Summer of Dan

Hotel Danifornia

Within the pat week I've booked two hotel rooms, in two totally different areas (mountains and the city), for two totally different reasons.

Two nights in the middle of March at the White Mountain Hotel in a mini-suite for our 6 year anniversary of me asking her to be my wonderful girlfriend. Nothing but relaxing, enjoying the fresh mountain air, and doing some shopping.

Oh, and swimming outside in the heated pool. During the winter. It's amazing.

Two nights Memorial Day weekend in Boston at the Seaport Hotel in the same suite we've stayed in the past 4 years (adjacent to the World Trade Center) for Boston's Run to Remember. Some exercise, shopping, sightseeing, and great food from the North End will be had. Mike's Pastry will not be the same.

And neither will my stomach.

The ultimate sacrifice

You can call it a Christmas Miracle.

You can call it Divine Intervention.

You can call it being put in your place.

But no matter what label you put on it, it's a story of selfless sacrifice.

Around Christmas I was playing CoD: MW2 with Flack and a bunch of people. We were playing for a couple hours and we were talking about zombies. I mentioned how the King Zombie of them all was Jesus. I mean, the guy died and rose from the dead. Normal people don't do that.

Before the next map started I told everyone it would be my last as it was getting late and I had to get up early the next morning for work. About 3 minutes into the map and I lose power.

I called Flack, told him what happened and hung up. I went to inspect the breaker when I noticed that other things in the living room were still on. I inspected a bit further and smelled burning plastic. My nose led me to my Monster Surge Protector. 

It was dead.

I bought this surge protector because it was like the Secret Service - willing to take a bullet for you. And it did. The packaging (excuse the blurriest pic ever below) states clearly that it will put itself in harms way to save your electronics.

  

And it sure did. 

I think God was trying to tell me something about commenting about Jesus' zombie-esque attributes by firing a warning shot at my TV, only to get consumed by my own personal bodyguard.

The surge protector was only $70 when I bought it and easily saved a couple thousand dollars worth of equipment but it was well worth it. Because of how certain they are of their product it comes with a lifetime warranty. The next day before work I brought it to where I bought it at Bestbuy and swapped it for a new one. No questions asked. I went ahead and paid the difference to upgrade it to an even better one that is rated for higher surges. Well worth it.

Like I said - Christmas Miracle, Divine Intervention, or being put in your place. No matter what you call it, I lost a good friend that night that took one for the team. He'll be greatly missed.

RIP Monster Surge Protector - November 2008 to December 2009

 

Pah-Pah-Pah-Pah Poker Face

Last Friday night Steve and Kraig picked me up for poker night down in Manchlanta with Dick and some other guys we play with normally. It was only the second time I played with them, having never really had the intestinal fortitude to try my shoddy poker skills out on anyone other than a computer monitor. I went in with the sole goal of not being the first one out in any of the games and not going all in on the first hand. This should give you a good indication on how the first poker night went for me.

The first game came and went and I was the 2nd person knocked out out of 7 guys. I picked up some things that I figured might help in the future, even watching the hands I wasn't playing gave me a little more insight into how I can improve. I mean, I still am not sure if 3 of a kind beats a flush or if 4 of a kind beats a straight, so there's still a lot for me to learn. 

And yes, that is 100% true.

The second game started and I won the first 3 hands, and before I knew it I knocked each and every guy out and won. Skill really was only about 20% at best in this equation, I was dealt amazing cards the entire game - I got a Full House three times, twice I hit it on the flop, and I folded a Full House that I would have hit on the river. Crazy. 

The third game started of much like the first - I won the first two hands and then Steve started winning a few. Between the two of us we knocked everyone out and because of the way the rules are that we agreed upon before we started we tied for first. When it gets down to 2 guys playing if the difference in chips between the two guys is $10k then you split it, otherwise you could be playing heads up for hours and we try to get in as many games as we can.

The fourth and final game turned out to be a marathon. At least a marathon I can envision myself running someday - by getting knocked out within the first 30 minutes of what would be a 2+ hour game. It was crazy. I was knocked around when I had a Full House with 10s and the guy playing against me in the hand had a Full House with Queens. Damn bitches. It wasn't long before I was done for the night as that hand took most of my chips but I watched Steve go to the brink of defeat and ended up coming back like the Sox did against the Yankees in the ALCS. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Between the two of us we won 3 of the 4 games and even though it was past 1:30am when I walked in the door it was well worth it.

Maybe for next time I'll try to learn what beats what...that might help me.

Happy Birthday Stephen Hawking

I have a list of 5 people that are still alive that I would love to meet and this man is one of them. Aside from being a bona fide genius and revolutionizing science and how we think about space, he's baffled doctors by grossly outliving his condition.

  

He's been poked fun at on South Park and Family Guy and a million other shows because of how he talks through his machine, but from things I've read he takes it in stride (no pun intended...sorta). 

Happy Birthday Mr. Hawking.

Emotion

Emotion is one of my favorite words because it doesn't really describe any one thing. It describes someone's thoughts, feelings, behaviors. Emotions aren't wrong, they just are. I have friends that are seemingly emotionless but when you get to their core they just keep their feelings close to the vest. How people react in different situations, how people think and feel fascinates me.

Before the Red Sox won it all in 2004 and before they came back from 3 games down to the Yankees, every pitch in that postseason I was on edge. When they beat the Yankees 4 straight, I was worried they wouldn't win. And when they won it all I felt like a giant monkey was lifted off my back. I was only 24. Some people lived 70 years with that feeling. I can't begin to imagine what that was like. Fast forward to 2009. When they went out in the first round against the Angels and barely put up a fight I was upset. But I wasn't devastated. Because the monkey was gone. It doesn't make me any less a diehard Sox fan, it almost put things into perspective. Kinda (because let's be real - if Jason Bay really is gone for good, that would really really suck).

When I was 12 and hit by a car, immediately after I thought I was going to die. 30 seconds after I was angry that the guy that hit me fucked my bike up. 10 minutes after that I was half naked in the street as the firefighters cut my clothes off on a cold November night to see if I had any major injuries and I was feeling embarrassed. A couple hours I felt relieved that nothing was broken. In less than a few hours I felt just about every emotion you could feel and I was barely 12 years old.

When Vinatieri and the Patriots upset the Rams in the Super Bowl as 14 point underdogs, as that ball sailed through the uprights I bolted up and almost shot my then girlfriend out the back of my best friend's house. I was running around like a mad man, I was numb. I was so happy I was crying and we screamed for what seemed like an hour. And while all this went on my then girlfriend just sat there, pissed off that I bumped her when I stood up. She never got it. She was a miserable bitch anyways.

I carefully planned my proposal to the Niff over three years ago to be the end to her first road race on Thanksgiving Day. I chose that day because of what I knew it meant to her and also for what it meant to me. Thanksgiving has always been that ultimate day - it's always been about family and friends (ok, and food and football too). I proposed to her in front of our families and friends and she was totally shocked. But after I saw the picture in the paper the next day I had regret. Regret that I wore my Michigan hat for some reason instead of my Sox hat I always wear. Odd huh?

Coming into the league 8 years ago I never dreamed of winning a championship. My career record prior to this season is shockingly awful: 3-7, 2-8, 1-9, 1-9, 2-8, 2-8, 3-5. That doesn't include 3 seasons where we made playoffs and we promptly lost those games as well so chalk up 3 more losses in the L column. And then out of nowhere a 9-1 season and a championship trophy. Winning it all felt so similar to the Sox winning it. The monkey wasn't even off my back, he was finally dead. I laughed, I cried a bit, I was on Cloud 9. I still am. Every day I wake up I think about that. I'm thankful for my teammates, my coaches, my family and friends that have supported me not only through this season but throughout my career. And I smile.

Emotions are funny things. Sometimes songs will bring out random feelings or memories of the past. Sometimes reading a book again reminds you of someone that used to be in your life but has moved on. And the best part of it is your emotions are never wrong. They're your emotions and they might not always make sense to other people, but they are yours.

That's a good thing. 

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.

 
  

Think happy thoughts

I don't understand why/how people that are with each other for such a long period of time can hurt each other so deeply. I don't know why they do it. I mean, I guess I know the how, I don't understand the why. I don't think I ever will. For all the selfless acts of a relationship or friendship, you'd think people would do everything they could to prevent that sort of thing. When you are with someone to the point where you know what they are thinking before they open their mouth or can guess what they want to do that Saturday without any hint you've reached a level with them where you need to fully understand that the little things matter, both good and bad, and that the big things matter just as much. I've seen too many cases where someone does all the little things for someone and when it comes to the big decisions/things they only think of themselves. And you know what I have to say to those people?

Fuck you.

Nothing else. That sums it up.

  

Perfection in one day

This past weekend we had another bye week football-wise because of an issue with scheduling refs. I still had practice on saturday but sunday the Niff had extensive plans for us prior to watching football all sunday. Once the first game on sunday starts there is a permanent dent in my recliner. It is glorious.

Thinking back I'm not sure how she convinced me to do tempo runs with her given the fact that I was sore as hell from practice on saturday but I did it anyway and we had a good time. We ran about as fast as we could for a minute and then walked fast for two minutes and repeated.

For like 7 hours.

Ok, maybe not, maybe more like 40 minutes but when your legs feel like jell-o it feels like that long. We ran at a park down in Manchester through the woods on the trails and I'll admit that it was fun, even though I saw a 3 year old running faster than me at one point.

We hit up Jewel and the Beanstalk after for breakfast. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Talk about the hiddenest (that's a word now) gem of a breakfast place in all of Manchester. I had one of the specials (you ready for this?): Apple Crisp French Toast and Cheesy Eggs. Yes, it was as good as it sounds. And better.

After breakfast we went apple picking for the week. Rather than buy produce from the supermarket we try to hit farmer's markets if they are open or at the very least try to get apples from one of the orchards near where we live. I was worried they wouldn't have a lot of apples at first, most of the front rows were picked clean.

And then I saw it.

 

The Giant Apple Tree.

I've heard stories about it before. I've heard stories that you can pick it clean and the next day it happens to just be overflowing with apples again. I heard it's the original tree from the first seed that Johnny Appleseed dropped on the ground. I heard the apples give you special powers when you eat them.

I can't tell you where this tree is. It's something you need to find on your own, just like the Fountain of Youth. But I can tell you one thing.

All of the stories are true.

The rest of the day capped off what is perfection in my book: sitting on my fat ass, watching football and tracking fantasy football stats, screaming at the TV for the refs to throw a flag during the Cincy/Ravens game so I could be happy at the end of the night (Cincy was my dog in my old office pool), and eating vegetarian chili courtesy of the Niff. I wish I had more of the chili to fill my gut right now.

It was a full sunday but a great one at that. Including the running thing.

Everytime I look at you

I am blessed. I realize this every day. I have an amazingly quirky family that I know I could count on for anything and a handful of close friends I know that always have my back. I have my health for the most part, I've worked hard for everything I've had and no matter what anyone says it does build character. It gives you a sense of appreciation. My friends and family should know how much I care about them, people don't say it openly enough I think. The more we get connected the more chance for a disconnect. Who hand writes letters when you can send 20 emails in the time you could write a letter? And for free? Who calls someone just to talk when you can text? I am all for technology and how it brings people together but dammit sometimes you lose the emotion in the small things and the meaning in small gestures.

This video is pretty damn amazing.