Summer of Dan

A city where Dan never sleeps

A couple weeks ago my cousin Melissa asked how I felt about going to New York City for the weekend on one of my off weekends for football. I thought it was just her thinking out loud, I didn't think there was really a chance we'd be able to make it happen.

I was completely wrong.

My good buddy Zap ( my team's Running Back and Melissa's boyfriend ) had a unique situation for us - his mom's boyfriend had an apartment in New York that he wasn't using and it was ours if we wanted it. So the trip was planned. Jessie, Zap, and I all had Friday off and Melissa was done with school around 12. We tried to get out of New Hampshire around 1:00pm.

Which never happened.

At least we sorta got out of the state around 5pm. 

We finished dinner around 6pm and were on our way. Our GPS said we would be there by 9:30pm.

WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

Traffic. In and around Boston and Worcester. All over the place. But not in New York.

Driving into New York was only a slightly mentally jarring experience. Even at night it was busy as hell and you only have half a second to jump into a lane if you need it. You can't use a blinker, it shows a sign of weakness and intent. It's like blood in the water during a shark frenzy. You might as well dig your diving knife into your thigh while you're at it.

We found the parking garage right near the apartment, brought our stuff upstairs and immediately headed outside.

To our right...

And about 500 feet to our left and down the street..

I knew we weren't too far from a lot, but I didn't realize how close. To everything. Times Square feet away. It was amazing. Insanely busy, lit up like a gigantic Christmas tree, tons of stuff to do and see. It was surreal.

Probably one of the coolest things we saw the entire time were street peddlers. Whether the were playing instruments out of boxes and pans and tins and using the sheet metal on the wall behind them or they were drawing charicatures or doing spray paint art it was all beyond words.

This guy was so fast with everything he did, he was so fluid it was like you were in a dream. He was one of many doing the spray paint space art, and it was all just awe inspiring.

 

We only got pictures of him but this is what they do (video is from Times Square and the guy kind of looks like the guy we watched, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were him).

  

Before we knew it we were getting pizza at 1:30am and needed to get some sleep so we wouldn't waste the day sleeping.

For the record - no pancakes were made on Saturday. None. Not a single one. Melissa said she would make them. She didn't know how. She still needs to learn how to make pancakes. She let the entire team down.

Also - when sleeping in close quarters with other people it is important to bring earplugs, maybe even industrial grade. And duct tape to make sure they aren't removed in your sleep. From said snorers. Make note of that. It may help you later in life.

In any event, we got up fairly early and wandered the streets looking for something to eat (again - no pancakes). I hate my Ortiz shirt on, Zap had his McCourty shirt on. Trouble would find us. Right? Not before breakfast! Nothing comes between men and them breaking their fasts.

We wound up at a cool little diner, I ate right next to a guy wearing a Jeter shirt. An old man eating behind us laughed that 'Ortiz' and 'Jeter' were eating next to each other,  and Jeter broke out his sense of humor and said 'I guess it's ok if he eats near me!'. It was a good meal for me. Better for him I am assuming since he ate it in 38 seconds.

We headed to Central Park which is OH MY GOD IT IS MASSIVE AND INSANE AND THEY HAVE THESE BIKES EVERY 10 FEET DRIVEN BY THESE GUYS OFFERING YOU RIDES FOR $50 EVERY 100 FEET AND FULL ON SOFTBALL GAMES AND HOLY SHIT THERE ARE LIKE 10,000 RUNNERS AND SPECIFIC RUNNING LANES AND THERE WERE SO MANY IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS A ROAD RACE GOING ON.

It was alright I guess.

One of the things I had to see in New York was Strawberry Fields and John Lennon's Imagine Mosaic. It was the day before his birthday, it was amazing. 

For such a small, little tribute to him it was pretty moving, the simplicity was everything that Lennon was. One word, one dream, one awesome little place in the middle of Central Park. So cool. 

The only other thing I knew we had to do was go to the American Museum of Natural History. Everyone said it had to be on our list. It wasn't too far from Central Park so we headed on over there.

HOLY CRAP.

Massive museum and upon first walking in, you are just floored. You're faced with dinosaurs that are so tall you can't even guesstimate how tall they are. A Night at the Museum flashes before your eyes. And you start to wonder what time everything comes alive.

It was everything I thought it would be and more. DINOSAURS. LIKE EVERY SINGLE KIND YOU CAN IMAGINE AND THEN 200 MORE. HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?!?

We headed back to the apartment to get ready to go out to Ground Zero and have dinner and I clicked my FitBit activity monitor to see how far we walked that day. We were upwards of 9 miles at that point. 9. FREAKING. MILES. Now I don't have to work out for a month. I know, right??!

Ground Zero and the new World Trade Center was beyond words. It was beautiful, quiet, sad, inspiring, solemn, emotional, mind blowing, all in one. We saw a couple holding each other crying. We saw 4 police cruisers there sitting watch. We met a man selling small magazines that outlined everything that happened and will happen with the rebuilding. He showed us a building that was absolutely massive and then showed us in the picture that it was only 1/3 of the size of either tower. It was the one part of the entire weekend I felt we didn't rush at all. We just took it in.








We couldn't get into the 9/11 Memorial, tickets take over a month to get. A return trip will find us there. Absolutely.

Never Forget.

We had a great time, better than I could possibly hope for and fit in during such a short period of time. The people? The friendliest you could imagine, everyone wanted to help us, everyone wanted to give us their input to where to go and where to get a bite to eat. Friendly ribbing about our Patriots and Sox gear. Amazing city, awesome company, I cannot wait to do it again.




Even if it does mean I'll be close to the Meadowlands and the Jets and Giants again. 

Serenity now, serenity later

Every once in a while I find pictures to go with words. On ocassion.

• Sometimes the buildings and shapes in Concord are just strikingly awesome. Old school meets new school, brick meets glass. One of my favorite things about where I live.
  
  
  
  
• One thing is for certain - the NBA Draft is the 2nd best draft behind the NFL by default. MLB doesn't televise it and 90% of the players drafted in the NHL played overseas, you have no idea who the hell they are, and/or they will have their names butchered 100 times a game. NFL 1, NBA 0.
  
  
• I totally fucked up not getting this badass pizza cutter at Newbury Comics the other day. Sometimes I make terrible choices in life. This is one of those moments.
  
   
  
  
• Game of Thrones is probably one of the best shows on TV. The only way they could pull it off is having it on HBO. Well worth getting HBO for just that but Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Boardwalk Empire, and True Blood make it a complete no brainer. 
  
  
• Last weekend Jessie and I hit the drive-in with my buddy Flack and his wife Nicki. So awesome. Biggest highlights of the night were the odd UFO thing we all saw changing colors and turning on it's cloaking device and the old school introduction. I can't decide which one was cooler...
  
   
  
  Ok, neither. Laying down with Flack's foot up my ass was the highlight of the evening.
• I find this Pottermore concept J.K. Rowling has drummed up slightly amusing. She always said she didn't want to have her books in e-reader format, because they "were meant to be read". I said before I found it odd she would say that and allow them to become movies...
  
  Anyway, it's funny because she can do what she wants with her site, she will be the conduit to getting all the Harry Potter books in e-reader format. She can set the price. She can control everything. She seemed a bit smug in it.
  
  Hasn't she heard of torrents and newsgroups? For someone that has such a loyal following does she think that someone out there wouldn't scan every single page of every book she's written? That maybe they've already been in e-reader format for over a year now?
  
  Huh. Funny...
  
  
  
• Serene. The only word to describe my Nana's house on the lake. Amazingly peaceful. Slice of heaven in a little town in New Hampshire.
  
  
• Back to shows - Dexter is the best show on TV right now. No debate. 5 seasons. 5 amazing fucking seasons. Every season somehow gets better than the last. Always.

I'm not going to lie, I'm loving the sudden dip in temperature in New Hampshire. I can live with 60s ;)

 

 

Spoiled Rotten

Boston sports teams are spoiled rotten. Some cities have never won a single championship. In the history of any single sport. In the last ten years Boston has won each of the major championships at least once. 7 championships in 10 years. That's more than a lifetime's worth. 

The success is staggering when you look at it:

17 Larry O'Brien Trophies

7 Commissioner Trophies

6 Stanley Cups

3 Lombardi Trophies

The Bruins pulled the monkey off their back last night, being the last team to win a championship but this is just as sweet as any of them, with the exception of the Red Sox winning it all in 2004. I mean, come on, no one ever expected that. Entire generations lived and died in between their championships!

I felt blessed to take in the first Stanley Cup since my dad was a teenager with some of the best friends and family you could ask for. I only wish I could have celebrated with more of my friends and family, but they all suck. And I'm awesome.

Anyway, Mark brought up a great point last night - there are only technically 13 metro areas / cities that have all 4 major sports. How many have done what we have? Only 1 actually - Chicago. But Chicago's trophy case pales in comparison to Boston's. If only Michael Jordan played another 10 seasons on the Bulls, then it may have been close...

So today, if you are a Boston sports fan, take a second and reflect on all the highlights over the last decade. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Celebrate it.

Because you know what is already happening...

 

SOMEONE NEEDS TO GET THIS SIDE!

This is alarmingly similar to the night the Niff moved from Connecticut up to New Hampshire.

Only my sister was on one end yelling at us that "Someone needs to get this side!".

What she failed to realize at the moment was:

1. Because of how the couch was positioned no one could get to her side
2. The person that needed to get her side...was her.

I swear my sister would be the ultimate State worker.

Glittering Blackness

You know what is better than three day weekends? Yeah, nothing.

• I fell in love with a girl today named Daisy. 3 months old, prettiest, most playful little Boston Terrier I've ever met in my entire life. 
  
  
  
  
  Must.Have.One.
  
   
• The greatest band that you've heard but haven't realized it just yet is Explosions in the Sky. Go do yourself a favor and listen to any one of their albums. While you are at it, check out Brendan James and Transfixed. Not just because I know both artists, but because they are both so incredibly gifted at what they do, which is put music on my iPod and make me proud that I know them. Two totally different artists, but they both share the same passion for music. Both are on iTunes, both have songs you can sample on their sites. Awesome stuff.
  
   
• Every Friday I post a variety of different pictures but one kind that I really enjoy posting are the ones that depict animals that display love. Usually it is to another of it's own kind, but I think there is a really special message when it is love extended cross species. Sometimes I think that all the answers to everything are around us. A dog loves it's master unconditionally and yet most people seem as if that concept is a foreign language. Seeing a picture of a dog jumping in a pool to help his cat friend just serves to remind me that people have a lot of work to do in the arena of tolerance. Some people think of animals as being lower on the food chain and maybe they are, but they are much higher on the spiritual food chain than humans might ever be.
  
    
• Spike seemingly always has a Star Wars Marathon running. I think they should just create a second channel called Spike 2 or The SW that only runs a Star Wars Marathon 24/7. All the damn time. What would be bad about that?
  
   
• You know why Fall is better than any other season? Chilly nights and bonfires, hoodies and sweatpants, and putting your fan in the window to pull in the cool air. Oh yeah,and that game called football...
  
   
• Saturday morning the Niff and I went to the farmer's market down the street. We go as often as we can and it is 1000 times better than just buying all our produce at the store. One thing I love about it is not everything is just produce - there are gourmet popcorn stands, custom pastries, good coffee nearby, and a billion friendly people and their dogs. I saw a booth this weekend with custom homemade jams and jellies. Holy shit. Amazing. I tried the Hot Pepper Jelly and loved it so much I bought a 9oz. jar of it. I've had Red Pepper Jelly that has a little bite to it, but this stuff lights the back of your throat on fire for a few seconds and then simmers. Too addictive.
  
   
• Fair season has kicked off with a bang. Jessie came up in the wee hours of the morning to join the Niff and I at the Hopkinton Fair for when it opened. There is no downside to going as soon as they open - we parked about 600 feet from the main entrance, there wasn't shoulder to shoulder traffic, and all the food booths opened shortly after the fairgrounds did. 
  
  And let's be truly honest here - at the end it was all Schnitzels and Giggles.
  
  
  
  
  
• I went on a short 13 mile bike ride with the Niff the other day after work. It was the first time I had ridden since a couple weeks before the AIDS Vaccine Ride. I'm still a bit sore and my biking cardio was almost non-existent at the beginning but it started to come back towards the end. As it cools off I can already tell I am going to love riding even more.
  
   
• I'm quite thankful the Jets finally came to terms with Darrelle Revis. If I turned on SportsCenter one more time only to hear the latest update about how Revis has yet to report or hadn't spoken to the Jets in weeks or how long his holdout was in days, hours, minutes, and seconds I was going to go apeshit.

Just putting this out there. Because. You know.

Entering the Pain Cave

I've been a slacker lately and haven't carved out time to write some more meaningful posts about life so that's what I'll attempt to do here.

Turning 30 almost two months ago was a mentally traumatic milestone for me. I have no idea why, but it was almost earth shattering to me. I've never felt that way before, I felt like I had to grow up, but truth be told, I already am. I just don't act grown up.

And I don't want to. 

Yeah, I pay my bills on time, the Niff and I go on mini vacations and do semi-grown up things, but I'm a kid at heart and always will be.

The Niff planned the perfect birthday party for a 15 year old. Or a 30 year old with the mentality of a 15 year old - pizza party, with desserts like cannolis, tiramisu, fudge cake, carrot cake, cream puffs. Everything a fat kid would love. This would all be followed by hitting one of the greatest amusement parks in the history of New England. Or New Hampshire. Or, pretty much, the only amusement park really, unless you count the ones for the little kids up north.

Anyway.

It was perfect. It wasn't crowded, the weather was great, the company was even better. We had a series posse mounted up to attack the park. And attack we did.

   

That was the first ride of the night - the Xtreme Frisbee. You know it's the shit when they leave off the E. Hardcore ride for sure. It's so hardcore it even has it's own webpage. They lock you in, you spin around faster and faster and higher until you want to puke. Everyone is screaming their head off, not because it's scary, but because we are all wondering if we will make it off the ride without losing our lunch. We are screaming so damn loud, I look over across from us and there is this teenage girl ON HER FUCKING CELLPHONE. I lose it, I'm screaming, "I'm about to puke and this chick is updating her Facebook status 'I'm on the Frisbee and I'm going to puke!!! lol'. Most bizarre thing I've ever seen on a ride.

I think she was related to these guys.

 

I think after that we knew we were in for an interesting evening.

Flack and I decided to team up with our superpowers and squeeze into one bumper car to destroy the rest of the bumper car field. We laid some sick hits, but I'm not sure what was more painful, getting hit by us or me having to lift my gunt to get the bar to drop down.

 
 

No ride was safe from us, we decided that early on. We kicked everything up a notch, including seeing how many people could fit in the photo booth.

 
 

We were playing for keeps, I don't think Canobie Lake Park was ready for us that night. We got shitfaced on fried dough and even more fucked up on the Turkish Twist. We were wild and crazy. Yup. Hardcore Canobie Lakers right here.

Probably the highlight of the night was the Log Ride. No one was in line whatsoever, so the Niff, myself, the Niff's step-brother Aaron, and my sister Jessie piled into one log. The splashes were going to be epic, everyone would be soaked, people would be drowning.

Ok, so it was about 2/3's accurate.

Aaron was in the way front, followed by my sister Jessie, then me, then the Niff. Mark and Laura were in the log right behind us. We noticed early on that we started taking on some series water but it's a water ride. It's to be expected. Right?

Following some serious turns, we started slowing down and Mark and Laura were catching up. It wasn't a big deal, we were ahead enough before the grand finale 45 degree hill that takes you to Drenchtown USA that we would be fine.

Until we lodged the log into the final turn. Like, really jammed it in there. To the point of us not moving. And taking on a shitload of water. And Mark and Laura not only caught up, but they wedged us further. And then another log behind them did. And then another.

Many people don't know Aaron, but Aaron is a fucking survivalist. He has lightning reflexes, and is a combination of Mother Theresa, Chuck Norris, and Bear Grylls. Before we knew it, he was out of that fucking log, in the most selfless act I have ever witnessed, and said, "I'm doing this for you guys so you can survive!!! Don't worry about me, save yourselves!!!" and with that, he pushed us free and onto the giant ramp that brings us to the top of Mt. Everest. We saw him run into the trees like a wild animal and proceeded to hang on for dear life. 

Now, when you are on the Log Ride at Canobie, the final hill is so steep, it feels like you are going to roll out the back of the log and die. Or flip. Or slide out and tumble into the trees below. Or onto the barbed wire fence below we could only imagine Aaron was scaling by then.

About 3/4 of the way up, the ride stops. The kid at the top of the tower was yelling at us, they had to find out if our dearly departed passenger was in danger. They had to stop it, he could be laying in front of the log at the bottom and get smashed. Or drenched. Or something.

I'm not one to shy away from adventure. In fact, I'm good friends with the Dos Equis guy. He plays next to me on my football team. For real.

But we were up there for a solid 10 minutes. Mark and Laura were right at the bottom and were being escorted by park employees off the ride. Before we knew it, there were now three people on the wet, metal ladder type stairs that led to the tower at the top, explaining in painful detail how we would exit the ride. From 60 feet up. Soaking wet. Stepping onto wet metal. At a 45 degree angle. No big deal.

Jessie went first, almost took a digger, which was understandable given the circumstances. Then I went and the Niff was right behind me. They walked us the the side, presumably where Aaron made The Great Escape, and there was our posse. Waiting. With Aaron. There was a 2 foot high wooden locked gate. I could have stepped over the damn thing but the person that brought us down had 12,000 keys and had protocol she needed to follow. And we waited. And waited. For like 5 fucking minutes.

After the longest time, we were reunited with our log mate, and we had a picture taken, simulating the final plunge to the bottom since we were so deprived of a normal conclusion to the ride.

 
 

Look at us. LOOK. Fearless. We could do anything. Except ride more rides without being followed by park security for the rest of the night. Which was probably a good thing...

Without a single doubt, going to amusement park rides when you are older is 1000 times better than when you are a kid. Partly because you're an adult living a kid's dream. Partly because of the memories you make. And a big part because you can buy all the food and candy and drinks you want without getting yelled at by your parents because you're going to "get sick" or "won't have room for dinner" or "it's time to go, it's getting late" or "i'm sorry, i don't have anymore money, you ate everything in the park twice already". Or something like that.

Canobie Lake Park will never be the same again.

 
 

Next up: whitewater rafting with the same motley crew. Thank God we have our own personal Bear Grylls.

Be thankful every single day

Random fact of the day: It's fucking December. It's starting to get cold out and I love it. This means the Niff hates it. When it's cold out, she hurts because she isn't a whale monster like me. This is why she has 31085139805130 winter jackets and will surely get another. I am ok with this as long as she is warm. But don't tell her because she'll buy 10 more instead of one. 

Thanksgiving came and went without me having a chance to list all the things and people I am thankful for so I'll do it now in abbreviated form:

The Niff - 3 years ago last week we got engaged. I'm still crazy in love with her and she's the perfect match for me in every way. Except that she doesn't watch General Hospital. But that's ok because I don't want Tyra with her. Anyway. Just because we haven't gotten married it doesn't mean we don't want to, it doesn't mean we aren't in love, it doesn't mean we don't talk about it and think about it. I've never had someone so perfect for me - she's super smart, super funny, and super pretty. I can't think of one more super quality to have that would make her better.

My siblings - my brother is a toolbag and I love him for it, my sister is the female version of me. It's ok that my brother "looks like an uncle seven times removed from Germany that no one has ever seen" and doesn't look like anyone else in our entire family. I'm sure he's my brother...yeeeeah...aside from that, he'd be the first person to help you stuff a body into a suitcase and drop it in the river and you'd never even need to tell him "not to talk about this". That's the kind of brother everyone needs.

My sister will do anything I ever ask of her. She's easily one of the funnest people to be around and I laugh every time I think of her, the Niff and I are always laughing whenever she is around, and I don't ever forget the great lengths she goes for mer when I need it. Like putting together shitty IKEA furniture and being over 2 hours late to hang out with her girl friends. It means a lot.

My parents - my mother makes the best green bean casserole in New Hampshire. I'm sure of it. Kind of. She is one of the hardest working people I know and I am always happy to see her on the holidays with the rest of the family. We may be a divided family as far as a family tree is concerned now but a stranger couldn't tell. My dad makes the meanest Yogi Tea Turkey. Just ask him. That fucker was juicy as hell this year. I mean the turkey, not my dad. If there is anything to say about my dad it's that every time I come home he is always trying to get me to leave with something I left when I moved out: comics, sheets, books, random computer parts. I mean, THAT is love: "here Danny, take your shit, I'll see you next holiday! Save room in your car then too!" Always something to look forward to. 

The rest of my family -  I hate the term "extended family". WTF, are they just really long limbed human beings? Like aliens? Awful wordage. My aunt and uncle are like an extra set of parents, and my cousins are like sisters to me and my siblings. My uncle is my dad's brother, my aunt is my mother's sister. 

Digest that for a second...

Ok, see? It's not incest. Only sounds like it.

My aunt is a wonderful cook and I'm always thankful when she doesn't burn the buns or asks me and my uncle Pat to move the treadmill back down two more flights of stairs for her "because I'm around" and she needs new treadmill scenery. I'm thankful for that because every time without fail Pat always loses grip or the treadmill opens up and breaks 3 of his fingers or smashes him against the wall or he drops it on his foot or all of the above. Without fail.

My friends - I have far too many to list, but I will say this: good friends are easy to find, great friends are very hard to find. That's why they are called great. Get it? My great friends know they are my great friends, my good friends know they are my good friends, and everyone else knows their place. I know my great friends know they can count on me and I can count on them. And that is all that really matters when the zombie wars start. For real. Don't be a dick because you'll be left behind. Safety in numbers afterall.

My job - I love it, I love the people I work with, the work I do, the experience I'm getting, the technology I am exposed to, the trust I am given, the gorgeous building I work in. Yeah I'm one of those assholes that likes to go to work. Oh well, screw you too.

My health - generally speaking, I'm a healthy guy. Except when I got the swine flu three weeks ago. I'm fine with that, it tested my immune system and dammit I'm still here. I'm ok with a few mother nature curve balls thrown at me. I can see, I can hear, I can breathe. I can't complain.

My life - I do what I want. I read great books, watch terrible television sometimes, listen to awesome music. I workout with the Niff and enjoy it once I'm actually at the gym. I play XBox with my sister and we scream at fake zombies. I watch Curb Your Enthusiasm with the Niff, even though we're almost a decade late on the start of that one, and we laugh. A lot. I have the ability to say "I don't want to do this today, let's do this". I can drive anywhere I want to go. I can connect with my family and friends in a million different ways. I'm living the life I've wanted all along. It's all the pieces pulled together that makes it so great.

So yes, even though it's not Thanksgiving, I'm thankful every day. I truly am. And in case I haven't said it to all of you, thank you for being you. And if you don't think I'm talking to you, I'm not, but thank you for reading this anyway.

How's it going champ?

Saturday afternoon was the culmination of all the hard work I've put in, not just this season but since I first strapped on my pads way back when. It was slow going at first, it was muddy as hell. In some places there were 3-4 inches of water and 6 inches of mud. Our fullback Chase ripped a huge run to give us a 7-0 lead and we never looked back. We scored twice more and our defense stepped up huge and kept the Ravens out of the endzone from the 5 yard line as Rick punched the ball out and gave the ball back to our offense.

And despite the weather I had about 15 people come out and support me and my teammates as we tried to win a championship. I don't know if they will every know how it feels to look over on the sideline and chat them up during a quick break in the game, even moreso because of the shitty ass weather. That alone made me happy.

The Niff was in attendance for her 10841081 straight game. My parents and sister made it to the game. My sister took almost 500 pictures. 

 

 
  

Flack, Mark, Will, Anna and Dean, and Poppy all were all there. My boss and his wife were there in raincoats and seemed to love every minute of it.

 
 

It was so special to share that championship atmosphere and game with everyone.

Saying it was a dream season sounds cliché but it's 100% true. In 10 games, including in the playoffs, we pitched 5 shutouts. Not including the first game of the season we never gave up more than 8 points in a game. We forced 9 turnovers in one game. We never fought with our offense, we picked them up. When our offense gave us a lead we kept it. We always kept our heads high. It all sounds so cheesy but it's so fucking true. 

 
 

 

I'm closer today to more of my teammates than I've ever been and thankful for that. A fantastic and amazingly talented group of guys and even better friends.

  

Without my teammates I would accomplish nothing and without the Niff I would be nothing. I owe everything to them.

 
 

We hung together all season long. We let it all hang out, we pushed ourselves and each other. We knew it was possible from Day 1. 

And that's why we are champions.

 
  

Never die alone

The summer is flying by, summer nights in New England are the bomb - breezy, cool, and before long I'll wake up in the morning and use the word 'crisp' to describe the air. I love it. You can't beat New England. You can't.

• I find my random pictures I post on Fridays all over the net from a million different blogs. I try to average 12-15, sometimes I post more. I find at least 30-50 a week and post the ones that sort of capture the way I feel that week.
  
  
• Pandora One kicks serious ass. Everyone knows what Pandora is, Pandora One is just the optional service you can pay for ($36 a year). It allows you unlimited listening time, free of advertising, has an awesome desktop interface so you don't have to have a browser open all the time to control it. Not only that but you have the little fade in bar that comes up over all apps on your desktop for a second to show you the artist and song title. Awesome. Free is good, cheap is better.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Football season is going awesome so far. 2-0 with a shot to be 3-0 as we come back to Concord for our home opener next week. Offense is clicking, defense is just getting started. This season has a different feel to it than previous seasons. Hopefully that's a good thing.
  
  
• Whoever invented pound cake should be shot. Or declared a genius. I can't decide which.
  
  
• I was really enjoying this summer until the humidity recently started. WTF. I can handle the heat, just not sweating all the time. I do that anyway, I don't need any help.
  
  
• Life as a Blackberry user is mighty fine. I fucking love this thing. It has all the apps I wanted with my Dare but never got and even more than I could ever use. Amen to Verizon for getting the Tour before everyone else.
  
  
• I really want these Lightsaber Chopsticks. Seriously.
  
  
  
  
• I feel the need to address some of my self-directed fatty comments: I know I'm not "fat" physically. Sure I have a load of laundry on my washboard abs. Sure my doctor called me obese. But I don't honestly fully believe I am. I just have the mentality of a fat kid. I've always been husky and it's hard to shed the image/mentality of it. Maybe some day, it's just my self-deprecating way of explaining to myself and others of how I feel and the way things appear to me. 
  
  
• I haven't said it in a while but I will reiterate it anyway: the Kindle is still the best gift I've ever been given. Just sayin'.
  
  
• Last Suppers is an artistic website dedicated to last meals of Death Row inmates to show you the vast differences in food choices people make when they know they have one final meal. Freaky but interesting I think.
  
  
• Walking into Wal-Mart the other day I saw someone walk in, past the carriages and almost to the old door greeter guy while still smoking. What the fuck dude? Seriously, when was the last time you could walk into any place while smoking and keep doing it? He only realized it when the door greeter looked at him funny at a loss for words.
  
  Another thing to note on any Wal-Mart bingo cards you may have that might have it missing: find a pregnant teenager walking around in pajamas with her bulging stomach sticking out of her shirt as her boyfriend rubs her stomach. I bet you'll get that one pretty quickly but add it anyway.
  
  
• I've been thinking a lot about my musical tastes and came to the conclusion that 6 people in my life have had a profound effect on the types of music I have been exposed to and are fully responsible for what I listen to (in no particular order):
  
  My dad - I have very fond memories of growing up and listening to the Beatles, Zappa, Hendrix, CCR, the Allman Brothers, Dire Straits, and Tom Petty. This extended into my teenage years when he started listening to Pearl Jam, Green Day, and the Cranberries.
  
  Tom - Tom Chan changed my life. Seriously. He gave me my first CD ever (Rage Against the Machine). He gave me Def Lepard's Hysteria and told me to listen to it. He got me into Guns 'N Roses and Metallica. When I was 11. His taste in music greatly changed my life, as well as the way I listened to music and now he is creating his own. Just like back then, more awesome music courtesy of Tom. Check his band out, Forget the Girl. Don't just take my word for it, give it a listen. I'm not just pimping a good friend's music, I'm pimping music that I listen to every damn day.
  
  PJ aka Paul Bauer - around the time I was listening to Pearl Jam and Green Day and my dad was borrowing my CDs Mr. Paul Bauer Jr introduced me to his multi-thousand CD collection. Rush, 311, KoRn, Marley, Wu Tang, everything really. Rush was almost a religious experience for me, especially because we'd listen to a ton of live stuff while playing copious amounts of Playstation in his bedroom.
  
  Steve - much like PJ, Steve is a CD/music maniac. He has thousands of CDs, has burned me 100s of albums and encouraged me to listen to a ton of random stuff. Without him I would just be figuring out who O.A.R. were, he really turned me on to Coldplay at a time I was shying away from what was on the radio, gave me a shitton of Dave Matthews. This doesn't do justice to all the random artists he's exposed me to, that would take forever but Rusted Root, Keane, and Snow Patrol are all favorites of mine and it's because of him.
  
  The Niff - she's opened my mind about a lot of things in general, music being chief among them (as well as food). Listening to Sting, The Police, Counting Crows, John Mayer, even hardcore rap, it all sounds differently because of her. For one reason or another (maturity?) I hated Sting with a passion years prior, but now seeing The Police at Fenway is at the pinnacle of best concerts I've ever been to in my life. 
  
  Jessie - my sister. She listens to a lot of stupid crap, but she also listens to a lot of different stuff I'd never hear of without her. She's always been ahead of the curve in the emo-band department, but she also likes a lot of the lesser known bands and has exposed me to those as well.
  
  
• I love Kashi products: their bars, their cereal, their oatmeal/warm cereal. But dammit, I hate their healthy dinners. They are awesome for you, but I can't choke down the 7 grain mix they have in all of their dinners. Tastes to me like it's like gravel.
  
  And yes, I am whining.
  
  
• I've come up with a list of reasons why I need/want a house:
  
  I want to have a couple dogs.
  
  I want to grow a garden that is within 20 feet of my backdoor.
  
  I want to be able to better prepare for the Zombie Wars.
  
  I want to build things in a wood shoppe.
  
  I want to build an outdoor brick oven so I can make awesome pizza.
  
  I want to be able to paint whatever the fuck I want whenever I want.
  
  I want to be rid of my shitty neighbors that scream everything at their little kid, including things like "WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR BREAAAAAAAAKFASSSSST??! PAAANKCAAAAAAAAKES OOOOOR CEREAAAAAAAAAL??????"
  
  I want a library.
  
  I want to have a hammock.
  
  I want to get Rock Band and play it as loud as I want whenever I want.
  
  
• I only got 7 hours of sleep last night. I woke up exhausted. And then realized that it's because I've been averaging almost 10 hours of sleep a night. For the last year.
  

Summer is almost over. Enjoy every minute of it. It's funny, you think when you get older that time slows down a bit more but it doesn't. I remember summer vacation flying by. Now before I realize it's summer it's already over. Enjoy the beach, enjoy the sun, enjoy the water.

And don't forget to enjoy each other.

48 Hours

Is a little more than 48 hours I begin my 7th season of playing semi-pro football. When I first started I can honestly say I had no idea how long I would play; I had no idea what was normal and there are a lot of things I can honestly say I had no idea about:

1. That I would make so many good friends, some lifelong ones as well (Flack) and get to play ball with one of my childhood BFFs (Mark) and high school buddies.
   
2. That I would have get to see more of New England as we travel to all sorts of town fields, high schools, colleges, and wherever you could fit a set of goalposts. 
3. That I would ever begin to know what it feels to be a pro football player (ie: I sympathesize with guys like Brett Favre as far as not knowing when it hang them up and not want to have to go through all the preseason bumps and bruises to get to the games).
4. That I would be able to fill a hole inside of me that's always been there since I was a kid.
5. That I would lose a lot more than I would win, and still love the game just as much.
6. That I would get to play in front of my friends and family, including my grandparents.
7. That I would continue learning even little things about football this many years into playing.
8. That I would surprise myself over and over again.
9. That the quote, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" would actually be true.
10. That I would be undersized for my position and still be able to hold my own.

Another season, another chance to have a winning record, another chance for a championship. Baby steps. One game at a time. Before we know it the season will be over and we'll be pissed that we have to wait all over again for another.

But I guarantee no one will be pissed about missing those 3+ hour trips each way in the car like this weekend.

Here's to a successful, injury-free 2009 season.