DalyDose of…Quirky Gratitude

On Facebook, I started a post asking people to declare the little things in life that they are thankful for.  You can see the action HERE.   This got me thinking even more about gratitude.  I wanted to quickly think of a few things that I could be thankful for that don’t appear to be objects worthy of thanks.  Here is said list:

• I am thankful for the collective economic distress by my peers in Los Angeles.
  I don’t say this because I want everyone in the same leaky boat with me.  I say this for a couple of good reasons.  First off, I believe that lots of great accomplishments come after disappointment.  I’m also glad to be in an environment where we aren’t always “keeping up with the Joneses” and can focus on our creative pursuits.

• I am thankful for being single.
  The “inner-jerk” in me would say that I’m thankful to enjoy different selections from the menu vs. only getting to enjoy my favorite entrée day after day.  In fact, I would say that the ability to roam in social situations has allowed me to expand my network.  Of course, I’ll be thankful when “she” makes “herself” known to me so I can have a teammate in this game of life.  I’ll also be glad to stop typing about “her” in quotation marks.

• I’m thankful for bills and collections.
  Seriously, these people expect me to pay them and believe that I will.  I appreciate their optimistic attitude regarding my economic prospects.  There are times that I’m not sure and then I’ll get a piece of mail or a phone call demanding that I fulfill my potential and pay them.  That’s true support.

• I’m thankful for the death trap that I’m currently driving.
  No, I don’t have a passive plan to leave this life anytime soon.  I appreciate living in an area where I can walk for entertainment, shopping, dining, etc.  It’s good for my health and I get to know the area in ways that you can’t from locked inside of a vehicle.  To be honest, I’m even grateful for the vehicle as it allows me to travel beyond walking range.
•  I’m thankful for not being the obvious ideal in the dating pool.
  Let’s be real. People aren’t dating me for my money, power, prestige or underwear model contract.  I truly know that I’m being loved for being myself.

Well, that’s my quirky, unexpected list of thanks to go along with health, friends, family and all the other “big stuff” that everyone always gives thanks for.  I’d also like to give thanks to anyone who read this often neglected blog.   Hmmmm…maybe I should consider the blog for my 2012 list of resolutions.  Last year’s 10 Single Resolutions was all about living the single life and I think Mr. Inner-Jerk took over that list. Hmmmm….

Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you all find reasons to be thankful for anything and everything you have in your lives.

I’m off to San Clemente to meet the #StumbleBaby.

DalyDose of…SWEAT!

It was August 31, 2011 and I added a jolt to the JD Experience.  There was need for a kick-start and when the opportunity presented itself, I took on the challenge.  It started with the normal Spinning class that I teach at 7:30, then it was an hour in the weight room, then I taught the 9:30 class.  After that I went home and lived the day like a mere mortal, until I then taught the 6:30pm class after battling LA traffic to only be a couple of minutes late.  Yeah, I think that adds to the super hero thing I got going on in my own mind.  Seriously, in my self-image, I’ve got a cape and everything.

Mango-nificent Love

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” -Mother Teresa

Could both hungers be satiated with a little mango?

I love my Samsung Focus as much as one can love an electronic device, but that is not what this blog entry is about.  I have a developer unlocked device and thus, I have Microsoft’s test version of the latest iteration of Windows Phone, codenamed “Mango”.

This writing is not 100% mango centric.  Many of the apps are available for any major smartphone platform.  There are some features that are built-in to Windows Phone Mango and I’ll point those out.

2011 Mid Year Resolution Check In

We’ve gone past June and rounded into July and that means that the year is now half over.  It was just 6 short months ago that many of us made big promises to ourselves about how we were going to make changes and improve our lives.  How have those resolutions been working out for you?  Have you stayed true to your promises or has the journey towards summer made you forget?

Well, here’s my scorecard:

JD: The Gifted Director

It has been a little bit since my last blog entry.  I have been a little distracted.  A portion of that time was consumed with shooting the next “Stuck” experience, called Textually Active.

At the end of this blog post, I have embedded the film for you to see.  If you haven’t already seen it, we’d love for you to take a peek.  We’re pretty confident that you’ll enjoy yourself.  OK, enough of that; let’s take you to your regularly scheduled blog reading, so you can see why I’m calling myself a “gifted director”.

DalyDose of…Kids Today

You know that you’re getting old when you say things like “these kids today”.  I’ve been saying that a lot lately while I roam though this thing called life.  I’m not apologizing for it, but I don’t blame the upcoming generation for their ills.  In fact, I have no singular blame.  I’ve broken it down to two culprits;  I blame MTV and “time out”.

I’m sorry parenting books and Viacom, but I’ve got my own thoughts on these subjects and some of you aren’t going to like it.  Don’t worry, I’ll punish myself to some time in the corner and then to watching an episode of Jersey Shore…that’ll teach me.

DalyDose of…Ladies Baggage

I have been single long enough now, since early 2007, that it is starting to seem commonplace. In that time, I have dated quite a bit. There have been many variables that could describe these women in terms of physical traits, emotional stability, intellect, personality, etc. For the purpose of this entry we will look only at age.

Women fitting into a wide range of ages, find their way into my life. I have dated some young women and others that are…(be careful here, JD)…uh…more, age appropriate. I have heard some men complain that younger women are full of drama and old—, ah…age appropriate women are bogged down with their own unique set of issues. My extensive, case-by-case research has lead me to my own conclusion:

DalyDose of…Valentine’s Daly

Valentine’s Day gets a bad rap as a corporate holiday, but in reality it is…well, it’s so much worse.  It’s so bad that it doesn’t even warrant a day off for our valiant postal workers.  In fact, it would seem to me that they have to work extra hard on this day.  You can take that to bank.  I mean, literally, you can take it to the bank because the banks are open on this “holiday”.

To make matters worse, this is the most exclusionary holiday on the calendar.  Another saint’s day, Patrick to be exact doesn’t require one to be Irish; anyone can get filthy drunk on this holiday.  That’s inclusion.  President’s Day is coming up next and we’ve all voted for somebody that won.  If you didn’t vote, then you have probably at least been screwed by presidential policies at some point.  We all get to enjoy the holiday.   As I rack my brain, every single holiday other than Valentine’s Day is for us all.

What about this day devoted to St. Valentines?   

DalyDose of…Phone Sex. Is it a Date?

I like writing, but it would be so much better to get paid for it.  I came across this opportunity to submit a blog sample to this company starting a website for single people.  They were looking for funny, unique views.  I submitted my DalyDose of…10 Single Resolutions and they responded that they would like a 500 word sample using their test topic.  The test topic is “Does phone sex count as a date?”. 

I took on the challenge.  I transformed myself from nice guy to inner jerk and starting hitting the keyboard.  They wanted 500 words or less….here are my 493:

DalyDose of…The Rest of The Story

Today I am writing my own Paul Harvey tribute. Please read until the end…for the “rest of the story”.

————————————–

This was a Monday morning like other Monday mornings, but with a fantastic addition. The light of day had barely begun and my eyes set focus on a face, a familiar, friendly face with a morning smile so bright I barely noticed the lack of solar driven light.

We went into the next room and I instinctively turned on music. I find that music helps with the mood. We eased into things, but eventually worked ourselves into a sweaty frenzy. By the time an hour had passed ,we were out of breath and satisfied with our performance.