Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Dad Stuff, Part 1: Eviction Notice
Welcome to a new category on the Blog …Dad Stuff.
Ours is a house divided. How? Gender-specific bathrooms (I know …not very “woke”). However it happened, the girls (Mom, teen-daughter #1, and teen-daughter #2) have the upstairs, remodeled, pretty bathroom, and the boys (Dad and teen-age son) have the less-pretty basement bathroom. The boy’s shower isn’t much to look at and looks dirty even when clean, but it does have the best shower head, great water pressure, and most of all …it has super-hot water.
Teen-daughter #1 like to use the boy’s shower.
The boy’s shower, and bathroom, follows a minimalist’s vision. A single bar of soap for Dad. A single bottle of body wash for the boy. One bottle of shampoo for both. That’s it. Everything has its place. Nothing changes. We like it that way.
Teen-daughter brings multiple bottles of body wash, shave creams, various shampoos, a razor, more shampoo, and more body washes. The bottles are squeezed and contorted in such ways you would think they belong to King Kong. When teen-daughter leaves the bathroom, after very long showers, the bathroom is trashed. Bottles are strewn about the shower floor, some balanced precariously on the shower door rail, some in the rack (where they should go) and it takes Dad a few minutes to put everything away after teen-daughter wreaks havoc.
Dad has warned her.
“We don’t mind you using our bathroom, but could you please take the various products back up to your bathroom when you are done? Or, at least, not leave so many laying on the floor?”
Teen-daughter ignores her pushover father.
But no more.
I’ve now threatened to evict her from our bathroom. Enough is enough. We must return our shower to neatness and simpleness. We cannot have our boy-bathroom overrun and begin to smell like, and look like, a girl-bathroom.
Granted, the exfoliating foot wash is quite nice …but NO!
This will not stand. She has been warned.
Plant-Based Stuff, Part 7: 7-Week Update
Like everyone who adopts a plant-based diet, I’m telling you all about it. I like to think I’m a little different because mine isn’t about weight loss, but mine is about eating a phlegm-free diet in order to help my lungs. I’m not doing it to save the planet or because I love animals. I’m doing it because when I eat shitty food, I get sick. And when I get sick, I cough and cough and cough …and cough because of my bronchiectasis.
For the record, I ate pepperoni pizza twice in the past week. I had regular butter a few times. I ate a crab cake sandwich on a thick, white-bread bun with fries. I ate every last French fry. I just did. Dipped it in ranch.
And then I stop.
Being plant-based 95% of the time for 7-weeks has reduced my cravings for greasy meaty stuff. Being plant-based takes practice. I’ve added a few recipes (like this vegan waffle recipe that I eat smothered in almond butter and strawberry fruit preserves). My downfall was always cravings I couldn’t control. I would tell myself, “Don. Just go get a Five Guys and all those fries and today will be your send-off. Your swan song. Enjoy the Five Guys and then …that’s it.” I know junk-food leads to more junk-food. The adrenaline rush of a Five Guys burger and fries makes me want it again. The quick burst of happiness that comes when I buy 2 Jimmy John’s subs only makes me want it again.
It’s a mental battle every day, but when the chemical processes in my brain stop whispering to me, “hey, Don …eat that Five Guys …go get a Big Mac …drink that Pepsi over ice with a big bucket of popcorn and don’t forget the free refills …don’t worry …this is your moment of weakness, Don …tomorrow and every day forward you’re gonna be amazing.”
Those whispers, after 7-weeks of bullying myself, have started to whisper, “hey, Don …take 10 deep breaths …notice you didn’t cough or wheeze …didn’t you enjoy that deep sleep last night …make that smoothie with all the add-ins …do you enjoy how your clothes fit?”
It doesn’t happen overnight. The junk-food devil-on-my-shoulder didn’t want me to stick with this, but he’s talking to me alot less nowadays.
Lung Stuff, Part 12: Bronchiectasis
Writing this on January 25th. My 25th day of plant-based eating. Doing it because I want to stop …coughing. I’ve said for years that I can fix this Bronchiectasis thing if I really wanted to if I would just stop eating crappy foods. More to the point, if I stopped eating phlegm-producing foods (see my Blog entry on the ultimate phlegm-free diet).
I know what you’re saying … “hey, Don, I read your Blog for the mildly amusing stories that occasionally offer a bit of inspiration and don’t want to talk about phlegm.”
I hear ya. So here’s the lesson …if you’re going to do something, make a plan, do the research, and then follow the plan and remember the research. Like, at one point in my life I knew how to do Calculus and was damn good at it. I actually ENJOYED Calculus. But the last time I thought about Calculus was sophomore year of college (1993) and now, if you put me in a basic Calculus course, I would quite likely fail. Because I haven’t been doing it for 20+ years, don’t have my notes, and am not doing it every day, it’s all gone. Poof. My brain forgot it.
That’s how it is with the brief obsession I had with living a phlegm-free life. I researched it. Obsessed about it. Assumed I knew everything. And then just went about living a phlegm-free life, but since I didn’t refer back to my notes, I slowly forgot some basics. Like these two things…
- Fruits: Lighter fruits, such as apples and pears, are better. Reduce sweet, heavy or sour fruits such as oranges, bananas, pineapples, figs, dates, avocados, coconuts, and melons, as these fruits increase mucus.
- Nuts: Reduce all nuts as they are too oily.
- Avoid overeating, especially at night.
Guess what I’ve been doing for the entire month of January? I’ve been eating 1 Cup or more of nuts EVERY DAY and I’ve been eating two oranges EVERY NIGHT. I should know better. Yet it seems I have about as much of a chance at passing a Calculus mid-term as I do living a life without phlegm, coughing, and wheezing because I’m not constantly practicing and improving.
I’m in sales for a living. I read a book a month. Follow sales and motivation Blogs and social media accounts, I watch things to keep me motivated and energized, and I am CONSTANTLY learning and adapting to the new sales and advertising things.
See what I’m getting at? I need to be constantly improving how I treat my body for this Bronchiectasis thing. Oh, for the record, I will NOT be trying to rekindle my passion for Calculus. Just sayin’.
So, if you’re a family member (or friend) who always worries about my breathing and coughing, this Blog entry is for you. I’m working on it. I know what I’m doing wrong and will fix it. If you’re stopping by because you accidentally found me while searching “phlegm”, “phlegm-free eating”, “Bronchiectasis”, “wheezing”, “breathing”, “lung health”, or “Calculus” …glad you found me. Read this Blog entry (that I also linked above) because if you apply the rules, you’ll breathe better and cough less.
And remember, never stop improving and learning and reviewing your progress in any part of your life that’s important to you.
Washing Machine, 3 Week Update
Remember how I was getting a new washing machine and was worried about (a) not having a center agitator, (b) having too many computerized features, and (c) getting a large capacity washer that would waste too much water?
Remember?
I’m here to tell you …I love this machine. The single, most-advanced item in my house is my LG washing machine. Even though I know the control panel is going to fail in 5-years and I’ll be paying for repairs, right now, this thing is amazing. Read More
Plant-Based Don, 3 Week Update
Remember how I Blogged about being a vegetarian, but not really a vegetarian? Turns out, this idea wasn’t my own. Currently, two of the top things being searched are Google are “plant-based” and “intermittent fasting.” In fact, intermittent fasting was the #1 trend for 2019 and I totally did it a few times in 2019.
Now I’m plant-based with some fasting mixed in. I’m so trendy.
Some have asked, “why?” And some have wondered where did I get this crazy idea. Obviously, if these two things are big on Google, I’m just following the trend (something I love doing …if it’s trendy, it must be great, right? Like wild-patterned dress socks …everyone else is doing it, so I am, too).
Actually, I was inspired by observing my own health. I know when I eat rich meats, bakery bread with butter, and sugar, my lung condition acts up. When I don’t …it doesn’t.
Enter two Netflix documentaries … Forks Over Knives and What the Health (both movie trailers below). Add to that my obsession with Dr. Joel Kahn and his book, Dead Execs Don’t Get Bonuses, and it was a perfect storm of voices telling me, “Don. You’re a smart guy. You should know better.”
Here I am. Day-18 of plant-based eating, not snacking in the evening, and occasionally eating a really small meal if I’m not hungry and I’m here to tell ya …I feel incredible!
Wanna know how I became an expert on everything food-related in two nights? Watch the documentaries, read some Dr. Joel Kahn Tweets and his books, and you’ll see where my head is at.
I want a cheeseburger …when I’m 80-years-old.
Peak Misery
The thing is, I don’t feel miserable.
But according to Dartmouth College’s Professor David Blanchflower, his research reveals that “47.2 years old is the moment of peak unhappiness in the developed world.”
I look at this one of two ways. Either (a) I’m terribly unhappy but blissfully ignorant of it or (b) my peak unhappiness isn’t all that bad so the next 10, 20, or 30 years could be really fantastic.
For the record. I’m currently 46.5 years old as of the posting of this Blog entry you’re reading. Read More
Penmanship and Handwriting: A Link to My Past
My handwriting is deteriorating. Is this possible? I used to really like my own handwriting. I took great pride in it. It started long ago. If you’re a psychologist, maybe you can analyze this little factoid from my youth. Ready?
I had the best handwriting in my entire Kindergarten and 1st Grade class. I have this distinct memory, vivid to this day, of walking around with my parents at an Open House and strolling through the room looking at the various things the teacher had hung on the wall. Jack-o-lanterns made from bits of tissue paper glued to a traceable pattern that made it look like carpet. Leaves ironed onto wax paper. But the moment I remember vividly happened while perusing the wall where examples of our handwriting hung. This was 1st Grade. Learning to print your letters was, and is, a big deal. I took great pride in crafting a four-sentence masterpiece about Halloween including my costume plan and favorite candy. Read More
Plant-Based Don
I’m going to write a book called Regular Guy Goes (Mostly) Vegetarian. It will be different than most books about being vegan or vegetarian because it will be written by a guy who’s been vegetarian for about, oh, 11 days. Also, this guy isn’t 100% vegetarian, which I think is called “flexitarian”, and the author doesn’t have any plans to be vegetarian forever. The author’s expertise will come from two documentaries, one audiobook, and a few websites on the subject. He won’t vet any of the sources or claims made in those documentaries, but he’ll summarize it like this.
- Cows, pigs, chicken, and turkeys are drugged up, eat pesticides, live in unsanitary conditions, stand around all day in their own pee and poop, are full of disease, and sometimes cannibalize other cows, chickens, pigs, and turkeys that drop-dead around them.
- Humans are hunters, gatherers, and omnivores, but until only the last 5,000 years with the onset of domesticating animals, humans were mostly gatherers. It took tremendous effort to hunt and kill an animal. It could only happen when everyone was ready to eat because people didn’t have refrigerators. Also, see #1. The animals were raised in the wild and not all disgusting and cooped up. See #1. I would eat a chicken from 367 B.C. that grew fat on grain, bugs, and worms versus a modern-day chicken that gets fat from hormones, corn, and chemically modified feed designed to make them fatter.
- Study 10,000 vegetarians and compare their cancer, disease, sickness and sick days, dementia, and obesity rate to 10,000 meat-eaters ( eating meat 4+ times a week), and vegetarians will always have significantly less cancer, disease, sickness and sick days, dementia, and obesity.
- Why not? If you go to the grocery store, you can buy any type of food you like. The grocery store always has an abundance of green things, things without eggs or dairy, and with just a little effort and knowledge, you can avoid the things in #1.
Am I Breaking Up with Adidas?
My shoe brand defines me. I can clearly pinpoint the start and end of my shoe brand eras.
- 1973-1981: Whatever Mom picked out
- 1981-1984: Kangaroos & Reeboks
- 1985-1991: The Nike Era begins
- 1985 – Canvas low-tops
- 1986 – Air Jordans (Georgetown Hoya edition)
- 1987 – Air Jordans & Bo Jacksons
- 1988 – Air Jordans
- 1989 – Air Jordans
- 1990 – Air Jordans
- 1991-2019: The Adidas Era
Resolutions 2020
I credit Matthew Dicks for my a-ah moment of 2019 – discovering storytelling and The Moth.
Matthew Dicks is a storyteller. Yes. That’s a thing. But I didn’t know it until I heard him on the Art of Manliness Podcast. For a guy like me, who didn’t do so well at stand-up comedy, doesn’t play an instrument, never really thrived in improv theater, and who can’t sing, thereby ruling out community theater, this storytelling thing seemed perfect for me to flex my creative muscles.
The a-ha moment wasn’t just learning about The Moth, but learning it was OK for me, at 46-years-old, to still have a yearning to be on stage. This guy, Matthew, goes to The Moth, often, has his own storytelling events, wrote a book and has a Podcast about the art and how-to of storytelling, is a father and husband and, still, is a teacher. Not sure why the fact he’s still teaching is the most inspiring part, but I love that he still holds a full-time job and then does all this other stuff, too. Read More
Don Kowalewski 