off in there to keep people out of the Pro Shop, because it was about 119 degrees in there. We weren't in there for too long, I think we all would have died from dehydration if we were in there for long.

We headed up to the level where our seats were at (nosebloods anyone?) and hunted for food. Aside from having about 6 different options for food (pizza, hot dogs, calzone, sausage, fries, and soda) everything cost about $18.99. I wanted a burger: no dice. I wanted a chicken sangwich: no dice. I had to settle for some buffalo tenders and fries and a soda. After I gave them my down payment, we headed to our seats.

Steve and Kraig got pretty much the same thing, with Kraig getting pizza and a beer, and Steve getting what I got but with a root beer. It's sad, because even if you added up the prices for everything we got, we still wouldn't be able to afford a single jersey.

The end result of the game wasn't what we wanted, but good times were had by the Real Big 3. Crappy cell phone pics for the lose, but what can you do, right?

Look at that smile on Kraig, so blinding!

Real athletes

Random title, random topic, but not so much if you know me.

I'm so sick of people that claim they are athletic when they really aren't.

I'm sick of people that are heroes in their own mind, but no one else's.

I'm sick of people that live in the past, but can't live in the present.

I'm sick of people that think they are badass, but they're really just bad.

I'm sick of people that claim they are athletic but can't "fight through injuries".

I'm sick of people that claim they are athletes but haven't seen a gym in years.

Real athletes are in the gym when they don't want to be, doing the things they don't want to do, when they are hurt and most people would pack it in:

 

Real athletes don't call themselves athletes, other people do.

 

 

Real athletes don't make excuses, they just make do, and they do it.

 

 

Real athletes go above and beyond, even when they get no recognition for it, to better themselves.

 

 

It's about doing it to better yourself, whether it's for a sport or not, and not thinking you are perfect.

 

 

If you're not real as a person, you have no point in being around me. Fake people for the lose, and real people for the win. I'm glad I've decided to just surround myself with real people. Amen.   

Life ain't a track meet, it's a marathon

I am a slacker. Not by choice. It's a disease for me. I need a PDA in my head to organize all the things I want/need to do every day. I keep telling myself when I get my Smartphone things will be different, because I'll be able to blog whenever I want, with ease, and not just limit myself to the 160 characters I can send from my cell.

That said, I have multiple 'events' I need to capture in my blog, regardless of how old they are. For most people they would skip it, but my blog is for me, and for the few friends and family that read it. I don't write up or 'play up' to an imaginary audience, or change my writing style to the way I think some people want to see or read. This is for me, and I apologize to no one about the style or frequency I blog.

Except to myself.

Ok, and to the Niff.

Running a marathon is the ultimate endurance sport: you are all by yourself on the road, for literally days (when you add up the training runs), in crappy weather half the time and never feeling 100% healthy but having no chance to rest your weary bones.

And Jen ran one.

I took notes and pictures, but don't even need to refer to my notes as I remember like it just happened.

The morning started out with us parking about a mile away from the starting line. It was pretty cool out, and very windy. We kept to the sun as much as possible so she could enjoy the heat as long as she could before her race started. She figured it would take her about 4 and a half hours to run, and she was just happy the rain that happened the day before and after the race just weren't when she was running.

 

 

You might be able to tell if she is happy and/or cold here. Note the mittens and long sleeve shirt. Later she swapped out the mittens for socks, which she ditched on someone's lawn. Hardcore!

 

I was pretty nervous for her, as I knew she gets cold quickly but figured she would warm up before long. She had her Gatorade and water on her fuel belt, along with some Gu and jelly beans for when she needed them. She was way more ready to run than I was to wonder about her the entire time.

 

 

I was able to snap a half decent picture of the Niff right before the race started. Shortly after this the crowd because to surge and I lost her so I had to opt to take video of the start of the race instead. It wouldn't be for over 2 hours before I saw her again, and those 2 hours were interesting to say the least.

It was cold, but I brought layers. I knew staying out there all day would be eventful, as they had a soup festival in Veteran's Park, and I had company that would be joining and calling throughout the day.
I pulled up a nice piece of cement curb (as they blocked off a huge section of Elm Street), grabbed a Hippo and read it cover to cover.

At one point, some really really cagey dude in a leather jacket was walking around as I was taking some pictures of the Pembroke Building, which is a building the Niff and I have talked about living in as they have really nice apartments that overlook Elm and the park.

 

I mean, he seemed freaked out that I was taking pictures, and seemed to size me up, like he was going to take me out! Soooo...I did what anyone would do, and took a bunch. Hey, you never know when you might capture someone that is on America's Most Wanted.

 

 

He took off after he heard me taking pictures. Thought he would slit my throat from behind, but there were cops all over the place so I figured I was good to go.

About 20 minutes after the race started, Colleen hunted me down to keep my company, since her dad was running the half marathon. That was over before I knew it and the three of us got copious amounts of soup at the soup tent. Knowing the Niff's splits for her miles roughly, we headed to the halfway point, which is right near the finish line. I was worried we wouldn't catch her , because if she ran even half a minute per mile faster than normal we would have easily missed her...

 

 

Those are the final pictures of the Niff from her race, because I went for video when she crossed. If I can, I will post it here, but I have to figure that out. I might just upload it to YouTube and link it here.

But she did it. She did. In 4 hours and 30 minutes, right on her pace, Miss Consistent Niff rewarded herself by finishing her first marathon. So proud of her, even today. Mark and Flack were there at the finish to see her roll in and it couldn't have been any better.

Time will tell if she'll run another, but you can't take away your first marathon, and the Niff certainly earned this one. Just ask her little stompers.