things that rock: day 10

day 10: lazy weekend mornings in bed

sure i could have gotten up early this morning and tried to cross off my entire to do list. sure i could have gone to the gym or mowed the lawn or done some work leftover after a tough week. instead, i remained in bed all morning. waking up, rolling over and going back to sleep for another 45 minutes... and repeat. in fact, im writing this FROM bed! its 11:30am and everyone in my house is up... but im feeling real comfortable right now staying put.

although... it does sound like rylo green is making breakfast. and i do love food a lot. tough decisions for a saturday morning.

thnigs that rock: day 9

day 9: fantasy sports (be prepared for a little soap-boxing)

you either love it, or you hate it.

personally, i love it! football is my favorite fantasy sport. not to mention, im really good at managing my team. i dont feel like writing in paragraph form so i will use a more FAQ-style approach.

what are fantasy sports?

fantasy sports are a way of taking an active role as a fan. instead of sitting idly by, watching a sports season fly by, you re-draft an entire sports league (nfl, mlb, nba etc.) and are now a manager and in the driver's seat. you make the call who plays and who doesn't. you may have players from all different teams. it doesnt matter. once you have selected your team, you know use their real-life statistics to determine how good your team is day by day and week by week. you play against other teams and compare their stats to yours. if your team's stats are better, you win! it makes almost every game of a season somehow important.

doesnt this take away from the enjoyment of the game?

absolutely not! it makes you that much more involved. i dont normally care about the toronto blue jays but now that i have a player on their team, im very interested in all their games.

arent fantasy sports ruining sports?

no. sports are ruining sports. it is not by accident that i picked today to run this. i think this whole lebron james thing is a joke. free agency is ridiculous. the money being thrown around is ridiculous. athletes no longer play for the love of the game. they are playing for the money. and thats fine. i dont care. i still like to watch. but why, as a fan, do i have to respect this so-called integrity of the game if the players actually actively participating dont. lock-outs, hold-outs, contract disputes, people switching teams every year for a bigger salary... its a business. they are trying to buy a nicer bentley. cool! great for them. im trying to win a couple hundred bucks in a fantasy league. seems pretty similar. and if it is a business, NOT playing fantasy almost seems like leaving money on the table.

so all in all, fantasy is just a natural extension of sports becoming more about business and less about being just a sport that people live for and love to play. i still root for the redskins. but now i care about a handful of players across the national football league as well. and if the redskins are making $$ of me by charging me $12 for chicken tenders, i feel like i should be able to make some $$ on them in a fantasy league.


lebron, you are a joke and im rooting against you and your little all-star team in miami. and dont play up this crap you took a pay cut to play in miami... youre getting paid $4 million less ($96 milion as opposed to $100 million... boo hoo) and you probably have some ridiculous endorsement deal in miami waiting for you... even if you do win, you needed an all-star team at your side to do it. mj's legacy as the greatest ever is safe thanks to your insecurities about not having a ring.


i will now put my soap box away.

friday's random music video vol. XXIV

the lead singer from the killers has a solo project that im pumped about. not only that... but charlize theron is in the video. she is attractive. her pressence was surprising. anyways, just wanted to share it with you!

brandon flowers - "crossfire"

things that rock: day 8

day 8: frozen yogurt... aka fro-yo!

im going to get some delicious fro-yo right now and i will report back at how delicious it was later tonight. and i promise you, it WILL be delicious.

hours later...

well, i had a medium fro-yo as promised. i got my delicious treat from sweet green. i got an original yogurt and three toppings. those toppings included granola, strawberry and mango. it was as delicious as it sounds. in 100-plus degree heat, it was an ice cold trip down heavenly lane.

if you are outside for more than 36 seconds today, do yourself a favor and drop $5 on a fro-yo and let it cool you to the core.

hours even later than that...

i want more fro-yo...

things that rock: day 7

day 7: my job

i love what i do. i work for my best friend. my clients are some of the most interesting people in the city. i set up happy hours every week. my job consists of talking to people every day.

a year ago, i was in a traveling consultant job where i got to fly across the country every week. it was great at first. i slowly realized that i was living out of a suitcase, even when i was home. i slowly realized i was losing myself. after a significant life change at the end of last year, i began working for my best friend from high school. there is little to no job security and who knows whether where this little endeavor will last or go anywhere... who knows. who cares. dont get me wrong, i do care but im loving what im doing so much that i also kind of dont really care. living in the now and enjoying the view. i do know though that i have never enjoyed working as much as i do and regardless of whether this lasts or not, definitely one of greatest experiences of my life.

things that rock: day 6

day 6: the beach

well... im sure nothing you dont already know but still something that needs to be stated. there is no better destination than a beach. think about it. during the summer when its unbearably hot outside, there is a nice cool wave to dive into to immediately cool you off. in the winter, the ocean water keeps the air at a moderate temperature and is there anything better than having a december beach party in the middle of the night where everyone is decked out in sweat pants, hoodies and a few drinks to warm you up from the inside? the correct answer is no. just make sure there is a boombox nearby that runs on batteries to ensure the beach dance party is in full effect.

as of now, i have not made it to the beach this summer. my tan, or lack their of, is a testament to the lack of beach-ination in my life currently. but the great thing about going to a beach is that there is little to no planning necessary. there are enough beaches within a few hours that if i wanted to go to a beach, i could do it. bring the bocce set. bring the cooler filled to the brim with some beers. bring board shorts and towels. all rolled together to make one killer day trip.

i think one of the most important things that a beach brings to the table are the sunrises and sunsets. is there anything more beautiful... or emo? not a chance. i will say, west coast beaches have it made. the sunsets over the pacific are insane and while a sunrise on the east coast is nice, you gotta work for that sunrise a lot harder than a west coast sunset. after a long day of drinking beers on the beach, its a tall order to then try and stay up for a 530am sunrise.

all in all, beaches are wonderful and glorious places. i suggest planning a trip to one immediately. especially with bp on the warpath, who knows how long we have our east coast beaches oil free...

operating system software for all the apple fans!

Bill Gates suddenly dies and finds himself face to face with God. God stood over Bill Gates and said, "Well Bill, I'm really confused on this one. It's a tough decision; I'm not sure whether to send you to Heaven or Hell. After all, you helped society enormously by putting a computer in almost every home in America, yet you also created that ghastly Windows '95 among other indiscretions. I believe I'll do something I've never done before; I'll let you decide where you want to go."

Bill pushed up his glasses, looked up at God and replied, "Could you briefly explain the difference between the two?" Looking slightly puzzled, God said, "Better yet, why don't I let you visit both places briefly, then you can make your decision. Which do you choose to see first, Heaven or Hell?"

Bill played with his pocket protector for a moment, then looked back at God and said, "I think I'll try Hell first." So, with a flash of lightning and a cloud of smoke, Bill Gates went to Hell.

When he materialized in Hell, Bill looked around. It was a beautiful and clean place, a bit warm, with sandy beaches and tall mountains, clear skies, pristine water, and beautiful women frolicking about. A smile came across Bill's face as he took in a deep breath of the clean air. "This is great," he thought, "if this is Hell, I can't wait to see heaven."

Within seconds of his thought, another flash of lightning and a cloud of smoke appeared, and Bill was off to Heaven. Heaven was a place high above the clouds, where angels were drifting about playing their harps and singing in a beautiful chorus. It was a very nice place, Bill thought, but not as enticing as Hell.

Bill looked up, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled for God and Bill Gates was sent to Hell for eternity.

Time passed, and God decided to check on the late billionaire to see how he was progressing in Hell. When he got there, he found Bill Gates shackled to a wall in a dark cave amid bone thin men and tongues of fire, being burned and tortured by demons.

"So, how is everything going?" God asked.

Bill responded with a crackling voice filled with anguish and disappointment, "This is awful! It's nothing like the Hell I visited the first time!! I can't believe this is happening! What happened to the other place....with the beaches and the mountains and the beautiful women?

"That was the demo," replied God.

things that rock: day 5

day 5: rooftops

last night as i sat on my rooftop looking out across the district, the capitol building and the washington monument, i think about all those years i spent rooftop-less. how did i make it through all those years without constant access to such a place. there is a freedom to sitting on a rooftop. all that lies between you and the heavens is miles and miles of air, clouds, stars and the occasional airplane or two. beautiful.

with my boy chris jones providing a soundtrack of acoustic versions of some of the best rock songs from the last 20 years, we rang in the anniversary of the birth of this great country with beer, bbq and national firework displays all within the confines and comfort of our own little slice of capitol hill. across the next five or so hours, stories were shared, friendships were created and most importantly, fun was had. sure we could have done something similar to this at our old place in arlington but the difference is the rooftop. the ascension above everyone else and the feeling of being completely removed from everyday struggles and stresses. its liberating... annnnnnnnnnnd you can be noisy til the wee hours of the morning.

if the 4th of july teaches us anything, its the importance of freedom. well to me, rooftops ARE freedom. so let rooftops ring! (see what i did there?!)

things that rock: day 4

day 4: america

so today is america's birthday and what an opportune time to call out the best country EVER. i feel blessed that i live in the country i do. i know other places have cool stuff too and other cultures do things that we as americans are jealous of. but overall, i think we have the best overall package. sure there are some downsides but they are vastly over-shadowed by all the upsides!

so america, happy frickin birthday you big beautiful union of democracy. i never know what to get you. what do you get the country that has it all?!





obviously its not a world cup championship...