Friday, September 10, 2010

Gotta Get 'Girlie'

Dawn, from Racing Dawn, hit me with a ‘girlie blog award’ (her words, not mine), which calls for a list of my ten favorite things.



Embracing my inner girlieness, I figured I’d give it a shot. Here’s the top ten, in no particular order:

Sunrises while running or fishing – Running and fishing are two activities that I very much enjoy, but my experience shows that it’s challenging and often painful to try and combine the two. Once I’ve chosen between the two, there’s something about starting a run or wetting a line while it’s still dark out, and watching the day begin while doing something I enjoy can carry me through the whole day. Makes me feel like I’ve squeezed a little extra out of the day.

Completing a home-improvement project – I’ve always enjoyed and been fairly adept at woodworking and general home-improvement. As my life has progressed and time to work on these projects has become harder to come by, I’ve found I draw more enjoyment from completing a project than actually doing the work. I don’t necessarily view this shift as a bad thing, but more of a healthy understanding of the reality of my life right now.

Chocolate-covered pretzels – Crazy good. Evil good. Not a huge fan of sweets, but a big fan of salty things, and when these two come together it leaves me powerless. My willpower kryptonite. Rivaled only by Bryer’s mint chocolate chip ice cream.

The color green – I assume this is tied to my general love of the outdoors, landscaping, etc. There was a point in time where almost every item of clothing I owned was some shade of green. Made for some rather unfortunate combinations I’m sure. Thankfully my wife is around to make it appear I have some sense of fashion.

Random acts of kindness – Amazing the power that the smallest act can have if it’s completely unexpected.

Good, sincere customer service – Sadly, a nearly lost art. However, it’s become rare enough that when you get truly good service it stands out like a lighthouse in a storm. There are several companies that I continue to use almost entirely due to positive experiences dealing with their employees. I wish more companies recognized the return they get on simple, positive actions from the folks that work for them.

A cold Guinness on a hot day – I generally don’t drink much these days, especially if I’m in a marathon training cycle, but I’m a sucker for an icy Stout at the end of a hot day. The perfect punctuation for a busy, and hopefully productive day. There are stouts I like better than Guiness, but Guiness is my best bang-for-the-buck option, and is the beer that really turned me on to stouts many years ago.

Cool rain on a hot summer day – Always a winner for me, unless said rain decides to violate the inner working of my iPod leaving the screen a dark, unbacklit field of sadness.

Unsolicited hugs from my family, especially my little girl – Fortunately my daughter is a big-time hugger. She is singlehandedly trying to ensure that the East Coast continues to meet its daily quota of hugs. I used to refer to her as the koala, like those clip on koalas that were everywhere when I was a kid. Whatever happened to those things?

My Garmin (most of the time) – Still, pound-for-pound, the best gift I have ever been given by my wife. For a numbers junkie like me, this is like a wrist-mounted crack pipe. I can’t get enough of checking this thing while I run, after I run, before I run, etc., etc. If loving Lil’ G is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.

Don’t forget to enter my $45 CSN Stores Giveaway.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled manliness.

I’m on a horse.

18 comments:

  1. On a horse. You kill me.

    I totally agree on the customer service thing. It is a lost art. I so appreciate it when I get it and I usually write a letter of appreciation. GREAT list. Love to read the girlie things big manly men love. I didn't see lacy underwear on there tho.

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  2. On a horse riding through tulips?!

    I love the "unsolicited hugs" one.

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  3. HA! "I'm on a horse" nearly resulted in coffee spewed onto my computer screen.....

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  4. No kidding about customer service. Such a shame! And love the running/fishing at sunrise one.

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  5. HAHAHA at least you didnt get the "Beautiful Blogger" award

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  6. Got to love the lacy underwear! But I understand this was a "sensitive" post.

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  7. Love it man - did you bake a cake in the kitchen you built with your own hands?

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  8. About a year ago I just randomly decided that I would build a pergola in my mom's back yard. I guess I could have started my wood-working hobby with a table or chair, but nope, just a whole damn pergola...haha! I got my brother involved, and three days later she had a beautiful pergola in her backyard. I agree with you about finishing something...it felt like a major accomplishment. Not bad for 3 days of your life. She now has Cabernet growing up each pole.

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  9. I'm on a horse - that totally reverted it back to all things manly lol

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  10. Next year's list will include winning your fantasy football league. Just watch.

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  11. OMGosh - Smack It Up , Flip It-Rub It Down . . .
    . . . . love it. I can just "see" you running to this. Awesome.

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  12. You are killin me. I'm on a horse... that's gonna keep me smiling all week! So glad you had fun with the list. Hope no one catches you crying during Hallmark commercials or rubbing lipstick off your teeth next. :) I had one of those koalas too! So great!

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  13. Nice list. I love sunrise as well. Best time of the day. I’m the same with green and always wonder is it’s got something to do with nature and outdoors.

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  14. I <3 the color green too...fun reading, thanks for sharing:)

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  15. LOL!! Seriously! Too funny! I'm assuming that "I'm on a horse" is from the Old Spice commercial, which is also very funny!

    Great list! Green is the way to go. Thank God for unsolicited hugs and random acts of kindness!

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