Another Delco Guy In South Jersey

On Vision

I have spent the last few weeks in an allergy-induced haze.  Not a mental haze, mind you, but a visual haze.  Itchy, watering eyes, abraded corneas, general unhappiness.  It's generally an annual thing for me, coinciding to the arriva l of tree pollen in my area.  Given the mild winter and warm spring, this has been my worst episode ever.

I've had to spend a couple of days being driven around, skip some baseball and work, and the laundry basket is full of washcloths used as cold compresses.  The variety of drops, sprays and pills I have needed in the last few weeks is astounding.  Good docs, friends and drivers have been very helpful too! 

Being able to see is a pretty important thing, but I have been amazed at how much I can do despite my uncorrected vision being somewhere around 20/2000.  Yup.  That's the right number of zeros.  I can't see very well without contacts.  Still, I have been able to get around.

Part of that is because the brain is so remarkable.  What I can do by feel, general memory, scent, and with fuzzy sight has been pretty amazing. I have been able to work, take care of my kids, cook, write and even read a bit.

The rain last night and soon today has helped settle the pollen down a bit and my vision is pretty normal today.  I think that I've turned the corner, but the experience of the last two weeks has really given me new appreciation for both my vision as well as the quality of the health care I am able to afford.

So the next time you get something in your eye and tear up, consider for a moment how lucky we are to be able to see anything at all and how difficult life would be if we alwasy ahd to walk though life in a fuzzy haze.

l of tree pollen in my area.  Given the mild winter and warm spring, this has been my worst episode ever.

Back To The Real World

For the first time in over two weeks I had to go to work today.  I know.  Most of you are not sympathetic.  I get it. 

Today really started last night with the making of lunches, selection of outfits and review of what was needed for the week. It took me a little while to wind down last night and everyone was a bit drowsy this morning.  Even after needing to spend a few extra minutes getting Emma moving, we still all made it to school and work on time. (I was even early!)

I'm amazed at how quickly it all gets right back up to speed.  Dance class started back up last night.  We have doctor and other appointments this week.  Baseball workouts also get started this week, which means that we are scant weeks away from actual outdoor practices. 

We've still got de-decorating to do. John and Emma don't want any parts of that, so I guess I will have to do it solo this weekend. I love having the lights and decorations up, but I saw more than a few trees out at the curb this morning on the way into work. 

I made a few mid-year resolutions in 2011 that are pretty big and have been doing fairly well on them.  I have two for 2012 - I want to begin eating healthier.  I started with a healthy breakfast, but I suspect the 2 cans of Coke and the ham sandwich for lunch are not the best way to get through the day.  The second is to do more writing away from the blog.  I have a few projects that I have put on the back burner, but I want to get them moving again.  I like writing and it makes me feel better about the world, but I get sidetracked too easily.  Hopefully this is the year one or more of those projects comes to fruition.

On the sports front, my kids and I really enjoyed watching The Winter Classic yesterday.  I can honestly say that if every game were played with that intensity, I would watch a lot more hockey.  While I don't think that there will be anything to it, I am eagerly anticipating at least the possibility that Jeff Lurie will end our long local nightmare and can Andy this afternoon. 

On the weather front, it's 28 degrees today, we already saw our high temperature out there and tonight it will be dropping into the teens.  If you have been using your back step as an auxillary holiday beer cooler, bring the stuff in our you will be cleaning up quite a mess when temps jump back up to the 50s this weekend.

Anyway, welcome to the 2013!  I'm looking forward ot the year and all that it brings.  Hopefully I will do a little less daddy blogging and get back to restaurant reviews and opinion pieces, but who knows.  Enjoy!

2011 - A Year In Review

I've tried to write this year in review a few times without it sounding too maudlin.  Speaking candidly, 2011 is a year I am glad to have over and I am looking forward to 2012 and the promise that it brings.

As the year draws to a close, I have weathered some significant storms.  There were moments when I thought, 'Can there really be anything else coming?'  Some things will take more time to play out fully, but I think that at the end of 2011, things are looking a bit brighter.

We all know the hard things that have happened, but there have been some wonderful moments as well.  Emma and John are the stars of the circus that is my life. They have been super though all of the changes we have seen this year and I am so happy for all of their achievements.  Emma is a happy and determined little ballerina and John makes the most of his talent on the baseball field every day.  The best times I have had this year were watching them do the things that they love.  The kindness they show each other and to their family and friends makes me wonder how I got so lucky.  I am lucky to know a lot of great kids, but they are the best of the best!

My brother Matt and Heidi got married this summer in a beautiful place that we all love.  I was honored to speak for them on their special day.  It is without any irony in the world that I say that they deserve each other. I will always be grateful for advice and support he has given me over the years. She is a beautiful person who I am so happy to have as a sister.

My parents and sister and rest of the family have been with me at every moment along the way and the kids and I have appreciated the gifts, kindnesses and the places to sleep as we have made our personal adjustments.  They say blood is thicker than water and this has been a year where I have fond that be be a very true statement.

That is not to say that I could have done it without my friends.  You guys (and ladies) have been an amazing well of support, helping me move in the heat, feeding me, entertaining me and the kids, checking in by text and email and dropping by to say hello, you have made things fun for me again in a way that I cannot begin to thank you for fully.

I'm most sad for the friends I have lost this year, both for me and for my kids.  We are who we are today in large part because of all that they have meant to us over the years.  However, I am also very happy to have met some new friends int he last few months.  With every change there is opportunity and I have appreciated getting to know some new people.

While things have been difficult at times, I have to say it's been a great year in a lot of ways.  I have re-discovered my writing voice, both here on the site and in some other work I am doing.  At my core I am a writer and that re-birth has been an exciting journey.  As someone said to me a few months ago, 'You write better sad.'  I don't know about better, but I certainly write MORE.  I've also been able to take a lot of photos this year, mostly of the kids, but also of places I have visited, games I have covered and generally everything that is around me. 

Sometimes I write, sometimes I take pictures.  Either way, I am trying to be more than a journalist of my life. I appreciate all that you friends have done to be part of my life this year. 

So as the lyrics of 'What are You Doing New Year's Eve' play though my head, I wish you all a wonderful New Years Eve and I hope that your 2012 is fun, exciting, safe and prosperous.

Winding Down

It's a few minutes before the season finale of Boardwalk Empire, signalling the end of my weekend.

Friday night was a fun time, drinks, dinner and dancing with old friends out in Philly.  I will be doing a review of one of the new spots we hit.  Saturday was a day of college basketball and football, and a night with some new friends.

I've been looking for curtains for my room for a few weeks.  Emma vetoed the last set after I hung them with a disgusted shake of her head and the remark, 'Daddy sometimes you have no clue.'

So after the Eagles' big win over Miami today, I returned the rejected curtains, and picked out another set that at least matches my comforter.  After a few hours of grocery and Christmas shopping, I waved the white flag, but not before crossing two more names off the list.

After making myself some comfort food, I am now relaxing on the couch by the lights of the Christmas tree awaiting the last Boardwalk Empire for 9 months.  Sigh.

Weird Kids

Somewhere along the line my kids started eating their pasta piled on top of their garlic bread. They also always require mac and cheese to be served with ham so they can dip the ham in the cheese sauce.

Weird kids! But no weirder than I am I guess, given that I like my red wine chilled way cooler than standard and my beer far warmer than is generally served here in the states.

Got any food oddnesses of your own?

Scents From The Past

Isn't it amazing how much emotion the whiff of a specific scent can create, launching you into the time machine to a place so far removed from your current existence?

You know what I mean right?  A former lover's perfume leaves you useless and distracted in a meeting for two hours.  The tang of juniper can nearly conjure the taste of of your first gin and tonic.  The power of the memory is enough to cause you an almost physical reaction, from the warmth of desire to the chill from the flowery scent of a funeral home.

For me, the smell of roast beef brings me back to Sunday nights at my grandmother's house.  The particular smell of the older Wawa markets brings me back to nights spent working overnight and the 3 am coffee run.  The scent of oranges and vanilla return me to my mother's holiday kitchen as a teenager.  Sage transports me to the cliffs of La Jolla and the smell of chalk to my 4th grade classroom. The smell of tomatoes on my hands to my grandfather's garden.

Somehow, the mind holds it all, bringing it back when the moment is most exquisite.  Take some time this week to enjoy the smells of fall around us.  It's the time of burning leaves, mulled apple cider, pumpkin pie and the first crispness in the morning air.  See what you remember!

Just Too Tired

Hello faithful readers.  I normally post a blog about this time each day, but I am just too tired today.

Feel free to talk quietly among yourselves.  If things get out ouf hand, I am going to have to assign homework.

Getting Back In The Swing Of Things

Here in the Mid-Atlantic region, we've just finished the first weekend of the school year.  Temperatures are still warm and there is a goodly touch of humidity to remind us that the dreaded dog days of August are not too far in the past.

It always seems like the first week and weekend of school are jammed packed with forms to fill out, meetings, activities, games, homework and everything else under the sun.  We're coming off just such a week and even after the weekend, I feel exhausted.

I started with my annual fantasy football draft on Labor Day.  I was getting out this year, but my brother convinced me to come back and try to improve on my 4th place finish from last year.  The draft food, provided by Shane and Maria Zack of Rosalita's Fresh Mexican was stellar and mean I probably need to make a trip out to Malvern some day soon. I picked first this year and grabbed Adrian Peterson, who immediately underperformed in Week 1. Typical. 

After one last night out, it was back to school on Wednesday for the kiddies, with John starting 6th grade and Emma going into 2nd.  John has a real 'big kid' schedule, with 11 different teachers including all the 'specials.'  I guess I need to begin saving for his teacher holiday gifts now.  Emma's teacher is actually a neighbor of ours!  In a fascinating coincidence, she used to live in the house that we moved into in August.  Emma now sleeps in the same bedroom as her teacher did a decade or two ago.

After dentist appointments and sports practices last week, the weekend heralded the real beginning of fall sports season.  John's travel baseball team had a scrimmage against the 11U NJ state champion Sacred Heart Angels.  He was our starting pitcher and worked an economical 2 innings, giving up 2 hits and no earned runs, walking no one with a K.  He struggled a bit at the plate however, getting caught looking on an outside corner pitch that is his nemesis.  His War Eagles dropped the game 5-1, but really played quite well for their first game of 'real baseball' on the 50-70 field.

Emma had her first ever soccer game on Saturday morning.  She enjoyed herself despite the mugginess.  She had one really good series bringing the ball up the field for a scoring opportunity.  While she prefers to play defense, we are still working on some basic concepts with the team.  Apparently ANYONE can coach youth soccer, as I have been tabbed as an assistant.  Prior to Emma joining soccer this year, I am pretty sure the last time I was on a soccer field was for Mr. Logue's gym class at St, James in 1987.

Saturday afternoon marked the return of the annual Pesotski Crabfest, hosted this year by my sister Carin and her husband Kevin.  Normally Crabfest is held on Father's Day, but Emma had her Dance Recital on Father's Day this year and my father was under the weather, so we re-scheduled.  It was an enjoyable afternoon, not nearly as hot as some of our previous gatherings and the food, beverages and company were excellent. 

An added benefit of waiting until late in the crab season is that prices were the lowest in memory, with my brother Matt snagging a bushel for the unheard of price of $150 at Seafood Connection in Linwood.  I found a nice selection of fall beers at Medford Wine and Spirits, including Seirra Nevada's amazing Tumbler.

We wrapped the weekend up yesterday with baseball practice, some football on TV, John's late summer reading essays and Emma's forthcoming 'Classmate in a Box' project.

Things don't slow down at all this week with dance class starting up tonight, 2 practices, back to school night and a baseball tournament looming for the weekend.  How are the other daddy an mommy bloggers handling what Jennifer terms 'the layering on of activities' that begins the school year?

On Spring Training and Tug McGraw

As the temperatures here in the Northeast drop back into the 40s today and wind sweeps the remaining fall leaves across the yard, baseball teams are stretching and throwing under cloudless blue skies in Florida.  While I would love to make the trek down to see the Boys of Summer getting ready to come North, such a trip is just not in the budget this year.

last week, to try to get ready for baseball season, I picked up Tug McGraw's 2004 memoir "Ya Gotta Believe!"  "The Tugger" was a larger than life figure in Philadelphia during my childhood.  The screwball pitcher who saved the final game of the Phillies 1980 World Series victory by striking out Willie Wilson, McGraw was known as a funny guy and the life of the party. 

About this time of the year in 2003,Tug McGraw was diagnosed with brain cancer.  He died just before the book was published.

I met "The Tugger" a few times in the late 1990s.  I was living back in Delco -- in Media, PA -- at the time and had a post office box at a store at the end of the street.  Tug somehow knew the older Irish gent that owned the store and I talked with him a few times over the years.  He was just what he appeared to be, funny, friendly and never at a loss for words.

But the wide smile hid some personal demons.  A brother who was a convicted murderer, a disastrous personal financial situation, a serious of painful personal relationships.  At that time he had finally accepted country music superstar Tim McGraw as his son, but had spent nearly two decades denying paternity.

Still, you could not help but love the guy.

So I was looking forward to the book arriving and spending a few days reading old stories about being a ball player in the wild and crazy 70s, maybe getting some inside dirt on that 1980 Phillies championship team or some insights on moving up though the Mets organization.  But the book doesn't start there.

The book starts at the end.  With Tim McGraw telling us that Tugger didn't pull this one out.  With the diagnosis and the cancer and the sadness.  I knew Tug had died, but I really wanted to celebrate his life, not re-live the loss.

And so I put the book back on the shelf.  I'm not going to finish it right now.

I've lost three grandparents to cancer.  My brother is a survivor.  Its marks are all over my life and my past and there is nothing funny about it.

As much as I wanted to read Tug's life story, the shadow of his death was too much for me.  Maybe another time.

On Facebook

Apparently Facebook is the new place to announce your engagement

I've been thinking a lot about Facebook lately and social networking in general after I announced my engagement on the site in December. The flurry of congratulations from random people I have not seen in months or years was stunning. My childhood babysitter, a guy I coached baseball with for my son's team, some folks from college and high school. It all seemed a little bit odd. These are good people, all of them. And I love to see what is going on in their lives, but it did make me stop to think.

Why do people (myself included) who rarely buy birthday cards for people they see every day suddenly start posting birthday wishes for that cute girl from grade school who now lives in Montana, the wife of the guy who used to play in a band I like or the kid's teacher from 3 years ago? I get that it's convenient and way easier than a card and a stamp and writing and mailing and all, but really, why bother?

Three basic reasons, I think.

One is that Facebook helps us be the people we'd really like to be. You know the ones, the people who send cards for all the major holidays, keep up with what old friends are doing, know the ages of all their cousin's kids, make the best guacamole for parties and always seem to have great photos of the kids in the Christmas card. We can't every really be that person. He (more likely she) is a freak of nature akin to folks who can bench press cars and are 7 feet tall.

But yet, with a minimum of effort, Facebook lets us pretend to be that person, even in the most diluted way.

The second reason is that Facebook is all about helping us connect with who we used to be. It's a lot less about who we are today than who we used to be, or even who we wanted to be back then. It opens up a lot of windows into the past, where we see ourselves 15 pounds lighter with 80s hair and a goofy smile on our faces. Some of those windows are best left closed, like the ex who was kinda weird and stalkerish or the former boss who drunkenly hit on you once but never mentioned it again. Best to just click ignore on those folks.

We still seem to end up with an army of people we sorta remember from high school and people we didn't really hang out that much with in college to go with the people we don't talk to much at work, the assistant coach's wife and the contractor that did a lousy job on the door. Facebook is the way the geek from chem. Class gets to talk to the star quarterback or the hall monitor gets to chat it up with the hot cheerleader, albeit 20 years too late.

Bottom line is that it's a continuous class reunion, with all the fun chatter, awkward remembrances and naughty possibilities running 24/7 on your netbook in the living room while the kids do homework and your spouse is on the Wii Fit.

The final reason that we all say happy birthday to the jerk father of the jerk kid from the soccer team and join causes we could care less about is that Facebook easily fulfills our basic need to just belong to something, to connect with others and be somehow larger than the person in the existence we have today. It's a pretty basic human need. Facebook is the bridge club and afternoon corner tavern of this generation. None of us bowl anymore, but we all play Farmville and tell the world about our latest Bejeweled score.

And in the pale blue light of the LCD screen, that is what passes for connection and human bonding as we move into the second decade of this millennium.

Leading Beats Managing

I was doing my morning internet peruse and hit upon a great blog entry over at Akkam's Razor.  I read all the stuff there, and while usually it's a gathering of links that are of interest to rzklkng, the log creator, when he does a full post, it's always worth a read.

Today's post is about the distinction between leading and managing.  While this may seem like word play, it's a huge difference.  The difference is something that I try to stay conscious of in my day-to-day work with my team, as well as when I am working on longer-term projects. 

rzlkng hits the nail pretty well on the head:

"My personal mantra has always been that managing and leading are two separate things that are not mutually exclusive. Narrowly defined, managing is about policies, procedures, and the allocation of scarce resources. ... Leadership is about opportunity by winning hearts and minds and motivating your team."

You can see from my bio that I state right up front that I lead.  There are parts of my job that involve management, but those parts are hard and boring, so I delegate them as much as I can.   Seriously, I get paid to develop our goals for the year, and then figure out how to get the most out of the 15 or so folks who work for me and to develop the planning and procedures to accomplish them.  having me filling out forms and crap like that is not an efficient use of organizational resources.

That means there is some nitty gritty now and then, but mostly my job is about providing folks the resources and support they need to do their jobs and protecting them from the BS that would interfere with that.  I differ a bit with rzlkng in that I think that finding and allocating resources is part of leadership.  Motivation, mentoring and development are larger parts, but resources are needed to do those things.

I am not saying that i am above it all.  I'm just saying that the best managers are the people who do it as their primary job most of the day.  They handle things.  The make operations run.  They are the gears in the machine.  My job is make sure that sand doesn't get in the gears and to figure out what we're going to do with all this organizational efficiency. 

I think the most important part of leadership though is respecting the work that people do and making sure that they know its value to you entire organization.  Some days it's hard to see the forest for the trees, but you've got to make sure that your people know that what they do is important and so are they.

Getting Back To Writing -- Really Writing

More than fifteen years ago I got into coaching because I had an idea for a novel where the main character was a college basketball coach.  I hoped I might get some insights into the character by living the life for a year.  I really was only planning on doing it for a single season.  When it got warm again, I would get started on the novel and by next winter be on to my next project.

Ten years or so later, I had been to countless practices and games, met a lot of great people, traveled all over the country, but somehow never wrote a word.  Realizing my new son was a pretty important development in my life and that I wasn't going anywhere as a basketball coach, I hung up my whistle.

In the next few years, I still never found time to write anything about that coach character that had seemed so important to me back in the early 90s.  It took the wrenching jolt of realization that my marriage was dead to get me to pick up my pen again.  I started by working through some old writing workshop exercises, designed to get the words flowing again.  Then, as it always seems to, real life took over again and I left the project again to put my life back together.  I distracted myself with my children, building a new relationship, taking pictures and traveling while changing jobs and enjoying life.

Recently, as crazy as life has been, I have been feeling the need to start doing some real writing again.  I started this website two years ago to force me to do some kind of writing every day, and it's done that.  An old high school friend (and recent Facebook friend) described the Another Delco Guy site as 'eclectic,' which I recognize as a kind way to say, 'jesus man, you're all over the place here.'

So the other day I dusted off a few of those short pieces that I did three years ago.  I'm planning to spend the next week or so cleaning up the spelling and typos and post them here one by one.  Maybe you'll see something you like.  Maybe you'll hate it all.  One way or another, drop me a line and let me know what you think

One Hell of A Year

This is a year people will talk about for a very long time, both locally, as well as nationally and globally.

On a local level, the major story is the Phils breaking the curse of Billy Penn and winning it all for the first time in 28 years.  What a season and what a parade!  Chase Utley said it best.  We also had the usual vultures circling Andy Reid, only to see him pull a rabbit out of the hat again and get the Eagles to an improbable playoff bid.

We lost Johnny Marzano and Ann d'Harnoncourt (the only time those names will ever be in the same sentence) and effectively lost Vince Fumo.  Killadelphia was still violent, though 15% fewer people lost their lives.  Michael Nutter slashed city spending and Willie Goode's squeeze got nailed by Jeff Cole.  In South Jersey, Wayne Bryant went from most powerful man in South Jersey to just another convicted felon.  The Fort Dix terror plotters will go to jail, but not for as long as Bryant.

Alicia Lane and Booker got fired, Larry Mendte was creepy, the Comcast Center opened and Striped Bass and Samson Street Oyster House closed.

Nationally the big story was the people doing the right thing and electing the best man regardless of skin color.  Tina Fey was better as a VP candidate than Sarah Palin and John McCain's campaign looked the same when he was running as it did when it was suspended.  One governor had a hooker take him down and another sold a US Senate seat. 

The economy collapsed, despite every effort to give billions of taxpayer dollars to wealthy people.  Gas prices rocketed to over $4 and then dropped back to $1.35 here in Moorestown.  More than 300 Americans died int Iraq War, a fact that is sadly well down the list of 2008 events.

Michael Phelps outswam everyone in Bejing, including tiny 14 year old Chinese gymnasts.  The big story in China for the year was the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in May.  Terrorists struck Mumbai in an bloody week of fighting that killed more than 300.  Israel began an assault on Gaza this week, preparing for an invasion.

While the economy has had an effect on me personally as well as the rest of the world, I have been lucky this year.  The kids are great, I got to travel to Albuquerque and Santa Fe on a great trip, as well as call the Division III Final Four, visit Sedona, Annapolis, Maine, Disney, DC, Maine again, Gettysburg, Toronto, NYC, Boston, State College and Southern California. 

I got to watch the Phils clinch with John and my princess walk in a parade the same day the Phils celebrated their second championship in my lifetime.  I've got a challenging job and work with great people.  My family made it through the year with no health crises and we see lots of the greatest friends in the world. 

And I made an important decision about my future that I will talk about another time.

In many ways 2008 was a rough year.  I feel very lucky to be able to be looking forward to 2009 while still being able to say that 2008 was a pretty good year here. 

From Another Delco Guy to you - Happy New Year.  Be safe and enjoy!

A Great Day

I've had some very good days in my life.  Meeting a president.  Making out with a girl the first time.  Winning a scholarship to college.  The day my son John was born.  The day my daughter Emma came home from the NICU.  The day I got married.  The day my divorce was finalized.  Cutting down the nets in the old Sacred Heat Gym at Cabrini.  Playing Torrey Pines.  Driving the Green River Valley.  Sitting in the rain at Fenway.

But none of those days compared to yesterday.  The anticipation built all day.  Coming back into Philadelphia from Toronto, I drove past the stadiums and knew in that instant daydreamed of a parade Friday.  My son babbled for an hour as we drove home and his innocent certainty was infectious.  The Phils were going to win. 

I've been racking my brain all day.  Trying to think of a moment in my life that meant more to me than listening to Harry Kalas on the call as John and I held each other and jumped up and down in rapture.

And the truth is that nothing compares. 

I don't ever want this feeling to go away.

Hilarious Google Ad Placement

You may have noticed that I have a Google ad placement on the left hand side of the page.  I have it mostly because I think it's pretty cool to see what pops up on there.  It looks through my page a few times a day to find some key words from my posts and then places an ad based on my page content.

Usually it's about sports or photography stuff.  Today though, I had to laugh.  It said:

Do you have ADHD?

How did the Googles know?!?

Another Year Older ... Not Sure About Wiser

Well, you are out of shopping days.  This is it!!!  It's MY day.  Today I am 38 35!

I'd first like to thank my son John for coming into the bathroom while I was showering to wish me a happy birthday.  Emma's amazing hug got the morning moving.  I'd also like to thank my GF and the kids for the pile of presents I am not allowed to open yet.  I'd like to thank the Phils and especially Chris Coste for the come-from-behind win last night that put the Phils in Phirst for my day.

This year has been a year where I have grudgingly had to admit that I am aging.  My waist is thicker.  My hair is thinner.  The mornings after are harder.  There is some gray in the whiskers.  I notice myself struggling to remember things that I used to know right away.

But while the deterioration of the body has been something I notice regularly, reflection shows some real positives this year.  It's been a year of strong professional growth for me.  I've got new challenges at work that make the day fly by.  My life at home is happy and very fulfilled (the waistline thing shows that to some extent).  The last month especially has given me lots of great time with the kids and seeing them grow and experience life is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

No, I haven't written that book.  There just never seems to be time.  But in the last year I've read dozens of great ones, many on planes to some of the great places I get to go with my job or family.  After 20 years of trying, I finally got to participate in a D3 Final Four, calling a game and doing analysis for the folks at D3Hoops.com.  I saw Santa Fe, The Turquoise Trail, Sedona, and got back to so many places including Maine, DC, Phoenix, and Orlando.

I'd like to thank all of you who make my life special.  Now go buy me something!

By Request

This photo shows my freshly-shorn skull in all its glory. Many loyal readers only know me to have long hair, but back in my youth I generally sported a short cut for ease of care.

Over the last few years, I have let it grow into "the Brazilian Soccer Player Cut" that my GF loved so much.

This one is apparently loved by children, siblings and parents. I am also hearing I look younger. All good I guess.

It's still hard to get used to in the mirror, but not having to apply 2 different hair prodcuts twice a day to keep the curls under control is a HUGE plus!

Everything's Ok

I've been asked a few times lately about the recent lack of posts.  Nothing really to report about it.  I've just very busy at work and that hasn't left much time for posting.

I've got a few stories that I am readying for posting, a pair of restaurant reviews, a collection of thoughts about touring Chester, PA a while back, an NCAA tournament proposal and a photo story on the Flight 93 memorial among others.  I'm also working the Division III men's basketball Final Four in Salem. VA this weekend, so there will be some live blog posts from down there as well.

Another Delco Guy will be back in the swing of things any time now!!!  Thanks for asking.

My RealAge

My RealAge

                                                                  

Calendar Age                             37.6

Difference                     +1.6

RealAge                             39.2

Ok.  So I am not as healthy as I could be.  Big minus points for:

Low unsaturated fat
Flossing habits
Lycopene levels
Low vegetable intake
Folic acid intake
High resting heart rate
Lack of flexibility exercises
Workout schedule
Potassium levels
Low grain intake
Low omega-3 intake
Low fruit servings
Unsafe driving practices
Cell phone use
Driving speeds
Aspirin use
Lack of daily breakfast
Calcium intake
Vitamin E intake
Have cholesterol level measured
Strength training level

I'm amazed that given my history of stress (marriage) that the numbers aren't worse.

The quiz that put a numerical figure on what I already knew is fairly lengthy but VERY COOL.  You can try it out here.  Let me know what your RealAge is!

Crazy Busy

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you look back and wonder what the hell you did all week?

There's so much to do at work right now, I need to make a list of all the things "on my plate" just so I don't forget one. One semester is starting, we're trying to get ready for the Fall 2008 students, a guy is leaving and I have three major reports and projects I am 'tasked" with. 
That plus all the meetings, regular staff stuff and student issues.  I am left feeling overwhelmed.

Of course there are the home front things too.  Mom had a stress test yesterday.  It went great, but meant a dash out to Media at lunch time before stopping in to check on my dad than heading back to the office for 2 more meetings.  The kids are awesome and a great source of energy but driving them all over Burlington County is  PITA but one I have to bear I guess.

I fall into bed each night totally exhausted and sleep like a log until the last possible second.   I need to find some time to work on my personal projects, writing, photography and reading, but I barely seem to have the time to read a few pages a day.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not just bitching and moaning.  I'm happier  today that I have been in years, I just want to know how to get it all done.

Any suggestions?

A Dream

My Grandpop died 12 years ago this month.  I've written about him in the past and still look up to him as someone who always helped me when he could and was as encouraging to me as anyone has ever been.  To say that I miss him, even all these years later does not begin to cover the feeling.

I recently realized that among the things I 'lost' in my divorce was the flag that my father gave me from my grand father's coffin.  I'd like to have it back, but it seems unlikely at this point.  I feel pretty guilty that it's gone now and have been upset that I let him and my family down by losing control of such an important touchstone to the past.

Last night I had a very vivid dream that Grandpop was still alive and I went to talk to him in his bedroom.  That would have been very unusual, since I only went in his bedroom a few times over the years before he got very sick near the end.  The dream was quite vivid and had a very lifelike quality to it.  It was very early morning in the dream, dawn just touching the sky.  There were Christmas presents in the house and his Norway spruce was decorated.   

I went into his room and asked him how he was doing.  'Do you need anything?' I asked.  He rolled over and looked at me and said tiredly but clearly, 'Nah. Let me sleep.'

Take it for what it's worth, but I think I will 'let him sleep' for a while.

My Personal 2007 Year in review

In the past I have spent too much time looking back and not enough looking forward.  I still don't look forward much, but I have stopped re-living the mistakes of my past.

I saw this little exercise on the internet - thanks didyouevernotice - and decided that it was actually worthwhile to take a half hour or so to look back on the year.  So please tolerate the self-indulgence for today.  You won't learn that much you didn't know, but you may smile once or twice.

The idea comes from Mary Schmich the Chicago Tribune columnist, who first popularized it in 2005.  She's also responsible for the 'Wear Suncreen' phenomenon.

In 2007, I gained seventeen pounds.
I lost my temper too often.
I stopped by Wawa too much.
I started giving away things.
I was hugely satisfied by my progress as a photographer.
And frustrated by my lack of progress as a writer.
I am so embarrassed that I am so out of shape.
Once again, I resolve to get back in shape.
Once again, I did not learn to swim.
The biggest physical difference between me last December and this December is my longer hair.
The biggest psychological difference between me last December and this
December is feeling much more at peace with where I am in life.
I loved spending time in

Maine

with the kids and GF and family.
Why did I spend even two minutes watching network TV?
I should have spent more time writing.
I regret buying pants that are now too small.
I will never regret buying my morning coffee even though with that money I could have bought a vacation.
I drank way too much.
I didn’t plan enough.
The ex drove me crazy.
Was work crazier than ever last year? Or was it me?
The most relaxing place I went was

Ontario

.
I feel so far away when I write that down.
Why did I go to Seven Springs??????
The best thing I did for someone else was kiss a boo-boo.
The best thing I did for myself was relax.
The best thing someone did for me was not something I am writing on the internet.
The one thing I’d like to do again, but do it better, is cook regularly.

3 AM at Geno's

All I am saying is Bachelor Party.

Good luck Billy (left with tongue out)!

On Jealousy

Some things we know about ourselves and they aren't too pretty.  One thing I know about me is that I have a tendency toward jealousy.

I am jealous of the folks who have big shore houses.  I envy those who have traveled Europe.  I wish to be one of those folks with the custom kitchen and Subzero fridge.  I sigh when the Porsche Cayenne idles throatily next to my Honda CRV.

I have plenty and am quite lucky I know.  I get tot he beach a week a year.  I have traveled the US extensively.   My kitchen .. well my kitchen needs work!  And who wouldn't want a Porsche?

But today I am positively GREEN with envy.

Matt is in Green Bay for the Eagles season opener  against the Packers.  He is joined by my uncle Bill, cousins Pat and Dan and Pat's fiancee Audrey.  They are among the luckiest folks I know today.  To be at the center of all that is holy in football and be able to root the Eagles on in weather that isn't frigid.   MMMMMM. Jealousy and envy just don't quite cover the feeling.

Go Birds!!!! 31-21 over the Pack at Lambeau.  I am sure Matt will have pictures!