Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
I Love Don Week 2025: The Halfway Point
Can you believe we’re halfway through “I Love Don Week?” Just wanted to share a few updates. Oh, like this … you people must be playing a cat and mouse game and you have something big planned as a surprise. Because so far … nothing. Well, I did get a card in the mail from my Aunt with two $5 scratch and win tickets and I won $10 … so that’s something.
Maybe I need to repost the list. Here’s the list: Stuff I Want
What’s that you ask? How have I been spending my “I Love Don Week?” I’m glad you asked. Doing a lotta reflecting. Journaling. Planning. Evaluating the first half of 2025 and making plans for the rest of 2025. One thing I’ve been thinking about (again) is the concept of a Mid-Life Crisis. Read More
I Love Don Week 2025
Much has been written about “I Love Don Week” over the years so you might think there’s nothing left to say.
Wrong.
We’re days away from the 52nd kick-off of “I Love Don Week” and while it’s not what is used to be, it’s still pretty big. For example … my company gave everyone Friday, July 4th off of work I’m guessing as a chance for everyone to enjoy the Day-1 Kick-Off of “I Love Don Week”. Not sure why the company’s not giving us the day off on my actual birthday (July 11th), but I’m sure they have their reasons.
Many communities are planning fireworks displays on “I Love Don Week” Day-1. It’s overwhelming. Read More
2025 Mid-Year Review
Every year I make a long list of things I want to do and accomplish and then … I Blog about it all. Scrolling back through my Blog is, at times, an admission of massive failures. But, the things that stick? I’m immensely proud of. Things like performing at The Moth or a strict bedtime routine. Drink a gallon of water each day (I’ve scaled back to a 1/2 gallon because I’m a small human and a gallon I think was flushing out too many good stuff). Breathing and meditating daily. Shaving at night. Applying some Atomic Habits to my life like setting up my morning coffee the night before and setting up my workout clothes the night before.
Some things stick. Some don’t. But as they say, if at first you don’t succeed, make excuses. Err. Um. No. Actually, try again.
So … 2025 I made a bodacious list. But I’m proud to report, at the midway point of 2025, I’m at about a 45% success rate. Some highlights… Read More
Detroit Coffee Passport – Drifter Coffee
Here’s another gift from Kathy that shows why surrendoring in the “gift giving winning” contest was the right move. I can’t do what Kathy does. The latest? For Father’s Day, she got me the Detroit Coffee Passport.
It’s cool! And cute! And perfect for a coffee lover like me.
See? Again … Kathy wins.
The Detroit Coffee Passport has 30 “handpicked” (I question this because there’s a Coffee Passport for every city and some of their choices, knowing what I know, don’t seem “handpicked” …but I’m OK that 28 out of the 30 could be) cafes and coffee shops to try. Then, make some notes. Read More
Dad Fuel – Week 1 Analysis
I know full well this might be a placebo effect, but Dad Fuel for breakfast feels life-changing. Trust me. I get it. If I lived in a small town in Iowa in the early 1950s and a true, actual snake oil salesman came to town and told me snake oil would restore my hair, make me live to 100 years old, and ward off demons … I would’ve bought it.
I mean, as an example, this morning I watched a video someone posted on Facebook about microplastics, then I went and watched something on YouTube from Peter Attia on the subject of microplastics, and … poof … in merely a 1/2-hour, I’m Mr. Anti-Micro and Anti-All-Plastics.
That said … Dad Fuel is a marvel. Remember, a couple months ago I read something that “greens” type drinks should be consumed immediately upon waking and on an empty stomach. I started doing that and whaddya know, I noticed immediate result. So when my backlog of Skinny Greens was used up (bought by another person in my house who might also have been swooned by old timey snake oil salesmen), I went searching for a greens(style) drink for me. Read More
The Top-10 Songs of All (My) Time, #5: “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer
Dig if you will a picture … me in 1994, home from Michigan State for summer vacation, and delivering pizzas for Village Inn Pizza. I’d just finished my 3rd year at State. I was feeling good because I had gotten my college and academic life back on track. ’91-’92 was a great freshman year. ’92-’93 was the year I almost got myself kicked out of State. So ’93-’94 was the year I moved back into the dorms and prioritized studying. Also, that was the only way my parents would send me back to MSU and support me financially. In that ’93-’94 year, I changed my Major from Engineering to Communications and felt like, yes, I like this much better and I like the classes.
Kurt Cobain killed himself on April 10, 1994. And Weezer released their first studio album on May 10, 1994 – I had to look that up, because my Weezer story starts sometime that summer when the video for “The Sweater Song” debuted on MTV during 120 Minutes. The video for “The Sweater Song” was directed by Spike Jonze, who was just starting to make very cool, very different videos. Read More
The Dawn of Don and Dad Fuel
Today was my first day of Dad Fuel. A couple months ago I read something or listened to a Podcast (go ahead, my whole family laughs at me, too) and it said, “the best way to take ‘greens’ type drinks is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.” My go-to brand has been Green Vibrance and, for some crazy reason, I was taking it with food. What a fool I was.
Then I switched to Skinny Greens because someone in my household, and I won’t mention any names, read something or saw something or listened to a Podcast and “subscribed” to Skinny Greens. So we had a couple unopened jugs and I started the “greens on an empty stomach first thing in the morning” and I must say … whoa. Life changing.
And because I started researching greens and protein powders … Dad Fuel found me and I bought it … hook, line, and sinker. Read More
Countdown to Father’s Day and “I Love Don Week” (and many other things)
If you ever wonder what I do in my spare time, it’s figure out ways to waste time. This morning it was finding a “countdown” service. I was sitting, sipping coffee, and thinking, “how many days until Father’s Day?” And, “how many days until my birthday?” And how many days until my daughter moves out and heads to college …and my son … and some stuff at work? Or, how many days until my vacation?
Lucky for me, it’s the year 2025 and when we want something, the Interweb provides … enter hero-of-the-day …TickCounter.com.
Thanks to TickCounter, I, once again, don’t have to use my brain to “remember stuff” or think about other, more important things. Nope. Now I have my own personal website (this Blog entry) with all the important things happening this year. Read More
Form and Function
Remember the scene in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels where Michael Cane is teaching Steve Martin how to move his arms, stand, turn, and walk? If you don’t, here … watch this . . .
That scene made me think about form and function and now, the older I get, the more important proper form and function matter to me.
The human body is meant to sit, stand, sleep, and move in certain ways. Any stress to that system leads to injury.
A recent article from MSN talked about good posture as essential for better balance, circulation, respiration, digestion and bladder function. Not to mention it’s shown to improve cognitive ability and enhance our moods. Read More
All Or Nothing: Pellet Grills
A friend called me a few weeks ago and when I picked up the phone he asked…
“Donnie … I know you’ll have an opinion …what are your thoughts on a pellet grill?”
He’s right. I have opinions on ridiculous things like grills …coffee makers and contraptions …headphones.
Rather than tell him some pros and cons, or maybe something I read, I said something like the following.
Don’t … don’t … get a pellet grill. Those things seem cool, but you’re better off using your oven. First, pellets aren’t natural … they’re expensive. You’ve got to monitor them and refill them often, sometimes during a long cook. Which people who love their pellet grill think is cool … a loooooong cook. Read More
Don Kowalewski 