Ten Best Things I do on my Smartphone

Before I moved to Virginia, I bought my first smartphone.  Since I and almost everyone I know is on the Verizon network and I refused to be an "iPhone person" I bought a DROID! and I must say I've enjoyed my contract so far for these ten purposes:

10. Taking pictures of things I never would otherwise

9. Actually calling people to hear what they have to say or make plans- This can be awkward sometimes. You actually have to start, end and keep a conversation going and its difficult to tell if someone you're talking to is smiling, enthusiastic or laughing out loud, but most plans allow for at least 500 minutes of this and some people talk on their phones for as long as ten minutes sometimes.

8. Facebook- Let's be honest, Facebook on a phone kinda sucks and is only for the truly addicted. The inability to access friends' friends takes the "network" out of The Social Network and serves little purpose other than reading statuses.

7. Check scores- It's still too early to figure out how many relationships and marriages have been saved because men can check their scores and fantasy football stats from any location now.

6. This Blog- Posted it from my phone, yep!

5. Words with Friends- I don't own a Scrabble board have no intention of buying one but if you challenge DerekSU2000 you will get owned over the course of a couple weeks in something just like it.

4. Butt Dialing- Actually Butt anything, I would never call some girl I met at a bar two years ago, google "Avril Levigne engaged" or Like that your kid has a fever but the risk of doing so makes life a little more interesting. 

3. Tweetdeck- I love Twitter it is now the fastest place to get breaking news and witty commentary at the same time and I find Tweetdeck much more user friendly then Twitter's application.

2. Texting- Not me but some girls I know they <3 textinggggg ;). Seriously though its the best way in our fast paced lives to keep in touch and talk about only what we really want to and it's why we bought smartphones in the first place.

1. Angry Birds- Its crazy of all the games that can be made that these guys take off but I know I'm not the only one who goes to bed picks up their phone shoots at those goddamn pigs then sees the clock says 1:30am and fights to go to bed.  In fact I could devote a whole post to this game maybe I will.

My "Bucket List"

Funny how Shawshank is like a motion picture quote book…“Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying” you won’t hear anything in any high school graduation speech more simple and poignant than that.

If my life ended today, it wouldn’t be being single or not owning a house that I’d regret, that’s up to more than me alone but rather all the things I haven’t done when only myself stood in the way. For that reason I decided to come up with my own “Bucket List”, just like the movie I still haven’t seen. A list of things I most want to do before I die. I ranked them from (what I deem to be) easiest to hardest. Read on and I promise to keep you updated on my progress.

#10 Go Skydiving: This is on a lot of people’s “Bucket List” but its first on mine because really all I have to do is sign up, drive an hour and a half to this place pay $255 (more if I want a video) and jump. Nothing about this scares me even one bit. The obstacle would be finding someone to do this with me but if I can’t find anyone, I have no problem going down there alone.

#9 Learn to Play Guitar: Also not complicated but something I’ve always wanted to do is learn to play a six string acoustic guitar. According to Malcolm Gladwell, I need to practice for 10,000 hours to become a master guitar player. If I practice for one hour every day that will get me there when I am 60, so I may have to settle for being an adequate guitar player with a couple good songs down pat but at the start it’s just a $150 starter guitar and some lessons on YouTube and I’d be on my way.

#8 Home Brew a Beer: This is more of a process with a higher cost of failure but would be a delicious success. I’m thinking of a Hefenwizen or Belgian ale as those are my favorite summer beers and this would be a summer project. I’d need to get a home brewing kit and a lot of instruction from McKenna, who’s had some success with this recently but I would love the opportunity to make beer for myself and friends.

#7 Win a Food Challenge: Hard to believe with my appetite and love of spicy food that I have never taken any dining establishment up on a food challenge yet. That has to change, exactly which challenge at which place in what part of the country I’m not sure. I guess I can start watching Man v. Food Nation and take up the closest one unconquered but if anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears.

#6 See the Denver Broncos play a regular season game in Denver: I’ve been a Broncos fan for just about 27 years now, and have seen them play in Foxboro and the Meadowlands but like a Jew who hasn’t been to Israel or an Elvis fan who hasn’t been to Graceland, I am starting to feel guilty that I haven’t made the pilgrimage to Mile High to see the Broncos play a home game. Out of all the items on this list, I would be the most bummed if my life came and went without me doing this of all things, hey and maybe now’s the time that the team is bad and the secondary ticket market is a little down.

#5 Go to Las Vegas: I’ve never been, maybe that doesn’t surprise you considering how risk-averse I’ve spent most of the years up to this point, but like any American male, I want to go. I just want to go with enough money saved up that if I lost every bet I made I could still have a good time and make my rent.

#4 Coach: Little League, Special Olympics, High School Football it doesn’t really matter. I just want to at least once have the opportunity to mentor someone and make their life better for having learned from me. Just like I learned from so many coaches in everything I played during my childhood. Of course these things are easier to get into when you have children but I think a hat and a whistle would suit me just fine.

#3 Run the Boston Marathon in under 4 hours: Don’t laugh. I’ve run enough over the past two years to imagine the possibility of running a marathon and of course this is the only one I’m interested in running. If I have to run another to qualify so be it, but I have the training program to build my mileage up to the point where I may be able to do this in the next year or two.

#2 Write a Book or Screenplay: I don’t care whether it gets published or not, to see a stack of print and know that it consists of solely my ideas and words would make me proud enough. If someone found it worthy of being published or produced that would be more than I ever could’ve imagined for my life but to take a story from beginning to end would be a fun and fulfilling process.

#1 Drive from East Coast to West Coast: I already know the route I’d go. Centreville to Pittsburgh to Columbus, OH (to see my niece of course), to Cincinnati, to Indianapolis to Chicago (largest city I’ve never been to) to St. Louis to Kansas City to Denver to Salt Lake City to San Francisco to Los Angeles and back via Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta and Charlotte before going back to Centreville. I’ve always wondered about how much of this country I have yet to see, what it looks like what the people are like. Just as I’m sure the pioneers of the 19th century wondered what was west of the colonies when they expanded this country. Given enough vacation time and perhaps a rental car and a digital camera, I would love the chance to see the whole country for myself.

So now that my bucket list is in writing, it’s time to “get busy living” and I think I’m on my way…I bought the guitar yesterday.

Rachel McAdams likes Hockeee too!

I like Rachel McAdams...

Rachel McAdams likes hockey...

I like hockey too!



Smart move going neutral in the outfit too. Her family is all Bruins fans but she's Canadian and needs Canadians to buy tickets to her movies, you see.

Hockeee!

I was all set to do a long blog about my following the Bruins during the Stanley Cup Finals but it was going to read a lot like this. So instead I'll just add some undeniable facts and unique commentary.

-I won't claim to be a lifelong Bruins fan. Truth is my parents took me to one game at the old Boston Garden when I was young with my grandparents, some guy behind us kept saying he was "going to puck my wife when I get home" and we didn't go to any more Bruins games. I owned Bourque and Neely jerseys and always watched the playoffs on TV with my grandmother because...

-Other than college basketball, no sport has more contrast between pointless regular season and exciting playoffs. There is no reason to follow regular season hockey after you know your team is in the playoffs and except for a few games against the Capitals, I didn't watch much of the Bruins until April.

-In the years between my childhood and now the NHL went through two major changes. The fall of the Iron Curtain allowed for the world's best players to come to North America and play regardless of their marketability or relatability. Let's put it this way, even during this Bruins run, I don't think any children are being born at Mass. General and given the name "Zdeno". While the hockey got better, the players were not as appetizing for endorsements and didn't connect with North American hockey fans as well as North American players did.

-While I have a brother in Columbus and spent a fun weekend in Nashville and would never say those cities didn't deserve teams, the league's never-ending thirst for expansion and relocation to new markets hasn't helped its brand as much as they had hoped.

-But perhaps because the excitement of hockey is a refreshing breather from the gloom and doom that hover around football and basketball right now and baseball in June is just baseball in June, hockey is enjoying a little bit of resurgence. Ratings are up for this Stanley Cup Final over last year's and average ticket prices in Boston and Vancouver dwarf those in Dallas and Miami for the NBA Finals. Interest is at a post-lockout peak even as ESPN tries to bury its coverage in its C block on Sportscenter.

-The resurgance in interest locally in Boston I believe is about more than just front-running fans cheering for a team in a championship. This point has yet to be proven conversely but New Englanders like teams that play the New England way. We'd cheer for the Celtics but if they had an accused rapist superstar scorer and a soft Spanish center, we wouldn't love them like we love the team defensive minded, antagonistic and humble 2008 Celtics. If the Canucks were the gritty tough guys and the Bruins were doing the biting and the diving during this series, I'm not sure Boston would be as fascinated by its hockey team as it is right now. The Red Sox and Patriots will always have the loyalty of the local fanbase, but Bruins and Celtics teams have always had to develop a certain character to gain our love. This Bruins team has the necessary character.

So of course I'm enjoying this Bruins Stanley Cup run, its made the most exciting playoffs even more exciting to me and it is taking me back to good times in my childhood if not my entire life since. Go Bruins! F-- Canada!

How’s the New Place?

If you're reading this you know that one year ago this weekend, I took the leap and left New England (I toggled back and forth between New Hampshire and Massachusetts which are pretty much the same place) for the promised land that is Fairfax County, Northern Virginia. And while I by no means know the area, the past year has given me the chance to at least make an educated first impression. So with one year's experience here are my initial observations of Northern Virginia.

It isn't "home", not sure if it's anybody's "home"- The first thing I realized is that just about everyone here is from somewhere else and while diversity is beautiful it makes it tough for everyone to form the same kind of community that most people left for here. On the flip side however, living in a transplant region allows for meeting new and interesting people from all parts of the country and world.

 

The food here is fantastic!- I thought I knew this after Josh introduced me to a place that just sold burritos in downtown D.C., but in addition to Chipotle (and every town has at least one, like Dunkin Donuts back home) there is Chick-Fil-A, which I cannot drive past and takes 90 cents of every dollar I spend on fast food, Bonefish Grill and their amazing "Bang-Bang" Shrimp (only $5 on "Bang Wednesdays") and a plethora of small chains which are exclusive to the area. While challenging to the budget and the waistline, the amount of good restaurants here makes living here delicious.

The sports teams suck- While everyone in New England has a Red Sox hat, people here go to Nationals game hoping they'll see Teddy Roosevelt finally win the Presidents Mascot Race. The Wizards are rebuilding and boring. The Redskins are by far the most popular team here but they are a collection of overpaid jokes. The "Caps" are by far the best team here but their fans and their goofy red sweaters (oh YOU'RE the one with the Ovechkin jersey), just look foolish. Truth be told, the only sporting event I went to in my year's time here was the Syracuse-Georgetown game and I sure as shit wasn't rooting for the Washington team in that one.

Traffic is worse, but it doesn't have to be- Now I'll admit, I drive my car once every three days, so I'm not the foremost expert on traffic, but I heard so much about the infamous "Beltway Traffic" that I feel the need to say something. Yeah it sucks and adds hours to a commute and takes years off a commuters life but every time I've been stuck in traffic here it's because two people got into a fender bender and feel the need to argue it out IN THE SAME LANE THEY GOT INTO THE ACCIDENT, or a real accident occurs and Fairfax County feels the need to bring a fire truck to park across three of the lanes on I-66, or its near that construction clusterf--- near Tyson's Corner that isn't due to be done until 2020, probably because you never see anyone doing any work there. People here complain about the traffic, not because it's so bad, but because it's so nonsensical.

 

It is not "The South"- I've had fried pickles but it was at Hooters which are everywhere. There's a good college football team here but it's Virginia Tech which is three hours away. I went to the Kenny Chesney/Zac Brown Band concert last weekend at FedEx Field but the girls there were wearing cowboy hats and boots they hadn't worn since the last country music concert they went to. I drive on something called Lee Highway but you're more likely to find a Korean restaurant on it than anything having to do with the Civil War. The only place you hear "Yes Sir", "Yes Ma'am", and "My Pleasure" is at Chick-Fil-A. I live in a suburb of Washington, DC not in Virginia or any former part of the Confederacy. If you think just by moving south of the Mason-Dixon line, I've become any more a redneck, you've got another thing comin'.

 

So overall, I dig the new place and am still excited to lead a new life, it has its character and I am enjoying getting to know "NoVa" and all it has to offer, and whenever I get tired of it, all I do is drive towards a Chick-Fil-A.

So…Where Were We?

It's been over two years since my last blog post and my life is almost unrecognizable to that day. Here is a quick and incomplete list of everything that has transpired in my life and around it since the last time I posted on a blog:

I still know very little about the personalities and intricacies of UFC. My favorite MMA move is the kick to the face, and my favorite personality is Arianny Celeste. Not sure if the product it being marketed to me correctly.

I am no longer in the pizza business which is why I needed to change the name of this blog. I still have good friends in it at all levels and I try to hit up a Bertucci's whenever I am close to one, but those times are fewer and farther between then I would like.

There have been two movies made where three guys throw a bachelor party and get blacked out and have to piece together the parts of the night they forgot to find a friend they had lost…and there could've been 22 made and I wouldn't have minded.

I have moved to Northern Virginia (if you live here you always say Northern Virginia or "Nova" to differentiate yourself from the rest of Virginia that doesn't have as high a cost of living or as bad of traffic), I sell apartment leases or "put heads in beds" as I put it when I want to make it sound sexy. Sexy or not, my commute is a five minute walk from my apartment. I work for one of my best friends, he's been in this business for nine years, and I've been in it for one, it should be that way.

I'm 30 pounds lighter than I was that day.

Michael Jackson and Osama Bin Laden are dead but so are Leslie Nielsen and The Macho Man Randy Savage.

I became an Uncle, and its as awesome as you can imagine

Josh got married again, I met a bartender that looked just like Barack Obama (he's still President, by the way) but I didn't do a blog for it. Trust me you wouldn't have wanted to read it, I would have had to include details I would be better off leaving out.

Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga are alive and became more popular than ever among teenage girls and gay men respectively…or collectively.

They finally created the number of bowl games necessary for Syracuse to make one, and to their credit Syracuse scheduled the number of winnable games necessary to make one.

But perhaps the biggest difference between now and the last time I updated a blog is that America and the world, for that matter has moved past blogs to sharing their thoughts through the much quicker and convenient mediums of Facebook and Twitter. It's part of the reason more and more blogs on Blogspot haven't been touched since 2006, nonetheless 2009. There are much less people willing to take the time to write a 500 word blog that may be read by twenty people when they can update their status whenever a thought strikes them and think that it's being read by their 300 friends. It is also not a coincidence that Twitter "tipped" in 2009 and 2010. Twitter combines self-promotion, a sense of community and access to celebrities (every once in a while Audrina Patridge might Retweet (RT) your thoughts on what dress she should wear), and quick wit (not only can you write your thoughts in 140 characters or less, you HAVE to). In 2011, quick wit is easier than ever to send to the masses, you don't have to necessary write a blog to show you have it.

I however, still feel like I have a little more to say than I do right now and that is why I have returned to blogging. I hope it lasts, I'll do my best to make it last. I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say…

So…where were we?