Dan’s Bazaar

I’m sitting in my living room with my laptop, ironically, in my lap, so I figured I’d update my blog.

A lot has been going on, but nothing to really write about. I’m still single, haven’t dated in like 11 years, but I’m having a good time. Work kind of sucks, but like I’ve said before, everybody’s work life sucks in one way or another.

It’s kind of sad that the summer is almost over. I’m making another trip to the Wisconsin Dells in a little over a week, so I’m looking forward to that. For the first time in my life, I may make a trip to a waterpark. Beware, everyone, my pasty white body (besides my tanned bronze body outside of the tank top I wear when I mow the lawn) may be hitting Noah’s Ark the first week in August. I recommend wearing sunglasses… the glare may be too much for your retinas.

After waiting almost 11 years, I ran my first 5k this morning. My original intention was to have a time somewhere in the low to mid 29’s. Anything under 29 minutes was going to be a bonus. When I saw the clock at the finish line, I couldn’t believe it. Never thought I would make it in under 28 minutes. I think I’ve officially found an event to replace bowling in tournaments. Now I’m going to have a fun night.

Other than that, nothing new to report. Work sucks, but isn’t that true for everybody?

So… Brett Favre… the almighty God of the Green Bay Packers from 1992-2007, appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman last night. Apparently, he made some comments alluding that he would come out of retirement and play football again. After reviewing the comments and seeing the renewed hype on the local news, I have one thing to say… GET OVER IT PACKER FANS! He is retired… pure and simple. He said he will feel “something” once training camp starts. This doesn’t mean he is going to immediately sign a one year contract with another team and lead them to the Super Bowl. He will have the feeling that he made the right decision to retire while he was at a high point of his career. I am sick about hearing about how he was not really retired and will make this triumphant return to the Frozen Tundra and lead the Pack to victory next season. People… it’s not going to happen.

As many of you already know, I am a loyal fan of the New York Jets. I’ve also been known to root for the Chicago Bears, since they won the first Super Bowl I ever remember watching. This doesn’t diminish the respect I have for Favre as a professional athlete and a person. I had the opportunity to see the Jets play the Packers live at Lambeau Field in person and was in awe how he lead his team when the game was out of reach. But he’s retired. He said it himself… he gave everything to the game of football that he could. I truly believe that.

Now, if only the Jets could pick Favre up as a backup to Chad Pennington…

Better late than never! It’s in the mid-70’s outside, and there is a nice breeze. Plus, I’m barefoot and in shorts. What more could a man ask for?

It’s been a mundane last couple of months. The weather this winter was extra shitty, so I was dark and depressed more often than not. If I was a kid, all of the snow we received would have been awesome, but now that I’m an adult and have some adult-like responsibilities, I wish it would have rained all winter.

After about 3 years, I finally made it down to Matt and the ever-so-lovely Sarah’s place down in Chicago. Every minute was an adventure, especially when driving the wrong way down one-way streets and getting totally lost in an interesting neighborhood at 2 in the morning. We talked a lot, had dinner at a really cool restaurant in their neighborhood, tossed back a few at a local watering hole, and went back to their place for Sarah’s famous Texas Sheet Cake. It was a great night, and I want to go back there someday, but only if I’m armed with a GPS system in my car.

Speaking of cars, I’ve had my car for like 7 months and I already have over 12,000 miles on it. I like the car, but it has been stressing me out lately. I had it in for some warranty work (winter was not good to my car, I think), which was cool. Only $5.43 for a missing fake lug nut cover. About 3 hours after I get my car back, a tire goes flat. Puncture in the sidewall that cannot be repaired. Since my great all-American car has these Korean tires that are not available anywhere on it, I had to have it ordered. Luckily my local Goodyear took care of me and now I have my car back again. At least the tire decided to go flat a week after I was in Chicago instead of happening in the greater Chicago area last time.

After 4 and a half years, I decided to ditch the Ford Taurus. It was a nice car, but it was starting to show its age after 45,000 miles. I’m kind of sad, but excited I don’t have as big of a car payment anymore. I just hope I don’t have to see it when I stop at the dealership to drop off the title. I think I will be pissed when I see how much they put it on the used car lot for.

So.. what did I get, you may ask? Don’t get too excited. After longing for a Honda Civic for awhile, or maybe a Toyota Corolla, I settled for a 2007 Ford Focus. I liked the car, the price was right, they gave me enough for my trade-in, and the incentives were good. I’ll be happy with what I save now in gas mileage.

Other than that, not much new to report. Getting ready for fantasy football season and my 10-year high school reunion. That’s about it.

Today is the last official day of my one week vacation. It started out in the Dells and is ending in the greater Rhinelander area. It’s been a really good week, but I need to give my liver a rest. And I need to get in a really good workout when I get home tomorrow.

The highlight of my vacation is doing something I said I would never do. After a lot of thought over a period of about 6 months, I decided to get a tattoo. Yup. Me. I’m all badass now! It’s not huge by any means, but it’s not small either. It is in the process of peeling right now, so I’ll get a picture of it up here once it looks better. I am really impressed with how it turned out. If you’re ever in the Dells area and looking for a tattoo, go to Point Blank Tattoo. They are really the best.

Looks like I haven’t posted in awhile. It’s been a busy last couple of weeks between work and some side projects I’ve been taking on. Being busy is better than being bored, I guess.

I completed my first automotive project that involved some sort of skill. The battery in my old truck finally died after 10 years. All I thought I had to do was take the old one out and throw a new one in, but no. One of the connectors was so corroded that it snapped when I tried to take it off of the battery. Since I did not want to take it to the dealer and get raped with labor costs, I dedided to try and put new connectors on myself. It turned out to be a nice Saturday project for me, and I managed not to blow up the truck or myself. I got the battery thing fixed, including adding a new air filter (it’s never been replaced) for under $90. I’ll give myself a gold star for that one.

Other than that, I’ve been in kind of a funk as of late. It was just kind of a crappy week. But, there’s always hope that this coming week will be better. It would be great if my goal of winning the Illinois Lottery would come to fruition…

Hey everyone. It’s been a long time since I’ve done regular updates to this page. Being super busy with a multitude of projects and just plain being lazy has led the updates to being few and far between.

My buddy’s restaurant opened about two weeks ago now, and the title of this post is a shameless plug for his place. It’s called Sparti’s Gyros and is located on the corner of I-94 and Highway 50 in Kenosha, next to the busiest Starbucks in the state. It’s a Greek restuaurant, but it doesn’t serve crappy food that only drunk college kids would eat at 4AM. They serve up the best gyro I’ve ever had, along with Italian beef, hot dogs, souvlaki, burgers and more. The place looks great, the people are super nice, and the service is excellent. So… eat at Sparti’s. They’re open from 11AM-9PM daily. Tell them Dan sent you, and tell them how great their printed menus look.

Other than that, it was one year since I started working out. The grand total of weight loss in this year was 96 pounds and almost half of my body fat. There’s quite a way to go, but I’m up to it. I feel absolutely great, and I don’t want to lose that feeling. I’ve only lost like 10 pounds in the last 2 months, but my measurements keep going down.

That’s all for now. I want to get out and enjoy the great weather we’re having today because tomorrow is supposed to be crappy again.

I really haven’t gone anywhere, but I’m feeling much better about life then I have in the past couple of weeks. The job is starting to get better, since I actually feel like I know what I am doing a little bit. My slacker butt is back in the gym giving 110% effort to my workouts. All I need is the weather to actually get spring-like so I can enjoy some time outside.

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m still formulating Dan’s iTunes Celebrity Playlist If I Was A Celebrity. There’s just so much music that means something significant to me, so it’s going to be hard to whittle down to the list. I think I want to have it done when I finally get my MySpace page completed.

Other than that, not much new.