Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Weekend Mornings Are My Happy Place?
I’m a hermit a few hours a week.
Nearly every Saturday and Sunday morning, I wake early (by 6:30 a.m. at the latest), take my dog for a half-hour walk, Aeropress myself a cuppa coffee, and then have “me time.” Typically, that includes burning through my backlogged personal Yahoo! and Gmail, watching YouTube vids I’ve filed into “Watch Later”, writing, listening to Podcasts, and randomly surfing the Internet.
The teens in my house sleep in. My wife sleeps in. I feel productive and healthy. And I try to suppress the feeling that this is actually some sorta mental issue that I’m not sleeping in on the weekend and look forward to two hours all by myself.
Am I the only one?
Like this morning, I was really able to start nailing down my Christmas wish list, started looking at old journals and short stories to begin assembling them into a book, and I read a few stories about my Spartans and about the Thanksgiving parades of the day (oh …my weekend hermit sessions are a paaaaarty).
Mornings are important to me. I’m thankful, on this Thanksgiving day, for peace, quiet, and tranquility on early weekend mornings.
Blog About Nothing?
Remember when I used to Blog about nothing, pretending as if thousands of people hung on my every word? If you’re one of the thousands of readers who used to read my Blog, oh, you so remember.
I’m moved to Blog today about two things:
- I discovered Perry Ellis Travel Luxe Elite Pants
- Fall Out Boy released a new single and it’s amazeballs (I’m going to personally bring that word into the world of 40-something men).
Pants are pictured top-right and a link to the Fall Out Boy video is below. You’re welcome. Oh, you probably wanna know why I like these pants. OK. Here goes. They cost $20. They look like dress pants. They wear like stretchy workout pants. They’re $20.
Were You Wondering About My Face?
Thanks to the TheraSCAR, I won’t have a scar from my paintball injury.
And now I’m a bit addicted to Dr. Gray‘s TheraSCAR. I had two other odd scars on my face and they are gone!!!
This TheraSCAR stuff is like the fountain-of-youth! It’s a miracle. Seriously. It clears up every flaw on my face.
Thanks for all the prayers and candlelight vigils held for my face.
The iHeartRADIO App is the BEST (use the All Access version FREE this weekend)
No. This isn’t me “drinking the Kool-Aid.” This is me, Don, the music and App lover.
This is me saying, “iHeartRADIO All Access is the best music App, followed by Spotify, followed by Pandora.”
Don’t believe me? Dude. Try the All Access version FREE this weekend. Here’s why it’s the best.
- Listen to all your local radio stations, or any station in any city in the U.S.
- Listen to a custom station that you curate with the classic ‘thumbs up’ and ‘thumbs down’ option.
- Listen to niche stations that are built by true Program Directors who love music and the playlist isn’t left to chance. It’s like a radio station. I like Smells Like the ’90’s, The Vinyl Experience, and Gen X Radio.
- Podcasts!!! Like everyone, I’m addicted to Podcasts but kinda hate the iTunes version (especially the latest update) and that sometimes they download as a file to my phone, sometimes they don’t, but when they do, they take up storage space. Not on iHeart. They have 99% of all the Podcasts you want and it’s streaming. Most of the time, I’m on WiFi, and even when streaming via my cell phone data, it’s just audio and doesn’t use that much.
- Save and play Albums – any album. Save your favorite artists. Make a playlist. I made a playlist called “Music from my College Years” and add to it all the time as random songs jump into my head.
Here’s an old sizzle reel, but you’ll get the idea. I didn’t dream up this FREE All Access weekend, but I endorse it. Try it.
Telling Stories
Last night I got a call from my Church. It wasn’t a solicitation for money. It was merely a friendly conversation prompted by a few quick, easy questions. It turned into a 25-minute conversation. I don’t know quite how it happened, but I started answering questions, going off on tangents, and I guess sometimes when I start talking about my faith, what it means to me, and how it helps me, well, I can’t stop.
Same thing happens when I start talking about coffee, lawn maintenance, writing, and a few other topics.
This isn’t meant to brag about how great I am, but aren’t we all the same? When we get talking about and sharing our passion, nothing can stop us or shut us up. The woman who called said, “I wasn’t looking forward to making these ten phone calls, and 6 so far were answering machines and voicemails, but you’ve made my night. When are you going to speak at Mass, next.” Sarcasm? Well, if invited, I would love to.
That’s something else that might be good or bad – I enjoy talking to groups if I can entertain or inspire, or make them laugh.
But the story I tell myself is, Don, you really should shut up. What do you know about anything? You’re not a millionaire. Your marriage ain’t perfect. You’re 15 pounds overweight, showing a clear lack of commitment to perfection. You procrastinate. You sleep-in when you say you’ll get up early. You ate cookies yesterday at Starbucks, then had a full dinner, and then happily had a piece of apple pie with ice cream. (that goes with my theory that if you eat lots of calories and nobody knows about it, you won’t actually gain weight)
Who are you, Don, to tell anyone, anything?
Who are you, Don, to have a Blog? Get back to being silly, talking about The Bachelor and American Idol, and leave the advice, pro-tips, and life-tips to the experts.
What makes them experts?
Where am I going with this? I’m thinking, it’s about the story I tell myself that dictates what I do? If I tell a story about a wasted year where I gained 15 pounds, didn’t write my book of short stories, and sat too much on the couch from 8:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. watching mindless TV instead of exercising, writing, and finding a “side hustle”, then I’m telling the story of a guy who’s tragic.
But what if I told the story of a guy in his mid-40s who woke up one day and said, “today is the sequel to the first book about a guy who did nothing?” Like, Bridgette Jones …but about a middle-aged father of three who took control and changed his life.
Now …that would be a great story to tell.
Curious About My Face?
Well, this is a curious development in the face-fixing treatment. I seem to have taken a step backwards.
You’ll notice a curious and contemplative look on my face. This was two days after I decalred “miracle on my face.” Looked worse, if you can believe it. But, I’m gonna keep gooping that stuff on and see where it goes.
Oh, and here’s a great message from the magnificent Mel Robbins about procrastination.
Miracle on My Face
This is kinda unreal. Look at my lip and compare it to yesterday’s post. Only 24-hours after my first application and …
Look?!???? This is only …24 …hours!!! Well the bottle does say something like “like having a plastic surgeon in a bottle” and “beware the allure of vanity”. It doesn’t say that second thing.
I think by 72 hours I’m going to look like a young Brad Pitt.
I don’t know what kinda voodoo magic is in that bottle of Dr. Gray‘s TheraSCAR, but I think I’m going to look great in my senior year pictures.
War Scars and TheraSCAR
I decided long ago I hate paintball. First, I’m horrible at it. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t the first guy eliminated. It was a hard thing to learn, oh those many years ago, that I have basically zero survival instinct and a lifetime of watching Rambo and Commando type movies didn’t prepare me for paintball combat.
Second, though I’ve only played paintball three times in my life, I’ve hurt myself each time. Once I sprained my ankle. Another time I punctured my hand on a hidden barbed wire fence (I’m a hero to everyone who came after me because they removed that hidden barbed wire fence). And the third time (the time I retired), I fell and ripped up my knee.
- Moments after I was shot (looked OK)
But my son was turning 13 and he and his friends thought paintball sounded fun (and it is for 99% of the population) so that was the plan. I didn’t want to play, but he talked me into it.
Guess what? I was the first guy eliminated in seven of eight matches and I got shot in the face – through the mask – and the paintball tore a nice cut into my upper lip.
I’ve been liberally applying Vitamin E oil and leaving it alone, and the reason I’m Blogging is because the amazing A.T. (co-worker) said I absolutely must use Dr. Gray‘s TheraSCAR and wants me to document the day to day.
The paintball-lip incident happened on Saturday, October 7th. The first application for TheraSCAR happened on October 11th @ 12noon (91 hours have passed).
Most people who know me realize I’m very vain. This has me stressed out and I’m hoping the Vitamin E oil helped and, now, the TheraSCAR will take me unscarred to the finish line.
The directions on TheraSCAR are:
- Clean area with anti-bacterial cleanser and warm water
- Apply evenly to affected area 1-2 times daily
Look at me now.
Wish me luck and no scarring.
What is That Noise Your Brain Makes?
A young, handsome, amazingly successful guy sometimes feels like you feel.
How to Be Uncomfortable
From the Darren Daily, he offers these 5 uncomfortable steps toward success.
- Pick the past of MOST RESISTANCE
- Push Past Hard!
- Go for failure
- Suck it up – SUCCESS IS HARD!
- Supersize your goals
Don Kowalewski 