Summer of Dan

The animal in me

The other day after my race the Niff emailed my family and some friends about my "accomplishment" running in the mean streets of Haverhill. We got various responses but by far the best was from my dad:

hi
brings back memories of quincy.
when danny was young he would chase cars down the street all day long.
he'd come home and there'd be bits of hard black rubber in his teeth.
couldn't figure it out, until, one day, went around back of the house and tucked behind a clump of shrubs i found a giant pile of chrome bumpers all mangled up with teeth marks.
suddenly it all made sense,
why both ends of our street had dead end signs,
why houses that caught fire on our street were left to burn to the ground,
why the school buses stopped picking up the kids on the street,
why in winter we never once saw snow plows and the mailman had a cattle prod.
he's an animal alright, just don't let him near the pace car.
go danny go!
love
dad

I get my sense of humor from my dad mostly, probably because my mother is German and that kind of humor never really translated into my upbringing; but I got plenty of other things from her.

My dad has always been well read, and used to always write all sorts of stuff, and just the way this was written brought back a lot of good memories.

I guess it comes as no surprise that one of my running playlists has Three Days Grace's Animal I Have Become

So what if you can see the dark inside of me
No one will ever change this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal

I have to unleash the beast again on sunday for 4 miles.

Setting the pace

Yesterday the Niff and I set out for the first race in our back-to-back-to-back racing series. In typical New England fashion, it had been nice all week, only to start to drizzle just as the race started. A drizzle when it's about 36 degrees out is not a drizzle. It's freezing rain. Through the ghetto of Haverhill.

We knew if we ran well we wouldn't have to be in the rain long so right before it started the Niff asked me how fast I wanted to run. Since she is the elite runner in the family and was running to be my pacer and support group, she figured 10 minute miles would be best and I agreed.

As the gunshot rang through the air I clicked my watch on so I could keep track of our splits. The first mile was the worst, mostly because it had a steady hill that seemed to climb forever. Once we got to the top though it was mostly smooth sailing.

At the first mile marker there was a clock and it said we covered our first mile in 10:06. That's right - the Niff was off the pace by only 6 seconds. She had no GPS watch telling her how fast she was running, nothing, just by feeling. Fucking INSANE.

Somewhere between the first and 2nd mile some 3rd floor fatties smoking cigarettes on their balcony asked everyone why we were running and mocking us. I started dying when Jen yelled up, "So we don't end up like you!!!"

Shortly after that, we coasted down the hill and say the photographer at the bottom, prime position for a pic. Note how she got that cool bib number. I guess when you run all the time you deserve cooler numbers.

We hit the 2nd mile marker almost exactly 10 minutes after the first mile. The rain was starting to pick it up, and about at the 2.5 mile mark Niff said we needed to pick it up for 20 seconds if we wanted to run a sub 30 minute 3 mile race so we did. Shortly after a bunch of young kids about 10 or 12 were gawking, asking us why we were running. Jen yelled, "Zombies!!!" and I said "You should run too..." I'm not sure if that scarred them for life or not, I didn't have time to look back to see if they were running.

With about 100 yards to go I looked at my watch and saw that we were at about 29:15 and we sprinted the rest of the way, clocking in at 29:27, all thanks to the best pacer out there. I couldn't have done it without her, I wouldn't have wanted to. She kept it fun by commenting on the surroundings and talking to me, while I struggled to breath and push my fat ass through the 3 miles but we did it. I told her the other day I didn't like running on the treadmill because it's not the same as running with her and it's true. It's not nearly as fun and is just "running".

I accomplished three goals:

1. I wasn't the last person to finish
2. I finished under 30 minutes
3. I didn't walk or puke

Next weekend we have part 2: the 4 miler. Here is to hoping the weather cooperates and I can get the 2nd part of my tri-force like medal.

You're a natural

This is why I don't play video games with my dad.

You son of a bitch!

Three random things I've been chewing on:

• Flack found my guilty pleasure - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Caught me training with his camera.

          This kid looks exactly like me. How insane is that???

• My sister and I have always thought about writing a book together. It seems as if this website has been peering inside our heads.
  
  
  
  (Giant burger between two large meat pizzas, eggs, bacon, colby and pepper jack cheese).
  
  Insane concoctions of food that most people would throw up just looking at. It's like food porn for me though. This is probably the best site ever.
  
• My life will only be complete when I meet the man that owns this:
  
  
  
  That's right - a Never Ending Story van. The other side has the sequel. Amazing.

Sticky situation

I think I have a little real estate to the right of the wolf I might be able to fill up.

When the right sticker comes along maybe it will find a home.

It's a shame I can't make my own stickers.

Too stupid for my own good

Trying to learn Photoshop by yourself without any tutorials, books, or manuals makes me feel mentally deficient. Of the highest level.

Sometimes its good to humble yourself.

Hands off my tapioca

Right now I would like a giant massive bowl of tapioca. Maybe the size of a popcorn bowl.

• Maybe it's because of the lack of awesome video games right now, maybe it's because I'm getting old - but I've been using my XBox for streaming Netflix 1000% more than I've been using it to game. Resident Evil 5 needs to come out soon.
  
• Ever since the Niff and I went to IKEA a couple weeks ago and came home with some bamboo, Ray has been snuggling up to it all too often. Almost kissing it. Not chewing it, not licking it, but kissing it. I think he is going soft.
  
• Preseason football practice has started already, but I've yet to be able to partake in the puking that everyone else is enjoying. And this upsets me. Alas, sunday night will be my first practice. Here is hoping my 5k before that doesn't eff me up prior to practice.
  
• My Kindle is still the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. Aside from my original Nintendo. I'm reading a lot more and I think my OCD when it comes to lugging around 100 books is starting to dissolve because of it.
  
• I don't even know what to say about this:
  
  
  
• Speaking of books, I just finished an awesome book called Shadow Divers. If you';re into World War II history, it's a fantastic read.
  
• I'm sick for the first time in a very, very long time. It's a pretty mean cold, but nothing a lot of rest/relaxation, OJ, warm Ginger Ale, soup and toast won't fix. All courtesy of the Niff.
  
• I wish winter would finally be over. I'm not one to complain about the cold or snow or wind. But sometimes you just want to walk outside with a t-shirt on without people looking at you like you are some freak.
  
• Slumdog Millionaire lived up to the hype and beyond. Amazing movie. Go see it if you can.
  
• I've always had this unfounded worry that I might die before I read all the books in my bookcase and see all the movies I've always wanted to see. It's in the same vein as wanting to do XYZ before you die, I just feel like the bookcase is staring at me.
  
• The other day the Niff and I hit up Borders for some research. We circled for a bit for a table and finally one opened up, a big round table that had 6 chairs. It was totally empty and we put our stuff down while Niff got some coffee. I started writing in my journal when some lady plopped her ass down basically next to me with a tall cup of coffee, a huge piece of cake, and a book she was pretty intent on reading. She didn't ask to sit there, didn't say anything. I looked at her a few times, she pretended I wasn't even there.
  
   
  
  So I made sure she knew I was there. I "accidentily" bumped the table a "few" times, gently spilling her coffee every now and then. She got the picture and then got the fuck out. I can't stand rude old ladies.
  
  No sooner does she leave does this 80 year old man walk up and ask if I minded if he sat there. Of course I needed the space to spread out our stuff, but he was polite, asked, and shit, he was an old man, right?
  
  Yeah, except after he sat down, about 5 minutes later his 40 year old mail order bride came over with a shitton of stuff and stretched out, taking up at least half our table.
  
  Needless to say, it took all of 60 seconds for us to peace out.
  
  

Swing away Merrill...swing away

There aren't many actors I can honestly say would get me in the movie theater, regardless of their role. Maybe less than a handful. At the top of the list is Joaquin Phoenix.

Everyone knows by now he's gone and grown a beard, announced he has retired from acting for good and will focus on his music career.

But I'm not so sure about that.

Last night he was on Letterman, and there is a lot of buzz about how he seemed drugged out, crazy, and just out of it. If you watch the entire interview, at the end, he takes his sunglasses off and Dave tells him "Good job", signaling it was all a bit. At least that's what I gather.

Everyone wants to know: Why would he do this?

Marketing. Simple as that.

Think about this - right now he's working on his "music career", was signed by Puff Daddy, and his BFF Casey Affleck is filming his "documentary" about his music career. By saying he is done with acting and going the music route it created that buzz.

So what do you think will happen when he announces he is back in the acting game?

Ticket sales for his movie will skyrocket, he'll get even more press for it, and people will love him even more.

Sometimes people need a break from what they do. At one point Ed Norton took an extended period of time off acting. By doing this, Phoenix could be doing just that - getting away and at the same time creating a huge media frenzy. And it's working.

That's my theory at least, time will tell. If not, and this isn't an act with Letterman then the end for him in this world is a lot closer than any of us could have ever though.

Character

Character is a set of behavior traits that define what sort of person an individual is. Many times people with good character are overlooked for people that are bit more out there. Some consider people with good character to be boring and yesterdays news. But I define myself strongly on the people I surround myself with. If you don't have good character you aren't someone I want to associate with. Sure, people have their own life journeys and they are allowed to screw up once in a while, its how you bounce back from these screw ups, how you learn from them.

Two of my favorite quotes from Abraham Lincoln are all about character.

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

It's very basic, but it resonates with me. Character is not just how people define you, but it's how you are defined as a person, even behind closed doors. Especially behind closed doors. It really is. Its about being true to yourself.

One of my favorite lyrics ever is O.A.R.'s About Mr. Brown.

What's that you do when no ones looking at you?

Too many times I've seen people that change depending on who they are with. Be real 100% of the time and you don't need to put up that front. The only person it really fools is yourself. It fools yourself into thinking that you actually need to be a totally different person around other people, it fools you into thinking you are fooling others. But you aren't.

Character to me is doing the right thing when no one is looking. It's doing the right thing and not expecting credit for doing the right thing.

I've found that people with good character are the ones that will always be around and the bad eggs always weed themselves out over time. That's not a bad thing either. In the end it all works out.

A beautiful thing

It's the day before one of the most exciting days of the year for me - first football practice.

I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas but can't open any presents until all his family is there. Preseason workouts are always a bittersweet moment - time to get back into football and around the guys but time to run until you feel like you are about to puke.

In celebration of this season, I'm all over these:

They don't quite match our team colors (black and columbia blue/North Carolina blue), but they are sweet none the less. And they will be mine. Oh yes.

The Niff and I are off to IKEA and this giantly hugemungous mall today and the best sushi buffet this side of the Mississippi. An epic day for sure.

It can only get better if the Under Armour store in the mall has these cleats.