The Adventures of Delta Whiskey

The August Newsflash

2011-08-13T07:47:00.001-07:00

The past few months have been great, and frankly, writing on the blog isn't at the top of the list of things to do. While I enjoy hopping on here to blast out the occasional update or social commentary, I've spent my time and energy elsewhere. But I'm in one of those moods where I'm feeling the need to put down on paper (or the web) what's going on, so here's the August update/news flash/public journal for those interested in hearing what's what.

Back in July, my little sister got married out in Colorado, giving myself, my girlfriend, and family an excuse to head west for some rest and relaxation. My sister's wedding was full of fun and great reminders about the importance of family and how lucky I've been to be able to spend quality time with the people who matter most since leaving Seattle. After the wedding, Romeo and I got lost in the Rocky Mountains for a week and it was a much-needed break from the pace of life. No schedules, no meeting requests, no emails, no events to attend; just the two of us, a piece of crap rental car, and the amazing state of Colorado. It reminded me of my trip eastward from Seattle several years ago; and no offense to Annie (my dog), but Romeo is a way better travel companion. We did the usual Colorado things--hiking in mountains, riding bikes, enjoying scenery, etc., and it gave both of us a chance to turn off the work side of our brains and appreciate each other, where we're at in life, and the great things we're able to enjoy together.

For me, the break came at an ideal time. I had been feeling uneasy at work--not in the sense that my job was in jeopardy, but that I wasn't entirely sure the fit was there. I'm paid to help teams and leaders improve how their work is done, but that relationship can be delicate. For the system to improve, it requires a shared acknowledgment that something isn't working well in the eyes of the customer and better ways of working are essential. This isn't to say the work wasn't effective--I worked with a number of leaders and teams that were enthusiastic about 'getting better' and had some great results to boot. But I had been feeling a bit squeamish about my effectiveness in helping us get better.

So Colorado gave me a chance to step back from it all, take a deep breath, and gain some perspective on things. A few weeks after returning from Colorado I was approached about a similar position to what I do now with an organization that provides outpatient medical care. There's kind of a funny story behind how they knew I existed, which I'll tell another day. Let's just say it involved quite possibly the most embarrassing thing I've ever had to do in front of an audience. Anyhow, back to the job--they do everything from primary care to advanced specialty care, and provide the range of services you and I experience when we're not feeling well. The work would involve advancing quality improvement in both familiar areas (lab) as well as some not-so-familiar ones (surgery center). The opportunity for learning would be great, and I'd be closer to the work that 'touches' patients on their journey from illness to health (and preventive care too). But the work was only part of the equation, and I knew from prior experience that the setting needed to be right if I was going to consider a switch.

I went out to visit with their leaders to learn a bit more about them, as well as help them learn a bit about me, and the more I heard the more I felt inspired and upbeat about joining a group with similar enthusiasm, curiosity, and discipline related to quality. By no means are they a 'perfect' company (i'm not sure one exists), but for my kind of work there is strong commitment, infrastructure, and leadership to make a difference in the care we provide patients. This is what I experienced working out in Seattle, and is something that is hard to quantify, but it matters. My work gets far easier when there's a unified team supporting it, and I'm confident I'll have what's needed to make a difference.

There were a few other variables to weigh, but ultimately I decided to accept the job, which will start the Tuesday after Labor Day. It'll be a challenge, and it'll push me in new ways, but I'm optimistic that I'll learn while making a difference. As folks at my current job have found out about my decision, the conversations have been enlightening. It's been humbling to see and hear many of the compliments, and I am grateful for the relationships I've built and learning I've acquired over the past year. Most folks understand my passion for improving healthcare and why its important to me, and after they hear about the work I'm doing most have wished me well. And those that haven't said much or been lukewarm, well, you can't make 'em all happy. And I can understand how my quick stint may not be seen by all as something good for the company.

But ultimately, I own my career and how I choose to make a living. And I'm comfortable with the decisions I've made, how I've handled myself, and where I'm heading, which is ultimately what matters. I'll have a few weeks in between jobs to clear the head a bit and catch up with people I don't see enough, ramble on my blog, hit the golf course, exercise, and recharge the batteries.

So stay tuned, and wherever you are, enjoy the summer while we've got it!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Being a Fan

2011-05-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I was irate when sports teams I followed closely lost important games. I have no idea why I got so fired up, but whether it was the Bulls, Bears, Cubs, Hawks, or Blue Demons (and a sprinkle of Miami football) I got really fired up when teams I liked lost. I'd get violent (literally throwing/breaking stuff), pouty, and couldn't stomach my Eggo's while I checked out the Tribune sports page, painfully pouring over the carnage from the night before. Over time, I got a little less emotional and dramatic about sports, and learned some important lessons about being a fan--like avoiding the internet/TV/radio sports content after losses. But at the end of the day, I like it when the teams I follow do well and put on my grumpypants when things go south.

So after last night's bulls loss, it really got me thinking about the impact of sports on my mood. Part of my job entails asking people 'Why' problems exist, and with my mood somewhere between grumpy and shitty this past 96 hours I turned the mirror on myself to ask: 'Why Delta, Why do you care so much about the outcome of a sporting event?'

The short answers as why I think I'm impacted so much by sports comes down to:

-I enjoy the sense of Shared Community Interest/Pride

-Sports allow me to spend time (both in person and via email/text) with the people I'd like to be around (family/friends)

-I'm pretty shallow when it comes down to what entertains me and sports teams are just as dramatic as any soap opera, sitcom, or reality show you follow on TV. Its not the only thing I do for entertainment, just tends to pre-occupy my time more than other activities when teams are doing well.

One of sports' upside (for me) is the Human Contact it encourages. Its a great feeling to leap on your feet as part of a crowd that erupts at a big moment in a game. Although you have no idea who the other 23,000 screaming idiots are, you've all shared that moment and acknowledged it together--something that doesn't happen very often in your daily life. That experience of being part of a shared public event is something I thrive on--whether its a concert, a sporting event, or a party...I'm a guy who likes to be around others. (An ENFP if you're familiar with Myers Briggs Personality Profiles). And I enjoy those events even better when I share it with someone I know--my father, brother, cousin, niece/nephew or friend (even girlfriend this past week) who enjoy the Bulls like I do. Make no mistake about it, the bulls give me an outlet to spend time with all of those people, and sad as it sounds, it binds us together. Maybe not with my girlfriend, but you get the idea.

And on the flipside of those highs are the devastating lows after a tough loss. I've lived through a bunch of them in my lifetime. The Bears in multiple playoff runs, the Cubs in every series they've ever played, the Bulls in the late 80s before they got their legs underneath them (and this week), Depaul choking a game when they began to get a shred of credibility from folks other than the 19 loyal fans...You get the idea, I've been let down as a fan of Chicago teams I spend my spare time following. I think part of the reason I get so angry is the feeling that I had invested all of that emotional energy, time, cash, and brainpower only to result in a crappy outcome. (As an interesting aside, I just loosely defined waste, a concept I use to help folks examine how they do their work to deliver a consistent service/outcome). In addition to the feeling that it was a waste of time to care in the first place, there's also a sense of inadequacy that comes with supporting a losing team. Almost as if it that loss reflects back on me and makes me a loser. Yes, I realize that sounds ridiculous, but why else would people feel so pissed about a random 12 people losing in a sporting event?!?

As far as this year's Bulls team goes, I've written ad nauseum about my appreciation for what they've done, even took time to thank them. I tend to be a pretty "glass half full" kinda guy about things--sports included, so when I step back from the table and look at the glass from this season it is close to the brim. Last July, I was one of many Bulls faithful wallowing at the thought of another mediocre Bulls season after they lost out on Lebron James and other free agents. But over the past 12 months the Bulls have proved me and every other fan into believers wrong by playing basketball in its purest form--relentless effort, discipline, teamwork, and defense. And although the outcome wasn't what I hoped for, I can't get too down on them--I'm proud to be a fan of a team that plays together, works hard, and genuinely wants to continuously improve. But the Bulls success is only half the reason why the cup is nearly full--I had nearly 8 months of great entertainment, abundant time with family and friends, and that sense of community I enjoy...

The NBA Column (No Basketball Allowed)

2011-05-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks I've used the blog to spew nonsense to anyone who would read about the Bulls, the NBA, and watching a bunch of grown men run around in tank tops grabbing each other. To change it up, I figured I'd use tonight's column to share some random musings about life outside of the hardwood. Tonight's column will serve as a public service announcement for reading (including gift recommendations for the reader in your life), so if this doesn't interest you please check back later this week for Heat-Bulls coverage.

Believe it or not, I actually do read things other than columns and twitter feeds written by sportswriters. Its not always the "headiest" kind of literature, but it helps me sleep at night and my mom always told me good readers make good writers. So if I really plan to write a book someday I should probably read a few. Having said all of that, I don't read a TON, but normally will read a few pages of a book (actually Kindle) before bed to knock me out. At most I'll read 20 pages a night, sometimes as few as 2. But a few of the books I've read have been really good, so I figured I'd spread the gospel in case you're looking for something to read or know someone in your life who is.

In Fifty Year's We'll All Be Chicks - by Adam Carolla. When I lived in Seattle, Aceman was my wingman on the way to work. Each day I'd listen to him nasally wax-on about the world's problems and just about any topic under the sun, often saying exactly what I think about issues. He's got an engineer's mind and a crass, sarcastic sense of humor that I love, and his presence in the car on the way to work or school is something I miss. He's not much of a writer, but this book is an excellent summary of Adam's life, along with some spot-on observation of the utterly dumb things you and I observe on a regular basis. My only criticism of the book was that I wished he named this something different, mainly because so much of the book would be great for a female audience as well. This would be a perfect book for the "guy who doesn't read much" in your life or anyone who regularly reads Bill Simmons on ESPN.

The Lincoln Lawyer - by Michael Connely. Yes, this is the same book as the movie with the same title starring that guy from Dazed and Confused (I know his name, just can't spell it). The book is a page-turner and profiles a typical "who dun it" legal story about a suspected murder involving a rich douchebag from LA. The writing isn't anything that'll blow you away, but you'll like the action as we uncover the twists and turns from the perspective of a sleaze-bag defense attorney. This book would make a great gift for the serious reader in your life who needs to read something not-so-serious. Also good for folks heading on vacation. Which is exactly what Romeo Sierra and I read on our vacation to/from Seattle. We thought it'd be kinda fun if we read the same book at the same time, you know, like in high school. We didn't have book club or pop quizes but it was kinda interesting to read the same book, even if it was trashy fiction.

Scorecasting - I like to sprinkle some non-fiction in to the rotation, and this book got off to a solid start but faded towards the stretch. After reading Michael Lewis' Moneyball, I became fascinated with Sports Analytics and how numbers, statistics, and measurement can be used to out smart the opponent. As a former coach and athlete, Moneyball made complete sense to me, and bordered on a work-related book as I thumbed through Billy Beane's adventures with the Oakland A's and performance improvement. Since Moneyball, there have been literally hundreds of authors out on the web, in books, and elsewhere who sift through piles of data to tell us something interesting or unique about sports but most of them fall short of talking about how those teams, coaches, or players actually do something with all of that data. Scorecasting is one of these books, and although the book does an excellent job explaining some of the common fallacies in sports (Defense doesn't always win championships, Icing the kicker doesn't work, the Cubs suck because of their fans), I found some of the writing rambled long after the point had been made. Worth picking up for a sports/numbers junkie, but make sure they've read Moneyball first.

The Imperfectionists - recently, I ran out of books to read and went to Facebook to ask for suggestions. Although a few folks responded, I didn't see anything that caught my eye until I stumbled on this book, which I intend to go read after I finish this post. For a first-time author, the writing is outstanding and the plot moves along at a great clip--its essentially a fictional tale of a journalist working for an english-speaking newsroom in Rome. The writing is unlike anything I have read before, and is so good I've actually forced my girlfriend to read passages I found insightful and well-written. This is probably the kind of book you'd give someone who majored in English or a Fine Art in college who also traveled to Europe at some point.

The Time Machine: April 18, 2006

2011-04-15T16:53:00.001-07:00

I spend a lot of my blog space rambling about current work stuff, travel, sports, and life in general, but I don't share a ton about the past. I'm in a reflective mood (not sure if reflective is actually a mood or an adjective for a running jacket), so I figured I'd write about the happenings of five years ago this coming monday.

The morning of my surgery was a scary one. For months I had been battling a pretty severe 'flare up' of Crohn's Disease that had me in and out of the hospital, on and off crazy treatment plans (including both eastern and western varieties), out of school, and feeling like shit. My weight pre-surgery was 112 pounds and my complexion was a shade of grey--not exactly what I pictured myself to look like at 29 years old. I had been diagnosed with my gut 'issues' at age 12 so hospitals were nothing new, but this was by far the worst I had felt. On top of the physical ailment, my illness took its toll on my outlook, optimism, and spirit for living.

And although I was confident my current health issues would be resolved with the surgery, I was freaking out about the future. I was to have my intestine removed, with the very real possibility that I'd never make a #2 like most folks for a very long time (if not indefinitely). Its not as if I enjoyed it that much (pooping), it just felt so awkward to know that I would be physically different in some way from other folks. Although when ill I was tethered to a toilet, I was also an athlete, a handsome guy, and very fit, and I felt as if Delta Whiskey as I knew him (or thought I knew him) would never return once my colon was removed.

I have some faded memories of saying good bye to my girlfriend (at the time) and my mom, before I was wheeled down the hall to the operating room with my dad at my side. He couldn't come in to the pre-op prep area, but walked with us until the doors; when I gave him a hug and entered the trusting hands of an operating room team of nurses, doctors, and other folks. The anesthesiologist gave me something he called a "pre flight cocktail" which probably helped ease my nerves and I have vague memories of rock music in the operating room. (Side note: if hospitals wanted to give patients a unique experience they should give 'em the choice of what to listen to before they get conked out. Its a minor thing, but might help ease some nerves and give the patient some "control" before people start cutting them open...this would also make for an interesting itunes "essentials" category for "Pre-Surgery")

I woke up sometime later that day and have very little recollection of the next week. My dad warned me how exhausted and spent I'd feel after the anesthesia wore off, but I was probably zonked for most of the first few days after surgery. Gradually I got used to the new "apparatus" located a few inches to the right and below my belly button. Slowly I regained an appetite, and after a week or so I was sent home from the hospital to adjust to my new life.

My family was amazing; all of my siblings made their way out during some stage of my surgery and/or recovery, and although we were 2,000 miles from Chicago it was great to have familiar faces encourage me, feed me, help me, and make me smile. But eventually they returned to Chicago, and shortly after their departure I began to feel like ass. I was lethargic, had an intense pain in my shoulder, and wet the bed with sweat on a nightly basis.

My girlfriend and I made our way to a party of some grad school friends (my first public activity), and all night I felt off. We went to bed, only to find the sheets covered in green slime that made its way out of my incision. It turns out my abdomen was chock full of post-op infections, and one of the abscesses below my scar had enough and wanted OUT. The weeks to follow were painful, as interventional radiologists, surgeons, and gastroenterologists worked to rid my body of these infections by any means necessary. It was not pleasant; as many of these masses had to be drained--which meant stents were stuck into my abdomen and chest to collect the crap from inside my body. The original surgery sucked, but this REALLY sucked!

Things finally stabilized and I began returning to some of the more 'normal' daily activities. I could stuff my face with all sorts of high calorie foods (Dick's Burgers!), could make it around the block without a rest, and could travel. I returned to Chicago to see family and friends for a buddy's wedding (Sierra Echo), and it was the first time most of my friends had seen me since the drama of the previous winter. Shortly after Chicago, I headed to DC for a short vacation and returned to Seattle feeling as if my health was beginning to stabilize.

I picked up a golf club, hopped on the bike, did a little running, and began to get back to being myself. Plans for returning to school fell into place, and I had the summer in Seattle to get my health back and reflect on everything that took place. I may have been a bit eager to get back to many of those activities; and eventually developed a hernia in my abdomen that would need surgery to be repaired. The ongoing discomfort became really uncomfortable so I returned to the hospital a few months for my surgery, only to have a sponge "left behind" following the procedure.

Needless to say, I was a tad frustrated with my experience in our health care system as I experienced all of the delays, mistakes, communication gaps, unclear instructions, horse-sh*t billing practices, and nonsense that patients live with every day in our nation's health care system. Gradually I began to turn some of that energy into a desire to make health care better; which may be part of why I like my profession and the curriculum in school.

But beyond the professional focus the experience provided, I learned a lot about myself, those around me, and my ability to adapt to change. There's a cheesy saying to the effect of, "its always darkest before sunrise" and the metaphor is probably a good description of the events before, during, and after that surgery 5 years ago. Today I'm a different man in many ways--I've learned how to enjoy life, love another person, participate in activities (some which I thought there was never a chance), and feel comfortable in my own skin. All of that nonsense also gave me some much-needed perspective on what really is important in life--health, family, smiling, and giving.

Reflections after 78 Games (not a basketball column)

2011-04-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

I sit here on Romeo Sierra's couch (she's been on the road all week), with Annie at my side while we watch the bulls put the wraps on win # 59 this year. And while I realize I haven't been a regular contributor I figured it would be a nice time to hop on y ole' blog and take it for a spin. Besides, I don't have a computer to blog on and Romeo has a fancy schmancy mac.

Before I go any further, I need to give Romeo a shout out for the SINGLE GREATEST prediction of the NBA season. As my loyal readers recall, I began the NBA season with a "season preview" column, which included predictions from a number of family members and friends on the upcoming season. If you'd like to go back to read these predictions click here. But before you do, I swear on my life I have not altered the original article....I'll wait for you to go and check.

....go ahead....

....can you believe that?!?! The only one to pick Derrick Rose to be the league's MVP! I'm proud of her for believing in him, even when my cynical mind wouldn't entertain the idea at the start of the season. Once it became clear D-Rose would be the MVP I started bragging on her behalf, although she takes it in stride (just like D-Rose does) and doesn't really seem as interested in the bulls as I am. Maybe she's just waiting until the playoffs to get dialed in on all things bulls.

Needless to say, the next few months are going to be a fun ride; I'm not going to spend my entire column talking sports..

For starters, its been a nutty winter. The last time I posted ways sometime around the first of the year and the pace of life has been quick. My work occupies much of my time (and unfortunately much of my energy), and I am challenged in ways I've never been challenged before. The work gives me flexibility in terms of how I spend my time (to some degree) and my job is essentially to help a Laboratory deliver on time, accurate results for patients (really their doctors) in hospitals and outpatient settings. I've learned a ton about a slice of healthcare that gets far too little visibility for the importance of the work. Think about it: although your doctor may suspect you have a suspicious mole, its the lab that confirms if its suspicious or not. And in order for us to deliver that result, your doctor needs to obtain a specimen, which gets stored into a container, that gets picked up by a guy/gal in a car with a cooler, who hands that specimen off to a receiver who accepts that specimen, then prepares the specimen for testing, then tests it which produces a result, which then gets sent (mostly electronically) back to your doctor. Unless its a real bad mole that the pathologist is worried about, then we call your doctor directly to let them know it doesn't look good. And yes, that summary is extremely oversimplified and doesn't clearly describe what I see when I observe the work being done.

So its pretty serious work...the results we deliver can change the course of someone's life in both good (pregnancy) and bad (cancer) ways. And my job is to help this laboratory deliver accurate, timely results so that you don't spend any time sicker than you need to be (or worrying about if there's something wrong). Given the variety of work my laboratory does, and the service area it covers, I'm a busy guy! Back in March I facilitated a week-long workshop at one of our hospitals, during which I helped a team of people who draw your blood, test your blood, and nurses to figure out ways to ensure your doctor (and nurse) have your results when they come to the hospital to see you in the morning. There's no 'hard data' to know if docs need the results as early as we've been asked to deliver it, but my job is to help teams solve problems like this--not so much to figure out which problems need to be solved (or goals need to be achieved).

The workshop was a ton of work (try sitting in a conference room with me for a week and you'd know why), but the team walked out with a bunch of nice work that gives me reason to think we can make healthcare a better place. Their results are much better (more results in charts earlier in the day) meaning there's less likelihood a doc will make rounds without having your results in the chart. How does this help you and me as a patient? This should mean your doctor should know whats going on in your body when he or she sees you in the hospital, because she'll have results that reflect how you're doing in the morning. And don't forget those patients with surgeries and other procedures that can be delayed if current information isn't available. But perhaps more important than getting more results in to charts is the shift in thinking that I hope to stimulate among the folks who manage and complete the work needed to collect your blood. That probably sounds very pscyho-babbly, but the jist of my work is its designed to have people who do the work figure out the best way of doing their work to deliver what the customer (patient) needs. Essentially, its up to them what they want to do in order to improve how they complete their work; so its kind of a 'grass-roots' approach to becoming a better operation. If it was in a restaurant it would be the equivalent of the wait-staff figuring out easier/faster ways to set tables, clean tables, etc. But back to my work; my hope is to use this workshop to light a bit of an improvement flame throughout 8 other hospitals. Its a lot to have to "logisticate" as I like to call it, but as I have been taught (and try to practice), you can achieve your desired outcome if you thoughtfully plan your steps, adhere to those steps, and involve others in helping you get there. So that's one of several work things i'm involved with, which may sound interesting, or like a complete bore....I find the challenge rewarding, although it'd be nice to have a few soldiers to help me wage the war on waste (in all forms) and irrational thinking. That'd also help me have some better balance with other areas of my life, which include a great girlfriend, a family, friends, and summertime hobbies that range from golf to travel....

Life hasn't been nearly as dry or boring as I'm making it out to be....some recent highlights:

-romeo sierra getting an 'in person' tour of the seattle adventures of yours truly. we were out west for a wedding of a former coworker but also had a chance to see friends I hadn't seen in some time. we got excellent weather during our trip, and it was nice for me to return to a city that marked a pivotal turning point in my life. showing romeo some of the places, faces, and experiences that shaped life was a blast...there's pix out on facebook somewhere if youre curious

-my cousin delta whiskey and i saw trombone shorty here last monday. if you haven't heard him (or heard of him) do yourself a favor and watch this. he's one of the few artists I can listen to with my folks, my girlfriend, at work, or working out. and its not just him, his backup crew can bring it as well....

-there's been too many great nights at the UC to mention, but needless to say I've spent plenty of nights with my dad watching Derrick Rose and the bulls shred through the NBA. they haven't won a thing, but it has been a fun year to be a bulls fan, and I'm glad his life has slowed down so he can enjoy it (as well as many other things)

Alright, well Romeo just got back from Toronto and I gotta wrap up to walk annie anyhow. Hope all of you are enjoying life wherever you're at.....and LETS GO BULLS!!!!!!

The Delta Whiskey Bowl

2011-01-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

We're officially in the dog days of winter--the holidays are in our rear view mirror, pitchers and catchers don't report for spring training for at least another 45 days, and you're psyched when high temperatures soar into the 20's. But this time of year isn't so bad, especially if you're a sports fan. Shallow as sports may be, its a nice outlet to pass the time and in my case it keeps me connected to family, friends, and the pulse of Chicago. Whether I'm firing off text messages to buddies during an important game, or listening intently to Tahhhd (Todd for those of you without Chicago accents) calling in to sports talk radio to tell the public "how da bears ain't got nuttin' ta worry about come sunday;" sports occupy a decent part of my brain's capacity throughout the day.

So with sports on the brain, tonight's column will focus on the NFL playoffs, and Sunday's tilt between the Seahawks and Bears, the next chapter between two teams from cities I have a personal connection to. For the non sports fan (aka my girlfriend), I'll try to sprinkle in a few non-sports topics from time to time.

Lucky for me, I come from a family where my father and his two brothers were passionate about their Chicago sports. This left a notable impression on all of the Whiskey males (and probably the females as well), and also access to tickets for great sporting events. And this Sunday, my cousin and I will attend the Bears-Seahawks playoff game. Like me, my cousin explored the country a bit during his twenties, and is now back in Chicago; with part of his travels taking him to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. But no matter where he and I lived during our 20's, Chicago sports always stayed on the brain. And while I can't speak for him, it wasn't easy living out in Seattle, away from such an integral part of my life. Occasionally a Chicago sports team would visit Seattle, which was always a treat, but I missed the collective interest in the teams near and dear to my heart.

I'm pausing the column to interview my girlfriend, whose house I am at while I write. Her day has been long, and she's offered her remaining energy to conduct a long-anticipated, exclusive interview on the Adventures of Delta Whiskey. Her dog Shaney (aka Sha Nay Nay) is alongside as we dig into the most intimate details of her life.

Delta: We have been dating for roughly 13 months, and our dogs have known each other the entire time. How would say the relationship between Shaney and Annie has gone?

Romeo: Rocky, at best. At least they haven't killed each other.

Delta: I see. Well, from my perspective Shaney has been gracious with sharing her home with Annie and her bed with me. Thanks for such a deep response!

Delta: Looking back over the past year, tell me three days that stood out to you. You'll get extra credit for telling me why.

Romeo: Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Kidding ok...

1) Our entire first date - December 23, 2010. You picked me up, you told me everything about Delta Whiskey, the good, the bad, the ugly...and I thought you were cute. Very cute. Even during the ugly. But the best part of that night was the drop off. The awkward lean in from you, and my awkward reaction which was to say "that was awkward". Awkward is good. It makes for good stories. That's why. (extra credit 1)

2) Go go Galena. Our trip to western(?) illinois - a quaint little, but very pretty town called Galena. Our first trip together. We hiked and talked and got lost and eventually had to call the hotel to come pick us up. Conversation was obviously captivating. That's why (extra credit 2)

3) Roasting marshmallows on that same trip. It was genius until the wood was all gone and I was eating marshmallows and graham crackers, cold, with sticky black hands. I think we both ate too many. But I just remember looking up at you, you looking at me, marshmallow all over my face and laughing...

4) oh wait, one more from that same trip - impromptu gym class (by the way, I think this all happened in 1 day) on the floor of our townhouse. it stood out because it was so ridiculously random, but grrrreat. that' why (extra credit 3)

Delta: Very cute, I'm concerned we're getting too far away from my core demographic (all 19 followers), so I'd like to ask you a few questions about sports. What is your prediction for Sunday's game between the Bears and Seahawks? Who do you think is going to be the 'difference maker'?

Romeo: Player or Team? Well, I'll just go with Team, because I don't know any players beyond Devin Hester and Jay Cutler. Julius Peppers! I do love that name! Ok, the Bears.

Delta: Phew. Now I feel a little more at-ease knowing the bears are in good hands.

Romeo: Actually, if I can interject for a second - I think the bigger question is who's NOT going to be the 'difference maker' - and I can tell you who will make no difference, at all, the Patriots. Are they even in the playoffs?

Delta: Yes, they are. I'm getting hungry. When is dinner coming?

Romeo: I say in 10.7 minutes. Best guess.

Delta: Great story. Compelling and rich. OK, back to more serious questions. You work in a world where coming up with clever ideas is part of your day to day life. I could use some ideas from you--how do I appeal to a broader audience on my blog?

Romeo: Good question. Off the top of my severely drained head:

1) Focus only on sports. Or don't. Pick one then go hard at it.

2) If you don't focus only on sports - then make your blog about something - make it have some sort of rhyme, reason or mission. Or have it be about nothing, like seinfeld, but that was about something.

3) Ask your friends to read your stuff.

4) Consider writing about celebrity gossip. (e.g., "hey, did you hear that Jake broke up with Taylor...heartbreaking!")

5) Branding branding branding. Get a logo. Some pretty pictures and then watch the followers pile up.

Delta: Good food for thought, as usual. What did you hear on my ipod that surprised you most?

Romeo: Classical music. I wasn't expecting it, nor do I really like it, but you seemed to really like it when I asked you about it. And I thought that was cool. Because it kind of represents you in a larger sense - unexpected, diverse and open minded. and funny too, but classical music isn't funny.

Delta: Not funny at all. Not funny. Its almost time for dinner. I'm soooo hungry. What are 2 things you'd like to accomplish this weekend?

Romeo:

1) Workout. It's necessary, but likely won't happen

2) Get some work done so I don't lose it next week.

3) Be with Delta and Annie and Sha nay noonie

Delta: I think you could get all 3 of those done, but I too feel like there isn't enough time in my world as well. Sometimes you just get done what you can, and make sure to smile along the way.

Delta: If I told you I could book 3 musical acts at a venue of your choice in Chicago for tomorrow night, who would you have me book, and where would you want to see them?

Romeo:

Headliner:

Venue: Let's make tomorrow the middle of July and say Ravinia meets Charter One Pavilion - because you can dance at Charter One and then laze on a blanket and eat cheddar fries from michael's

I'll leave the music to you...because you have better answers to that - however, one request I would like to make - I'd like some funk. I'd like to dance.

So delta, pls answer your own question...

Delta:

1) Trombone Shorty (if you like funk, you can't miss them...we'll see them soon, you can dance then)

2) I'd like to see someone I've never seen--the Black Keys seem like they'd put on a fun show.

Headliner: Metallica (just because everyone should see them)

Venue: I like the Vic, although it'd be really friggin' loud in there

Delta: OK dinner is here and my column isn't what I thought it would be. My playoff picks are below:

New England 33 Jets 24

Baltimore 12 Pitt 10

Green Bay 23 Atlanta 21

Bears x Seahawks x

I'm not dumb enough to predict anything one way or another, but I will say this: the bears probably should win, but they're the least predictable team I've ever seen. And something tells me the Seahawks aren't as bad as their record indicates. It'll be close either way...

Commercial Free Sports?

2010-12-21T18:02:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I was exposed to an approach to work described as Lean while working for a large health care organization in Seattle. Lean is a framework used by companies in many industries to relentlessly pursue the ideal customer experience by eliminating waste in all of its forms. One of the neat things I like about Lean is the involvement of front-line people in examining their product/service through the eyes of their customer and my job is to help folks do those types of exercises/activities.

One of the Lean components I teach to folks is the concept of Waste and its 8 deadly forms. In health care, transportation, and other high-risk industries, Waste can truly be deadly, but you've probably experienced waste more frequently in your life at home, at work, or your involvement in some kind of organized group (fantasy football league, fraternity, club/social group). So what does waste look like? Well at my company we have a handy little acronym (DOWNTIME) to define waste in its 8 forms; I've tried to be somewhat brief in my descriptions:

Defects - producing incorrect, inaccurate work. You notice this when you ask for no relish on your hot dog and it comes coated in relish.

Overproduction - producing a service/deliverable before its requested by a customer. You notice this at the bakery when they're giving away free muffins at the end of the day that weren't needed/sold

Waiting - the easiest form of waste to identify. The customer is waiting for goods to be produced and/or service provided. You notice this when you're in line at the security checkpoint in the airport. Or when you're waiting for the cable installation guy to show up. And you notice this when you're waiting for your television program to come back from commercial (more on this later)

Not Using Talent/Overburdening Staff - this isn't as easy to see as a customer, but you know it as an employee. These are all of those ideas people have to deliver a better experience for their customer but aren't empowered to do anything about it. It also involves taxing the hell out of people's body (and mind), which is common in service industries where people are on their feet.

Transportation - this is another one that is pretty easy to see, but its the movement of people, information, or equipment. You notice this in the shoe store when they have to "go to the back" to get your pair of shoes to try on.

Inventory - excess piles of work that needs to be complete, information to be processed. Look in your inbox, I'm certain there are examples of work "in inventory" waiting for you to take action on it. (and don't feel bad, I do too)

Motion - unnecessary movement; this is often walking/bending/reaching/heavy lifting stuff that requires an employee to exert more effort than needed

Extra processing - this is putting more effort in to a task than is required to complete it. Its often seen when there's a "final check" or "review" before finalizing something. The thinking is if you do something right the first time, you can avoid those 'downstream' checks, reviews, etc. You've probably also got some kind of "workaround" either at work or home that may get your work/task complete but probably isn't the easiest way.

So you're probably wondering why the rant about waste? And how does Commercial Free Sports play a role?

When I was exposed to the concept of Waste, it made a whole lot of sense to me and helped put a finger on all of those things that drive me nuts as either an employee, a customer, or an objective observer. And these days, I'll often find myself daydreaming about how Lean thinking could be applied to some of the problems in completely different settings--education, athletics, politics (ick), social ills, etc; and I found myself thinking about waste as a customer experiencing the broadcast of an NFL Football game.

If you think about what it is you're looking for as a customer watching a game, its to see the two teams competing against each other. From a Lean standpoint, the value added activities are the plays on the field, and possibly the analysis of the action taking place. In professional football, that's 60 minutes with a few clock stoppages for things like the end of periods, incomplete passes, changes in possession, and penalties. So in my mind, the game should take about 80 - 90 minutes to watch.

But an avid viewers of sporting events (or any program for that matter) know that the time you spend on the couch is closer to 3 hours, meaning about half of that time is waste, non-value added activities. Most of that time is me flipping to other stations to see what else is on, but I had the idea last night during the Bears-Vikings game (I'll save commentary on the Bears for another day) that one of the big 4 sports leagues should experiment with a commercial free broadcast.

Think about it, rather than cutting to a commercial, wouldn't it be interesting if you had a brief interlude with a summary of team's performance on interesting statistics up to that point? Maybe a sideline reporter with an update on the sideline chatter? What about an interview with a fan or a vendor who embodies in the spirit of the home team? How about some of those 'experts' breaking down game film and sharing their insight/thought with us lay-people? Shoot, I'd even find it amusing if they had some kind of fantasy football analysis! ANY of these would be more valuable to me (as a consumer of football) than the 9,000 Subway commercials I've watched while waiting for teams to leave time outs.

I realize there are a whole bunch of financial reasons (advertisers) why we may never see this, but as things like Slingbox, DVRs, Tivo's become the standard those advertisers will need to find ways to get their product in front of people while meeting those people on their time. So why not have a "uniform/equipment report sponsored by UnderArmor" or a "first period data dive sponsored by Old Spice" rather than the mindless, annoying commercials that few folks are probably watching?

So if you know anyone who works with one of the major networks (or leagues), feel free to drop my idea in their suggestion box and you're free to take all of the credit for it. While you work on that, I'll watch the 93,000th Zales/Kay Jeweler commercial during tonight's bulls-sixers game.

Recent Updates, and the Job Series, Part Deux

2010-11-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

Although my posts tend to be more of the upbeat, positive variety, it has been a challenging few weeks. Two weeks ago this evening, my Uncle Tango passed away--my father's brother. It was tough on all of us to see a great guy leave us way too early, and his funeral gave us all a chance to honor a great man and reflect on how important family is; in both good times and bad.

Uncle Tango had a great heart and a genuine passion for helping everyone who crossed his path. He and I spent many of our hours together talking about our beloved bears/bulls, our careers, and our travel odysseys. Fortunately, I had a chance to see Uncle T plenty since moving back to Chicago and he will always serve a reminder that I should keep my mind active and curious while helping those around me in some way, shape or form. Uncle Tango did those things better than most I know, and those are two ways I'd like to be described someday.

Where I seem to be doing most of my helping these days is at work. For those not keeping score at home, I'm working for a large clinical lab in Quality Management, where I work with the folks who do the testing (and their leaders) to deliver a positive experience for the patients (and docs) who rely on their work. In the simplest terms, I help teams get better at serving their customers.

I've been involved with this type of work for the past few years and I really enjoy it--I get to work on behalf of the voice of the patient to ensure they get what they need, and I also get to work with teams to examine their work and improve through the use of a framework called Lean. It can be challenging work at times, and things have been very busy of late as I acclimate myself to the intricate world of the laboratory, while figuring out how I can help the organization using Lean principles. Everyone I work with has been great, and I enjoy the work, its just taken a lot out of me over the past few weeks.

Speaking of work, I promised a three part series on Jobs, which brings us to Part II; the college and after years. It is Sunday night, and I am looking at a long week, so I'm only going to write about one of my college jobs. And frankly, I don't think you're going to find it interesting to read about me as a bus boy working in a restaurant.

For those not familiar with my academic transcript, High School was not a strength for me. I am frequently described by my mother as the kind of kid "with all the brains in the world who never applied himself." She's probably right to a degree--I think I could have probably figured out most of what it took to get good grades, but it wasn't important to me back then. So when I left high school for college I took a flier on a small school in Tampa; the University of Tampa.

I had been used to working, and when I arrived at UT I looked in to ways I could make a few extra bucks to pay for Ramen Noodles and the occasional concert ticket. I came across some fliers during "new student orientation" related to the radio station and figured what better way to make a few bucks than to play music and hear myself talk over the radio? I had my choice of shift, based on my musical preference (mine was Heavy Metal at the time) and ended up in the 9 - 11 slot on Sunday Night; broadcasting solo over the airwaves of the University of Tampa.

Before you get all excited looking for archival footage recorded by one of my fans, you have to realize there were more kids at my high school than the University of Tampa, my program aired on shortwave radio through the university (and cafeteria), and ABSOLUTELY NO ONE LISTENED TO IT. So I had plenty of fun with my two hours on the radio--I'd play some random Megadeth tunes, sprinkle in some Pantera, and have visions of the school loving what I was playing. And when I got done with listening to my own music, I'd pick up the phone and call people on the air for no reason. I'd call my buddies at other schools in the Midwest (who obviously weren't listening), my roommate, and anyone else to kill two hours of time. As you might expect, my radio career was short lived, but it was one of the funnier jobs I've had and I actually like the idea of being on the radio.

Jobs, Part I

2010-11-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

One of the unique things about the job I began a few months ago is the amount of time I spend in the car. The service area of the company I work for spans from the far south suburbs of Chicago, all the way up to northern Wisconsin. And although most of my work is in northern Illinois and Southeast Wisconsin, I spend a ton of time in the car. Most of that time is spent listening to the blowhards spew their nonsense on Chicago sports talk radio (both hosts and callers), but when I've had enough of their dribble I'll turn my attention to other subjects.

Earlier today, I was thinking about my current job in light of all of the jobs I had before this one and what makes this current one unique from the others. In a nutshell, I was trying to piece together exactly how it became that I got to where I am today. Its really not that interesting of a story, but I found it semi-humorous when I thought back about all of the jobs, the bosses, the companies, and experiences I had prior to today. And after hearing from Mardy King (an alias for an amiga of Romeo Sierra) that my blog needs less sports content, I decided to give readers some insight into the jobs (both good and bad) throughout my life. I'll do it in parts, with the first installment a summary of my early work history and I'll try to provide some relevant insight into what I took from those experiences.

My first job ever was at Northmoor Country Club as a caddy at age 14. Northmoor is a private club that I only knew about because it was located across the street from my junior high school and very close to my parents' home. I wasn't particularly interested in golf, but heard they'd hire just about anyone as a caddy, and the job seemed reasonably easy. I don't recall much from the interview process, other than I was asked to caddy for the caddymaster to demonstrate my skill in raking traps, staying out of the way, and my understanding of etiquette.

Once I began the job, I was the lowest of the low on the caddy totem poll, which meant caddying for golfers that weren't exactly young, good at the game of golf, or remotely interesting to be around. I worked for a caddymaster with a handy little drug and gambling problem, but he was always nice to me and most of his funny business took place outside of my line of sight. And if it was going on, I was way too clueless to know what was going on.

Most of what I learned from that job still stays with me to this day; but those lessons are much more applicable on the golf course than the corporate world. I got hooked on the game of golf, developed some understanding of its rules, and how to follow direction from an adult that wasn't my mother or father. But that's about it.

The following summer, I decided to "take my caddying talents" to Lakeshore Country Club, also located near my parents' home. At Lakeshore, I had a bit of a sense for what I was getting in to, and was much more comfortable interacting with members, my boss, and other caddies. The caddymaster was an old, bitter guy but he liked me, and even acknowledged my service to the Lakeshore members by bestowing upon me the "Rookie Caddy of the Year" award. You won't find that in the "honors and achievements" section of my current resume, but I do remember being proud of that award. There were a few 'regular' members I caddied for who may have had a say in the outcome, but it was nice to get some form of recognition for a summer full of ass-kissing.

But despite the public praise, I hated the job. I grew tired of lugging around tons of weight and as a golfer it was painful to watch wealthy hacks make a mockery of a game that I wanted to be playing every waking minute of the summer. I used to have these fantasies of getting to the furthest hole from the club house, dropping the bags, and turning to the members and saying something like, "carry your own damn bags." But I never had the courage to do that, and that was probably the biggest lesson I took from that job: even if I didn't necessarily enjoy or like it, I owed it to my employer to put my best foot forward. And it also was nice to be recognized for putting a good effort in to something; which I try and remember whenever the tables are turned and I'm in the position where I'm the recipient of good service. It matters to the person who hears it, and I try to remember that as I go about my day (both at work and elsewhere).

After two summers baking in the sun, I knew it was time for me to move in to a more 'service' oriented business, and took a job at Lebo's Shoe Outlet as a sales associate. Luckily, Juliet Mike (a close friend) joined me in the quest to become the best 15 year old shoe salesmen this side of Lake Cook road. He and I spent most of our summer shooting baskets (there was a hoop in the store), organizing shoe displays, and helping the occasional customer pick out a new pair of shoes. I learned how to understand what a customer needs, how to sell them something they had very little interest in (Reebok Pumps?), and how to handle a timecard. Juliet Mike and I stuck it out for probably 9 months to a year, which in the world of a 16 year old kid is a lifetime.

My Lebo's experience also gave me some appreciation for having fun at work. Look, if you're going to spend your time there, you might as well laugh a little and have some fun along the way. And with that spirit, I moved on to health club where I was essentially paid to look after kids while their parents worked out. In addition to being around kids all day, I worked with another close friend (Charlie Sierra) and it was easily the most fun I've had in any job. I mean, what other job can you be paid to play dodgeball, do a bunch of arts and crafts, and generally goof around for the entire time you're there?

I think this job helped me be comfortable around little kids, and that experience has benefits that extend well beyond my professional life. Its not easy to entertain little kids, and although my brother and sister might not love some of the "Uncle Dan" influence, my experience at the club forced me to find creative ways to entertain kids. This job was also pivotal in the establishment of the Delta Whiskey Diaper Changing Policy, which is essentially "#1s are fine, #2s require intervention from a parent." The nice thing was, the health club supported this policy, so whenever we smelled a stinker we'd find the parent on the treadmill and have them come down to change it without a single wipey-dipe. I'm not certain that policy would hold up if I end up having kids of my own, but for the time being it has worked out OK for me. For parents or caregivers out there, I would NOT suggest implementation of this policy without first checking with your significant other.

Stay tuned for Part II, when we'll visit the jobs throughout college and my 20-something years....

Delta Whiskey's Season Preview

2010-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

I'm a busy man these days. In addition to beginning a new job, I'm finding myself busy outside of work as well. There's been tons of blog columns I've wanted to write, but every time I thought I'd get to it, I've ended up occupying my time elsewhere. But one of those ideas I'd had was an NBA Season Preview, so I'm holding myself to at least pulling this together. Whether I get to topics of greater substance (relationships, work, politics, etc.) remains to be seen. Perhaps 2011 will be the year I get back in to a consistent effort with the site and writing.

But enough about me, its time to talk about my favorite topic: the NBA. For those who know me, basketball has played a pretty pivotal part of my life. From a kid playing Small Fry Basketball, to my feigned attempt at organized hoops in high school, and on to my days as a coach in my adult years, basketball has always been part of the Delta Whiskey equation.

And as a kid with a dad who invested his heart and wallet in the Bulls, the NBA has meant something within my family life that goes far beyond NBA titles, scoring championships, or anything that takes place on the court. My dad and I have probably attended more than 200 games together in the 29 years he's had his tickets. His loyalty is unquestioned, and I could write a column a day about the circumstances that surrounded some of the games he and I attended together.

So whenever the NBA season begins, my level of excitement rises just a bit. No matter how bad (or good) the Bulls are expected to be, I'm a fan of the NBA and get excited that basketball is back in my life. And with a summer full of headlines, drama, and discussion, this NBA promises to be exciting. For the NBA/basketball fan, I hope some of what I write you'll find interesting. For non-NBA fans, amuse me and read on.

NBA 2010 - 2011: The Year of Transition

I've watched players in Bulls uniforms (technically warmups) lolly gag through layup lines before a game, and usually I'll pick out a guy or two on the roster I could do without. For Bulls fans, these are guys like Eddie Robinson, Eddy Curry, Tyrus Thomas, and even Jalen Rose towards the end of his time as a bull. I'd describe these as "Guys who seem like they'd rather be somewhere else."

So at a recent preseason game I attended with Romeo Sierra, I looked at the 2010 - 2011 Bulls and could not identify one of these types. I even made a point of turning to her and saying, "I can't find a guy I don't like." So you could describe my demeanor as upbeat heading in to a year that I'm calling "the year of transition." The Bulls will be a team that won't win the NBA title, but they've got the pieces in place to get them well on their way.

Guys I'm watching like a hawk:

Derrick Rose - the fan and family favorite, D-Rose has a little pep in his step coming in to this year and its great to see. Since entering the NBA, he's been a humble stud. The kind of guy that won't show up his opponent, disrespect a coach, or blab in an officials ear excessively. Its really hard to watch him play and not like him, and I'm excited to see what he looks like after spending the summer with a bunch of young studs, a great coach (Coach K), and a chance to win a title. He's going to do a few things every night that have you asking, "Did he really just do that?" and the transition I see on D-Rose's horizon is his role as a vocal leader on the floor. One of the great things you see from the studs (MJ, Kobe, Duncan, etc.) is their ability to coach their teammates on the floor. It'll take some time, but D-Rose needs that kind of presence for him to be one of the great ones.

Joakim Noah - the favorite of Romeo Sierra, Noah is the kind of guy you'd love to coach. He'll do anything you ask him to, he'll work his ass off to get better, and he'll bring passion and energy to everything he does. That energy may seem like a non-variable for many of you, but think about your workplace. Do the people who get things done tend to be belligerent, lazy, or bored? Of course they don't, and the Bulls feed off his energy and willingness to do the little things. He sets great screens and will play a huge part in freeing up space for D-Rose on the offensive end, but he'll need to develop the 8 - 12 foot jump shot for teams to stay honest. And with a shot that makes Bill Cartwright's look like a thing of beauty, the jumper may be a stretch. So his transition will take place on the Offensive End, because on the defensive end I don't think there's a guy he can't defend.

Kyle Korver - of the new additions this summer, Korver is one I'm very excited about. Every team needs a gunner who can keep a defense honest, and its been a while since the Bulls have had the right shooter at the right time. There have been some great shooters in recent years (Ben Gordon) but there haven't been other pieces on the floor to free up these shooters to shoot without a hand in their face, in the location on the floor they're most comfortable shooting from. With Korver, there's now a very tricky balance teams are going to have to strike with helping to prevent D-Rose's penetration and staying at home with Korver. If you leave D-Rose to go 1 on 1, he'll beat whoever is guarding him 8 times out of 10. If you come to help D-Rose, you'll leave Korver open to drain 3's all day from the spot he likes. He's not going to wow anyone on defense, but that's why he won't start. He'll be a great guy to have off the bench, but I worry about his health. As for his transition, he's just got to stay out of trouble and keep his wits about him while living up on the North Shore.

Tom Thibadeau - there's a bunch of friends I text during significant bulls/NBA games. In the old days, I'd call my dad to chat about a big game, but with the advent of text messaging I'm able to keep multiple conversations going with people from all over the country. As it became clear that Thibadeau was to be the next bulls coach, I remember texting some of my hoops friends about how crazy TT seemed to be as an assistant coach for the Celtics. I have never seen an assistant, stand and coach literally EVERY DEFENSIVE possession. So its obvious he has a passion for defense, and his teams in Boston were able to defend well once they had the right parts. There are many similar parts here in Chicago, so we'll see if he's able to bring that same discipline to the Bulls. For Tommy T, its a year of transition. His first year as the head of the staff, the team, and the public figure Chicago will want to be charismatic. He's also got a reputation as a data fiend and film studier. So the transition in his world is balancing all of this. Speaking for myself, its not easy to step in to a new role where you're asked to do more, quicker, faster, and successful. But good thinkers figure out a way to make it work, and I'm confident he'll be able to take the bulls from a 'good' team to a 'great' team.

Predictions:

I've often wanted to predict what I think would happen on record, mainly to see how well I'm able to predict a series of events that would be impossible to accurately calculate. But somehow, I like to think that years of watching basketball has made me somewhat knowledgeable about things, so I'm putting my reputation on the line. And I've asked some friends to join me as well, although they'll be keeping their responses with an Alias of their choice. Only I'll know who folks predicted, and maybe this will help me know who among my friends is the best to help me predict a whole bunch of other things. I'm only predicting 3 things, and that's all I'm asking of my audience and/or those I've asked. Keep in mind, this isn't what I WANT to happen, just the way I see it....and I'll assume the same is true for everyone else.

Delta Whiskey (yours truly):
Bulls Wins: 52
NBA Champ: Heat (ick)
MVP: Kevin Durant

Roger Daltrey:
Bulls Wins: 45
NBA Champ: Lakers
MVP: Kobe

Roger Daltrey's Oldest Son
Bulls wins: 49
NBA Champ: Celts
MVP: Kobe

Roger Daltrey's 2nd Son
Bulls wins: 49
NBA Champs: Lakers
MVP: Kobe

Romeo Sierra (Delta Whiskey's better half)
Bulls wins: 43
NBA Champ: Lakers
MVP: Derrick Rose (love the optimism)

Bravo Kilo (partner in crime as a coach of Small Fry Basketball, biggest bulls fan I know outside of me)
Bulls wins: 49
NBA Champ: Rockets (ballsy, but I like it)
MVP: Kevin Durant

Sierra Echo (partner in crime on Pat Barker's Freshman Basketball Team)
Bulls wins: 47
NBA Champ: Magic
MVP: Dwight Howard

Charlie Sierra (longtime bulls fan and season ticket holder, played some EPIC 2 on 2 games in our 20s)
Bulls wins: 49
NBA Champ: Lakers
MVP: Dwight Howard

Bravo Whiskey (my dad)
Bulls wins: 47 (he actually gave me two number 46 and 48 so I'm splitting the difference)
NBA Champ: Lakers
MVP: Dwight Howard

July News: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2010-07-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

I realize my infrequent posts probably aren't ideal when it comes to getting a loyal following, but rest assured ADW friends--there's been plenty of activity in my world. To my surprise--people actually read some of what I write, but its been tough to find time to hop on for life updates, reflection, social commentary, and all of the other nonsense you've come to expect on the internet's most random, ADD-fueled, website.

But I figured I'd try a new format today, which should flow similar to your local newscast. Let's see how this goes:

TOP HEADLINES

Delta Whiskey Accepts New Job!

As of August 2, I'll begin a new role at an organization that provides a broad range of diagnostic services (blood tests, tissue samples, DNA testing, prenatal testing, etc.) to patients/caregivers in Illinois and Wisconsin. The job will be a big challenge--the organization provides a large volume/variety of services and I'll have more responsibility than I've had in previous roles. But I'm very encouraged after conversations during my interviews that the company and its leaders are enthusaistic about improving how they care for patients which is the critical component to my work.

Just as I coach teams to do, I did some thoughtful planning around how to make sure its a job that works for me both now and long-term, and I feel confident that the job will give me a chance to push myself, learn, and help others in an organization that supports me in those aims. I'm not crazy enough to think the job is going to be easy, and there will be lots of learning for me to do...high school chemistry was NOT a strength of mine, but lucky for me a knowledge of the Periodic Table was not part of their screening process.

In terms of work/life balance, the job also allows me to take the train to and from work, which gives me back 2 hours of my life a day that I had been spending in the car with white knuckles, listening to Sports Talk radio. That's time I can spend reading, working, writing (good news for ADW fans?), or relaxing without the traffic and stress that came with a 30+mile commute to and from the South Side. No guarantees I'll stop listening to sports talk radio, but definitely fewer days of white knuckles and stressful commutes.

Romeo Sierra, Delta Whiskey Enjoying All Summer Has to Offer!

Outside of work, Romeo Sierra and I have had a great few months. With any relationship, there's a period of learning about each other as individuals, which evenutally leads to learning about how we are as a couple. Our ability to communicate, trust each other, and support each other are hallmarks of a healthy relationship, and she and I have been great about learning what we need from each other for us to have what we need. Neither of us are relationship 'pros', but we share a common interest in improving as boyfriends/girlfriends.

Besides all of that serious dating stuff, she's a ton of fun. I may have met my match in terms of interest/energy/curiousity and extroversion...which has made for a ton of great times together that are certain to continue. We're headed to a party tonight at the place we originally met which will be fun and a chance to think back on that night a bit...Without her chutzpah and a helping hand from mutual friends Alpha Sierra and Juliet Kilo we may have never met, and I'm a lucky guy that we did!

Birthdays, Retirements, Holidays

In the family, there's been plenty of things to celebrate. As many know, my dad hung up the stethoscope and now spends his days exercising (wooo hooo!), helping my ma around the house, volunteering at the Botanic Gardens, and spending time with his grand kids. The rumors of him joining the professional Solitaire tour are completely false, but if he ever decides to pursue that goal I have no doubt he'd dominate! I'll see what I can do about getting an interview with him for the ADW readers.

My niece turned 6 last week, which was a blast for all of the family to celebrate. For her gift, we got her an i-pod with playlists from the family of our favorite music. Sure, she may be young for an ipod, but she loves music and its much cooler to be rocking out to Pearl Jam than adding another doll to the orphanage of retired action figures in my sisters basement! And in terms of my playlist, it included most of my favorite bands: Metallica, Wilco, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, White Stripes, Weezer, etc., and I'm keeping my fingers crossed she likes at least ONE of those songs. But with Taylor Swift, High School Musical, and Beyonce competing for her airtime I dont see that happening!

Local Sports

Golf Game Struggling on the Scorecard

Last year I had nothing but time to devote to improving my golf game. I played 46 rounds in 2009 and my golf swing was consistent, reliable, and easy which led to great scores. This year I've played 6 times, with plenty of good shots but a lot more bad shots and not-so-great scores.

But more important than the number on the scorecard has been hanging with friends (many who I didn't see much while out in Seattle), getting away for a few hours of relaxation, and goofing around. But I still try to get a club in my hand every week, even if its just pounding balls at the driving range.

And Romeo Sierra has picked up a golf club as well...for those on Facebook you can see a video of her hitting a pure 7 iron at the Diversey Driving Range. Her response after the shot is pure joy--there is nothing more fun for ME than to see that glow in someone's eye after hitting a shot exactly how they wanted to hit it. I'd just like to have some of that joy myself!

Da Bulls

I've spent reader time blabbing about sports-related topics, and there's no reason this shouldn't be part of the July news bulletin. The Bulls didn't get Lebron, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh, but they have worked hard to bring in a team that will be much improved next year. From a stud post-presence (Carlos Boozer) to a sharpshooting stud (Kyle Korver) and a tough as nails defender (Ronnie Brewer), the Bulls will be a tough team to beat. Will they be better than the Miami schmucks? Probably not, but I like the team-focused approach the Bulls have embraced, and with a coach that will work harder/smarter than his predesecsor I'm confident the 2010 - 2011 season will be very entertaining at 1901 W Madison. And Derrick Rose has spent his summer working his ass off, something that will pay off come next winter when he ascends to the NBA's elite.

Personal Commentary

Plenty has been blogged, read, discussed, and spewed about the Free Agent nonsense from national media outlets, and I don't think I have much to add to the conversation. But since its my blog and I can, I will.

I'm guessing there will be a date/time down the road when the Lebron James spectacle is looked back as a blowhard move by a blowhard athlete, and my hunch is he will feel the same way once some time passes. If he doesn't intellectually 'get it' he'll eventually see the impact of his decisions in his wallet. For every 2 fans he picked up by "taking his talents to south beach," he probably lost 1,000 elsewhere in the country. And those fans are the customers who buy his shoes, his uniform, and tickets to his games.

He's a young guy who has made some poor choices, and despite what America wants to tell him, he's going to have to learn from the consequences of his actions that there is a way to be honest, respectful, and considerate to his fans, employer, and teammates. He shit on a lot of people this past few months/years, and there will be a day he will look back on all of this and see how poorly he handled it. But until then, I wish him nothing but failure and a miserable experience in Dade County--which as I observed first hand is clearly the basketball hotbed of America. And I'm privately hoping for a lockout next summer that forces these guys to live on their non-NBA salary...then they'll learn what it means to think strategically about big decisions.

And for you Miami Heat PR Team and its loyal "fans": I want to make sure you're clear on the process for winning an NBA championship since you and the Heat organization/PR folks seem to have forgotten to complete some key parts of that work plan. I was embarassed to call myself a basketball fan when I saw that sham celebration (complete with keys to the city!) on TV. You're a disgrace to the game and those who worked their asses off to make the league what it is today.

But since I like to help others, please stick with the plan outlined below before conducting future 'celebrations':

Step 1: Assemble team
Step 2: Practice
Step 3: Scout opponents
Step 4: Create game plans
Step 5: Execute, revise game plans--hopefully winning enough to make the playoffs
Step 6: Win 16 games in the playoffs
Step 7: Celebrate

Off to a day of cleaning, fun, and great times tonight--hope all of you enjoy your weekends!

A lot can happen in a year....

2010-06-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's been about a year since I left Seattle for Chicago, and life has been a blend of laughter, suprises, and suspense in nearly all areas of life. And although I didn't feel the need to commemorate the entire year, I've had a few interesting days in Orlando that have me in a reflective mode. So here's your Delta Whiskey entry for June 9, 2010.

I'm at a conference in Orlando, done by the Lean Enterprise Institute on Healthcare Transformation. You may have heard by now, there's a few problems with our healthcare system, and this is a gathering of folks who share my passion for problem solving through a management system that can be used to improve just about anything. Loyal blog followers (all 15 of you) may remember earlier posts about my use of the Lean concepts (Hoshin Kanri) to identify the value added activities that I believed would lead to "Peace of Mind" in 2009. I certainly learned a lot from the exercise, and my "day job" is to help a hospital solve problems slightly more complex than "How do I make sure I attend enough concerts this year?"

In attendance at this conference are a number of friends and coworkers from my prior job at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. Those close to me know that I've struggled at times with my current position, and I'd be lying if I don't miss the feeling of coming to a great place to work every day. But as I've mentioned before, I cannot prioritize my career over other areas of my life, and those other areas are excellent these days.

So for those looking for the highlights of late....here ya go:

Delta Whiskey now has a girlfriend. We'll call her Romeo Sierra for now to protect her identity. She's bright, creative, caring, spontaneous and attractive....and she finds me moderately amusing. Who knows, maybe we'll get a "guest post" from her one of these days???

My pops hung up the stethoscope for good a few weeks ago. Those of you who know my dad are aware of his commitment to serving patients for 30+ years as a neurologist. I've had the honor to shadow him with patients and staff and know that he worked his butt off to take care of as many as he could (while playing nice) during his time in medicine. And his work provided a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my mouth, medications for me when I was sick, and countless other things. But most importantly his work showed me what hard work, discipline, quality, and integrity look like....so thanks Dad! He also turns 67 on June 10, so happy birthday pops!!
Retirement sounds a long way away for myself, and work has been a bit of a grind. From a development standpoint, I'm learning a ton...although I loved the structure, discipline, and shared vision at Group Health I'm also seeing first hand the challenges I'll face bringing Lean to others. Experience has always been my best teacher, but learning can be painful.

Annie (the dog) still barks a LOT. This can be somewhat problematic with guests at my apartment, particularly when Romeo Sierra and her canine companion come to visit. Anyone with suggestions that SOLVE (defined as no barking when a stranger enters my apartment) the barking problem will be handsomely rewarded with an item from the Delta Whiskey Gift Catalog.

THE BLACKHAWKS - not going to comment any further. This playoff run has been a blast, and I may not be the longest tenured fan but I like these guys and they're not going anywhere for a while.

The Bulls - I like the new coach they've hired from the Celtics. I think he's a hard working, intelligent, hungry guy who knows how to engage players in playing defense. Get the Bulls a Free Agent and my dad and I will have a fantastic winter in 2010-2011. And although I think Lebron James WILL leave the Cavaliers, I would be shocked if he wore a Bulls uniform next year. Believe me, I've thought about emailing the new coach to see if he needs an assistant on the bench with two full seasons of Junior High Head Coaching experience.

Golf game is back on track - I've played a few rounds with buddies but do NOT anticipate eclipsing last year's 46 rounds. If I play 14 times I'd be a happy guy, and honestly could care less about what I shoot.

Upcoming Summer Concerts, Sporting Events, and Street Parties....the summer in any city is great, so I'm not going to list the reasons why Chicago summers are my favorite. But I'm psyched the summer is here and hope you are too....get out and have some fun!

I'm back.....

2010-02-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since my last update for a few reasons; but mainly because I no longer have a laptop. My trusty Dell, that has been with me since I originally lived in Chicago has seen its last days. That being said, if anyone out there reads this and knows of a PC repairperson I would LOVE to pick their brain on saving the data on that machine.

But in the meantime I'm resorted to using a public computer for private affairs, like blogging. Thankfully my building has a nice computer center, so I'm hunkered down and prepared for a brief update. I will get my own computer once again, but there are other priorities on my plate.

So here goes:

On the work side of things I'm beginning to step on some more solid ground at the hospital I'm assigned to. The project I'll be working on is improving the process for discharging patients out of the hospital. Having been discharged more times than I can count, its painful, slow, and a complete pain in the ass for patients. The good news is, the staff agrees with all of that and hate it as well, so if I can do my job reasonably well we should be in good shape. The commute isn't ideal, but I really like the community, the staff at the hospital, and the project...so all's good on that end.

Its been tough since the Super Bowl to look forward to any big highlights. I'm not one to complain about the weather, so that's not necessarily the reason, but I feel like the holidays are a time when we're looking forward to the next holiday, the next year, the next...... and then the Super Bowl comes and goes and there's this vacant space.

Which brings me to one thing I AM looking forward to, which is an upcoming trip to San Diego (to have my tooth repaired...lets just say I gotta guy), followed by a weekend in Las Vegas with the buddies for my 33rd birthday and a boxing match that never took place between Mayweather and Pacquiao. Sunshine, friends, a moderate amount of adventure...all things that are good for the soul.

Of course there are things that put a smile on my face almsot every day(despite the weather), like my dog struggling through the snowdrifts, the dramatic response to the "storm of the century", and all of the other amusing things that go on from day to day so I'm still a happy guy. Besides, the Bulls and Blackhawks are looking strong as we head towards the stretch run and pitchers and catchers report to spring training in 6 days.

There's plenty of other things going on in my world, some of which I don't want to send out for the world to see...but if you're curious to find out just drop a line and I'd be happy to fill you in......

Stay outta trouble (or go find some) and thanks for continuing to read,
DW

Reshuffling the Deck, ADW: The Book, 2010

2010-01-08T07:31:00.000-08:00

I've had a few weeks to cool it on the blog front, and have had several really nice emails/comments from folks about the blog. The theme that hang together through the comments was that the content was amusing/interesting, and that I should continue to write if I'm finding it rewarding, useful, etc.

Its been a goal of mine for a while to give book writing a and that's where my focus will be for at least the first part of 2010. I'll probably still write an occasional entry, but I'm going to put my time in to a project that I'm slightly more excited about--the book.

You may be wondering what the books is about, and although I realize I'm running the risk of having my idea ripped off, I figure telling you about the book is the least I can do for my loyal following (all 8 of you).

The book's common focus is T-Shirts. Yes, T-Shirts. I have a hypothesis (which I'm about to test) that you can learn almost everything you need to know about someone from their T-Shirt collection. All of us have a few that we go to when we're sick, cleaning around the house, even wearing out for a night--and my book will uncover the stories behind those T-Shirts. I'll have a few of my own sprinkled in, but I think the book will be a tad more interesting if I draw in some other folks in my life. Not quite Kramer's coffee table book, but a distant relative.

So to begin this project, I've set a goal to interview two people per month about their favorite T-Shirt and to write up those interview summaries in a chapter format. It could turn out to be a disaster, or it could turn out to be great, but the only way I'll know is by giving it a shot. If I find the stories aren't compelling/interesting, then I'll shitcan the idea and try something new.

In terms of other things going on in my life--my work situation is greatly improved (for those who knew it was somewhat problematic) and I'm looking forward to an exciting 2010. If you're wondering about whether I've planned this year as much as last year, the answer is "sort of." One of my learnings from the 2009 planning exercise was that you really can't plan for 365 days so I've broken down life in to 90 day increments around the same areas as last year -- health, finances, career, hobbies, and social/family. There are a few things I'm trying to emphasize this year as we move along--balance, reflection, stability, and improvement are words I'd like to use to describe this year and we'll see how it all plays out.

In the meantime, make sure to check back from time to time on ADW, and feel free to drop me an email if you're curious how things are going.

The Question: Is blogging worth my time?

2009-12-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

The last few days have offered a chance to be quiet, think about how life's going, and what's on the horizon in 2010. One of the areas I found myself thinking about was the blog, and my reasons for writing. My hope was to use the blog as a forum to: 1) get a chance to write creatively 2) document a year of big change in my life and 3) to keep friends updated on my life as I made that transition. Here's where I stand in those three areas after six months of this project:

Topic 1: Writing) I have enjoyed writing about life, observations, and other random things over the past few months. There have been some poorly written entries (in terms of style, outline, etc) and a few I thought I did pretty well. Like most things, writing is a skill we continue to improve on, and I'd like to think blogging has helped me improve in some way.

Topic 2: The Story of My Life) The last six months of 2009 are pretty well documented, and at times like this (the end of the year) it is nice to look back on some of those fun moments to remind me its been a cool year. Photographs also serve the same purpose, but its nice to know the story behind some of the experiences. Its also not an entire picture of my life, since there are some topics I don't write about in a public forum.

Topic 3: Keeping folks abreast of my life) When it comes down to it, we all rely on technology to stay connected. Telephones, emails, facebook, blogs, etc., are all part of our lives and will be for as long as most of us are alive. The blog was originally a travel blog for folks in Seattle and Chicago (and elsewhere) to ride along as I made the trek across the country. I could reach a broad audience at once, and didn't have to re-tell the same stories to everyone in my life.

At some point, the blog morphed in to a combination of "here's whats going on" and "here's what I'm thinking about." In terms of keeping folks abreast of my life, I'm pretty sure folks have a general idea for what's going on in my life. And there will continue to be adventures and interesting moments along the way that I'll probably share with many of you--the question is whether I still need a blog to achieve that purpose.

So as you can tell, I'm a bit of a crossroads in terms of whether to continue writing the blog in 2010, or I should ditch it and spend my free time doing other things--like writing the book I've wanted to complete.

I'm not feeling compelled one way or the other to continue, but I figured this would be a good time to turn it around and ask if folks are even reading (I have no way to track) and whether you like it. I can achieve the same three objectives (Writing practice, documenting my life, keeping folks abreast) in non-public formats--the question I'm trying to answer is whether sharing my life for the world to see is worth the time and (potential) exposure.

If you've gotten this far into this entry, you've probably formulated an opinion at some point about the blog so do me a favor and drop me an email (dweber1212@yahoo.com) or post your comments below (anonymous is fine) about the blog. I'll make a decision after I've given it some time to swirl around between the ears, but any input/feedback would be really appreciated.

Hope all of you celebrating Christmas enjoyed it,
Delta Whiskey

2009: The Year in Review

2009-12-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I had my work team's holiday party, which shaped up to be your typical office holiday party. Some awkward chit-chat, a secret santa thing, you know, the kind of thing you probably attended in the last week. Anyhow, I didn't realize until the morning of the party (it was a lunch) that we were supposed to bring our reflections on our year. Of course, these were only supposed to be reflections on our professional life, but I found myself reflecting on the bigger picture as I drove out to the suburbs.

The words I'd use to describe this past year were challenging, fun, and adventuresome. (Somaybe my blog's title wasn't so dumb after all). But in looking back on the past 12 months I've been able to accomplish most of what I set out to at the start of the year as well as a few added bonuses.

How do I know this? Well, as I've written about before, I sat down last January and began to think about what 'success' would look like at the end of the year. And for me a successful year would be one I could look back on as peaceful, so I set out with the belief that if I achieved success in the main areas of my life (career, finances, health, social/family, and hobbies) I'd have a shred more serenity in my life than I had on December 31, 2008.

So I set about doing my best to accomplish those goals, and tracking how I did along the way. As you can see from the photo, many of the goals were accomplished, and I've got a sense for where things can continue to improve as I look forward to 2010. Green = Good, Red = Needs Improvement.

But the question I've asked myself is, "despite all of these accomplishments, have I achieved peace of mind?"

I would like to think I'm at a good place today. Its a much better place than I've been in a while after having a few years that were anything but peaceful. So when I step back, things are pretty cool today--December 22, 2009. A few reasons:

I'm close to the people who matter most to me. My family and friends are what make Chicago so great, but its also an awesome city with endless possibilities for entertainment, fun, and adventure-seeking. Needs Improvement: Sports.

As much as I gripe (griped?), I have a job that gives me a chance to help patients avoid some of the chaos inside the hospital. It gives me a chance to grow and learn, help patients, and be creative which is all I can really ask for in a job.

My health is great and I'm not worried about my next doctor appointment, procedure, or surgery.

I'm financially comfortable, and have more than enough to afford the things I need to be happy.

But despite all of these great things I have had a chaotic year in many regards. I've traveled to 23 states, moved across the country, left a job I loved (for a job I like), moved in with my sister and kids, then moved in to a place of my own. So as you can expect, it hasn't exactly been "peaceful" at times due to all the activity. I know these were changes I brought on myself, so I really am not complaining, just making the observation that all of the activities I spent time may have led to success in many regards--it just not may be success in terms of 'peace of mind.'

Looking forward I see 2010 as a year of continued learning about myself, and I'll spend the next few weeks thinking about what I'd like to accomplish in 2010....stay tuned, and don't be afraid to set a few goals yourself if there's something you're itching to accomplish.

Always Look on the Bright Side

2009-12-05T08:00:00.001-08:00

I'll cut to the chase and describe my week at work as crappy. As part of my orientation, I was asked to co-facilitate a week-long workshop with a team at one of my organization's hospitals. From the team's perspective, they were asked to improve how patients move through the first few steps of a visit to an Emergency Department. My role was to teach, coach, and help them put in place ways to improve the experience for patients and they did a great job solving some complex issues. Healthcare gets a lot of press in the media these days, and working with staff on the front lines you see how the chaotic nature of healthcare leads to a patient experience that is less than ideal. These are folks doing their best to help patients on what may be the worst day of their lives, and they're working in a system that is best described as 'controlled chaos.' But I'd like to think my work helps those folks do their jobs easier by using their expertise to put in place changes that should help.

On a personal level, I like my work for two main reasons: 1) I have a hand in improving healthcare for all of you (and myself as well) and 2)I get to help teams work together to solve problems they've been wrestling with for some time. But this week I had a hard time appreciating those things about my work. I won't go in to a ton of detail, but I'll say that the working relationship with my co-facilitator and 'teacher' didn't exactly go perfectly. There were a few times during the week when I felt really crappy about how it was going, and although we had a chance to discuss some of the challenges it was a very uncomfortable experience. At the end of the week, we accomplished what we needed to with the team, I just wish it was a little smoother getting there.

So feeling a little down, I left work yesterday and turned on AM Sports Talk Radio, which has become my default coming to and from work. I know, very meatheady of me, but I love Chicago sports and 30 minutes in the car helps me get my finger on the pulse of the sports scene here in Chicago. During a commercial break, I hopped over to WGN-AM (radio home of the Cubs) and caught a bit by one of the DJs where listeners call in and describe what the "bright side" was of their week and it was exactly what I needed to snap life in to perspective.

In the background, you can hear the Monty Python "Always Look on the Bright Side" and it was really uplifting to hear everyday people call in and describe the little (and sometimes big) things they could be happy about. Having had very little to be upbeat about in my world, it gave me a nice pickup hearing about soldiers returning from war for the holidays, fun events people attended, and even shopping specials they found for holiday gifts. So maybe listing a few things I can be happy about will help some of you as well look at what's good in life, instead of what's not so good:

Brightside #1: My name is not Tiger Woods. I had a crappy week, but nothing in comparison to what is going on with he and his family. I'm an avid golfer, and pretty lukewarm about Tiger--mainly because I'm a big fan of underdogs and he never captured my heart. I certainly appreciate his talents, but wouldn't describe myself as a "fan." I don't need to recount the details of his week, but my challenges are nothing compared to what he's sorting through.

On a side note, I do have a minor conspiracy theory that some friends suggested I post, which is pure speculation on my part and not based on anything factual. In fact I feel creepy speculating on it, but it might merit some investigation if we really care about what happened that night. My guess is he and his wife got in to it physically the night of Thanksgiving and he was injured in the house during their encounter. They knew a domestic violence situation would be very ugly in the media, so the 'accident' was made up to make it seem like he wrecked his car rather than had his wife open up a can on him. Again, I'm not a policeman and don't know if that's got any weight, but it seems awfully fishy that he would run in to a fire hydrant, and a tree, and sustain an injury that led him to being passed out in the street. Chew on that one. Either way, I'm with Elin on this one. You go girl, and feel free to call me next time you're passing through Chicago and want to hang out.

Brightside #2: I got to a blackhawks game last night. There isn't much to be excited about in the Chicago sports scene these days. The Bears are a collosal disappointment, the Bulls are an average team, and the Cubs are sitting on the same roster they had at the end of last year's waste of a season. But the Blackhaws are HOT and the city is behind them after they revamped their marketing approach, got some exciting young talent, and a coach that knows what he's doing. I was a big hockey fan in high school and its nice to be following the sport once again. Yeah, I know that makes me a bandwagon jumper, but I really don't care. Winning is fun, and I'll support any Chicago sports team (outside of the White Sox). My official step on to the bandwagon was commemorated with the purchase of a blackhawks hat, with the coolest logo in professional sports.

Hockey is a sport that gets a bad wrap for being too rough, but it is actually a very peaceful sport to watch. There are very few whistles, and a really cool play in hockey is something special to watch. And Hawks games are unique for many reasons, but my favorite parts are:

-the national anthem (watch this to see what I'm talking about if you've never been...yes, they do this for every game although this was one of the most memorable renditions from the old Chicago Stadium)
-a really well-executed goal. Jonathan Toews, one of the Hawks young studs (and Pearl Jam fan...I saw him backstage earlier this summer with his crew) had an electrifying goal you can watch here.
-the crowd. Die Hard Hawks fans are a unique breed and very Chicago. Compared to the other 'die hards' in Chicago, they're just as charismatic and way tougher than any other fan base. Most of them wear jerseys and live and die with every possession, which I respect as an avid sports fan.
-the music during timeouts. If you populated a Venn diagram of Heavy Metal fans and Hockey fans you would find many in both groups, and as a lover of loud, obnoxious arena-rock I really dig the entertainment during hockey games....

Brightside #3: Annie getting to run along the lakefront. In addition to my week being crappy, Annie's was equally as bad. She had to wait nearly 14 hours between walks and really didn't get a chance to be much of a dog. Despite temps in the high 20's (remember, I have a policy on ADW not to bitch about weather) we headed out early Saturday morning to walk along the lakefront and take in some scenery. There are a few pictures in this album, and it was a really calm morning walking with Annie along Lake Michigan as we took in a skyline I yearned to see over the past few years. For Annie, I was happy to see her running in the leaves, mixing it up with a few other dogs, and being her usual goofball self. For me, it was a visual reminder of all the different places she and I have taken our morning walks since I've had her and how far both of us have come.

Brightside #4: I've been able to hang with many of my oldest friends at the end of a crappy week of work. That's not to say I didn't have great friends to hang with out in Seattle or elsewhere to chat about what's going on in life, but there's something very cool about hanging with your closest friends who can help keep what's important in its proper perspective.

Life isn't always about big 'events' to be happy or sad about and sometimes we've gotta remember the little things that put a smile on our face. For me, that's much easier said than done, but thanks to some radio karma I got that reminder I needed to always look on the bright side and hope you're doing the same....

....and this is why I moved here.

2009-11-28T10:36:00.001-08:00

I must admit, as cool as things have been of late I've been struggling to motivate to get on the blog. As much as I enjoy the mundane, I've just felt like there hasn't been much outside of work and moving that's been "newsworthy." And frankly, I'm not sure how interested I would be in reading about another person's encounters with things like botched furniture deliveries, used DVD players with adult films left behind by the previous owner, or the new variation on a classic card game my friends and I created last Wednesday. I guess that's why people use things like Twitter, and I guess I see the blog as a way to provide a little more context.

But this past Friday night I was out with friends celebrating the engagement of two friends--Alpha Tango and Mike Hotel. Before I get on with last Friday, a shout out/mazel tov from yours truly to Alpha and Mike on the engagement!

(Side note: Alpha has been a friend since kindergarten and we've hung out a bunch since my return--playing lots of golf, checking out a few concerts, and general dude-hanging-out kind of stuff. He reads the blog and is the #1 karaoke performer I know. He belted out Sister Christian last Friday which conjured memories of this classic performance. Just forward ahead to 2:00 to see what I'm talking about.)

So anyhow, a bunch of friends were out celebrating the big event, and I ran in to two friends (Sierra and Mike Delta) who were living out in San Fran and mentioned they actually enjoyed the blog. And maybe it was the kick in the pants I needed to get back on here.

Now that we've got that out of the way, the title of today's entry is "...and this is why I moved here." This is a phrase I've continued to hear between my ears as I've had a fun few days since moving in last Saturday. Maybe it was all of the thanksgiving spirit, but I really have a lot to be thankful for this year and this week I found myself really appreciating the good fortune I've had this past year. I'm not saying life is perfect, but I've had a little bit of luck, a lot of support, and a little bit of kismet that have made this move work out pretty well.

Some funny/cool moments over the past few weeks:

-Watching Bears games. This sounds very mundane, and I know the Bears absolutely suck, but living in another city makes you really miss your sports teams. And its not just the teams you miss, its the chit-chat with buddies (or family) about the reasons for the suckitude that only a bear fan can appreciate.

-Spending thanksgiving with my family. We had a little bit of a hiccup with the T-giving schedule and ended up having our dinner on Friday instead of Thursday. But everyone was around (my brother and sister live outside of Chicago) and we had a lot of fun catching up, playing BINGO, and getting our fill of all that food. I cooked (on the BBQ) and carved my first turkey, which I have to say is highly overrated. Its really not that difficult to cook, and it always seemed like such a chore/task.....but I figured since a few million people cook turkeys safely every year I could do the same. I'd have 100% confidence in my ability to do it again and I think the bird was pretty good. I also think we might want to consider moving Thanksgiving to the fourth Friday of November (screw black friday), but I'll wait 'til I'm in elected office to campaign for the Friday Thanksgiving.

-Having the family over to my new place. Saturday morning, my folks, sisters, and the little ones took the train to the city to see the new digs and have some lunch. It really wasn't anything special, but it was a pretty cool feeling to have my family visit my house and not need them to get on a plane to do so. They all enjoyed seeing the new place, and can rest assured knowing Annie and I live in a building that has all sorts of cool things.

-Watching Annie play in a Chicago city park. Yesterday afternoon, Annie and I had a playdate with some friends and dogs at Humbolt Park that was fun for me and equally as fun for Annie. This move probably hasn't been easy on her, but she's handled it like a trooper and it felt nice to give her something to enjoy amidst the chaos. My neighborhood has some greenspace, but it was fun to watch her roll around in some dirt with some other dogs without all of the noise and congestion that comes with my neighborhood.

-Seeing close friends on a regular basis. When I lived in Seattle I certainly stayed in touch with my friends via email/text, and whenever we had time to catch up during my visits we'd get together. But those conversations were always too short, and with most of my friends less than 10 minutes from my place it really feels like home once again.

Before I sign off I have a homeroom announcement:

First, the Rory David Deutsch foundation is a cause very near and dear to ADW follower and close friend Roger Daltrey. On December 10, Jackson Browne will perform a benefit concert at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts. If you're interested in good causes, good music, or a good time you're bound to have fun. You can purchase tickets on the website via the link provided. I'm sure you'll get to hear things like "runnin' on empty" and "doctor my eyes" but no guarantees on setlists!

Finally, I'll do my best to post something up here once a week so you'll get a somewhat consistent ADW fix....I'm not entirely sure what I'll be writing about but, I'll do my best to make it worth your while to check the blog during your downtime at work.

Making Chicago Home

2009-11-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

Although I've been in the Chicago area for about six months, I've had this feeling that I still hadn't settled in. I realize there are no finish lines in life, but moving in to my own place feels like a bit of a finish line to the journey I've been on over the past six months. My sister (and her kids) have made my return to Chicago fun and easy as possible, by giving me a great place for Annie and I to stay while I looked for work. So after I made it to Chicago and found work, I turned my focus towards the next step on the Chicago journey: establishing a home of my own.

I knew I needed a few paychecks to cover rent and some furnishings (I sold everything I owned when I left Seattle) and targeted December 1 of this year for a date to move in. And although I know the city pretty well, I called in the help of an apartment finder to sort through the rentals and steer me in the direction of places that would fit with my lifestyle. I can't believe I never used an apartment finder for previous searches, but it made a world of difference having someone's help.

So Echo Victor (the apartment finder) and I set out this past Saturday to find a place for Annie and I to call home. As I mentioned to Echo, I really don't do the whole "shopping" thing very well and am the kind of guy who doesn't spend time shopping for things--regardless of cost or importance. My main criteria for the apartment were proximity to the expressways (since I drive so much for work), and a dog-friendly building. I gave her a few other cost parameters, and we were off.

We looked at a few places that seemed "OK", but were located over near Millenium Park/Navy Pier and although one of the places was nice I had a feeling I'd go nuts with the traffic coming in and out of that area for events. So we headed to my old neighborhood, which for those who don't know was just west of the loop. I had some initial reservations about being back in the same neighborhood, but after seeing the place I was sold.

The place is in a high-rise building that was completed about a year ago, and my apartment has only been lived in for three months of that year. The building has a ton of amenities which is a little different from my past apartments, but something I can definitely get used to. And there's even a dog park in front of the building where Annie can run off leash. Tons of other cool stuff, but you can read apartment listings elsewhere on the internet.

As I mentioned earlier, I sold just about everything I owned when I left Seattle (other than clothing, my car, and Annie) so my focus today turned to things like furniture to fill up the apartment. Furniture shopping is another one of those things I don't love spending my time to do, so much like the apartment search it took me about 30 minutes to find a couch and table to deck out the new living room. The only challenge I had was deciding the delivery date for the furniture (and ultimately my move in date), but I settled on November 21 as my first day in a 606XX zip code.

Featured Friend: Papa Hotel

2009-10-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

After a hiatus from interviewing friends, I'm back at it again this week with Papa Hotel. I've tried to find people with interesting jobs, unique perspectives on life, or just people who I think readers will enjoy learning about, and Papa Hotel fits all three criteria. As a teacher at the high school I attended, he works with special needs students and is the head coach of the Boys' Golf and Basketball teams. He's been successful as a coach from a wins and losses standpoint, but what I respect and appreciate is his desire to continuously learn ways to improve how he leads teams. Here's the highlights of our conversation:

Career/Teaching:

Which teachers/coaches do you remember most fondly from growing up in Highland Park?

From a coaching standpoint – Coaches K and G and Mr. Baker; they all helped foster a love for competing. For Mr. Baker it was about the number of kids he’s done it for and continues to this day. In terms of teachers, I went to Green Bay Road School and had a teacher named Mrs. Epstein who I remember, but can't remember anything specific other than she got me ready for the big time at Elm Place Middle School.

Mr Sedek at Elm Place was our gym teacher and 8^th grade basketball coach, and he was also an interesting guy. He played major league baseball and probably inspired me in some way-- maybe that he went for his dream and still found a way to make a difference with kids through athletics/sports.

Why did you decide to go in to teaching?

I went through college at Indiana and was really unsure about what I wanted to do. I was so focused on the Little 500 at Indiana that a lot of my academic choices were based on the training schedule, but got my degree in Criminal Justice. As I got close to graduation I stayed in touch with my high school coach (Kolze) who mentioned he was reaching the end of his time as coach. After I got back to school, I thanked him in a letter and mentioned I'd like to be his successor. From there, I went on to get my master’s degree and teacher's certificate and started teaching after that.

My mom was an elementary school teacher for some of the kids you taught at the high school level, and I have tremendous respect for the work you guys do with special needs students. What drew you towards working with students with special needs?

I wasn't passionate about any one subject area and was really interested in just helping kids with their overall development/learning instead of one specific subject. I also helped special needs kids for years as a volunteer, and was always comfortable. But coaching ultimately steered me towards education more than the other way around.

What is it like teaching in the high school you attended? When you first started did you find yourself looking for your buddies in the hallways or cafeteria?

It’s great; at first it was easy because there was a comfort level. I already had relationships with so many faculty, because my mom was a teacher and administrator in the social studies department. The hardest thing I had to get used to was calling fellow teachers by their first name; some I still can't call by their first names 'til this day, but I've gotten more comfortable with it.

Fill in the blank with three different occupations/industries. If you weren’t teaching you’d be _______________.

Working for something like the Elias sports bureau
Working as an anchor or sports journalist
Something working with kids

Family:

How long have you and your wife been married?

We've been married for eight years, and originally met through mutual friends.

How many kids and what ages?

Three kids, ages 10, 7 and 5. They’re all at the same school for now which is great; we get a kick out of hearing them talking about seeing each other in the hallways...but we’ll see what happens as they get older or in to high school

What is the family’s favorite vacation spot? (or a recent trip)

If you asked my wife, she’d say a road trip we took to Pensacola Beach. My kids would probably say Peoria because of the state boys' basketball tournament. For a 7-10 year old boy its like Disneyworld for them, they get to see all of the teams, play around on all sorts of baskets at different heights, and be around athletes they really look up.

Which of your children reminds you most of yourself as a kid and why?

They each do in their own way. The oldest is very hard on himself and he’s all effort, he never goes easy, always has grass stains from head to toe when he comes inside. The middle one is a little of a free spirit/experimenter type of kid, who doesn’t do it for attention but the curiosity. The youngest can make his own fun without a ton of technology or other kids, and has a great time doing it

Having your summers off as a teacher has to be awesome. What are some of the things you and your kids do when you’ve got the time? On the flipside, what do you do during the school year (particularly basketball season) to make sure you’re spending enough time with all of them?

My days in the summers are actually incredibly busy. I run three sessions of camps for basketball, and I’m at the high school for seven hours a day, along with summer league games and shootouts our varisity team plays in.

But when we have time we have a lot of fun taking the kids to games; whether its college or pro. Reading with them is also great, especially when they want to read instead of us trying to push them to read.

I coached my son’s baseball team this summer, which was a lot of fun.

Do you find yourself coaching your son different from other kids or treating him any differently?

I've learned from other coaches with kids that the most important thing is to be supportive before anything else and to plant a seed in their heads that sports and competition should be fun. Reinforcing the fun, celebrating little accomplishments these are the things that are important to make time for.

Coaching:

You’ve been coaching Boys Golf and Basketball at Highland Park for several years now. How does coaching the two sports differ?

Golf is much more hands off, whereas basketball you have much more control. Golf is about coaching kids to be confident and making what is normally an individual sport in to a team sport--playing for each other rather than themselves. The two experiences have helped me in the other—the golf experience helps me be less hands on with basketball and vice versa.

They say the best teachers are the ones that continue to learn, how do you continue to expand your knowledge/technique as a coach? Are there specific coaches or teachers you’ve learned from? What have they shared that has been so influential?

Lots of reading about athletics and leadership. Different kids aren’t going to respond to my style, so I've spent time trying to learn ways or coaching styles that are lower key but still help me connect with kids.

We’ve had some introductions to other coaches, and observing college coaches in how they run practice, prepare, etc. is always helpful.

I also have a group of high school coaches who I have round tables with and its a peer group that gets together to throw out topics that all of us deal with. Things like tryouts, awards nights, defending ball screens, we'll talk about anything we all deal with or have to figure out. Most coaches are willing to help anybody out; and once in awhile you’ll get a guy who isn’t as trusting but the majority are open and honest. I’ve been lucky that I’ve had a group of peers I’ve grown up with as well as an older group of guys I can call on if I'm in need of some guidance/experience.

One of the better suggestions I got was the idea of a home visit--we basically visit with each kid and their family at their home before the start of the season to make sure we're all on the same page. I try and be open with the kid and the parents about the role I can see them playing, so that all of our expectations are on the same page. I also make it clear to parents that we won't talk about things like playing time, strategy, or other kids, but that I'm always available to talk and that we're in this together.

As a coach of 7^th grade boys one of my biggest challenges was the pre-game pep talk. I did my best to dig deep for motivational speeches, but it was never easy. And since there was always like 10 minutes between the big rah rah speech and tipoff I felt like my message got lost whenever kids got their eyes on fans, cheerleaders, and the other team. So how much of a “pep talk” do you have to give to get kids up to play at the high school level?

I think if a coach has to rely on pregame speeches chances are you don’t have a good team. I do think a good pregame talk can help get guys focused, but you have to guard against it being too much to where they use up energy and get too hyped up. We try to get very consistent with what we do before games and the length of the pregame is the same every time, but the message can change.

As far as topics I never want the kids to feel like one game is more important than the other, so I try and keep them focused on the present. The core message is lets be the best we can be tonight; playing a complete game; being good at the things we pride ourselves on. Occasionally we’ll talk about our opponent, but its mostly focused on internal stuff.

I have to plead a bit of ignorance but I frequently hear how AAU and other travel teams impact high school teams by taking time/focus away from the school team. Would you say this is a problem? If so, what would or should be done to fix it?

I don’t think it’s a problem per say. The challenges are sometimes the guys who run the programs. If there are coaches who are teaching kids the right thing it can be a great thing. There are some bad seeds out there who give it a bad name, and its unfair to criticize AAU in a negative way. The focus sometime is more on showcasing individual abilities through team basketball instead of a ‘team’ focus. It (AAU) probably has helped make basketball better in Lake County, along with some of the coaching, and some good talented kids who are able to play in college.

Basketball:

Do you still play pickup basketball when you have a chance? If so, how would you describe your game? How has your game changed since your days as a high school player?

I did up until this past spring when I decided I’m done. We used to play on Sundays and Wednesdays and a friend of ours passed away playing hoops, which really shook me up. I had a really good night last spring and I decided that was enough--I had stayed relatively healthy, never gotten seriously injured, and it just isn't worth it.

Moneyball was one of my favorite books, and it highlights how the A’s went about selecting and developing talent (when they were good). The premise was that baseball has a ton of productivity statistics that really don’t translate to winning, and that the true value of a player is whether he helps the team score more runs than the opposition. After I read it, I thought a lot about basketball, and my theory is that offensive trips can have four possible good outcomes: drawing a foul, scoring one point, scoring two points, or scoring three points. If teams got good at dissecting ‘empty trips’ and understanding/addressing root causes they could be much more productive. Without having data in front of you, what do you think is the most common reason teams fail to produce on the offensive end?

Its tough to say one is more important than another, and we talk about wasted trips being when we have guys who aren’t in ‘unison’ working together which can lead to a bad shot, a turnover, guys running the wrong play. We track lots of data about us and our opponents that help us be more efficient. When we scout, we track who is shooting, whether they are shooting off the dribble, where they like to score from, mainly so we know the things they're comfortable with. Then we create game plans or ways to take guys out of their comfort zone.

This may be an “unfair” question, but at ADW we ask the tough stuff. If you had to pick a starting five of kids you’ve coached at HPHS who would you pick for each position:

I’d rather not rank kids that way. There are kids like Joey, Chris, and Scott who really brought the program to a new level and they’ve done it in the most visible way with their play. Joey was the face of our team when we went downstate. Scott was the most winning player in highland park basketball history, and his career was just amazing. And Chris was another four year varsity player and their demeanor, how they handled themselves, etc. represented the program in a great way.

But we’ve also had some great guys who have done some great things for our program that weren’t necessarily the most talented but contributed a ton to our team and our program's reputation. Many kids took what they were doing very seriously and their commitment helped develop a standard of excellence that we hope to continue.

Now, if you had to pick a starting five of kids you’ve coached against, how would that lineup look:

PG Jon Scheyer (played at Duke)

SG Ryan Hogan (played at Kentucky, Iowa)

F Joey Range (played at Iowa?)

F Pete Mickeal, who played at Cincinnnati

C Kevin Frye, played at Xavier

That kid Joey Range played for Galesberg high school; and he was an amazing athlete, maybe the most impressive guys I ever saw. Ben Kanter saw the bottom of Joey Range’s shoes, ask him about him sometime.

How many NBA games do you watch a year? Are there things you can learn as a coach from watching NBA teams?

A little bit, probably 20 games total but most of them are in the playoffs--I just don’t have the time for it. When I watch I try to look at how teams get guys in positions where they can be successful, also in terms of similar types of players and how they can be successful. For example, we have a kid who is big but a great perimeter shooter, so I'll watch a guy like Dirk Nowitzki.

Are you able to watch basketball as a fan rather than a coach? Who do you root/pull for?

I don’t think I can anymore. I wouldn’t consider myself a “fan” of one program, I just tend to pull for kids I’ve coached and the schools they go to. I don’t get angry if the Bears lose like I used to.

You’re getting ready to begin a season at HPHS; other than a state championship, are there other goals you’ll set for your team?

We’re trying to get the program to where we “win even when we lose.” I know we’re not going to go downstate, win 20 games, undefeated, etc. every year, so we try to get our guys to measure themselves through concepts, and we have nine words that embody our program. The words are:

Unity

Passion

Excellence

Unselfishness

Discipline

Thankfulness

Loyalty

Humility

Accountability

And we’ve tried to push our guys on striving for reaching their best in each of these, whether we win all of our games or lose them.

What is the hardest thing to teach a high school basketball player?

Getting them to understand and appreciate how much time is needed to spend in the gym by themselves. Kids feel like what is done with us is enough, but getting kids to do more beyond just the practice is what really makes the difference and helps kids become much better.

What is the toughest thing about being a head coach? What is most gratifying?

Its like putting beads on a string with no knot at the bottom; that should tell you enough.
There’s always something to do. There are three really gratifying things:

1) former players coming back

2) seeing the athletes/students be successful in something other than the sport I coached them with/for—even the fact that they let me know when these things happen it says that I’ve played some role in their success

3) being a part of something bigger than me. Highland Park has some great tradition in both golf and basketball and I see the coaches who preceded me and being part of that history is really cool.

I’m sure the thought has crossed your mind or you’ve been approached, but what are your thoughts about coaching full-time?

I've never been approached, and while I’d never say never, the lifestyle of a high school coach is pretty appealing. College coaches are the road recruiting, travel, dealing with boosters/alums in a different way. Maybe after I retired I’d consider it, but not right now.

Golf:

How many rounds did you play this year?

I probably played 10 rounds; I play once in a while with the guys on the team to help change the dynamic. It’s a way for me to demonstrate how I go about things like rough shots or when things go bad, and just to show them that there's a lot of ways to get around a golf course to get the ball in the hole.

If you had a foursome at any course, with anyone to fill it out, who would it be and where would you play?

My three sons

Name your three favorite golf courses you’ve played:

Skokie Country Club (Glencoe)

Shore Acres in Lake Bluff

Butler National

Blackwolf Run (both were great, but they’ve combined)

Doral

“Playing smart” was never, and is still not my strength. I guess once a gambler always a gambler, but I subscribe to the ‘no risk, no reward’ philosophy in golf and in life. I’m not on the PGA tour, so I may want to re-think that, but I DO want to revisit my belief that driver on the first hole at Sunset Valley is the correct play. There are no longer any trees down the right side, and even if you dump it in the water you can knock a wedge on the green and two putt for bogey. Besides, I’ll snap hook an iron just as easily as my driver. So how come I’m the only one who hits driver there? Would you be open to ‘experimenting’ with half of your team during a meet next year, just to see how it goes?

I’ve never told them not to; they just know for us a big number isn't going to help much in a 9 hole match our strategy. I just ask that they hit what they're comfortable with and avoid the big number.

Hobbies/Special Interest:

There has to be some non-sports activity in your life, so tell me either three movies or books you’ve enjoyed over the past year:

Tony Dungy’s book; it was a little preachy but I liked it.

Kids loved “UP”, especially the montage at the beginning, makes you realize how fast life really goes

Green Eggs and Ham, which we read every night.

If you had a friend visiting from out of town and had to take them out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner anywhere in Chicago, where would you take them:

Breakfast: Sarki’s for a Loretta

Lunch: Manny’s in the city

Dinner: Charlie Beinlich’s for a good burger and feel at home

I believe that T-shirts (especially for men) tell our stories in a unique way, whether its what the shirt says on it, who we got it from, where we’ve worn it, etc. How many T-Shirts would you guess you own? If you had to pick a T-shirt to tell us something unique about yourself, which one would you choose? Why is it unique/important?

When I’m depressed, I wear my downstate T-shirt it reminds me that it really did happen back in 2002 and picks up my mood.

Foggy Memory Lane

2009-10-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

My memory of the early years is hazy at best, but luckily I have a father who is a big fan of scanning pictures in to his computer. This afternoon/evening I had a chance to take a virtual stroll (stumble) down memory lane while killing time at their house, and figured I'd post a few here.

And besides, my focus group research indicates of the 15 ADW followers at least 5 of them prefer more pictures, less words. Some dates are made up.

March 13, 1977
I enter planet earth.

March 15, 1977.
My mother is heard saying "Holy shit" as she prepares to take me home from the hospital.

January 12, 1980
"Step AWAY from the bear."

January 12, 1980
Unless you have food and you are my Grandmother (mom's mom).

June 19, 1981
My older sister (who I currently live with) finds the stench from the toilet amusing. My parents also find taking photos of their children in the bathroom amusing as well.

June 19, 1981
Can't a guy get a little privacy in here? Also, nice work on the foreshadow!

November 27, 1982

My older brother and I brainstorming ways to get cooler clothes. Still working on that.

April 10, 1983
My little sister and I showing off our dental accomplishments. For those who have seen me in the past year, you'll notice my smile bears a resemblance to what I looked like as a six year old. The gaping hole has moved to the right, but its still there. And do kids still hang pennants in their bedroom?

June 30, 1984
"I MUST see this Karate Kid movie coming out in theaters."

July 19, 1984
The most magical summer of my young life as the Cubs proved to me it was possible to win. They also showed me how heartbreaking it can be when October rolls around. And kudos to whoever decided painters caps looked stupid.

August 3, 1982
That's right ladies, drink it up. You're looking at a 3'9" five year old with a mullet and for some reason very long arms.

March 29, 1981
"I'd rather drown myself than wear White Sox clothing!"

December 27, 1982
Much like this past summer, my hair had not scene a comb/brush for months when this photo was taken.

Quarter 3 Report Card

2009-10-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

We're nine full months in to 2009, and its the first year in my 32 that I've tried to proactively think about what I want to spend the year doing. As I wrote about when this whole blog thing started out, New Year's resolutions never worked for me, and my "hypothesis" was that if I accomplished goals in the areas of life that matter to me I'd have 'peace of mind.' Call me crazy, OCD, whatever you prefer, but I have a long history of putting all of my 'happiness' eggs in one basket and this was a way for me to get a little more balanced.

The quick grades after nine months run down like this:
Career: C
Health: B+
Finances: B
Fun/Hobbies: A-
Social Life/Family: B

How I come up with these grades is more scientific/analytic than you probably care about, and the details would be repetitive from my last report card so I won't bore you the specifics in all of these areas. But one that's worth sharing something about is career-related 'things.' Those who know about my life (whether through the blog or elsewhere) are probably asking, "how can career things be a C? Didn't he have no job just a few short days ago?"

In response to your hypothetical questions, I am glad to be working. And its great to see that direct deposit hit the bank account every other week, to have an insurance card I'm not paying $700 a month for, and to no longer have the unemployment cloud following me around every corner.

But I'd be lying if I said I was blown away with my experience through the first five weeks. In case you're curious, I've been hired to help a large health system improve some of the core processes that patients experience at some point during their stay. On paper, it sounds ideal, especially considering my professional experience and long history as a patient living with a chronic illness in the chaotic mess of our health care system. Right now I'm in the midst of an orientation process, which culminates with being assigned to a hospital somewhere in the Chicago area.

I'm optimistic about a future with this organization, and I'm trying to steer clear of turning this in to a gripe fest, but the orientation process has been frustrating. In fact, calling it a process is a bit of a misnomer. The idea of a process, is that steps or activities are completed and it produces an outcome once the process is complete. I'm a believer that just about anything produced is created out of a process. But essentially, my orientation process has been to sit, occasionally observe a few coworkers doing their work, and then sit some more. So I'm not entirely clear what a fully orientated Delta Whiskey looks like at the end of this process.

I'm not sure if this would qualify as "ironic" but I work in a department that specializes in process improvement. So to have an orientation process as archaic as this strikes me as odd. And even odder (if that's a word) is that the coworkers I've spoken with have all described their orientation period in a similar way. Essentially lots of sitting around, waiting to be pulled on to do some work, but bored to tears during the first 30 - 90 days.

How all of this plays out remains to be seen, and I'll continue trying to find the silver lining, staying busy with whatever work heads in my direction, and maybe most importantly finding happiness with things outside of work....after all, the career is only one part of the bigger picture.

"The Moth" and the 6th Grade Election

2009-09-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

Fun doesn't always find me, and sometimes I need to be proactive about entertaining myself. And I've felt a little short in the fun department the past few days, and figured I'd create some fun on my own with a little exploration with a Tuesday night field trip. This will sound pretentious and dorky, but I heard a program on NPR recently called "The Moth", which loyal NPR fans will probably be familiar with. I'm not an NPR die-hard, although I do enjoy things like Car Talk, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and This American Life when I catch them, and it was completely coincidental that I heard the Moth and an advertisement for their first ever Chicago event at Martyr's.

Anyhow, the Moth is essentially an organization that promotes live story telling at live events called Story Slams. There aren't many rules to the stories, mainly that it can't be scripted, it has to relate to the evening's topic, and it has to be a STORY, not a stand-up routine or one-man (or woman) show, and must be less than 5 minutes. At the start of the night, aspiring storytellers put their name in a hat, and the host draws the names of a few bold souls to step up to the microphone. Stories are judged, a winner is determined, and its kinda like Toastmasters but less corporatey and probably more fun (although I've never attended a Toastmasters meeting).

So tonight's topic at The Moth was "School", and I walked away with a few thoughts. For one, it takes a lot of cojones (guts) to get up in front of a room of strangers and reveal intimate details about one's life. I know I do it on the blog, but I can think about what I'm writing (or at least that's supposed to happen) and I know most of the folks who read this. Second, there's something enjoyable about listening to stories. I watch my nieces and nephew when they hear stories from their parents, grandparents, or myself, and they hang on every word with excitement as to what comes next, or how it ends up. The strange thing is, adults do it as well when they listen to stories. And there's something creepy/compelling/interesting when its a non-fiction story from a total stranger. And the final thing I thought as I walked out of there is that laughter (especially when shared with the audience) is good for the soul.

I'd like to say I heard stories about people's school experiences that blew me away, but none of them bear repeating. For the most part, the storytellers did an excellent job under the circumstances, and most had me laughing at some point. Of course, there were a few lemons in the bunch, but even those folks I admired for their courage, honesty, and willingness to challenge themselves. I kept thinking to myself, "nothing from my school years was interesting enough to tell these people about," but about midway through the evening I thought about the story I would tell if I somehow had the courage, willingness, and/or interest in getting up before an audience of complete strangers. That story is the 6th Grade Election.

I'll try to keep my story brief, but figured I'd share it here. And I know this is written, so feel free to interject a number of "ahhs", "ummms", and "likes" if you want to get a sense for what I'd sound like on stage. Its a bad habit of mine, especially when I'm nervous.

In the 6th grade, there were elections for a few officer positions. Looking back on it, I have no idea what these elected officials actually did, why there needed to be elections for said positions, or why I felt the need to run for one of the positions. But somehow I decided it was a good idea to run for class secretary--one of the few elected positions I thought I had a chance to win. In the weeks leading up to the election, candidates running for more senior positions (President, Vice President, Treasurer) took the time to create fliers/posters and get the word out that they wanted other 12 year olds to give them their votes. Some even had catchy slogans or buttons for their classmates to remember when they stepped in to the ballot box.

As my mom likes to beat in to my head, I'm the kind of kid that never really applied himself in school, and the same was true for that 6th grade election. I didn't do a lot of work to campaign for votes, and recruited two close friends (Charlie Sierra and Juliet Mike) to manage my campaign. Our campaign strategy consisted of the two of them coming to my house, making a poster, hanging it up in school, and taking our chances when the election came. My opponent in this election was a woman we'll call Lima Golf, who we knew from a few classes, but I think our collective 'strategy' was that I could beat her with my charm, handsome looks, and the fact that most of the 6th grade probably didn't give a shit who the class secretary was.

The story gets interesting when a girl we'll call Mike Golf enters the picture. Mike was the most popular girl in the 6th grade, and although she and I became friends in high school we did not see eye to eye at age 12. In fact, there was deep animosity we shared for each other. I don't know what the root cause was of our hatred for each other, but things got hostile at some party when she touched a nerve and I went Incredible Hulk on her.

Tangent: most who know me as an adult have never seen this side of me, but at one point I had a switch that could flip from calm to rage in mere seconds. I don't know where that came from, but I have a temper, and its tough to shut it down once its go time.

So Mike and I were at some social event, throwing verbal jabs at each other and eventually it came to blows. I probably shouldn't admit this publicly, but yes, I did fight a girl in 6th grade. In the aftermath to follow, Mike made a point of turning most of the 6th grade girls against me (I won them back in 7th grade once I began to shave), but the timing could not have been worse. Our little fight had come in the weeks prior to the election, and as any good politician knows, you don't hit girls in the week leading up to an election.

But I was still optimistic, as were my trusty campaign managers and when election day came I cast my ballot with confidence that I'd be the 6th grade secretary. Well, as you can probably guess by my tone, I lost that election. And I've never returned to any elected position since then, and probably never will. Although if I do, I'll make sure to keep my hands off women in the weeks prior to the election.

So that's my story, albiet a dorky and horrific one for those who only know me as an adult. Probably not one I would have loved to tell in front of 200 random strangers, but hope you enjoyed it. As for the Moth, I'll probably check it out the next event on October 27 when the topic is "Firsts", and in the meantime I'll be thinking about an interesting story to share with you all in the days prior to or after the event. And if you're curious about the Moth but don't live in Chicago or feel like attending in person, there's a podcast on itunes you can subscribe to and listen to tonight or highlights from previous Story Slams...here's a link from their site.

Changing of the Season

2009-09-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's feeling like fall around the midwest, with cool evenings, shorter days (technically less sun, days are still 24 hours), leaves on the ground, and geese flocking through town on their way south from Canada. There's some great stuff about the Fall (or Autumn, but does anyone really call it Autumn?) so since I don't have a ton to update you on, I figured I'd give you a list of my favorite fall memories. Some happen every year, others are events that happened in my life between September and Thanksgiving. None of these will surprise you.

Football. I know, you're probably thinking what a predictable, meatheady male thing for me to say, much less begin a list with. Well ya know what? Football is good. Hanging out with my friends watching it, talking about it, and even making lame attempts to play catch are all good things. But even if an alien came here from another planet and you brought them to a college campus or stadium on a sunny fall afternoon, they'd think it was pretty cool. The tailgating. The marching bands (college). The lunatics dressed in jerseys of players who have either long-since retired. I've lived in several parts of the country; Tampa, Miami, Seattle, and of course Chicago and I can say without a doubt that passionate football fans are one of the few things every major city has in common. I don't think it improves or saves lives, and it certainly can be argued that its the most barbaric, stupid, classless and ridiculous of the 4 major sports, but I like it and its my blog.
Baseball Games with Relevance. Once again, those of you who read my stuff and hate sports are probably annoyed with back to back sports references. But the baseball season begins back in March/April and is a marathon. Months have gone by with games that blur together, and its nearly impossible to stay on top of it all...but come October it doesn't make a difference if you've watched a game in months; you stop what you're doing and pay homage to the MLB playoffs. This year will not include my team (the Cubs) but many a fond fall memory involves the Cubs either doing great or extremely shitty things to my sports psyche. And even when the Cubs weren't involved, I remember watching Kirk Gibson crank his home run against the A's with my dad in our living room, watching the Marlins beat the Indians with my grandfather in his hospital bed, and watching the Indians and Braves in Madison with the high school gang during our first Fall apart from each other as college freshmen.
Halloween. For starters, I believe Halloween should be moved to the last Friday in October, kinda like what we do for Labor Day and Memorial Day. Parents can take the afternoon off without remorse to go trick or treat with their kids, and adults can act like idiots and have a full weekend to recover. There's really nothing good about Halloween falling on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and frankly, I don't know who would be opposed to this legislation other than people who truly celebrate All Hallow's Eve. Another great thing about Halloween is that it makes for great conversation with little kids in the month leading up to the big day. I don't care if you've ever met a kid, the "what are you dressing up as?" question is an instant ice breaker for anyone under age 10. It has been the topic of conversation of late at my sister's house, and there are some finalists but no final decisions just yet on what everyone will wear.
Cool nights. This is mainly for sleeping purposes. I like to sleep with it pretty cold, and there's a great feeling that comes with actually needing blankets to stay warm. The only problem with the cold nights and warm blankets is that you have to leave them behind to get up, something that kinda sucks about Fall.
Marathon/Columbus Day Weekend in Chicago. One of my most proud physical achievements was completing the Chicago marathon in 2004. Columbus Day weekend will always remind of that accomplishment, which isn't really all that unique given that 40,000 people accomplish the same thing every year that weekend. But as a guy who had a lot of health problems, 2004's marathon marked one of the high points in health for me. I'm always inspired when I hear cowbells, people screaming for their friends, and hordes of people running for 26 miles. I guess what inspires me is that all of them have a cool story, and all of them have worked their ass off to get to that point, and its like one big celebration of hard work, dedication, and commitment to achieving a goal. And there's some gruesome shit to look at as well, which can be mildly entertaining.
Elections. Although we're not in a big election year, there's something cool about elections. I love to vote, and I hope you do too. And if you don't, then you are not allowed to bitch and/or moan about anything related to politics.
Leaves. This one sounds superduper corny, but there is something cool about a bright yellow or red leafed (leaved?) tree. I also kinda like the sound of dry leaves underneath my feet on the sidewalk. And its also funny to watch Annie stick her nose in piles of leaves looking for some kind of treasure. I may sing a different tune if I end up having to rake
The start of basketball season. Its easy to lose sight of basketball with football and the baseball playoffs going on in early October, but in the Whiskey house this was one of the more celebratory occasions. Bravo Whiskey (my dad) has held Bulls season tickets for 29 consecutive seasons, and it was always fun to find out which games there was a chance I'd get to attend with him. And as a guy who played basketball as a kid the Fall was the time to show how much (or more often how little) I had worked on my game since the previous season.
Jackets. By January I'll be whining about how much I hate wearing a coat everywhere I go (although that would violate one of my agreements with you--that I'd never bitch about the weather). But breaking out the jacket/coat collection is always fun. Each year, I'm moderately surprised to find jackets I either forgot I owned or hadn't seen in a long time. New jackets entering the rotation is always exciting/fun as well, although that won't be high on my list of things to run out and buy. I also enjoy wearing sweatshirts, in case you care.

Welcome (back) to the Machine

2009-09-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

I posted it as an update on Facebook, but it was so ironic and funny to hear "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd three times during my second day at work. The trifecta may have been a case of strange coincidence, or it may have been because I spent a freakin' eternity in my car this week driving to a bunch of locations for work. In Seattle, I could walk to work from my home in less than 5 minutes; so its suffice to say transportation to and from work is a little different here in Chicago.

I did a little poking around on Youtube and found the video in case you don't know the song I'm talking about, but more interesting than the video are the comments below videos on Youtube. Especially funny are the ones from the Pink Floyd die-hards who seem very convinced they know the meaning behind the song. Pink Floyd was a band I never got to see in concert, and totally laid an egg when they toured in 1995; as it was most likely the last chance I had to see them live. I think everyone goes through a Pink Floyd phase at some point (which for me came after the Steve Miller Band, Led Zeppelin, Who phases), and I confess my interest in the band peaked when I heard about the Wizard of Oz/Dark Side of the Moon synchronization trick. It would be hilarious to have a video of my high school friends and I watching that together in Alpha Whiskey's bedroom, trying to decipher meaning behind the events that lined up with the song. I'm also convinced you could find interesting "coincidences" if you synced any album and movie and have enough time on your hands. One of these days I'm going to try that trick with Metallica's "....And Justice For All"; which the band wrote based on the movie with the same title. If you haven't seen that movie, its worth a rental although its 30+ years old.

Anyhow, I really don't know what Floyd was thinking about when they wrote "Welcome to the Machine" but I've always thought it had something to do with the "cog in the machine" image that comes with spending time in a structured life without much of an individual identity. Whether its school, work, military, whatever, the machine conjures up thoughts of being just one of the masses; and I felt that way a bit this week as I rejoined the rest of America sitting in meetings, driving around in my car, and doing all of the stuff that goes in to working.

In addition to bitching about weather (which no one cares about), I've also decided no one wants to hear about traffic and how much time is or isn't spent in traffic. Its really only important to the person who sits in the car, but let's just say traffic will play a role in my new job. With hospitals located all over the Chicago area, my commutes were close to two hours during rush hour--and those are one way trips. But in this economy, beggars can't be choosers, so a little traffic isn't going to make or break my life. And you have my word, this post will be the one and only time I bring it up.

I'm going to need some time to formulate an educated opinion about the work; but my first impressions were good. There are certainly some differences to the way things were out west (beyond just the commute) and I'll post some work-related things up here from time to time if you want to know what's going on during my days. But I continue to be impressed with my former employer for everything they did, now that I've been able to see how others operate.

Outside of work, it was nice to have a long weekend--played some golf, hung with some friends (some old, some new, some male, some female), welcomed back college football, and had some time to catch up on some reading. One of the things I decided during the past week was that I'm going to follow through on writing the book I've probably described to many of you. Reading other authors is a useful way for me to learn ways to engage an audience, and I'm reading Kurt Vonnegut's Hocus Pocus; which is a fun "first person" story. I'll describe my book idea in more detail in a future post, and although writing a book doesn't appear on my 2009 personal plan, it's something I've always wanted to do. And even if the only people who ultimately read it are the 15 people who check the blog, it'll be nice to put my time and effort in to something more than rambling posts on a blog.

Hope all of you enjoyed the extra day this weekend, and like this guy said; "keep on livin; L-I-V-I-N..." (some great one liners in there)

Sunday Night Wretcheds

2009-08-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, a close friend and coworker (Alpha Sierra) introduced me to a term that perfectly described that "back to school/work" feeling we all get on Sunday nights. Sometime after dinner, the weekend comes to an end, and that sinking feeling of returning to work sets in. No matter how exciting work is, or how great the TV is on Sunday night, the Sunday Wretcheds inevitably creep into our conscience. There are some times when wretcheds are worse than others (if work had been shitty, weekend had been great, coming in from out of town, etc.) but they've always been there for me to some degree probably since about 4th grade when school began to get in the way of playing sports with my friends, wasting time with Nintendo, and doing all of the things I wanted to do.

Since tonight is the last night of the neverending weekend and a summer when I did all of the things I wanted to do, I expected a particularly severe, intense case of acute Sunday Wretcheds. However, I'm not as melancholy (good scrabble word) as I thought, and I'm excited to get back to wearing pants five days a week, being around adults, contributing something to the greater good (other than my blog), and collecting a paycheck to do those things. For most everyone involved, my return to work is a good thing and another new adventure to embark on.

I say "most" everyone is in support of this, because Annie (my dog) is probably the only one who will be upset about the whole thing. All summer long, she's had time to take long walks, whenever she felt like it, and I was there to help her explore her new territory. But with work about 40 minutes away, getting home to walk Annie during the day is not feasible, and although there's not much she'll do without anyone home for long chunks of time, she starts day 1 in a cage tomorrow. You see, Annie has been a bit of a pain in the ass around my sister's house. In addition to her usual antics, she's been terrorizing their cat, sleeping where she doesn't belong (namely furniture), and acting like a dog with no regard for human life or possessions. Of course, I'm partially to blame for her behavior, and I feel a little guilty about having her in a cage, so I went out and got her a roomy cage she can call her own. I'll even decorate it with her favorite things to make her feel more at home, and will post some pics when I get around to it.

In the meantime, I've got some clothes to lay out, a lunch to pack, and school supplies to organize in to my Karate Kid trapperkeeper. And yes, I'm kidding about all of those things.

Field Trip: Gary, Indiana

2009-08-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I interviewed my friend Tony for the blog, and with only a few days left in my summer, and a few more games left in his season, last night was the ideal opportunity to see him pitch before his team hits the post-season. Tony is a pitcher for the Gary Railcats, who obviously play their home games in Gary, Indiana; which normally isn't thought of as a destination for a field trip, but during the summer of Delta Whiskey, anything goes. Besides, it'd make good blog content and I like to keep tabs on my interviewees.

Driving to the game was no small feat, Tony's game started at 7 PM, and coming from the north suburbs meant I had to drive my way through rush hour traffic to get there for the first pitch. Fortunately, with kids back in school, traffic wasn't too bad on my way down there, and despite the gloomy weather it was a great night for a baseball game by Seattle standards (grey, drizzly, etc.). On my drive through Gary I thought about Gary's reputation, and how the town has really gotten a bad rap; albeit somewhat deserved.

Founded by US Steel, Gary provided much of the steel used to build the huge buildings that line our cities' skylines, not to mention a ton of other uses we've had for steel during our country's growth in the 20th century. Located along Lake Michigan, Gary was an ideal location for water-based transportation, and things were probably good for Gary residents until steel production hit a wall, and then Gary went to hell. For years, Gary's reputation as a crime-ridden city was justified by data (high murder rates) and personal experience, and there wasn't much of a reason for folks to visit Gary. Sometime in the 1990's casinos made their way in to the area, which brought some work to the local economy, but Northwest Indiana never became the "Vegas of the Midwest." In addition to gambling parlors (I like that word), there are fireworks stands, gentlemen's clubs, tobacco stores, and fast food restaurants that make Gary a bit of an eyesore.

But that doesn't mean its not worthy of a visit, and I did my best to support Gary in its efforts to get back their swagger.

I pulled up to the ballpark and noticed police lights in the parking lot outside of right field. I circled until I parked in an adjacent lot, and as I was walking by the roped off parking lot I overheard one of the attendants mentioning that there was a murder in the parking lot. As in recently. Walking by that parking lot was kind of creepy, knowing that only a few hours ago there was a life that ended just a few feet from where I stood. I later found out that it was a murder/suicide attempt, and it is a tragic story. Let's just say police sirens and murder chatter didn't exactly boost my confidence in the Gary, Indiana restoration plan, but that kind of thing can happen anywhere (at least that's my rationale) and I headed in to the ballpark.

The Railcats play in a relatively new stadium that probably seats close to 5,000 fans when its jam packed. Last night's game had plenty of good seats available, since the weather wasn't so hot, and kids/families are in back to school mode. But I settled in between home plate and Third Base to watch Tony go to work, and it was a lot of fun watching him pitch a complete game shutout. Whether its at Yankee Stadium or the Gary Steelyard, seeing a friend do well at their craft makes you proud of them and the work they put in when no one is watching. There were only a handful of moments when Tony was in jeopardy, and the 8 (actually 7) behind him helped him out with a few craft plays in the infield. There's a reason the Railcats are charging hard towards an Independent League title in the post season!

A few other friends showed up last night to support Tony, and we had fun rooting on Tony, making a half-ass attempt at the wave, and strolling around the ballpark to take in the sites and sounds of Independent League baseball. The ballpark stroll gave us a chance to observe the Michael Jackson memorial shrine erected in right field. They may have to go back and edit some of the text on the stone monument, now that his death has been ruled a homicide, and its clear Michael Jackson's death had a profound affect on at least one person, who left behind a teddy bear, with some illegible handwriting on it. I'll never understand that whole thing (leaving stuffed animals at memorials for adults), but hey, he's their native son. I just would like to listen to the conversation that takes place before the maintenance man (or woman) decides to get rid of the teddy bear.

Anyhow, if you're curious about the evening and want to check out more pics, here's a link to an album with a few captions along the way....

Have a nice weekend y'all...

A Killer End to the Summer of Delta Whiskey

2009-08-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

The past two nights were more highlights in what has been one of the cooler summers in recent memory. I've documented most of the memorable experiences from the past few months up here, and I'd be remiss if I didn't slow down to capture some of what's gone on since Sunday.

It's no big mystery to those who listen to music that Pearl Jam is one of the defining bands of the past twenty years. Along with several other acts, Pearl Jam took the music world by storm in the early 90's and has continued kickin' ass and taking names ever since. Chances are, most everyone in my age group owns (or owned) something Pearl Jam in their music collection, and I'm no different. You can read about the band and their influences just about anywhere, and I'm not in the business of writing about music, since chances are I'll say something stupid if I make even an attempt at it. But I do like to write about experiences I've had, and the Pearl Jam shows over past few days are a fitting end to such a cool summer.

Through "friends of friends" I became friends with Mike McCready, one of the members of Pearl Jam during my time in Seattle. In addition to sharing some common friends, Mike and I share some unique attributes, which has made it easy to relate to each other, and his perspective on life (and our shared situation) has inspired me to step over and around the crap that can get in the way of living life to its fullest. He personifies what it means to kick ass and take names on many levels...

Despite my admiration for Pearl Jam's music, I hadn't seen them in concert and over the past two nights I was lucky enough to see the band and hang around with Mike when he wasn't piercing the ear drums of folks at the United Center. The music was amazing, and to see an iconic band perform many of the songs I'd grown up with brought back some feelings of nostalgia, but also a great appreciation for their ability to continue turning out great music. But more than any specific song, there were a number of thoughts and experiences that came into mind over the past few days, so here's a few (beginning with Sunday)

-I've never been on a "guest list" for anything like a concert and had no idea what to do. I literally had to ask Mike how to pick up the tickets and was scared shitless that something would go haywire when my sister and I showed up on Sunday night. Sure enough, we show up to the box office window and no tickets were there. Eventually, someone from the band spoke to someone in the box office so the crisis was averted. Or so we thought....

-Once we got to our seats, we found the actual seats didn't exist. The row went to seat # 14, and our seats were numbers 15 and 16. We returned to the box office, got new tickets, and literally got to our new seats as the house lights went down.

-My sister and I have been to some great shit together at the United Center, and this was another super cool one. Our last time there was in 1997 when Steve Kerr hit a championship-clinching jump shot to win game 6 of the NBA Finals.

-It was funny seeing Mike on stage; mainly because I'm used to him being a pretty calm, at ease sort of guy. Those who have seen him on stage know that is not the case when the music starts flowing.

-As Mike closed down Sunday's show with a Jimi Hendrix (esque) rendition of the National Anthem, I felt proud to know a guy who is able to bring joy to so many people's lives. Mike hasn't had a cake walk in life, and to see him succeed despite those difficulties, with millions of eyeballs on him gave me a great appreciation for him as a man, more than a musician. I don't know if I'd be OK having to live up to such lofty expectations as part of my everyday job.

-Much like the "guest list" virginity, I've also never been back stage after a concert and had no idea what to expect. Marissa and I headed back there for about a half an hour and it was chaos. But it was very cool walking around in the bowels of the United Center!

-Tuesday night I brought by buddies Sierra and Charlie, and much less drama in the ticket department. Our seats were located behind a few of the Cubs, and we got a chance to chat with Koyie Hill, the Cubs #2 catcher, since he too was a "guest of the band." Certain teammates of Koyie left early, who will remain nameless, but I'm sure they'll get shit when Ed visits in the clubhouse later today and finds out they took off. Let's hope they went to Wrigley for some late night batting practice.

-After the show it was very relaxed compared to the prior evening; and Sierra, Charlie and I hung out while waiting for Mike to come out and say hi. Eventually he did, and it was fun chatting with him after the show, and despite it feeling extremely awkward for me to ask for it, he took a picture with the three of us that'll make a nice screen saver, and a lifelong memory.

-The ride home gave me a chance to think about how great the year has been, and how fitting it was that a band from Seattle (albeit a big band) put the final stamp on what has been an unreal summer. I've accomplished what I set out to achieve back in May, and have had a chance to do tons of fun things along the way, which may make 2009 one of those years I look back on fondly when I'm old and gray. But I'm a long way from there, and plenty of more fun stuff coming in my direction...glad you all are along for the ride!

Oh, and if you're interested in more photos from the evening, here's a link to many more.

Dissatisfaction + Vision = Change

2009-08-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

In the work I did out west, and the work I'm getting ready to take on in a few short days, I'm asked to help individuals and teams change the way they do their work. Ideally, folks in my line of work are welcomed with open arms by employees and managers excited about the change. But the reality is far different from the ideal, and it is not easy to make a compelling case for folks to do things differently.

There are all sorts of models and techniques that are used to help bring folks along and "see the light" that they should do things in a different way. You've probably heard or read about things like making a compelling "whats in it for them?" argument, and performance coaches and sales/marketing experts have written novels on the subject, some that are full of shit, and others that have some useful techniques and/or fresh ideas.

But I've been thinking a lot about change of late on a personal, professional, family, and a national level; and I keep coming back to an equation that was taught to me by a coach at my last job. And although she used it to describe performance in the workplace, I've found it to be true in just about any situation/circumstance whether we're talking about a personal change or a complex issue like health care reform. So here goes (and thanks Kris):

Dissatisfaction + Vision = Change

If I look back on big changes I've made, they've only come about when the left side of that equation was very clear and very compelling to ME. For example, my decision to move to Seattle for grad school came as a result of being unhappy with my professional life coupled with a wish to help others attain better health. I'm willing to guess that any major changes you've undertaken (undertook?) were a result of those two variables on the left side of the equation.

Of course, our changes don't always lead to the outcome we hoped for, which is why I've thought about this equation as our nation wrestles with the health care challenges. Part of the problem with making change a reality is that our nation is filled with opinions (some that are grossly speculative and inaccurate) on both variables of the left side of this equation.

If you ask a well-insured, wealthy family what they're dissatisfied about, it might be their taxes funding Medicaid eligible patients, or their inability to see a specialist as quickly as they'd like. On the flipside, if you asked a person without insurance, living with Asthma what they're dissatisfied with, they might mention the cost of care or their access to a doctor or medications to make life more comfortable.

In a nutshell, we don't share a common definition of what dissatisfies us with health and health care, and we certainly don't share a common vision for what things would look like in an "ideal" world, so I'm a bit skeptical about how far reform will go this year. I tend to believe that people will make rational decisions when they've got all of the facts/data needed to make a decision...but unless we get some agreement on what we collectively value it is going to be tough to make a big change.

Maybe the equation will help you all if you're thinking about change of your own, helping someone make a change, if you'd like to pull something clever out at your next meeting with the boss.

The Vacation from the Vacation

2009-08-11T19:41:00.001-07:00

The whole idea of a vacation is taking a break from the monotony of everyday life, and doing something a little different to slow down a little and do some of those things we don't have time for. That being said, I've been on a vacation for a few months, but am currently on a vacation from my vacation with my family in Florida.

For those who don't know, I lived in the Sunshine state for about 2.5 years during my undergrad days. I wasn't exactly an honor roll student in High School, and I bounced around at the University of Tampa and University of Miami before landing at DePaul in Chicago. I got to see most of Florida from Miami up through Tallahassee, but never went to the Panhandle, which is where I'm on vacation with my family.

We're located in a vacation community about halfway between Panama City and Pensacola, along the Gulf of Mexico. Technically, I think its Walton County we're in, and it reminds me of some of those sleepy beach towns you find along the Carolinas. If you're curious, here's a link to where we're staying; highly recommended if you'd like to get to warm weather but don't want to deal with the Miami/Ft Lauderdale ratrace. Given the year the family has had, its nice for us all to get away together, and we're behaving ourselves without getting in to the petty spats we endured as young kids on family vacations.

I've mentioned this before, but I think weather is a lame topic to talk about. For starters, no one really gives a shit. Well, maybe you do if you're Tom Skilling, or that guy from the Weather Channel who chases Hurricanes, but most of the world doesn't care what the weather is like in another part of the country. But if you're curious, its hot down here. It hasn't stopped me from getting out the golf course, and I've played a few crappy rounds of golf at two really nice golf courses.

But the real fun has been seeing my sister's kids, who I'm living with up in Chicago, and how much fun they're having down here. My niece has loved the water, the beach, and especially the bunk beds in their rental house. While my nephew went crazy for all of the interesting planes, trucks, cars, and other moving machines during our trip down here. Of course, there's been other highlights they'd tell me if I were to interview them, but I'm trying to keep them out of the spotlight.

One funny moment for me came tonight, after I had kind of a shitty day on the golf course and an overall mediocre day. Super hot weather has some challenges for me that are somewhat unique, and those challenges can be a serious pain in the ass.

But anyhow, my sister and the kids were hanging around after dinner when I flipped on Star Wars (episode IV for the Star Wars fans out there), and it was a blast watching it with them. The plot is a little advanced for them, so that meant Uncledaniel (or Dango as my nephew calls me) had to answer a bunch of questions about characters, a few of which I've listed below. Most of these came from my niece, my nephew just likes Chewbacka and the space ships.

Why is Darth Vadar so angry with Luke and Han Solo?
Why does Darth Vadar breath so funny?
Do Storm troopers ever talk? What about nod their heads? How does Darth Vadar know they've heard him?
How is Princess Leia from another planet?
How do they know what the robot (R2D2) is saying?
What is the force?
Why are there so many commercials?
How come Luke is the only one who has the force? Why doesn't Han Solo have it?
Why does C3PO talk so much?
What does it mean that Luke is Leia's sister?
What is Chewbacka? How do they know what he's saying?

I did my best to answer these as best I could, but the toughest one was about the Force. I seem to have a knack for explaining some complicated things to them at least to give them an answer that makes sense, but this one I struggled with. Mainly because some folks use the force for good things, while others use it for bad things and that is a tricky concept for a 5 year old. Ultimately, I settled on something about superpowers and the ability to do things others can't, but kids are great at asking some very simple questions that have complicated answers...and they're also really good at putting a smile on your face when you need one. So thanks Wango and Maddog.

Back to Reality, Just Not Yet

2009-08-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

Friday (yesterday) was another one of those "even steven" kind of days. Which means there were some really good things and some not so good things, but at the end of the day it turned out that all was well in the world.

On the good side of the ledger, I accepted an offer to begin work for Advocate Health Care on August 31 as an operations/process improvement consultant. I'm excited about the job, and it really came as a surprise that things worked out as well as they have. When I made the decision to move back to Chicago I knew I was taking on some risk, especially with the economy, but I was pleasantly surprised that I found a job that really appealed to me after only six weeks of working at it. I guess it once again proves to me that I really have no ability to predict the future and spending time worrying about what could go right or wrong is just a waste of time. As I wrote about last week, if I obsess or analyze every decision in life I'll probably go nowhere. So a heartfelt thanks to everyone for the encouragement the past few months, all of you helped in some way, even if it was just a person to listen to me ramble about how to go about finding work.

On the not so good side of the ledger, my little sister had a bit of a health scare and spent last night in the hospital. She's up in Minneapolis and has already been sent home, but it definitely took us all a bit off guard. I'll see her later today, which brings me to what's shaking between now and the time I start work.

My parents, two sisters, and nephew and niece (and myself) are heading to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida for a few days of rest and relaxation. Those close to the family know this has been a tricky year for all of us and it'll be nice for us all to get away for some beach time. Santa Rosa Beach is up near Pensacola, and although I lived in Florida for a few years I've never been. Everything I've read about it leads me to believe it'll be a nice place for us to be, not too florida(ish) and much more like Hilton Head or other towns along the Atlantic further up the coast. Vacationing with the family is something we haven't done for a while, so I'm sure it'll have moments of disorganized chaos, but now that we're adults I'm sure we'll enjoy reading, relaxing, and just hanging out with each other. Speaking of reading, my next book is 100 Days of Solitude, per a friend's recommendation

The only drama about the trip is who is going to watch Annie, but several have offered to chip in while we're away to make sure she doesn't smoke in the house or drink all of my sister's booze.

In terms of travel, this has been a very busy year for me and mostly for fun things, but I got to thinking that after next week's trip I'll have spent time in 18 states in 2009, and we still have a few months to go this year...in chronological order I've been to:

Washington
Illinois
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
Washington D.C (kinda counts)
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
South Dakota
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Indiana
Georgia
Florida
Tennessee

Granted, a few of those were layover stops, but I think there may be some way to quantify how much exploration I do by counting the number of unique places I go. I'll consider that as a measure for my 2010 strategic plan, but it reflects that its been a busy year in the world of Delta Whiskey.

I'll bring the laptop with but no guarantees I'll blog down there, but when I return I've lined up a few interviews that are sure to be page scrollers (the computer based version of page turners). And if the past few months are any indication, I'm sure there will be a funny story or two from the trip!

Field Trip: Bears Training Camp

2009-08-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning without much of an agenda, which is something that has grown a wee bit tiresome of late. Believe me, I love the idea of goofing off all day long, but I do miss a little bit of structure and contributing something to the greater good. On the work standpoint, I've had some very productive interviews, but refuse to put the kibosh on it and continue applying for work when I come across jobs of interest. When there's news to report on the job front, you'll know.

So at around 9 AM I decided I'd make today a Field Trip day and headed to Bourbanais, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Bears. For those who aren't football nuts, this is the time of year when teams prepare for the upcoming season. And since I hadn't attended a Bears practice since I was about 8 years old (I used to swim at Lake Forest College as a kid; former home of Bears regular season practice) I figured it'd be an interesting experience. I also thought it'd be kind of hypocritical to talk about doing something "different" during my last post if I wasn't taking my own advice.

I realize I write a lot to say what I want to get across, so I took a notebook with me and am going to be as concise as possible about observations during the day. I've also thrown a bunch of pictures towards the bottom if you want to see what training camp, Jay Cutler, Lovie Smith, and other Bears look like in person. You can go to Snapfish and see all of them here, some captions included.

Observation 1 (sitting in the car): I listened to sports talk radio on the drive to Bourbanais to get a sense for what's going on with the Bears. There wasn't Bears discussion, but there was an interesting topic being bantered about. It sounds like ESPN is planning a documentary on Steve Bartman, who had absolutely nothing to do with the Cubs collapse in the 03 playoffs. Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about, but the story isn't that interesting behind why he is relevant in Chicago sports lore. The hosts of the show were fielding calls for interesting documentaries to be made on other Chicago sports topics, and as a lifelong Chicago sports fan nut I thought a lot about it. I think a piece on the crazy athletes who have played in Chicago at some point in their careers would be interesting--Dennis Rodman, Bryan Cox, Theo Fluery, Bob Probert, the list could go on forever, but in Chicago folks seem to be OK with a little bit of craziness between the ears in exchange for success on the field.

Observation 2 (still in car): Training camp is essentially a hard core interview for guys battling for spots on the end of the roster, and it had me thinking a bit about my pursuit of work. The guys in camp are having every play scrutinized by fans, coaches, and media, and its gotta be brutal on a young guys' psyche. But I think I could deal with it for the salaries these guys pull down. Maybe I'll learn something from these guys today about poise. Probably not, though.

Observation 3 (walking out of my car towards practice field): A gal in her 20's sees me with my notebook in my hand (to keep notes of what I'm doing for you guys) and says, "autograph book, eh?" I chuckled at it, and gave her a smartass response like, "something like that." But it got me thinking about autographs, and I honestly can't think of a single human on the face of the planet whose autograph I'd want. I'm not "above" the idea of having role models or idols, I'd just rather spend time having a conversation than asking some random person for their signature.

Observation 4 (settling in to a spot on the grass): Everything here is free. Or at least the things I've come here for. There was no cost for parking, and no cost to watch the practice. And in today's world it was kind of a relief. I've become so conditioned to paying for everything, and it was nice to be able to do something without paying for it. Of course, there were tons of souveniers, but I took a pass on yet another Bears T-Shirt or Hat. And for a family that loves the Bears but can't afford a game/season tickets, this is a nice way to get close to the players.

Observation 5 (at practice): I don't have anything to compare it to, but watching real journalists do their work is pretty interesting. They are tweeting, writing, taking pictures, and I have no idea how they keep it all straight. But that's why I'm not a real journalist, just a pretend one in the world of make believe.

Observation 6 (at practice): I really have no idea what I'm watching. I played golf in high school, and at scrawny 140 lbs I doubt I would have had much of a career in football. But the purpose of mentioning this is that I have no idea what half of these guys are doing or why they do it. The defensive players are beating up blow up dolls (i think i could handle that part), the offensive players are running plays against an imaginery defense, and the special teams guys are sitting on their asses drinking water.

Observation 7: There's a term in my line of work referred to as "going to the gemba." Its a term coined by those in Lean Manufacturing settings to describe leaders spending time where the value-added work is taking place. In a factory, this means watching parts go together to understand where improvements can be made. On the football field at today's practice, I was surprised to see how lax and disinterested the Bears GM seemed to be in the work taking place on the field. He seemed more interested in chitchatting with media, VIPs, and fans; and although the practices are all being recorded, I'd think a guy with a payroll in excess of $150 M would want to know a bit more about how his guys are doing in their performance. But maybe that's the coaches job. And since money came up, it really is nuts if you think about how much football players get paid on a per unit of work basis. If you calculated the actual amount of time they are doing their job (playing in football games) it probably comes out to a ridiculous amount per rep in a real game. I'm not going to hunt down the stats on this one, unless someone asks me for it, but they're being paid a lot per unit of work.

Observation 8: It's been forever since the Bears had a legitimate quarterback, and its been a running joke amongst Bear fans. But now the complaint is that the ideal quarterback they've acquired (Jay Cutler) has no one to throw the ball to, and this will limit the team's success. The chit-chat I heard among fans about this topic drove me nuts; mainly because I think crazy fans (legitimate fanatics) are impossible to please. No matter the player, coach, opponent, or situation, the crazy fans find a way to worry about things not turning out perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see the Bears win every game (including the Super Bowl), but at some point doesn't this shtick (the constant whining) become annoying? Why not just take a perspective that its great to have a guy who can throw darts and have some faith it'll work out?

Anyhow, here's the photos and feel free to go to Snapfish for more:

Bourbanais, IL, summer home of Da Bears.

Jay Cutler

Defensive players swinging their arms at blow up dolls

Football players probably have the coolest uniforms compared to the other sports.

Get to work Angelo!

Between the Ears: Think, but don't think so much

2009-07-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

It's been about 60 days since I left Seattle and the past two months have let me slow down a bit, enjoy time with family and friends, and do some things I've wanted to do but didn't have the time, interest, or access to prior to the move. The blog is one of those things, since writing is something I've always enjoyed, and its kind of fun to have the freedom to write about whatever I feel like.

To my surprise, there's been interest in the blog from friends (and a few randoms) here in Chicago and elsewhere, which means I'm either selling the hell out of myself (and the blog) or folks are finding whatever I'm putting together reasonably interesting. The interviews with friends will continue, but I figured I'd spend today with a field trip between my ears to let you know what I'm thinking about.

I've mentioned my plan for life several times, so I'm not going to revisit the whole thing (you can read about it here if you want), but one of the things I wanted to push myself with was reading more in 2009. My older sister has always been a huge reader, and when I mentioned I was looking for some fiction to read she suggested Blindness by Jose Saramago. The story was turned in to a film a few years ago, which I am not going to watch until I'm done with the book, but its essentially a story about a contagious epidemic of blindness.

As you can imagine, the story gets chaotic quickly as individuals who are accustomed to having vision have to adapt to life without the ability to see. The story is compelling, and its given me an appreciation for my ability to see things, but there was a quote from the book that I found fitting given the choices I've made throughout life. Gramattically, Mr Saramago doesn't believe in punctuation, but I think you'll get the jist of it:

"if, before every action, we were to begin by weighing up the consequences, thinking about them in earnest, first the immediate consequences, then the probable, then the possible, the the imaginable ones, we should never move beyond the point where our first thought brought us to a hault."

Looking back on the past 32 years, it wouldn't have hurt if I thought through some of the consequences before making a few of my decisions, but ultimately I'm glad I'm more comfortable taking risk than the alternative of being overly cautious. All of my choices haven't played out the way I hoped, and it'd be easy to play the shoulda-coulda-woulda game on many of them, but the quote from the book was a nice way to capture my philsophy in a few sentences.

Maybe its because I've experienced a few of those decisions turn out not so well and found that the "worst case scenario" isn't so bad after all. Or maybe its because I've had a few of them work out better than I could have anticipated. Or better yet, there's probably something in my brain (or soul, or psyche, or gut) that likes the unpredictability that comes with taking chances. I'm sure there's an amateur (or professional) psychologist out there with a more scientific explanation for why I've turned out this way, but that's me in a nutshell.

I know everyone can't or doesn't have that same tolerance for risk, and if we all did, the world would probably turn to chaos like the fictional city in Blindness. But we can all take risks in our daily lives, and I've learned through experience that the more I think about every possible negative outcome the less likely I am to do anything. Overthinking usually ends up with me sitting still, which ultimately doesn't do well for life between the ears.

Today's risk involves going to an informational session this evening, sponsored by the Chicago Tribune. The Trib (like all other newspapers) is struggling with subscription/advertising, and have begun a section in the Thursday editions of the paper filled with articles written by "everyday citizens" about events, observations, and activities in local communities. Maybe it'll help solve their problem, but my guess is it probably won't save the newspaper.

I'm not sure they'll be thrilled about my Dear Highland Park entry from a few weeks ago on the blog, but I figure its not going to hurt for me to at least explore the idea of writing for a broader audience than whoever checks in here from time to time.

Hopefully today's entry inspires you to take on some risk you've been thinking about for a while and I always like to hear stories about folks taking chances. Friends and family members can help if you're nervous on taking risk on your own, but give it a shot, even if its something small. Off the top of my head, here's a few ideas if you're interested in pushing yourself today or sometime soon....:

Introduce yourself to a stranger. Try your local barista, mail carrier, or a neighbor.
Eat at a restuarant you've never been to, even if it means driving a little farther than you're used to.
Read an article or watch a television program about something you know nothing about.
Try a physical activity you've never done before or haven't tried in a while.
Explore a neighborhood
Make a plan for the weekend that invovles doing something "off the grid" or away from your usual surroundings
Create something; whether its art, music, writing, or a home improvement project, do something with your hands or brain
Check out a random concert, even if you've never heard of the band
Pick up the phone (or email) an old friend you haven't been in touch with for a long time

And drop me a line if you try something new to let me know how it goes....you might give me some ideas for cool things to do as well....

Featured Friend: Roger Daltrey

2009-07-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

There are people I've met in life who strike me as folks who "get it." Getting it doesn't necessarily make these people smarter, more charismatic, funnier or successful, but grounded in what is most important in life and treating people well.

I originally met this week's featured friend while coaching Junior High basketball in 2001, and although I knew very little about him I could sense he "got it." Over time, Roger Daltrey (name changed to protect his anonymity...but not really) and I became close friends and I began to understand why he was so grounded. He and his family lost their first child to a brain tumor a few years before we met, a tragic event I could never wrap my head around. Yet Roger was always upbeat, gracious, and humble, when it would have been easy to hang his head and walk around with a chip on his shoulder.

His perspective and outlook has helped guide me through some of my own challenging moments, but our friendship isn't just a series of deep, philosophical discussions. He's a great guy to play pick up basketball with (he was the man behind the famous MJ pick up game), talk about music/movies, and he's got some great stories about his life that can make any meal entertaining. He is also the toughest competitor I know in just about anything; believe me when I say you'd much rather be playing with him than against him in anything.

We sat down for a few hours this past weekend to chat about just about everything...so here's the General (in abbreviated format).

Growing Up

City of Birth: Chicago, Edgewater Hospital

DOB: 4/20/61

Father’s Occupation: Attorney and later in life Sales

Mother’s Occupation: Teaching

What was the best thing about batting where you were in the birth order of your family?

Having an older sister made it easier, especially when I went to college. She was a more intense student and helped me focus, but I was a horrible student.

Favorite Meal Your Mom or Dad Cooked:

Dad: Meatloaf or Shrimp DeJonge

Mom: Lasagna or Beaf Stroggonof

High School: Niles North; Skokie, IL

Best friend before age 18: Mike Mike (name kept anonymous); we got to know each other in junior high. He was a little bit of everything; loyal, athletic, troublemaker, selfless and still is to this day.

How would you describe your group of friends? Jocks? Troublemakers?

Jocks and troublemakers, not so much in terms of trouble with the law but things like egging houses, getting in fights, that kinda stuff. Well one time, we egged a house of a coworker and they got my plates off my car which involved the cops. The cops came to my house and we had a story that somehow stacked up, but I didn’t tell my parents the truth about it until recently. That may have been the closest I ever got to getting in real trouble.

Fondest memory of your home growing up:

We lived in a split-level home and the family room was where we had a huge couch where the TV was. That was also the same couch I watched the Bears lose in Week 13 to the Dolphins during the '85 season.

Sport you wish you played in high school if you could do it over again:

Basketball. I didn’t really play until college and post college and I was really in to gymnastics growing up. I’d go to overnight camp for gymnastics up in Traverse City during summers and it was a 12 month commitment. I was strong on the rings and did really well leading up to the state finals, but wasn’t ready to go when it came to it.

Your Family

How, when, and where did you and your wife meet?

It was during our first semester freshman year at U of I and it was sometime in early October. She was wearing an SDT sweater but I had never seen her and she didn’t live in my dorm. I was doing a Psych project with my roommate at the library and she showed up and immediately we started talking for about an hour about anything. I turned to my roommate at that time and told him “I’m going to marry her.”

Our first date didn’t happen until Thanksgiving break a few weeks later, but she had a few other guys in the mix for a while and we even broke up at some point. We ran in to each other at a summer party a few months later and there was an immediate connection once again, we dated, then headed back to school only to break up again. The following summer we stayed in touch and eventually she reached back out to me and then we continued to date until getting engaged two years out of college. Maybe we should have waited a little bit longer, but ultimately got married on June 16, 1985.

You and I have been through our fair of “shit” which is probably part of why we relate well to each other. Some of our challenges related to health issues that were out of our control, which can be a frustrating experience. A lot of folks mentioned to me that “everything happens for a reason” to help me get through tough times, and it wasn’t until recently that I began thinking more about that statement. In your opinion, does everything happen for a reason?

My perspective (and our family's perspective) is that with every individual it is not whether or not they face adversity but when. It’s inevitable. There are two types of people; those who allow the adversity to define them and those who respond and handle the adversity. When Rory was diagnosed we knew he didn’t have a good chance to make it. We never had to explicitly say it, but we committed to living each day to its fullest.

One of our most memorable vacations was when we went to New York and stayed the weekend at the Plaza Hotel and did all the tourists shit. A buggy ride in Central Park, a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, Wall street, Serendipity, a Mets game, etc.

In terms of everything happening for a reason, I don’t agree with it. I think it’s a self fulfilling statement, and a way of justifying anything. I’m having lunch with you right now, is that a “reason”?

Rory’s death still makes no sense, and still fucking sucks. I’m still with it every day. He was a little bit like Romeo (oldest son, name changed), and Rory was the kind of kid who was always looking out for others. It was stuff you couldn’t teach, as well as a personality and curiosity that was amazing; especially with planets and astronomy. He loved gallileo, could tell you the flag of any country, and was a great “old soul.”

(Editor's Note: I never had a chance to meet Rory, but his spirit lives on as part of a Foundation set up to support research for other children with similar tumors. For those on Facebook, make sure to join the group by clicking here)

What is the best thing about raising a family in Highland Park?

Schools and the community. Despite all the shit people say about it, there is a ton of support for building a community which is indescrible.

What would you change to make Highland Park a better place for you and others in the town?

I joke with friends from Skokie or other places that sometimes folks in Highland Park aren’t grounded. I just wish folks judged each other by things other than address, car, or income and some of those things start at home, so I’m not sure what could be done about that.

What is your favorite thing to do as a family?

There’s a few, but my favorite thing is spending time with them in Florida. We are all together with no friends, no school, activities, just us. We spend time with movies, dinners, swimming, fishing, etc. Playing “Name the Movie” with the family in the hot tub is also hilarious…I’m really the inventor of “Scene It”, and if I were smart I would have created the game.

Give me your top breakfast, lunch, and dinner spots in or around Chicago that everyone should go to at least once in their life.

Breakfast: Jack’s Cozy Café in Kenosha is excellent. It’s a special place and a bit of a drive, but its great. Sarkis is also excellent.

Lunch: Superdawg

Dinner: Probably Gibson’s for the people watching factor

Education/Career

Why did you choose to attend Illinois? Were there other schools you applied to or considered? What did you study there?

I went to Illinois because my sister went there. I looked at Northen Illinois and Indiana, but I just went wherever. I studied Finance because I was an accounting major and I moved to finance.

Are you still close with any of the guys you were in a fraternity with?

I was a ZBT, but wasn’t really in to the whole thing, and haven’t stayed in touch with many of them. My best friends are the guys I knew from elementary school, high school, growing up. It’s a Skokie thing.

What is your fondest memory of your freshman year of college?

Meeting my wife.

How would you describe yourself as a student? Were you strong in math? English? Science? Shop?

I was strong at doing the least amount of work to get the greatest possible result. I took full advantage of being in college. I was a cheerleader, and I don’t readily admit to that because of the present connotations, but it was part of my gymnastics background and love of sports. I was on the field for Bear Bryant’s last game, got to meet John Wooden, I was in Salt Lake City to see Illinois-Kansas State, even Dean Smith, who I saw smoking in the tunnel pre game.

What do you remember most about your first year out of college, working as a trader?

I met a guy through softball who hired me as a runner for $99 a week for Chicago Grain at the Mercantile Exchange. Then became a phone clerk for First Options, and I went to the CBOT for ’85 and ’86 and came to a crossroads and gave myself six months to see how it played out. By April of 1987 it started to click but I was freaked out and intimidated at first on the floor. I had no idea what was going on, but really grew while I was at the Merc.

What do you miss the most since leaving the trading floor on a daily basis?

I miss the guys. I miss the competition. It was truly a “Kill or be Killed” environment. I never had ‘career defining’ days (good or bad) and had discipline to how I traded. But that took me a while. I was not the kind of guy to take breaks or go easy on it; I was addicted to the market and trading, which wasn’t always good. I would be on the phone while on vacations with kids in Disneyworld trading and looking back I think, “what the fuck was I doing?”

When Rory got sick, things changed and I instantly pulled back and got off the floor. I was in a position where I could spend every waking hour with him every day and it took me a while to get back on the floor but my outlook was never the same. I haven’t spent a day on the floor since January of 2002, I left the floor that day and have not been back since. And I never see myself going back.

People ask what the best decision I ever made, which was my understanding of how the industry changed with electronic trading and my decision to NOT try and replicate what I did on a computer.

What makes a good trader?

In my era it was competitiveness, intuition, and balls. While a lot of folks are spending time analyzing there is something to be said for a competitive spirit.

If you had to do it all over again and trading was NOT an option, what three professions could you see yourself doing?

1. Marketing/Sales in some capacity

2. Teaching

3. Banking

As someone who lived and breathed financial services, were you surprised by how quickly the country fell in to its current economic state?

I did have some concerns about some of the funds that involved some intricate tactics. But none of us probably saw all of this happening. My sister drilled in to me at a very young age the importance of having a mindset of having a conservative fashion, especially when it came to taxes and my own finances.

What advice will you give your eldest son when it comes time to decide on a career path?

I’m going to tell him to follow his heart. We will direct him educationally in terms of the importance of furthering his education, but its up to him and his passion. I might see him teaching or coaching on some way, just because of how the younger kids greet and respond to him. He’s a natural with young kids that there’s no reason to think that won’t continue as he gets older.

Entertainment

You and your wife watch almost as many movies as my mom. Name three movies you’ve seen in the past year that everyone should see:

1 In Bruges

2 Tell No One

3 Religulous

Who would play you if they made a movie of your life?

James Caan resembled me in my earlier more intense days. (Editor’s Note: Jeremy Piven would be my choice)

What was your first rock show? Where was it at?

1977 at the Ampitheater it was Rick Derringer opening for Kansas. I was about 15 years old and it was my first time exposed to people getting stoned/smoking pot.

What band do you wish you had seen in concert but never had the chance?

The Who with Keith Moon on the drums. The Beatles would be cool, but that’d be more of a notch in the belt. The Band is another one, especially after seeing the last Waltz 4,000 times.

What is your favorite venue for a concert in the Chicago area?

Depends who we’re seeing, but I like so many places. One of the best Chicago experience shows was in ’95 or ’94 seeing Joe Grisheky and the house rockers at the Park West and Bruce Springsteen showed up.

Give me three artists/albums/songs you’ve purchased on iTunes within the past year.

I still try to support my friend who owns a record store so I still like to buy the actual CD. Jackson Browne’s new release, Springsteen’s Working on a Dream, and Pete Yorn’s new one.

Sports

If I gave you a $10,000 gift certificate for tickets to any sporting event(s), what would you choose? Why?

The Masters would probably be one. The British Open. Wimbeldon. The Olympics.

You’re a huge fan of Duke Basketball and have a strong relationship with Coach K. Describe what makes him such a strong leader on the court. What about off the court?

On the court: beyond pure Xs and Ox its his ability to recognize and deal with his individuals strengths; to enhance and bring out the best in them individually and collectively.

Off the floor: probably the same kinds of things, but his honesty, loyalty and integrity are greater than anyone I’ve ever met.

We coached 11 and 12 year old kids together for about three years, without a ton of wins. Why do you think we were so unsuccessful?

Bad players

It has been a while but what was my biggest strength as a coach?

Wit, a good knowledge of the game

What could I have been better at?

Getting in to it with opposing coaches.

You’re closely involved with High School basketball as an assistant coach and have seen some great players. Who is the best high school player you have coached against? What made him so great?

Hands down Jon Scheyer is the best I’ve coached against. His talents are obvious, but his intangibles like instinct, court sense, will make him tough to compete against.

You were the man behind the MJ pick up game, which I recently wrote about. What is your favorite memory of that evening?

Walking in to the gym and seeing the looks on yours and Ben’s faces, and Ben saying, “is that who I think it is?” And for a random Tuesday night pickup game, it was great seeing his competitive juices come out.

You give me lots of shit about my love for DePaul basketball, which is completely justified given how awful they have been. But if you were asked to provide advice on returning the program to relevance, what would be your suggestion(s)?

I’d say tapping in to the local talent.

We both watched the Bulls dominate in the 90’s, which was a dream for a basketball nut. Describe for me the most memorable game you were present for during one of the bulls championship runs? Why was it so memorable?

I think it was Game 2 of the ’98 playoffs I was on the floor with Rory and we watched the bulls hold down Utah to like 60 points.

You also sat on the floor at the United Center, just a few rows in front of where my dad has his tickets. Who was the most entertaining player to chat with while sitting on the floor? Did you ever get the impulse to coach from your seat like you do when you’re on the bench?

Iverson. Partially because I knew him, but he was always entertaining. Reggie Miller was funny as well. I coach a lot though, I’m calling out screens, talking to officials, etc. And I have/had a good relationships with a lot of them, Joey Crawford, Steve Javie, and Danny Crawford all were willing to chat and talk about calls.

List your dream starting 5 of current NBA players.

PG: Chris Paul

SG LeBron

SF Kobe
PF Dwight Howard

C: Chris Bosh or Carmelo. I know they aren’t true 5’s but we’ll figure it out.

List your dream starting 5 of all time.

PG Magc

SG MJ

SF: Dr J

PF: Bird

C: Walton

We’re both Cub fans, whether we like it or not and that means we’ve had our fair share of gut wrenching losses. Does it get easier with age to handle the losing?

No, it doesn’t get easier. My theory on the Cubs is it has become a culture of losing and Wrigley Field has become more of a destination than the team. Win or Lose, everyone is at Wrigley having a great time and people don’t seem to care as much. Fans demand a winner elsewhere, and we need to demand the same thing here. I’d love to see people stop going.

What is your favorite part of Wrigley from a visual or experiential standpoint?

I used to love the ivy without ads, but mostly it’s the beauty and proximity of seats relative to the field.

Completing marathons has to be a great feeling, and you’ve been handed shitty weather each time you ran in Chicago. Weather aside, what was the best moment for you running in your marathon(s)?

The training was great with my wife and best friends. I’m still waiting to complete one without having an injury or crawling to the finish line.

Featured Friend of the Week: Juliet Mike

2009-07-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

This week's featured friend is a buddy I've known for about 20 years, since we attended Edgewood Middle School. Juliet Mike (name changed to protect his anonymity...sort of) and I have been through the full range of what life has to offer, including a little bit of trouble and a lot of laughs. If you've got anything going on, you want Juliet Mike there--he's inch for inch and pound for pound the most restless guy in Chicago which means there's never a dull moment. I've seen (with witnesses) the guy order from a Skymall Magazine before, which paints an accurate picture for how well he sits still for long periods. And I would never dream of going to Vegas or the state of Wisconsin without at least asking if he'd go--there's really not a funnier guy to travel with.

The picture above was one of the funnier nights; Halloween in Madison during our Freshman year of college. I returned from the University of Tampa with bleach blonde, and he joined the fray by attempting to bleach his thick, black hair as well. This picture is taken in the common area in his dorm at UW-Madison, we're probably watching the World Series between the Braves and Indians (don't ask how or why I remember that). We all look ridiculously stupid and young, I'm looking a bit stupider than the others.

Juliet Mike has a great family with his wife Sierra, including two daughters Bravo and Tango. He's a very successful lawyer who recently started up his own practice. If you or a family member ever need family law consultation, I would have no reservations trusting him with my life.

Juliet Mike spoke (actually wrote) about a number of topics below, and for the record, I have only edited minor portions of his responses. His response to me did come in All-Caps; which also gives you a sense for what Julie Mike's personality is like. This is a wild ass guess, but I doubt JM is a huge fan of the "inside voice", break pedals, or yoga.

Family Stuff

Tell me one thing you (or your wife) do as a parent that reminds you of your mom and one thing that reminds you of your dad.

I CAN'T REALLY PINPOINT A SPECIFIC THING BUT I THINK I HAVE A LAID BACK PARENTING STYLE THAT I LEARNED FROM BEING RAISED BY MY PARENTS. THEY WERE NEVER STRICT AND RARELY EVER HAD TO DISCIPLINE ME OR MY SISTER. OBVIOUSLY THERE WERE TIMES I MADE BAD CHOICES, AND MY PARENTS WERE SURE TO LET ME KNOW, BUT OVERALL THEY NEVER REALLY HAD TO PUNISH ME OR JAIME. JAIME AND I BOTH TURNED OUT OK, SO I HOPE THAT MY KIDS WILL LIVE AND LEARN BY EXAMPLE AND GROW UP TO BE GOOD PEOPLE.

What was your favorite meal growing up?

HARD SHELL TACOS AND MAKING OMELETTES FOR MY FRIENDS.

You guys never had pets growing up, would you ever have one as an adult? If not, how come?

NEVER. TOO MUCH WORK. TOO MESSY. IT'S ENOUGH WORK RAISING THE ANIMALS COMMONLY KNOWN AS CHILDREN...NO NEED IN MY MIND TO RAISE OTHER ANIMALS. AND WHO NEEDS PETS WHEN YOU HAVE THE WEBER FAMILY ZOO NEARBY?

You and your wife have two very young girls, what are you going to tell them to look for in a man when it comes time to date? What questions are you going to ask any guys who take your daughters out?

MY GIRLS WILL NOT BE DATING

Your family has a strong allegiance to the White Sox and I respect your loyalty. Despite growing up around mainly cub fans you've never wavered on it and I respect that. Would you be OK if a child dated/married a cub fan?

IF SOME DAY, 50 OR 60 YEARS FROM NOW, I SOMEHOW ALLOWED MY GIRLS TO DATE OR EVEN MARRY, IT WOULD BE OK TO DATE OR MARRY A CUB FAN, AS LONG AS THEY SIGNED A PRENUP ACKNOWLEDGING THAT ALL CHILDREN WOULD BE RAISED AS SOX FANS.

Career/Education

You and I began our professional sales careers together at age 15, selling shoes at Lebo's Shoe Outlet. My funniest memory has to be playing basketball in the store while customers were looking for shoes. What is yours?

I JUST REMEMBER THAT MANAGER (FORGOT HIS NAME). HE WAS OUR PARENT'S AGE. KINDA FELT BAD FOR HIM. I JUST REMEMBER YOU AND I REALLY PISSING HIM OFF ON A DAILY BASIS. I ALWAYS PICTURED HIM THINKING "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS MY LIFE!'

(Editor's Note: If you can, visually picture Richard Dreyfus from 'What About Bob' with the personality of your high school chemistry teacher. Then throw two fifteen year olds who could give two sh*ts about selling shoes into his store. Calamity ensues.)

Who was your favorite High School teacher? Why?

DON'T THINK I REALLY HAD A FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER. AND THINKING ABOUT IT, I CAN'T REALLY REMEMBER THAT MANY HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS ASIDE FROM GOLF LIMA (WHO ACTUALLY CALLED MY PARENTS TO COMPLAIN THAT I WAS BEING DISRUPTIVE IN CLASS). FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, GOLF IS THE MOTHER OF ONE OF MY CLOSE FRIENDS, ROMEO. AS FOR MY FAVORITE TEACHER, THAT WOULD BE MR. BRAVO FROM 5TH GRADE. HE WAS THE GENIUS BEHIND "BOX HOUSES". BASICALLY GROUPS OF STUDENTS WERE ALLOWED TO USE REFRIGERATOR BOXES TO CREATE A HOUSE-LIKE STRUCTURE THAT CONTAINED THE DESKS OF THE STUDENTS. MY HOUSE WAS CALLED THE SPORTSCENTER WITH A FEW OTHER GUYS, INCLUDING JULIET BRAVO.

Other than UW-Madison, what other colleges did you explore/apply to?

NEVER REALLY WANTED TO GO ANYWHERE ELSE, BUT MY PARENTS MADE ME APPLY TO A FEW OTHER SCHOOLS JUST IN CASE I DIDN'T GET INTO MADISON. I THINK I APPLIED TO ILLINOIS AND INDIANA.

What was your favorite year at Madison? Why?

HONESTLY, EVERY YEAR WAS AMAZING BUT THE MOST MEMORABLE PROBABLY WAS FRESHMAN YEAR JUST BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I WAS AWAY FROM HOME. ALSO WAS THE YEAR I MET ALL OF MY CLOSE COLLEGE FRIENDS, WHO I REMAIN CLOSE WITH TODAY.

Name 3 things someone should do if they have 24 hours in Madison:

1. GO TO A FOOTBALL GAME AT CAMP RANDALL STADIUM

2. GO OUT DRINKING ON STATE STREET AND HANG OUT ON STATE STREET AT BAR TIME

3. DRINK AT THE UNION TERRACE ON A NICE SUMMER DAY

Why did you choose to practice law? What other careers paths did you consider?

REALLY CHOSE LAW BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE OF WHAT ELSE I WANTED TO DO. I OBVIOUSLY AM GLAD I CHOSE THE PROFESSION AND LOVE WHAT I DO, BUT I MOST LIKELY ENDED UP A LAWYER BECAUSE MY DAD WAS A LAWYER AND I FIGURED WHY NOT FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.

The big textbooks you see in law offices, do those things really get used any more, or do you use the web to research prior cases?

THOSE BIG TEXTBOOKS ARE NEVER USED. AT LEAST AT MY LAW OFFICES. THESE DAYS, ALL LEGAL RESEARCH CAN BE DONE ONLINE.

You've started your own family law practice, which includes handling divorce cases. I'm sure you've heard many reasons for why couples are getting divorced, what would you say the top three reasons are? Why do you think those issues are so common?

TOP REASONS FOR DIVORCE USUALLY, BUT NOT ALWAYS, CONCERN ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):

1. INFIDELITY

2. MONEY

3. GROWING APART OVER THE YEARS (FOR WHATEVER REASON)

Every industry has problems. Sports has the steroid issue. Politics has corruption. Healthcare has the competing interests. What are the biggest problems in our judicial system these days?

IN COOK COUNTY, THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM IS OVERLOADED, SLOW, AND SIMPLY WITHOUT THE RESOURCES TO RUN SMOOTHLY, EFFECTIVELY, AND IN A TIMELY MANNER. NOT SURE WHOSE FAULT THAT IS.

You and Chad served as campaign managers during my bid to become secretary of 6th grade at Edgewood school. We were not successful in the campaign, potentially due to a smear campaign against me. What should we have done differently?

WE SHOULD HAVE STOLEN THE BALLOT BOX.

The DFL

(Degenerate Fantasy League--the Fantasy football league with me and 20+ other friends)

You've served as the Comissioner of the Degenerate Fanatsy League, which is now entering its 9th season. Having served as a comissioner myself (in other leagues) I know it can be a thankless job. What do you like most about it? What do you dislike about it?

I LIKE BEING IN CHARGE OF THINGS AND NOT HAVING TO WAIT ON OTHERS TO GET THINGS DONE. CALL ME SELFISH, CALL ME FIDEL, I'D RATHER JUST GET STUFF DONE MYSELF THAN WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT LATER ON AND IN A WAY I PROBABLY DON'T LIKE.

The league has changed a lot since its original year, what do you remember about year one?

WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH OF A CLUE ABOUT WHAT WE WERE DOING BUT I THINK IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL YEAR NONETHELESS. THE DFL HAS GROWN IN SO MANY WAYS IN THE PAST 9 YEARS, IT BRINGS A TEAR TO MY EYE THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH MY BABY HAS GROWN UP AND MATURED.

With kids and a growing law practice, do you ever envision a day when you don't have time to handle your duties as comissioner?

WHEN I'M DEAD.

You have a staff of Officers (other owners in the league); what makes our treasurer, Sierra Charlie so good at what he does?

HE IS THE BEST ASSET A FANTASY LEAGUE COMMISSIONER COULD EVER HAVE. HE MAKES THE DFL THE BEST FANTASY LEAGUE OF ALL TIME. HIS WORK AND EFFORT IS INVALUABLE AND THIS LEAGUE WOULD NOT BE THE SAME WITHOUT HIM.

How about the keeper general?

A VERY UNDERRATED PART OF THE DFL. IT'S NOT EASY KEEPING TRACK OF EVERY TRANSACTION THAT GOES ON AND ECHO KEEPS TRACK OF IT ALL. GREAT PERSON TO HAVE IN THE FRONT OFFICE AS A CONSULTANT TO ME AND AS THE GENERAL HIMSELF.

Describe for me an ideal Sunday during football season. I want to know what you're eating, who you're with, what you're watching, etc.

ON MY COUCH.

FRIENDS OVER.

NFL PACKAGE ON MULTIPLE TV'S.

CHIPS AND SALSA.

SOME SORT OF FRIED FOOD.

LAPTOP COMPUTER OPEN DFL SITE WITH LIVE SCORING.

Chicago

You've lived in several apartments/condos in the city but my favorite place of yours had to be Belden/Clark. You had booger mix in the corner, an upstairs bedroom, plenty of food nearby, etc. What was your favorite place and why?

IT MAY HAVE TO BE THAT APARTMENT AT THE OLD TOWER RECORDS BUILDING ON BELDEN AND CLARK. THAT PLACE WAS THE ULTIMATE BACHELOR PAD AND I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT I HAD TO SHARE A BATHROOM WITH DELTA SIERRA. IT WAS THE SITE OF MANY GREAT PARTIES AND MUCH DEBAUCHERY, WHICH IS RIGHT UP MY ALLEY OF COURSE. I THINK YOU ACTUALLY MADE YOUR MARK ON THAT PLACE BY THROWING SOME SORT OF COOKING OIL OR OTHER SUBSTANCE ALL OVER THE WALL. THAT WAS AWESOME. THANKS FOR CONTRIBUTING TO US BEING SUED OVER THE CONDITION OF THE PLACE WHEN WE LEFT. DON'T WORRY...THE CASE WAS THROWN OUT.

(Editor's Note: My bad)

If Mayor Daley came to you and offered free tickets to any Olympic event in 2016 for you and your family, what would you choose?

SKEET SHOOTING - PROBABLY BECAUSE I WOULD LIKELY NEVER WITNESS A SKEET SHOOTING COMPETITION OTHERWISE.

You and I enjoyed numerous lunches during my time at the CBOT and I know you've got your finger on the pulse of Chicago lunch. What is your favorite lunch spot in the loop? Where do you go most often?

IT'S NOT IN THE LOOP, BUT MANNY'S IS CLEARLY MY FAVORITE SPOT FOR LUNCH. IT'S NOT A QUICK LUNCH BECAUSE YOU CAN'T WALK THERE, BUT I TRY TO MAKE IT THERE AT LEAST A FEW TIMES PER MONTH. TOO GOOD TO PASS UP.

If you had a dinner and had to invite three athletes who spent part or all of their careers in chicago who would you eat with and where would you take them? Make sure they're living.

OZZIE GUILLEN

MIKE DITKA

DENNIS RODMAN

NOT SURE WHERE I WOULD TAKE THEM BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE A MEMORABLE MEAL WHEREVER WE ATE.

I know the Bears are run like a piss poor organization, but you seem to genuinely dislike them. Is that an accurate statement? Why are you so annoyed with them?

SINCE THE SUPER BOWL, THERE REALLY IS NOTHING GOOD I CAN SAY ABOUT THE BEARS. OF COURSE I LIKE THEM SOMEWHAT AS THEY ARE THE TEAM OF MY HOMETOWN. HOWEVER, AS AN ORGANIZATION, THEY ARE ABOUT AS BORING AS IT GETS. IF NOT FOR THEIR DECENT DEFENSES FROM TIME TO TIME, THEY MIGHT BE THE WORST NFL FRANCHISE OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS. NOTHING EXCITING ABOUT THEM AT ALL.

What is your favorite White Sox uniform of all time? Would you be open to them returning to the blue/red/white colors?

I THINK THE 1983 SOX JERSEY IS THE SINGLE BEST UNIFORM EVER WORN BY A SPORTS TEAM (ASIDE FROM SPREAD EAGLE'S PREP LEAGUE JERSEYS)

Which White Sox player had the best name? I like Dan Pasqua.

RON KARKOVICE. THAT DUDE WAS AS WEIRD AS HIS NAME.

A Yearly Reminder of One of Life's Cooler Moments

2009-07-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the MLB All Star game, and its a yearly reminder of one of the coolest days of my life. Since I've handled most of what needed to be done today, I figured I'd share the story. Besides, there's nothing on TV tonight and this might be a welcome distraction.

I grew up a basketball nut, continue to be a basketball nut, and love the game. I grew up going with my father and brother to Bulls games beginning around 1982, and my father continues to trudge down to the United Center 25+ times a year for Bulls games. You don't need to be a basketball historian to know that the prime of my childhood included the Bulls dominance, and watching my favorite team win six titles was a dream. I realize there are other sports dynasties out there, but the Bulls in the late 80's and 90's were the coolest team on the planet.

I spent hours on my parents' driveway, re-enacting great plays and dreaming up scenarios in which I played the role of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and other favorites. In hindsight, neighbors (and family members) must have thought I was crazy as I played simulated games against imaginery players, but maybe that's what young kids are supposed to do.

During high school, I played competitively for my first two years, but decided around age 15 that I lost my love for playing and was interested in "other things." I don't regret that decision--I was never more than a scrappy small forward and probably didn't have much of a future as a player. I continued to follow the game, and after college I began coaching Junior High and other youth basketball and gradually got back in to playing "serious" basketball with some of my fellow coaches on Tuesday nights.

Most pickup games are a chance for guys to take crappy jump shots, play lazy defense, and use it as a way to get some exercise. But Tuesday nights were different. These games were intense, with guys playing legitimate defense, taking good shots, and sharing the basketball. It is the way the game is meant to be played, and for a group of coaches it was a dream to be part of them.

On July 9, 2002, I was working at the CBOT and had a meeting at DePaul that evening that was in direct conflict with our game. I called "The General" (the ringleader of Tuesday night hoops) in the morning to let him know I wasn't going to be able to make it, and his response was something to the effect of, "You cannot miss tonight. Whatever you have going on, you need to cancel it."

I mentioned something about a Board meeting at DePaul, when he told me, "I'm playing golf with MJ this afternoon and he'll be there tonight. You cannot tell the other guys, you cannot tell your family or friends, but trust me, he'll be there. I just don't want anyone showing up who isn't playing."

Originally stunned, I thought this was a cruel joke to make sure there were 10 guys at the game, but The General does not mince words, and I knew he and Michael Jordan had some connection from Jordan's Flight School Camp in Las Vegas. I hung up the phone, laughed to myself, and despite the General's warning immediately called my brother and dad to let them know. After telling them, I told all of my co-workers, and frantically watched the lower right portion of my computer screen until it was time to head home and get ready for Tuesday night hoops. I did keep my word and didn't tell the other "regular" guys who played on Tuesday nights, but was chuckling inside at the thought of sharing a basketball court with Michael Jordan.

It was a steaming hot day in the middle of the summer, and the gym we played in (the former Karger Recreation Center) was about 20 miles north of Chicago in Highland Park. As I walked in to the gym, I noticed guys doing their usual routine--stretching, shooting, and BSing about what had been going on since last Tuesday. I chit chatted with Brian and Ben (two guys close to my age), and it was clear they had no idea what was going on. As the clock approached 7 PM, I saw a red Ferrari pull up to the parking lot outside the gym and my heart began to race. Brian and Ben (and all of the others) didn't pay attention to it, but I knew what was coming.

A few moments later, the General walked in to the gym with Michael Jordan and the reaction in the gym was priceless. Every eyeball in the gym watched the two of them (in golf clothes) head in to the gym to get ready for a night we'd never forget. All of us had sh*t-eating grins on our faces, and I was legitimately nervous that I'd be sharing a basketball with the greatest player in the history of the game.

Jordan undressed (and dressed) in front of everyone, and a few guys made their way over to introduce themselves to him. I had obviously watched him in person and on television thousands of times, but it was really bizarre to see him in the flesh just a few feet away. I had no idea what to call the guy...do I call him Michael? MJ? Mr. Jordan? and decided that I'd call him what I call anyone I don't know, "Dude." Besides, this was our game he was joining and I shouldn't treat him different than any other random guy who occasionally joined the fray.

As he was stretching, I walked over to him, extended my hand and mumbled, "Hey dude, my name's Dan, its good to meet you." I have no idea what he said to me, but I said something about coaching against his son (he attended school nearby), and I went back to shooting around and getting loose.

Splitting up teams was something the General took care of, and given the range of ages, he decided we'd go Old Guys vs. Young Guys. As a 25 year old, I qualified as a "young guy" and since MJ was closer to 40, he was an old guy.

The game itself was a bit of a blur, but there are some details I remember. As was our regular practice, the game went to 120, counting 2's and 3's with halftime at 60 for guys to rest a little bit. I remember our team (the young guys) dominating the first 60 points, and despite our nerves we hit some shots and thought we had MJ held under wraps. Jordan was highly competitive, but did not shoot much during that first 60. He was very hard on his teammates, many who missed some easy shots, and hearing him swear was very bizarre. I do remember him slapping my ass at some point after I made a rare outside shot, which was also kinda funny.

But sometime in the second half of the game, the switch flipped and the real Michael Jordan joined us. All of the moves I saw for years were unfolding in front of us, and there was nothing any of us could do to stop them. The two dribble power attack to the basket from the top of the key, the fadeaway from the baseline, the jump shot over the outstretched hand, these were all shots the best defenders in the NBA couldn't stop and a bunch of undersized, slow kids had no chance. At one point, I remember him backing me down to the post to set up his fadeaway jump shot and I thought to myself, "Who the fu*k am I kidding right now?"

Eventually the old guys caught up to us, and beat us, but the score was completely irrelevant. Afterwards, we all shook hands, invited him back to join us again, and soaked up hanging in a gym with the greatest player of all time. There were no pictures, no autograph requests, no awkward ga-ga moments, and I think that is what was most special for me. In fact, this is the first time I've put in to words what happened that night.

I left the gym on a high that lasted for about two months, and regardless of what life holds for me it is one of the best evenings I will ever have. After my surgery, I retired from basketball (pick up or otherwise), but I truly can say I've done everything I ever wanted to do on a basketball court, and the evening with MJ was, and will forever be, the greatest highlight of my marginal basketball career.

Featured Friend of the Week: Tony Cogan

2009-07-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

As I started a few weeks ago, today I'm continuing with the Featured Friend Interview. Tony Cogan and I attended elementary, middle, and high school together and he's had an interesting 33 years, including the past 12 as a professional baseball player. I asked him a variety of questions on family life, baseball, and other random things, so here's Tony...

Family/Growing up

I know you and your brother are very close and enjoy a lot of the same hobbies. How have you two managed to stay so close over the years?

We have certainly grown close over the years. I would have to say that
sharing interests like fishing, traveling and baseball have played a
huge part in our relationship. We have had our fair share of rough
moments as well, but what siblings haven't? We always pull through one
way or another.

Tell me one thing your dad taught you growing up that you still think about regularly? One thing that stands out is being on time. We would always be at the
airport super early or if we were going to a party we would be early.
At the time I thought he was out of his mind, but now it seems I have
adopted his behavior. It's probably not the most important thing he
taught me (focus, drive, discipline, etc.), but it stayed with me.

What about your mom? My mom is one of, if not the toughest person I know. Without getting into details, she has been through the ringer... a few times over...and always comes out of it. She never ceases to amaze me with her mentality towards life and her ability to overcome adversity.

And Danny, your brother?

This may not qualify for a lesson but he has always been there to support me in my career. Whether it was catching my bullpens in the off season, coming to any game he can or just his willingness to talk it out. In fact, I credit him with steering me towards pitching at a
young age when he would force me to throw to him while he mimicked Carlton Fisk (his all time favorite player). If I were to apply this to a life lesson its probably the importance of support for friends and family. It has meant so much to me to have had his support along
the way.

When you guys were young you went on one of the coolest vacations: the NFL pro bowl in Hawaii. Somehow you or Danny won a contest and ended up going out there and meeting a ton of NFL players and I'm still jealous to this day you guys did that. Who do you remember meeting on that trip? If you could go back and talk to anyone you saw that weekend, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I was only nine years old so I don't remember too many encounters with players, but there are a few that stand out. Jim Covert, Boomer Esiason, and Mean Joe Green (at some party). That's all I remember off the top of my head, but I do remember waiting for Walter Payton to show
up to this party for what seemed like and eternity...he didn't show. I just wanted an autograph and to say I met him.

Baseball questions:

You've made a living as a baseball player and have probably had several moments when you've said to yourself "Is this really happening?" What would be three examples of times when you've been struck by the coolness of the moment or someone you met? Why do you think those were such memorable/important experiences?

Two of my top three moments were when I returned to Chicago to play the Sox and Cubs. It wasn't just having grown up in the area and watching these teams, but having all my family and friends come and watch was surreal. I always threw well in Chicago so coming out of the game,
looking up in the stands and seeing so many familiar faces there to
support me (many cheering against their teams) is an indescribable
feeling. I still think to those days as some of my best memories. I
would have to say a close third is a game you attended (I know you
were at some Chicago games too). Opening day at Yankee Stadium after being told I had made the roster two days earlier. Going from half
filled minor league stadiums to playing the defending World Series champs in front of 52,000 rabid Yankee fans was quite a shock. We had a practice the day before in an empty stadium and that in itself was pretty cool. I've had many other great experiences in the game but those are surely at the top.

Your favorite uniform number is 21. What is the significance behind it? Did it bother you when you couldn't wear it for the Royals?

My birthday is the 21st of December, so that must be where it came
from. I don't remember any other reason why it would be my favorite. I was fine with whatever number I got from the Royals. 55 was my spring training number and I just kept it. I think I had the attitude that I had to earn the right to a number of my choice.

What do you like better, working as a starting pitcher or a guy out of the bullpen? Why?

That's a really tough question. I have never been able to give a definitive answer to that one. I like them both for different reasons. Starting is nice because of the schedule and ability to
prepare from start to start (or work on mechanical issues). Its nice to know when you are pitching. On the other hand being in a closer or in a setup roll is nice because you get to come to the park almost everyday with the chance of playing. That's the short answer.

What makes a good manager? Pitching coach?

I think the best coaches and managers always treat their players as individuals. Every player is unique to some extent and it takes different methods to reach them. The best coaches seem to make connections with their players, not to say you can't be a hard ass and
be a great manager or coach. Also, I have always said that catchers make the best managers because they know how to handle a pitching staff. That is probably the most difficult job a manager has... on the field.

Your first stint in the major leagues came during the steroid era. How would you feel if Walner (or some other class action attorney) approached you about a class action lawsuit against the hitters on behalf of all pitchers? How do you feel looking back on it, knowing that some of the runs and hits you gave up were the result of guys taking shortcuts?

Funny question. I am really not the suing type, but it would
certainly make for an interesting case(and maybe one that could be
won). It would have to be on behalf of all non-PED users (there were
plenty of pitchers using also). The numbers from that era and probably
still today to some extent are certainly skewed, but the fact of the
matter is I was injured the following year and have never been the
same. Maybe my numbers would have been a little better, but I don't
think my career would have been any different.

If Bud Selig or someone from MLB came to you and asked how we'd get steroids and PEDs out of sports, what would you suggest?

I would suggest regular blood tests or whatever the international
standard is. I don't see why MLB can't adopt the IOC testing methods.
They claim to be cleaning up the game, but there are and will always
be guys using performance enhancing drugs as long as they can get away
with it. Bottom line... the testing needs to be more effective and
more often.

Which major league stadium was your favorite to play in? Sorry Sox fans... Wrigley was my favorite. Shitty clubhouse, but once
I was on the field it was electric. I had been to so many games there
as a fan so it meant a lot to me to play there.

Which minor league stadium? If I had to pick one its probably Round Rock outside of Austin, Tx. I love playing in the Steelyard(Gary) though. Its up there with the
best that I have played in.

Which college stadium? Easy... Sunken Diamond, Stanford

What is the funniest or most random thing a fan has ever asked you?

I have been solicited to sign various body parts; arms, legs, and a
kids forehead once (with mom's permission). A few fans throughout my
career have noticed that I sign with my right hand. I always am
surprised when that happens.

What was the funniest thing ever said during a conference on the mound (this could be at any level)?

This isn't something that was said but I was pitching in the Metrodome and my pitching coach Brent Strom came out for a visit to see how I was doing. He must have been a lot more nervous than me because his lips were crusted over bright pink with what must have been a handful of pepto bismol. He left the mound and my catcher and I had a good laugh. The pitching staff was struggling to say the least so I don't
blame Strommy for be so high strung.

What was the worst/most embarassing thing you had to do as a rookie? I was pretty lucky as a rookie. didn't have to do too many embarassing things. Actually I can't think of any.

You were a huge Cardinal fan growing up; did you still follow them as anadult? If so, how did it feel playing against them as a Royal?

I still am a fan, but not as enthusiastic as I used to be. Playing against them was a highlight for sure. Actually, Tony La Russa came out to argue a call when I was on the mound and I had a moment of..."Wow, that's Tony La Russa."

Then I got back to reality and struck out Fernando Vina on three pitches.

We were together the evening of the infamous Steve Bartman game and we decided to walk to Wrigley a short time before the infamous 8th inning. Were we to blame for the Cub kibosh?

Could be, but we can leave that one to the philosophers.

On a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being extremely superstitious, how would you rate your level of superstition? If you had a no hitter going, would you want to talk to your teammates or have them leave you alone?

I am probably in the middle somewhere. I have become less and less over the years. As for the no hitter I would probably want my teammates to act normal towards me, but probably wouldn't want them to mention the nono.

How many REGULAR season baseball games do you think you watch in a year? What are you looking for when you watch? Entertainment? Are you watching pitch sequence/hitting?

Including my own a lot. Not as many complete MLB games as you would
think because we play so many of our own. There is usually a game on
in the clubhouse though. I like to watch for entertainment, but at
the same time I like to see what is going on strategically. I guess
even when I am watching for entertainment I'm trying to see how the
pitcher and catcher are approaching the hitters. There is a lot to
look for.

Fun other topics:

My older sister was your APF advisor during your freshman year at Highland Park High School. What exactly did an APF advisor do? Did she help or hinder your performance in the classroom?

Haha. That was a long time ago, but she must have been a great help because I made it though with no problems

We had a man named Mike Lazar as our gym teacher in elementary school who taught us burpies. I always thought they were the dumbest exercise ever. Do you think burpees helped you in any way, shape, or form become a professional ball player? Better yet, did anything from gym class ever help you? Maybe dodgeball?

Not so sure burpees contributed to me reaching MLB, although it
wouldn't hurt the fat ass kids today to shut down the XBOX for a
minute and do some. I think playing all those other games, dodgeball
included, contributed in some way to me becoming a professional
athlete. The more often we are out there as kids playing sports helps
develop our athletic skills and sense of competitiveness.

Who was your favorite teacher in elementary school? Why?

Mr Birdsall. He actually taught my two older cousins and my brother. Also, he used to sit for my me and my brother when my parents would go out of town.

If I gave you unlimited cash and you could pick three bands to play a one-night concert, who are the bands you'd select and which venue would they play at?

Led Zeppelin, Marley and Hendrix. I made the assumption they didn't have to be living. The Metro would be sweet, but I could see that act anywhere.

You've dabbled with the guitar at times; what band would you like to watch in the studio? Who would you like to be on stage with?

I don't think I'm stage ready, but I would love to be in the studio for any band just to see the process.

You and I are dedicated members of the Degenerate Fantasy League, our annual fantasy football league. What do you think makes a good General Manager in professional sports? What about in fantasy sports?

First and foremost, as with any profession, to put it bluntly you have to know your shit. Know your team(players and coaches), and know the rest of the league. The draft and development of players is key as well. You can only rely so much on signing the best free agents. Take the Cardinals or Red Sox for instance. They do a great job with free agents when available, but seem to always have a superstar or more in the system. There are a lot of people below the GM who
deserve credit as well.

You've got a ton of time to kill while you're on the road, give our readers one magazine, one movie, one band, and one book you've enjoyed over the year that everyone should check out.

Interesting article on Zach Grenke in Sports Illustrated, The Hangover was hilarious
(we get bootleg movies from this guy in Gary; Kramer style), Outliers
(pretty interesting, but not amazing). Check out the band Omega y su
mambo violente. Awesome band from the Dominican Republic. They were
always playing in the clubhouse and I started to love them.

If I gave you a table for dinner anywhere in Chicago with five seats that had to be filled by local Chicagoans, who would you invite and where would you eat?

Not including friends and family I would have to say Obama, MJ, John
Hughes, and Mayor Daley. That would make for an interesting evening.
I'd have Daley pick his favorite random restaurant that I wouldn't
know about. Otherwise Erie Cafe would be a great setting.

You blogged your experience in Puerto Rico during winter ball. What advice do you have for me as an aspiring blogger?

Best advice I can give is do more than one. Sorry to anyone who
expected more from me.

Mid Season Review Time

2009-07-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

Sometime in January of this year, I got down on paper what it was that I believed would translate to peace of mind. I asked myself, "what are the things that give me peace of mind?" and I put everything on paper that was of importance. I ended up lumping these "things" in to buckets with similar themes and ended up with five key areas of life:

-My career
-My finances
-My health
-My social life/family
-My hobbies/fun

Underneath each of these areas I drilled down in to specific, quantifiable activities so that I'd be able to easily tell whether I did the things I enjoyed or valued the most. I know, this probably sounds a little OCD, and it probably is, but it was a way for me to get organized around having some balance in life. If you want some more background I wrote about this when I started this whole blog experiment.

I review where I'm at around the start of each month to see how I'm doing in relation to the plan for the year and figured I'd share some of it on here since we're now halfway through the year. Its also close to the midway point of the baseball season, so I've got my mind on mid-year review stuff.

Maybe it'll spark something in a few of you to do the things that matter most, or maybe it'll reinforce how crazy I am. I'll give a very abbreviated version under the big 5 areas, along with a midseason grade, since we've just passed the halfway point of the year. And I'll send you the original electronically if you want it, but some details will be left out.

My Career
Mid Season Grade: B-

When I left Seattle in May without a job in Chicago I knew there was risk involved with the decision. My key criteria for the next step in my career was to be in a job that allowed me to add value to the place I work, help patients, and be creative. Additionally, I want to continue working in some capacity using Lean, a management system used by Toyota to deliver what the customer wants in the most consistent, reliable, cost-effective way.

There are jobs doing Lean consulting in health care here in the Chicago area, and I have an interview on July 22 with a large healthcare organization in the area doing exactly what I did out in Seattle. Of course, its not Group Health (who was featured on the front page of the New York Times yesterday) but it'd be a cool opportunity. And if you're wondering why health care is a mess, the article in the NY Times gives you a sense for why I'm such a fan of my former employer. It was bittersweet seeing that article on the NY Times, and I'm proud of those folks for being so progressive in the approach to healthcare.

I'm continuing to apply for work elsewhere and stay sharp with Lean through reading books, articles, and web-based content.

Obviously this grade will improve if I had a full time job, which I'm hopeful will happen soon.

My Health
Mid Season Grade: A-

I have goals on my personal plan to gain some weight (I know, that sounds bizarre), get some long walks in, and stay organized (that's mainly for mental health). Thus far I'm staying on top of the key activities under my health, and it is really nice not to have health be an issue. I know I've said that before on here, but it bears repeating for me, at least to keep some perspective on things. Annie helps with the walking, and we've found a few walks in the area where we can both get some exercise in as long as we're loaded up on bug spray.

My finances
Mid Season Grade: C+

I saved up a decent amount of cash before making the move, and am really trying to be responsible about where and how I spend money. I do have some opportunities for work if I need to bring in some cash flow, but I'm doing well in this department. My sister has been gracious enough to let me live 'rent free' and my only significant expenses (car payment, insurance, etc) are covered.

My social life/family
Mid Year Grade: A-

This has been the best part about being back in Chicago, and I'm still in a bit of that honeymoon period where its great to be around family and friends without having to hurry. My goal at the start of the year was to interact with my family at least 60 minutes a week and I've obviously blown that out of the water living near them. My sister, niece and nephew are a blast to be around, and my nephew is now calling me "Dango." My niece makes me laugh a few times a day with her wit, and my sister and I are enjoying living together as adults. Obviously its great being back around my folks and brother's family as well, and living in the suburbs has pros (great parks, golf, etc.) and cons (about 20 miles from the city, mosquitos, etc.) but all's well out in the land of SUVs.

I've seen my friends a bunch since being back, and there are many more people I'd like to see now that I'm settling in, so much fun on the horizon from a friend/social standpoint.

In the dating world, I've been dipping my toe back in the water here in Chicago, but I think it'd be best if I keep that stuff out of the public domain. Unless there's a funny story to share, which there isn't. Yet.

My hobbies
Mid Season grade: B

At the start of the year I put a goal on paper for the number of fun activities I wanted to do this year. I have a number of rounds of golf I want to play, sporting events to attend, movies I want to see, books to read, etc., and thus far I'm on track or ahead of where I wanted to be with my hobbies.

I've played 14 rounds of golf this year and my goal was 15, so you can tell where I'm spending some of my free time. My golf game is about the same as it was when I was 18 years old, and although you'd think I've gotten smarter on the golf course I'm still an irrational teenager most of the time. Although I did break 80 on Monday, which felt good.

Today's my first cubs game since I've been back, and although they frustrate the hell out of me it'll be great to be in Wrigley once again. A buddy's company was invited as a guest and my calendar isn't exactly jam packed these days. I'll make sure to post pics later tonight.

I'm reading Blindness, per my sister's recommendation. It's written by Jose Saramgo, and I think ended up as a movie. Its one part sci-fi, one part social commentary and although grammatically its a bit of a nightmare I'm enjoying it thus far. It'll be my 4th book of the year and my goal was 6 so all is good in that department.

Movies and concerts I could use some improvement. I saw Public Enemy, which was filmed in chicago and chronicles the last few years of John Dillinger's life. I'm not in the business of movie reviews, but I will say John Dillinger was more interesting than the script led him on to be. I took a history of Chicago class at DePaul as an undergrad, and the guy was friggin Robin Hood; not a criminal with no rhyme or reason to robbing banks (as you'd think of from the movie). Sure, his methods weren't exactly family friendly, but he did help folks out during and after the depression.

I haven't been to a rock concert since coming up in Chicago, but with plenty of acts heading through town I'm sure I'll catch up in terms of my goal. And if you're interested in checking out something new, Wilco has a new album which came out last week. Its not the best Wilco album I've heard, but a few songs on there I dig. One of my favorite bands, and based here in Chicago.

Cable Guy Clogging the toilet, Dead Bunnies and Being an Adult

2009-06-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'm relaxing on a sunday afternoon, hanging out on the front porch in a rocking chair with Annie by my side and figured I'd pass the time by offering up a brief synopsis of two stories from the past week. I've already played golf with buddies early today, and the Cubs-Sox game doesn't start for about an hour and writing helps me remain somewhat coherent while I'm out of work. If you don't like today's entry make sure to check back for the Featured Friend this week; my buddy Tony who plays baseball for a living is sure to have some interesting perspective on life, baseball, and who knows what else....

Neither of these stories is a nailbiter, and neither is going to win a pulitzer prize. But maybe you'll enjoy.

Story 1: The Clogged Toilet

My sister's house is a hybrid technology home; meaning her data connections come from both AT&T (phone/internet) and Comcast (cable). Her web situation was desktop based, so she decided to upgrade to wireless and get a one stop shopping plan from AT&T. Its a nice setup if you're a techno-junkie, call your local cable operator for details. And for the record, I totally made up the term "hybrid technology" home.

The installation was scheduled for this past Friday, and was going to take somewhere between four and six hours, and although it wasn't the ideal way to spend a Friday, I didn't have much else going on. Of course, they said they'd be here between 8 and 10 AM, and of course the guy shows up at 9:50 to begin the job.

By 11:30 or so he was doing work on the first floor when I stopped by to ask if I could get him something to drink. His response was odd, something to the effect of, "Not yet, I've got to drill in here, then use the bathroom, and maybe after that." I showed him where the bathroom was and headed back outside to do some reading.

About ten minutes later I went in to the house and noticed the bathroom door was closed, but didn't think anything of it when I noticed he'd been in there for a while. I headed back to the porch out back, and he comes out with kind of a "did something wrong" look. He steps closer and asks, "Do y'all have a plunger around here?"

In my head I'm thinking "you've gotta be shitting me," but the guy is human and instead of pushing for details from him I head to the basemenet to dig out a plunger. As I'm heading back up the stairs I'm convinced I'm the king of these kinds of bizarre encounters. It legitimately felt like a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, and after handing off the plunger I took a straight line back to the porch with the hopes he'd be a better plumber than I and figure out how to fix his mess.

He wrapped up his fix-it job in the bathroom, then proceeded with his regular job, and everything went smoothly for the rest of the day. As I thought about the situation some more, the poor guy was in a no-win situation and I have to commend him for being straight with me. If he says nothing, my sister (or me) walk in the bathroom to discover whatever mess he's created, and he's out of a job or punished if we let the AT&T folks know. His alternative is he has to acknowledge it happened, face whatever embarassment may come from it, and move on to his weekend. He played it well, and since I've had my fair share of bathroom "adventures" I wasn't going to give him a hard time about it. But needless to say I sanitized the heck out of the bathroom after he left.

Again, not exactly a cliffhanger story, but this is high drama in my life these days.

Story II: Dead Bunnies and Being an Adult

Late Wednesday night, I came home to notice a small bunny on the driveway, probably no more than five inches long. The little fella could very well have been a girl, but HE has one fewer keystrokes than SHE for the rest of the story...although I just spent about 20 seconds justifying the bunny's gender.

I got up close to the little guy and noticed his back legs were broken, or at least really deformed. At first glance I thought he may have been clipped by a car, but there was a nice size gash behind his legs. Nobody said Highland Park was all fun and games, there's a tough tag team of cats next door who have been known to hunt for a meal or two and leave surprises in the yard. They have not been questioned by the authorities for mauling the rabbit, but I'm watching them.

I let my sister know he was out there, and we decide to let him hang out there overnight to see what happens, even though we both knew he had no chance. Unless, of course, the bunny is on Medicare and eligible for total hip/knee replacement surgery. There was just no way I was pulling a Costanza and bringing the dude to a Vet Hospital to get fixed up and nature had to take its course. If you don't know the reference, this is the Youtube clip from the episode, the squirrel part is at the end about 6 minutes in and one of my favorite episodes of all time.

After waking up Thursday morning, we notice the little guy has crossed the driveway. In fact, his ears are flopping, he's eating, and seems to be hanging tough--just like the fairly tale version. I was encouraged by his progress, and even sent my sister an upbeat text message that he may make it after all. However, after returning home around 5 PM I found the little guy surrounded by flies and deader than a doorknob.

Fifteen years ago I would have called for my dad, and asked him to remove the body, but with no adults in sight I knew it was on my shoulders to give the little guy a proper burial. Being an adult sucks sometimes, and this was one of those times.

I headed to the garage in search of a contraption to get him from the driveway to the forest behind the park across the street and a shovel was my tool of choice. I did consider harpooning it with some kind of knife, but don't think that would have gone over well with the parents/kids across the street, and I wanted to avoid blood at all costs.

Picking the little guy up was tough; he was nudged against the grass and it was hard to get leverage, but I scooped him up and headed to the cemetary. As I passed through the park, two young boys and their parents looked at me like I was crazy, and I looked straight down trying to avoid eye contact with them at all costs. I got to a small trail in the forest, took a few steps and said, "good luck wherever you are" and tossed him near a bush.

After emerging from the forest, I noticed the parents and kids had left the park by that point, and I really can't blame them. If I saw a strange guy walking through a park with a dead rodent on a shovel in the middle of summer I think I'd do the same. But I was happy with the job I completed, slung the shovel over my shoulder and headed home.

As kids, my parents handled "icky" stuff like this all of the time, and made it seem so natural and easy for them. I seriously considered calling my dad at some point and offering to trade services if he'd get rid of the thing, but I'm glad I handled it on my own. Death is something we all deal with, and I don't do great with looking at or touching dead stuff, but life can't always be about doing what you like or avoiding the things you don't like. So while I don't think I'm a spiritual saint for dealing with it, I did feel a little more "adult" and I know that if I need to do it down the road I can handle it. I'd just prefer if some other adult handled the burial/body situation. Not fun stuff.

Here's the little guy when I thought he had a chance; RIP my man:

Delta Whiskey Field Trips, Dog stuff, and other things

2009-06-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

I've been having computer issues of late, but wanted to post some photos (with captions) of the last week or so. I had my niece for an afternoon, we went to the city for a field trip....click on the link below for the photos and itenerary:

Field Trip

The featured friend will be up by weekend's end, hope you all have a great weekend!

Friday's Featured Friend: My Mom (Romeo Whiskey)

2009-06-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'll post an interview/article with a friend once a week on the blog. These will be people that have a role in my life in some way, shape, or form. I may find this more interesting than you (learning more about people close to me), so if you're bored with my friends you can always interview your own.

So today's friend is my ma, who I've known longer than any human being on earth. At age 64, she is busier than most 32 year olds I know, and I challenge any of you to spend a day with her and not feel exhausted by the end. For those who think my motor doesn't stop, Romeo's motor is on turbo boost, and has been in that setting for as long as I can remember. The picture of above is my mom, pregnant with my little sister walking my brother and I somewhere in Savannah, Georgia. The one below is my ma with the four of us sometime in 1981.

I'll let her explain a bit about her, but the two things I love most about my mom are her ability to see the bright side in every situation, and her uncanny knack for clever one-liners. My favorite one-liner (passed on from her father) is: "you get more flies with honey than you do vinegar." There are countless others, and my family even has a running list of them...someday I'll hunt them down and post 'em up here.

Anyhow, here goes (my comments are in parenthesis when I felt the need to chime in):

Date and City of Birth: September 24, 1945; Louisville, KY

Siblings: 1, younger sister born two years later

Father's occupation: Dentist

Mother's occupation: Bookmaker at a Tobacco company, homemmaker

Best friend: Linda (who she still sees at least once a week)

First unsupervised vacation with Linda: Mexico City, Tasco, and Acoulpoco Mexico

Memory (good or bad) from that trip: One of us got bilked out of money by a local guy named Gerard Marey (don't ask me how she remembers the name)

Favorite Chicago movie theater growing up: Northtown

High School: Mather

First Kiss: Dennis (last name omitted to protect his anonymity)

Location of first kiss: In front of Elder Hall on the campus of Northwestern University

Length of time between first date and kiss: "Years"

College(s): 1964/65 at UW Madison, 1966/67 at Boston University (she transferred to BU to be closer to Dennis)

Favorite class in college: Art History

First job out of college: Working in claims for Blue Cross Blue Shield

Next job: Teacher in Chicago inner city grade school

Favorite drive in the Chicago area (past or present): Sheridan Road along the lake when the leaves are changing in the fall

If a tourist came to Chicago and asked for three activities, she would suggest: Driving on Lake Shore Drive, Millenium Park, and the Art Institute

Favorite Breakfast spot in Chicago: M Henry on Clark Street

Lunch: Al's Italian Beef with sweet peppers on Taylor Street (I think Portillo's is better, but we can agree to disagree)

Dinner: Spiaggia, very elegant, great location and great food

How did she meet my father?: My aunt Muriel (her mom’s sister) and Barry’s father’s sister (Dorothy) were childhood friends. And my aunt attended Dorothy’s son’s bar mitzvah and fixed us up. He called me in November of 1967 and we talked on the phone for like 3 hours. I got off the phone and said to my parents and said, “he’s an amazing person.” He cared about the inner city kids as much as I did, and he asked me out for a Saturday night date.

What was that first date like? He took me to a party at his apartment near the Medical Center with a bunch of other people. I wore a gold dress with black shoes and a white fluffy fake rabbit jacket. My mother helped me pick it out. I had long hair at the time. He did NOT kiss me good night.

Ten "Coolest" Days in her life (in no particular order)

1. Getting engaged

2. Getting married

3. Having baby # 1

4. Having baby #2

5. Having baby #3 (that'd be me)

6. Finding out she's pregnant with baby # 4

7. Having baby #4

8. Moving in to house in Highland Park (this was 1977)
9. Watching baby #2 deliver grandbaby (first time)

10. Watching baby #2 delivery grandbaby (second time)

(Note: A Close call to the top 10 was the pride she felt the day my little sister graduated from Northwestern and flipped off the camera. See above, a proud moment for the Whiskey family)
Top three favorite vacations: Australia, Grand Canyon, Hilton Head, SC

Vacation destination she'd like to go to: Nepal

A great day today is: Today was a great day. I woke up, did my crossword puzzle. My husband went with me to the grocery store and helped me make dinner. I took a walk in the Botanic Garden, came home and had a cup of coffee, and my children and grandchildren here for dinner was peaceful. I talked to four children, which isn’t easy.

I never seem to have enough time for ____________: myself. But I’m learning how to allow time for myself. I just have to say the most important thing for the day is something for me, and I just have to do it, but when I do it my day is so much better.

Favorite Hobby: My Pets

Total Pets (with names) she's owned in her lifetime: 19. Candy, Heidi, Phoebe, Ivan, Sinclair, Millicent, Bernice, Sadie, Minerva, Lillian, Rudy, Pasty, Victor, Nathan, Ben, Velvet, Mitzi, Paco, Gene

Meanest of the bunch: Lillian

Smartest of the bunch: Velvet

Best lesson her oldest son taught her: He went through some tough years with school/social things and came out a winner in the end. It taught me even though you go through life with challenges positive things can come from it.

Best lesson from daugher #1: Her ability to fight back and feistiness and to stand up for what she believes is important in her life.

Best lesson from her 2nd son (me): Ya just don’t give up. Even though things look terrible today they will be better tomorrow and they always have been with you.

Best lesson from daugher #4 (see above for middle finger): Letting go of my kids and letting them be who they are and accept them for who they are no matter where they live.

Best lesson from husband: His tenacity and his ability to work hard and stick with it to achieve what he wants.

Favorite summer destination in the Chicago area: I think the Botanic Gardens. I find serenity in there, achievement, peace, social ties, I love the music I listen to. Nobody bothers me in there, its just peace. And you get to know the people you see walking and its wonderful. But when the weather’s bad I can't be out as much as I should.

Random Photos:

Highlights from the First 10 Days, Blog News, Etc.

2009-06-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

Last night was one of the few "adult" activities I've had since I've been back in Chicago. Some folks from Group Health (my former employer in Seattle) were in town for some meetings, and I went to dinner with a number of them. Following my own advice (and reflecting on my experience on the road), I swore I wouldn't take them to a local chain or touristy place, and settled on Zia's in Edison Park. For those not familiar with the area, its the far northwest edge of Chicago, and has some excellent restaurants. About a thirty minute drive from my sisters place, it gave me a chance to prepare for the inevitable question, "So what have you been doing since you got back?"

So here's the highlights, followed by some "Blog News" and the "Between the Ears" segment:

-Spent first two days unpacking, getting settled, and taking it easy
-Played golf three times since I've been in town; great to be around the guys on the golf course; although my golf game is in shambles I'm enjoying being out and about. I discovered golflink.com; a website that allows users to track (for free) data on my golf performance. Maybe golfers out there will find it interesting, for me its just a way to make sure I reach my goal of playing 15 rounds in 2009.
-Went to Ravinia with my parents and sisters to see Ramsey Lewis. It was like we were adults having plans together, kinda neat. Music wasn't exactly a punk rock show, but nice to see my parents getting out and doing things with them.
-Played cards with the guys last Saturday night in the city; and although small in numbers its great to be back around guys I've known my whole life
-Celebrated my dad's birthday with family BBQ last Sunday. Nothing beats Skirt Steak and a baked potato in the midst of summer. Unless you're a vegetarian. Then you just get a potato.
-Got a phone call this past Monday about a job at a local health care organization doing work very similar to what I did out in Seattle. Have yet to hear back from them, but am feeling good about a job materializing. Economy Schminomonee (I know, I probably just cursed myself)
-I've established a daily management plan that probably looks crazy to my sister and kids, but its helping make sure I'm not sitting around watching Card Sharks, The Price is Right, and Jeopardy. Yes, those are all linked to Youtube stuff if you're really, really bored.
-Being around little kids is contagious and fun. My niece has been a huge help walking Annie, and I've helped her by getting her to play Tiger Woods golf on X-Box. My nephew is 2 and obsessed with anything that has wheels, a man in a uniform, or a horn. Both are great a riot to be around, and I'd be a strong camp counselor if I had no career ambitions.
-Annie loves it here. There are rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and others to chase. There are endless lawns to pee/poop on. There are several great off leash dogparks. There are multiple parts of my sister's home where she can sleep. Other than my nephew sleeping on her, she's got it really good here.
-Weather has been crappy and humid, and thats a subject that just gets old fast so I'm not going to dwell on it. Tune in to weather.com if you're looking for a weather update.
-I really love Chicago sports. The Cubs coming back to beat the Sox today was great; although I'm feeling very cynical about this Cubs team. Something about them just doesn't feel right...although every time it has felt right, its turned out wrong, so go figure....

Blog News
Thanks to Facebook and my ongoing self promotion I'm now at a grand total of 10 followers but have a hunch there are others out there reading and lurking. I'll do my best to keep this blog entertaining, and have decided to start a new feature, the Friday Featured Friend. I'll interview a friend of mine and write up a little ditty about them. Some may be more interesting than others, but at least its a way for me to talk about someone other than me. Could be someone I went to high school/college/work with, a family member, a random acquaintence, you get the idea.

This week's Friday Featured Friend: My Mom (Romeo Whiskey). She and I did the interview last week, and I'll consolidate it while I'm nursing her through what may be her 100th career colonoscopy. I'm not far behind, but I'll put her numbers in the GI procedure lab up against anyone.

I've already interviewed her, although my mom on versed could be very entertaining as well.

Between the Ears

After arriving last week, I took a few days to get my bearings, unpack some things, and slow down. Coming back to live in the town I grew up in, but living with my sister, has been a really neat way to see my hometown through a different perspective. She's in Ravinia, a small part of Highland Park, a suburban town about 20 miles north of Chicago along Lake Michigan. If Highland Park had Burroughs, Ravinia would be one of five or six.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia Page on Highland Park; even locals will find some of this interesting...and for non-midwesterners you'll recognize some of the films and public figures tied to my hometown.

Within walking distance from her home there are a handful of shops, some great running/biking trails, the beach (that's Lake Michigan), a Metra station (goes to the city) and Ravinia Festival; an outdoor music venue. It's about a mile and a half from my parents; so there's enough distance for me to feel like I'm not living in the home I grew up in, and it certainly is nice to see some familiar places and faces.

Being around my family was the primary reason I moved back to Chicago, and living with my sister and her kids has been a ton of fun. Granted, I'm not sleeping as much, and Annie gets hassled a bit more by a few curious kids, but there's a lot more laughter in our lives than there was a few months ago. My niece (soon to be Age 5) and nephew (an energetic 2 year old) are more excited to have Annie around than Uncle Daniel, but we're all having a hoot. And living with young kids has given me a far greater appreciation for the things parents do on a daily basis to help kids grow up.

For those in the Chicago area, Highland Park's reputation can make it tough to be proud of our hometown. Most folks think of the north shore and Highland Park and they think pretentious, spoon fed, a**holes, and there certainly are a handful of them around. But all in all I've had very few if any reasons to be annoyed, and its actually a nice change for me to have neighbors and people welcoming me in to the community. My sister's neighborhood is full of young, non-pretentious families, and although I'm still itching to get back to life in the city it is really nice to have such a low key, comfortable way to get re-established here in Chicago.

My parents never got in to the cliquey, gossipy, materialistic Highland Park many have come to loathe, and I'm convinced staying out of that nonsense is the only way to stay sane. And I guess it was beaten in my head early and often that I shouldn't let5% of the population define 95% of my happiness. There are d**chebags everywhere, the key for me is to look the other way and not get caught up in the BS and go about my business without getting caught up in the ratrace.

Maybe that is relevant to you and your life these days, maybe its not.

Either way, thanks for stopping by,
D

Sammy Sosa and the Summer of '98

2009-06-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

Warning to non sports readers: Today's post deals with sports. Check back tomorrow and I'll run through what has happened the past 10 days since I got back in Chicago. I just need to get this off my chest.

One of the cooler things for me over the past week (more on the other things later) has been the return of Chicago sports on my radar. Although the internet makes it easier to track and follow how teams are doing, I wasn't surrounded by others who experienced the same ups and downs as fellow Chicago fans. There's a lot to be excited about nowadays in the Chicago area sports scene: the Bears have a quarterback, the Bulls and Hawks are young and talented, and the Cubs are trying to regain my trust after two seasons that ended in the depression I've experienced multiple times in my life. Oh, and those Summer Olympics things are probably going to be here in 2016 if Mayor Daley gets his way. But the story that broke yesterday was kind of a slap in the face to Cub fans and professional sports in general.In case you didn't know, Sammy Sosa was one of 104 players to test positive for steroids in 2003.

As a die hard Cub fan living in Chicago, the summer of 1998 was a great year. I got to see many of Sosa's 66 Home Runs as a student living near Wrigley and attending DePaul. The Cubs were big at that point, but not huge and tickets were pretty easy to come by for games early in the season. Like the rest of the city, I was swept up in Sosa fever by the all-star break, and he amazed many of us by hitting baseballs out of the park on what seemed like an everyday occurence. He had a Superman quality to him, one we believed in, one we rooted for, and one we look back on like a Fairy Tale.

Even the most casual fan had an opinion on whether Sosa and Mark McGwire would break the Home Run record, and here in Chicago the Cubs and Sosa were THE game in town. Checking scores every chance I got, watching every Sosa At Bat, checking what McGwire did that day, these were the things I spent my time on in the summer of 98 and I was not alone. My buddies and I even bought tickets for a Brewers game in late September and sat in the left field bleachers in the hopes we'd catch a McGwire home run, maybe even the one to break Roger Maris' record. He did homer twice in the game, no one caught a ball. And we had a lot of fun in Milwaukee, since it was a nice meeting place for the guys in Madison and elsewhere in Big 10 country.

I was listening to sports talk radio while running errands this morning, and there's a combination of feelings from the callers: anger, denial, and most notably indifference. It was almost as if we all knew he cheated, and the story from yesterday made complete sense. I too feel indifferent about it, which is kind of sad when I think back to how much of my life I invested in the Sammy Sosa scam. And it wasn't just here in Chicago, folks did it in Los Angeles/Boston with Manny Ramirez, Texas/New York with Alex Rodriguez, San Franciso with Barry Bonds, and the list can continue on to nearly ever 'star' baseball player over the past 15 years. We were scammed by guys who took shortcuts to success, and there has yet to be an apology from one of those guys.

All we get are denials, excuses, and press releases that say nothing. The chain of events after each of these stories goes something like this:

Folks like Ari Fleisher (if he can help Bush he can help anyone) and other PR agencies craft the message
The player rehearses it
They trot him out for a public statement and softball questions
The player disappears for months never to be heard from again

These guys have broken laws (illegally obtaining prescription drugs), stolen our money and time, and sent an awful message to the next generation: that cheating is not that big of a deal. We saw it on Wall Street, in Politics, in Real Estate, everywhere we look, and none of them apologizes with an honest attempt to make right their wrongs.

Rather than blaming their positive test on their doctor, their trainer, whomever, I'd love to see these guys come together and take accountability and do something to repay the fans--the ones who pay their salary. Some ideas for the Sosa/Bonds/Ramirez/Rodriguez/McGwire/Palmiero gang:

Donate some cash back to MLB to lower ticket prices. Better yet, buy some tickets and donate them to families struggling with the economy.
Volunteer your time teaching kids how to play the right way.
Help the MLB and other major sports understand how you got your hands on the drugs, and what they can do to clean up the game.
Give up your records, stats, and everything you did under the influence.
Apologize to folks like Hank Aaron, Roger Maris, Willie Mays, and everyone else who worked their asses off to achieve greatness.

I'm not the kinda guy to say I'm done with baesball. I'll be glued to the TV for most of the summer in front of Cub games, but I'd like the Cubs to win their title fair and square when they finally do it. And if they're not going to win it, I want to be sure that they're losing to a team that did it the clean, fair way.

Laminated plastic with a picture and writing on it...how hard is this?

2009-06-11T09:50:00.001-07:00

Do you know that feeling you get on Sunday nights before work that absolutely stinks? You know, the one where you absolutely dread going to work the following morning? It probably happened when you were in school as well on Sunday nights and may be a conditioned response its hard for me to shake.

The term I've heard used to describe that feeling is the Wretcheds. For me, they generally hit between 6 and 9 PM on Sundays, depending on the quality of the weekend and the upcoming week at work.

But as I drove home from the DMV I thought of several situations that also give me the Wretcheds. Here's a few of those things we all have to do that also give me the same wretched feeling. After all, our days can't be all fun and games....

-Attending a Funeral
-Packing for anything (moving, a trip)
-Unpacking for anything
-Going through security at an airport
-Dental procedures/work
-Folding socks during laundry
-Dealing with anything run by our goverment.

That last one is really in my crawl after my visit to the DMV this morning in nearby Northbrook. Before I explain, I need to be very clear that I'm a huge fan of our country, but I believe our government is the worst run organization in our country. In fact, its hard to believe how ineffecient it really is until you go see the actual work, done by the actual people, in the actual place where work is going on. Using a list, here's the steps that took place this morning for me to achieve my goal of getting an Illinois Driver's License.

I logged on to the computer and went to the website of the Secretary of State.

I gather documentation required for my new driver's license out of my car.

I drive to the DMV

I wait in line

I have a man ask me why I'm there

I tell him I'd like a get a new driver's license since I'm returing to Illinois after living in Washington

He asks for my documentation

I give him the documentation

He reviews the documentation

He finds my passport expired this past october

I ask what that means

He tells me its not an eligible document

I ask if there's any way to make an exception

He says he cannot

I mention I should be in their computer system, I moved away in September of 2005

He looks up my social security number

He has no record of me in Illinois

I ask how that is possible

He tells me they 'purge' records

I ask what I should do now

He tells me to go to the Skokie Courthouse to get an official Cook County birth certificate.

I get in my car, annoyed how screwed up it is that this is so complicated

I decide to say screw it and deal with this another day and blog about it in the hopes someone who works in our government sees this and decides to do something about it.

OK, enough of that, but the moral of the story is I didn't get my new license. I wasted time, gasoline, and energy that could have been used for anything more productive. This was not an urgent need, but its definitely something I'd prefer not to spend my time doing. And its all because Government agencies are organized around their needs, not ours. It's more important for them to Cover their Asses than to provide quality service to us, the ones paying their salaries.

Any business that puts the customer first would have a clear understanding for what customers want, and design products and services to meet those needs. Do you think it was an accident that iPhones, iPods, and iTunes were as big of a hit as they were? Apple does well because they are very clear about defining what their customers want and they create products to meet those needs. They also market the hell out of those products, but all the marketing in the world won't guarantee a good experience if their product isn't designed around what a customer wants.

This is the underlying jist of my last job; defining what customers (or stakeholders) need and helping teams implement processes to meet those requirements.

Our government does not see me as a paying customer. If they did, I wouldn't have wasted my morning going over there. I would have logged on to a computer, gone to a website run by our Government, that allows me to securely request a new license and have it delivered to my new address in one or two days.

Sound impossible?

It shouldn't be. I'm asking for a piece of laminated plastic with my information on it. Producing that card takes probably 40 seconds of work. If I can access bank and health records online, why the hell can't I do something like getting a new driver's license?

Waste like this put Detroit Automakers out of business, yet somehow our government can take up to 30% of our income and piss it away on processes and systems that make it seemingly impossible to get what I want from them.

Since the DMV is the only one issuing Drivers Licenses, I'm pretty much screwed and need to schlep down to Skokie and deal with more government BS to get that birth certificate.

And all I wanted was a piece of laminated plastic with my picture and letters and numbers.

June 11: Settling In

2009-06-11T05:40:00.001-07:00

So far so good here in good ol' HP.

My sister and the kids have been great about welcoming Annie and I in to the mix.

From Annie's perspective its probably really nice to no longer be running around and riding in a car all day. My sister has several couches to choose from, and I think she's enjoying the chance to rest her old bones and sleep in the same place for more than a night.

The new place is great for her; even a cat nearby for her to check on, and although Rudy (their cat) may not like Annie at the present time I'm sure the two will bond over their love for sleeping.

The kids love having her around, and she is good with them as well. This morning, my nephew drove an ambulence the length of her body and she had no problem with that at all. My niece loves to walk her as well, although she's insistent that picking up Annie's poop is Uncle Daniel's job. I'm trying to adopt the same policy with my nephew's diaper, but don't think that's likely.

I also brought her to the local off-leash dog park, and Annie is going to make plenty of friends there.

As for human stuff, its really great to be back here and very nice to chill out for a change. So much of the last 3 months has been focused on packing, moving, looking for jobs, travelling, etc., and the pace has slowed down. The nice thing about living here is that I don't need to cram every activity in to a handful of days.

Being around the family is great; the kids' laughter is contagious and this morning's 5:45 wakeup was no big deal at all. When a 5 year old girl in cowboy boots, a pink hat, and socks pulled up to her knees asksto walk Annie it is tough to wake up in a bad mood....

Of course, the elephant in the room is the job situation. I knew heading in to the move that without a job for me in Chicago I'd have to be comfortable taking on that risk. Now that I'm settling in, I need to approach the job search like any other day of work, and I'm hopeful that if I'm disciplined about it something will turn up. The challenge is the discipline, since there are a ton of distractions that can pull me from that focus....cubs games, golf, seeing friends/family, exploring an area I haven't lived in for a while, etc. Again, all of those activities aren't going anywhere, so prioritizing time and attention are the key...as is the case with just about anything else in life.

The last 24 Hours on the Road

2009-06-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois

Photos

Pix today are a highlight reel from the trip. Not a ton
to see in Big 10 country so here are the top ones from the last week heading across the country.

Highlights

-Had a great country breakfast around 11 AM somewhere in
South Dakota. It was about 50 miles from where that kid
won the huge lottery, but couldn't tell you what town I
was in. I'm convinced I could live on Bacon, Eggs, and
Pancakes my entire life.
-Adam Carolla's podcast made 90 minutes fly by. For
those in Seattle, its better than his old radio show, and
for those in other parts of the country its worth
checking out. His guest yesterday was Bill Simmons, a
writer for ESPN every male under the age of 50 knows.
-South Dakota gets a bad rap in terms of being a boring
drive, but I kinda liked rolling through the farm land.
None of our states are useless, all of them serve a role
in our economy and the breadbasket states are the ones
behind that cheeseburger you eat at lunch.
-Annie and I stopped in Albert Lea (not to be confused
with the homewares store in Seattle), and she got a run
in the local lake (one of 10,000 in the state).
-I got us to Wisconsin and had to have a Culver's
Butterburger. You haven't had grease until you've had
one of these suckers, and it was everything I hoped it'd
be. Annie agreed.
-I rolled in to my parents' house about 12:15 AM.
-Annie immediately made enemies with Velvet, their 12
year old black lab. She also tried to hunt down their
cat, Patsy (aka Fatsy Patsy) and was not well received.
She slept with me upstairs, and we've got a ways to go in
the Annie immersion project.
-Woke up this morning, drove to Starbucks for coffee and
heard Lin Brehmer on XRT. There's probably some cliche
analogy I could use (putting on worn in jeans, an old
t-shirt, whatever) but it just felt comfortable being
back here.
-Went to my temporary permanent residence, and began to
unpack Annie and myself.
-Annie sits next to me as I write this blog, 10:18 AM
central time.

Between the Ears

After a great night's sleep in Oacama, SD I decided to
haul ass and get to Chicago in a day. Even though
there's some interesting stuff between Oacama and
Highland Park (my final destination in suburban Chicago)
I figured I can always visit those places, and it was
time to head home. I spent about 11 hours in the car,
and the final stats on the trip are below.
I spent most of the day listening to the ipod, local
radio (South Dakota really likes they're
Nickelback....blahhhhhhhh), and even just driving with
the windows down listening to the wind.

It gave me a chance to summarize the trip in my head, so
I'll rattle through my thoughts after 9 days on a road
(these are in no sequential order of importance,
relevance, or any other variable).
Total Miles Driven: 3,198

Google Maps Distance from Seattle to Chicago if I took I90 the whole way: 2,004

Favorite Stop: Missoula, Montana

Least Favorite Stop: Sheridan, Wyoming

Annie's Favorite Adventure: Rattlesnake Park outside Missoula

Dan's Favorite Adventure: Getting lost in Glacier up near Bowman Lake

Most Popular Businesses in EVERY town with more than 1,000 people: Bars, Hair Salons, Gas Stations

Professions I admire most after this trip: Truck Driving and Parenthood

Professions I'm not sure I'd be able to handle: Truck Driving and Parenthood

Most jaw dropping moment: Having a Bison herd rumble past my car at the Bison Reservation in Montana

Most Disappointing Moment: Getting to Rushmore to see it covered in Fog

Best Cheeseburger: Culver's in Wisconsin, with a close #2 to Mo's in Missoula

Worst Meal: Cheesesteak from hotel restaurant in Kalispell

Most Pleasant Surprise: Wall Drug. I know I'll get crap for that, but it really is an example of a guy who knew how to sell the heck out of nothing to travelling tourists.

Biggest Weather surprise: A tie between the desert heat in eastern Washington and snow in June in Wyoming.

Most Interesting Person I met on the way: Roger, who works with his ma in a camera store in West Glacier. He'll be an environmental engineer or something that makes a big impact on the world...some people you can just kinda tell.

Best Job I heard about: Mark, the guy who works for the National Parks tracking Bears.

Worst Job I heard about: There's no such thing in this economy, lots of folks struggling to make ends meet out there.

Proudest moment as an American: seeing Missoula rally around Sidney Watson, the gal who was badly injured in a car wreck

Saddest moment as an American: watching public access TV in Wyoming and hearing how budget cuts are killing some vital public health and education programs in rural America.

Memorable Music selections in select states:
Washington-Pearl Jam as I passed the Gorge;Montana-Wilco as I wandered up to Glacier; Wyoming-Johnny Cash as I headed in and out of Cody; South Dakota-Metallica a perfect soundtrack for haulin'
ass;

Minnesota-Weezer as I headed towards Wisconsin Border;
Wisconsin- Smashing Pumpkins will always be synonymous
with Madison, Wisconsin on Halloween weekend in 1995.
Fun to revisit some of those memories.

Illinois- Fleetwood Mac; the song from the end of shows
at the Vic (Never Going Back) was playing as I crossed in
to Chicago..not my favorite band but a song with lots of
memories attached to it.

First thing my mom said to me when I walked in: You must be exhausted, go to bed.

Second thing my mom said to me: You must be hungry.

Best comment during phone call: "Long trip dude. Long Trip" - Jonathan Merel

Regrets: Staying at the Motel 6 in Sheridan.

Other things I gleaned from the past 10 days:

-Exploration doesn't have to be on vacations. I can have the same spirit anywhere I live, and hope you all do as well. Its not easy to get out of our comfort zones, but
its so rewarding when we do.

-Talking to strangers can be a lot of fun. Meeting one new person a day is not a bad goal to have. -Travelling alone is not easy, but its a lot of fun. Not more fun than with people, but a cool experience.

-Annie is one tough cookie. 3200 miles is not easy on a human, and she was a rockstar

-Its really nice not to be sick. Many of you know I've battled with an illness up until a few years ago, and it was so freeing to be out in nature, in foreign places, and not having to worry about my health. Enjoy your health when you've got it; as I found out, we have no guarantees.

-Its time to find work and settle in.

Thanks to all for following along, I'll keep posting on here, just probably not daily.
-D

Speaking of stimulus money....

2009-06-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

I caught this in the paper this morning, figured I'd share as well.

Seems a good chunk of that money is going to public works types of projects, and here's one that should help out folks in climates that are unbearable....of course, we could just send 'em to south dakota, plenty of cool, cheap land to be had here.

I think projects like these are great, now let's get some folks to work on these, and other civic/national improvement projects. We've got lots of folks sitting around who would be happy to help if given the opportunity to make a few extra bucks and feel better about their time in unemployment.

Eastern Wyoming through Central South Dakota

2009-06-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

A long day on the road has come to an end; of the 8 days I've been on the road this was the longest in terms of driving and shortest on highlights.

Pictures:

Here's what I got from today; if you're looking for scenic shots you won't find them, but a few randoms that might be amusing.

Highlights:

Woke up at around 9 in Sheridan

Weather is awful, snowing in Eastern Wyoming, high 30s for temps, visibility is awfulDrove to

Devil's Tower, the site from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Don't remember the movie, but its a pretty cool site.

Stopped in Sturgis, bought some tough looking motorcyle shirts for other people to wear (I'm not tough)

Headed east to Mt Rushmore. Only Dan Weber goes to Mt Rushmore and can't see the mountain. Fog made it impossible to see, if you think I'm making this up, I'm not.

Headed east to Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, at least I knew I'd see something.

Got in car and headed east on I-90, nothing to see but rain, fog, and lines on pavement

Got to Wall Drug, was blown away at the size of the thing. More on that below if you're interested.

Headed east as far as I could go, ended up driving about 500 miles today.

Staying in Oacoma (kinda like Tacoma, with an O at the front, so I have no idea how to say it)

My hotel is the Oasis Inn and it kicks ASS! Great web connection, TWO beds, and very clean

Between the Ears

I left Sheridan, Wyoming headed east towards Devil's Tower and and was blown away by the weather being as crappy as it was. Its June for chrissakes and the High temperature was in the low 40s with snow flurries out in Wyoming. It is June, and it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if the weather was half-way decent.

But its not, and that's not something I can do much about. I stopped at the sights I planned to see; namely Devil's Tower and Mt Rushmore. Devil's Tower was easy enough to see, and its a pretty wild looking formation out in northeast Wyoming. And chances are, you know what Mt Rushmore looks like, but I'm embarassed to say I've achieved a feat not many can say they've done: I've gone to Mt Rushmore and didn't see a single president. It was kind of a bummer--its not like its on the side of I-90, and after paying $10 to park a car (to visit a free national park...such crap) I walked in to the viewing area and saw bleachers, but no faces etched in to stone. Between those two stops I went to Sturgis, which is the home of the big biker rally every summer; I'm not a huge motorcycle guy but it sounds like its a Woodstock for bikers once a year, and the town kind of looks like you'd expect.

I left Mt Rusmore in kind of a cranky mood; I made the effort to go there and it wasn't in the cards for me to see it, which was out of my control. But I got worked up on them charging for parking, without letting people know you can't see a lick. And I got a little more worked up after I remembered a conversation I had with a guy in kalispell about Mt Rusmore. His point was Mt Rushmore is a symbolic middle finger to the native american folks in the area who were basically slain to advance white causes....some food for thought...

I think our country is really damn cool, but you have to question, why this location? In a sports analogy, I'd be pretty pissed if Wisconsin invaded Illinois and built a statue of Brett Favre, Robin Yount, and Sidney Moncrief on Michigan Avenue.

My last tirade with myself was about the effort and support the country put in to the monument back in the early 20th century. Rushmore was built from 27-41; essentially right after the Depression (sound familiar), and came along with a number of other big investments in our country's infrastructure. Given our economic situation, maybe we consider investing money and time in some public improvement projects to get folks working on making the US a cooler place to live. Rather than collecting welfare and doing nothing (I've come across this twice on my journey thus far), why not give people an incentive for more welfare through volunteer work? cleaning up parks? converting cable boxes to digital so we can stop with the ads?

Again, I digress.

I decided I needed to do something funny, so I went to a Dinosaur park, which was a nice break. Annie got to run around with Dinosaurs, I got to take some pictures and stretch the legs, and it helped put the Rushmore experience out of mind. Plus, my niece told me earlier today she's a big fan of dinosaurs and I happened to be in the hotbed of dinosaur activity.

After consulting with my ma, I decided I'd head east as far as I could get, but promised I wouldn't push it. About ten miles after Rapid City, it was clear I wasn't going to see a thing and should just put the petal to the metal and haul ass. The only thing that stood in the way of me and Sioux Falls was Wall Drug.

I had seen the Wall Drug bumper stickers and really had no idea what it would be. I had a few souveniers I wanted to pick up, and thought it'd be at least a fun couple of pictures. You can see for yourself in the pictures, but its really something you have to experience. The amount of stuff you can buy in there is unbelievable, and its kind of an old school Wal Mart. As cynical as you may be about the place, I respect how successful they've been and it really is fun to check out all of the different things they've got in there.

My sisters and mom have an activity called "Schmying" which is essentially when the three of them head to discount stores (places like Nordstrom Rack, Marshalls, etc.) and comb through just about anything to find things. I realize that sounds completely vague, and the best I can guess is they spend time chatting, looking at stuff, and bringing home a few things that may be useful. Wall Drug is the perfect location for Schmying, and God help the people of Wall, South Dakota if the three of them ever pass through at the same time.

I did a little bit of shopping myself; I was looking at the customized coffee mugs/lisence plates/keychains in Wall Drug and thought how hard of a job it must be to select the names you purchase from the manufacturer. For example, I saw a South Dakota license plate with a "Blythe" but not a "Barry"...so just how does the person know which ones to buy?

But I ramble.

Annie digs the hotel, there are two beds, which means I dig it too.

We're going to sleep in and let the rush hour traffic in to/out of Oacoma die out before hitting the road. With about 800 miles between here and Chicago, I hope to have some decent weather for the home stretch, and even though it may not be scenic mountains I'm looking forward to some interesting sights of the midwest.

Field of Dreams field in Iowa?

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester?

Camp Randall Stadium in Madison?

Mars Cheese Castle?

Tommy Barlett's Waterskiing Extravaganza?

Other suggestions from the peanut gallery?

In any case, thanks for reading through the rambling, and have a great start to the week,

Day 8: Yellowstone, Cody, Sheridan

2009-06-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

As I did yesterday, today's post is broken down in to three categories: pictures, highlights, and between the ears stuff. But a heart felt mazel tov to Liane and Greg (and Quinner) on the birth of their newborn son, Campbell McGregor Smiley. Charley Mike Sierra. Well done.

Photos

Here ya go; there's a lot today.

Highlights:
Very cold in West Yellowstone; car temps at 38 when I got in
Hit the road around 9 AM and went through Yellowstone from Northwest entrance
Saw a bunch more wildlife, but crowds near popular sites and bad weather (snow!) changed my plan
Rather than going south to the Grand Tetons, I headed for NE corner of Yellowstone
NE Corner of Yellowstone was unreal; tons of wildlife, some great views
Outside the park, picked up a Scenic Highway that may have been toughest driving thus far; at 11,000 feet, driving through clouds on windy roads was tricky
Stopped in Cody for late lunch around 3 PM, at at Irma's Wild Bill's Hotel that was what you'd expect
Headed east on some scenic routes to Sheridan, Wyoming
Checked in to a Motel 6 that is not cool. (Smoking room, carpet that resembles the felt on a blackjack table in downtown Reno, and smells worse than most fraternity houses. I will be sleeping in my clothes tonight.)
Blogging

Between the Ears

I really liked Yellowstone, and wished I went there first rather than going north to Glacier, but waddayagonna do. The scenery is unreal, and I would have loved to have explored more through Yellowstone and the Tetons. My decision to skip the Tetons was something I made after noticing the herd mentality in the park, the weather, and Annie not being a good 'visitor' to the park. There were still a ton of things to see from the road, and I had a great day behind the wheel.

I was really blown away a few times today behind the wheel. Early in the morning, I remember feeling like I was in Disneyworld and following the herd to each 'attraction' in the park. It felt inauthentic (not sure if that's a word), and just didn't feel right. I was on the main loop through the park, and there was a ton of cool stuff to see, but it just felt like I was in some safari ride in a theme park. I decided to head for the Northeast corner of the park, which is what Mark (the bear tracker from Kalispell) suggested. He was right on; it was very remote, and a super cool drive.

In the travel book I keep nearby, Charles Kuralt (Former CBS Sunday Morning Host) called it the most beautiful stretch of road in the country. It was funny reading that quote--I remember my folks watching that show when I was young (usually right before NFL pre-game shows) and it was never of interest. Now if I catch it, there's usually some cool pieces, and I can see why Chuck felt it was such a great drive. There were some wildlife sightings you'll see in the photos, mainly some deer, a ram (?), and a basset/beagle that was a total pain in the butt.

From a weather standpoint, its friggin cold here. The temps today stayed between 42 and 50 degrees; not exactly warm stuff. I'm wearing winter clothing, so its not exactly summer, and its been rainy/grey at times too. Visibility isn't great at high altitudes, since you're literally in the clouds. Driving in the clouds was bizarre; I could see about 50 yards in front of the car, and I remember thinking, "gosh its foggy here" until I realized how high up we were.

Annie has been hanging like a trooper, and she's not exactly an ideal wingwoman for trips in to quiet areas of the park where there are wildlife around. She doesn't bark at the wildlife, she barks at being left behind in the car. Which, even with the windows up can be kinda grating. I get her out of the car as much as I can, and it can't be comfortable sitting in that position all day, so I'm trying to work with her by driving through areas where she can run around and get dirty. I know, she's a dog, but she's not the easiest travel companion.

Yellowstone is a super cool part of the country, and coming back with a bit more "freedom" is something I'll definitely do. I was really impressed with Wyoming's scenery, and its a very nice combination between plains and interesting geological formations. Up near Big Horn (?) National Forest (Northeast part of the state) there were formations that reminded me of Sedona, and it really felt nice getting back on the road away from the crowds.

Tomorrow I'll head to Devil's tower, Rushmore, the Black Hills, etc., and then its further east from there. I'm not sure where I'll be stopping, but I did like a suggestion from one reader to hit a big ten campus before hitting Chicago/Highland Park. Iowa City is very cool, as is Madison, and of course, there's no guarantee I stop at either...I guess I'll figure that out tomorrow evening.

Hope all of you enjoy your weekends,
D

Day 7: Billings, West Yellowstone

2009-06-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've had a busy, interesting day; I'll get to the highlights quickly with a new and improved layout. I'm summarizing my posts in three segments: photos, highlights, and 'between the ears.'

For the folks who would rather see pictures:
Click Here

For the folks who want the chronological highlights:
Woke up about 8
Walked Annie, Packed Car (so much easier with that pair of shoes gone)
Drove to Jiffy Lube for oil change, Annie pukes in lobby of Jiffy Lube
I clean up puke
We head towards Billings, I spend the time worrying if she's sick
Talk to My sister who notifies me that my niece met the requirements and has successfully completed Pre-Kindergarten. Nice work Maddie!
Get to Bozeman around 12:30, walk around Montana State University Campus
Stop in bookstore, get dad souvenier for father's day
I get a really good sandwich at a place called the Pickle Barrell.
I eat sandwich on campus, Annie watches.
Drive through Yellowstone towards the town of West Yellowstone. Technically I've been in Montana and Wyoming today, and there's a chance I'm watching news from Idaho. But West Yellowstone is in Montana, so we're clear.
Check in to hotel named "Brandin' Iron" (once again, I'm a sucker for the clever names)
Hotel is fine, a log cabin looking place from the 1950's; wood panneling, no A/C (but heat). For $50 bones its not so bad, and i'm trying to stay cheap.
Walk the town of West Yellowstone; it is just like the Wisconsin Dells (sorry for west coasters.
I debated the comic value of taking a picture with Annie in one of those black and white sets where you dress up in old clothing. I'd make annie wear a top hat, but that would violate Rule # 28 in the world of Delta Whiskey: Pets don't get dressed up in clothing. Ever.
I eat dinner at local cheeseburger place (shocker).
I'm underdressed so decide to put pants on and take annie for a hike
Annie and I walk, she has a #2 that looked like a #1
I worry again about Annie's health, decide I need to take advantage of proximity to yellowstone park (across the street from my hotel)
Get Annie in car, drive through Yellowstone at sundown
Run in to another pack of Bison, very close to the car. Some great photos and videos.
Drive to Old Faithful
Watch Old Faithful erupt at 9:10 PM.
Drive back to West Yellowstone
Write Blog

Between the Ears:

I decided I'll have two more nights on the road; three if it gets impossible to make it in two. There are two reasons for the self imposed end of the line: money and Annie.

First, it doesn't take Alan Greenspan to realize that it costs money to travel across the country. Hotel rooms, Gas, meals, etc. may sound like it would be cheap, but its about $120 a day. For those new to the Adventures in my world, my career is a bit up in the air, and I need to be smart about not burying myself in a hole.

In terms of Annie, I'm about a 4 on a scale of 1 - 10 in terms of how worried I am about her health. She has been drinking (water, you sickos), and has been eating, but the puking and runny poop are making me think I should get moving towards Chicago a little quicker.

Believe me, I'd love to stay out here for more time, but its not such a bad thing: I have a HUGE highlight waiting at the end of this vacation. Returing to a kick ass city, approaching the peak summer months, means a loooong list of other things I'd like to have some money to be able to do (i.e., golf, Cubs, travel w/ sis and family to Fla) so I'm trying to be mindful about blowing too much on my travels back.

But in the meantime, today was a kick-ass day. Bozeman was a cool little college town, living in one of those towns sounds so appealing--the pace of life is just quick enough to have 'urban' things, yet slow enough so you don't have to feel rushed or overwhelmed by its size.

I decided I'd make West Yellowstone tonight's destination, and as you saw in the highlights its not much of a town. It has the fudge shops, t-shirt stores, etc., that you'll find in the Wisconsin Dells, Daytona Beach, or any of those kinds of towns. But its one redeeming quality is the proximity to the park.

After dinner I had a choice: either head to Ashton for a rodeo at 8 PM or head in to the park for some dusk viewing of the wildlife, geysers, and scenery. I chose to head in to the park; and although the rodeo would have been a great chance for pictures/stories, Old Faithful beats the Rodeo.

I had another great Bison run-in on the way to Old Faithful. Once again, guys, gals, and their kids (a baby Bison is a calf? is that correct?) were within feet from the car and there's video for that one.

The other nutty experience was watching Old faithful blow the top. For starters, its crazy how its not sectioned off. I'm not saying all People are dumb, but I could see some jackass trying to run under it like a fountain at Grant Park. But then again, its nice to not have a bunch of manmade stuff around the Geyser, and hopefully people have a shred of intelligence not to walk near it.

But idiots aside, it was a very cool experience to watch Old Faithful explode as the sun was going down on the day. I'd describe it like this...
-Steam begins to come out of the ground (like chimneys from hell)
-Steam volume picks up
-Ground Rumbles
-Steam turns to water
-Earth belches twice with water coming up about 20 feet high
-Water explodes up to about 80 feet high, with steam

I think its hard to describe being there and feeling the earth rumbling under your feet, the sounds, even smells of Sulfur in the air. I have video and I'll get it up here eventually.

It was also very cool that it happened with not much of a crowd around. Its chilly up here; temps are in the 40s, down in to the 30's at night, and with kids still in school it really is a great time to be travelling like I am.

So tomorrow its off to see more of Yellowstone. My big dilemma is fitting in the Grand Tetons AND the NE corner of Yellowstone, but I'll figure it out and my guess is I'll be somewhere in Central to Eastern Wyoming tomorrow.

Til then, do something fun this weekend,
D

Day 6: Heading south to Wyoming

2009-06-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today wasn't an extremely eventful day, but it sure beats some of the alternatves so here goes. Here's the photos; some keepers in the bunch from Glacier.

Wednesday night I spent doing laundry, and getting ready to start the second major leg of the trip back to Chicago. I got up pretty early, and figured I should get my money's worth out of the Season's Pass to the National Park System, so I decided to head north from the Rodeway Inn towards West Glacier and Going to the Sun Highway.

Before I left the hotel, I obviously had to pack up once again, and got annnoyed that I don't seem to be dropping any weight along the way. For some reason, I have this hope that the next time I go to pack my car I'll have fewer things. But with the exception of trash, there isn't much I'm getting rid of. Most vacations work that way, you come home with what you brought.

But I decided to do something about it and get rid of one item I didn't need. I looked through my suitcase, and there were two candidates to make Kalispell, MT their home: 1) Magnets from my refrigerator and 2) a pair of hiking/water shoes. I decided to go with # 2 but only after I gave those shoes one last chance to be comfortable and/or functional. I've worn those shoes in Asia, across the country on my trip to Seattle, and countless other times only to be disappointed that they really aren't that comfortable. But as a shoe whore, cutting bait on a pair of good looking shoes is not easy, so I gave them the day to redeem themselves. And as a sucker for nostalgia, I hate letting go of those shoes I had some great trips with.

But after a day wearing those suckers, I'm officially done with them.

Once I got over my "big decision" for the day (what to ditch), I headed to Glacier once again. Before entering the park, I stopped in to say goodbye to Roger at his camera store. If you're ever in West Glacier, make sure to stop by and pick up something from them. Here's Roger hard at work with his ma. He's got a brother in Chicago who I'll have to catch up with once I get settled down.

I then headed towards Lake McDonald, which is one of the more famous vistas in Glacier. I snapped a few photos, and took the highway as far as I could before I saw "End of the Road" signs.

Since I took 93 up from Missoula to Kalispell, I decided to take 83 on the way back south, so I could see a bit more of the east side of Flathead Lake. There was some great views of Mountains, and I took whatever pics I could on the way south from Glacier. Sometime during the drive, I noticed I had about 10% left with my car's oil life, and that I'd need an oil change before I head to Wyoming. I wasn't going to make it to Yellowstone in a day, so I decided to take 83 south and head back to Missoula for the night. I'd get the oil changed, catch the first game of the NBA finals, then head to Wyoming in the AM.

I settled back in to Missoula around 7 PM, and headed to Mo's once again for a cheeseburger, since its a place I'm familiar with and like the burgers. On the way back from dinner, it occured to me I haven't eaten a vegetable in about a week. I know my gut isn't great at handling veggies since the surgery, but that's a bit long for me. So tomorrow I'll make sure to eat some form of a vegetable.

As I said in the intro, today wasn't a day filled with highlights; lots of time to think about what's to come once I head back to Chicago. I'm excited to be near friends and family, and the great city of Chicago, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit concerned about the work situation. I wouldn't say it took the shine out of the trip, but it has occured to me in the last 24 hours that eventually the trip has to come to an end, and I'll need to get back to work. I don't mention it to be a downer, just wanted to paint an accurate picture of what's shaking between my ears. I guess that reality means I should continue enjoying every minute I have on the road, and having fun along the way. So its off to Wyoming in the AM.

I have a reader question to answer, so I'm including that here at the end:

Question: Is Annie enjoying the trip?
Answer: I have no idea if this is the greatest thing she's ever done or just another day. For those who know Annie, she is an impossible creature to figure out. But after having her for 2 and a half years, I believer Annie's ideal 24 hour day includes:
20 Hours of sleep
1 Hour of running around, walking like a dog and peeing on everything in sight
1 Hour of sitting in the car, checking life out
2 Hours of begging, eating, barking and causing trouble.

On this trip, this balance is way out of whack for her. She hasn't been sleeping much in the car, so I'm trying to get her long blocks of time to rest at the places we're staying. Today I tried to get her some extra running around time at a dog park here in Missoula, and I think she's had a good day.

I do think she enjoys being in nature, but from her perspective, the alley behind the hotel counts as nature....

Will check in tomorrow, hope all of you are well,
D