Valentine's Day edition

February 14th, Valentine's Day; a day that lives in infamy for so many men, and single people (but that will be a different posting).  I, being a married man, still do not have this holiday on lock-down.  I struggle every year with what to do, what to get, what to say, and when to give it.  (okay maybe not when to give it but...).

There are so many classic options for Valentines Day; expensive dinner out, dozen roses delivered to her work/home, giving a gift of jewelery, or you could make her an heart felt dinner at home (but you loose points if you make frozen pizza).  But what about those guys that we see that have really cool ideas and pull them off; what separates those guys from the average guy?  Those are the guys that take a Vday weekend in Napa, NYC, or Paris; or they hire a private chef and sommelier to come to their home and make dinner; or they acquire the Hope Diamond for the evening; or they rent out an entire jazz club for the night so he and his lady friend can slow dance the night way.  Wow, those are some romantic ideas; but why can't I pull those off?  Oh, right, I am not on a TV show, nor do I make 6 figures a month.  We, the average guy, have lots of good ideas, we just need to capitalize on them and unite to share our wealth of ideas.

Which leads me to the heart of Valentines Day (do you like that, do you see what I did there?).  Making a romantic memory for your signifacnt other without breaking the bank (or credit card).  So here a few ideas I am working on that will not cost you a second (or third) mortgage.

• Try something you have never done before; rock climbing, a cooking class, a wine tasting, go-kart racing, zip-lining, brewery tour, visit a free museum, sample all 31 flavors then leave, scrap booking, or let her spank you this time.
• Stop by her favorite coffee shop and deliver her a drink to her job
• It is a bit cheesy but Champagne and Strawberries is still a pretty good idea and not that expensive. This can work especially if you have kids and you cannot unload them for Vday night, after you put them to bed enjoy some Grey's Anatomy and some Champagne
• Try Edible Arrangements, they are not too expensive (if you get the small cheap one), but really tasty and look really pretty
• Take an evening stroll (assuming you live in warmer climate) along the beach, or park, or city street, and have no real place to go; just stroll and talk 
• Play the lottery; it could turn out be the best Valentines Day ever
• Clean your house for your wife before she gets home (this is all without her having to ask you)
• Simply write a love letter that tells how you feel, sometimes it is better to write it down then saying it.
• This is not an idea but an aside; I am against the coupon book for your lover.  That is something that is overdone and fairly cheesy.  I remember doing that as a kid when I did not have a gift for mothers day.  I say the coupon book, while it is inexpensive, is still lame.

I do not believe my ideas are the best, I will be the first to admit (and my wife will agree) that I suck at gift giving (from Vday to Bday and Anniversaries).  But I am only trying to start a conversation so we all can unite and share our ideas to conquer this made up holiday, until next year. 
Good luck my fellow men, and feel free to comment your own ideas or after Vday, comment what worked and what didn't.

Holiday Toast....

You have to love the holiday's, the cold air; the excitement of little children as they anticipate the coming of a large jolly man in a red suit to bring them toys even if they know they have been nothing but bad all year; the mall streaming with shoppers busily looking for gifts that will have no meaning to the person they are giving it too as long as they give them something; the traffic as it builds up and seems to stand still at every light around all the major traffic patterns even though most people have taken xmas eve off work; the way that you are forced to go to family functions and pretend to enjoy people, even though you know full well you would strangle them all in their sleep if you had the chance; the excuse you have to drink more beer/whiskey/rum/wine/gin/etc.. then normal because "Hey, it is the holiday's, and it is a time to celebrate," God bless the time to celebrate; the sad lonely looking gray clouds as cover the sky as if to say "Losers, no snow for you;" the heart warming stories of homeless people getting a good meal from good Samaritans who feel better when they help feed the homeless when in reality if they got to know them and found them a job or a help them on to their feet they would probably do quite well; the football season coming to a close, trying to figure out how your team can still get it on a wild card pick; the trash that fills your trash cans, the wrapping paper, the bows, the boxes, and the leftover turkey or ham, what a waste and a great way to fill our landfills (as if they do not need any more crap in them); the wonderfully funny but unfortunately, for your sake incriminating, pictures that turn up days later on someone's facebook page (how did those get there?); the feeling of eating too much and saying, "You know, I think I will quit smoking and join a gym for the new year." Sure, don't kid yourself, if you were going to join a gym you would have gotten off your ass and joined yesterday, you only say these things to make yourself feel better about having your third helping of ham and a 4th piece of that rum cake ala-mode.

mmmm the holiday's... days off work, sleeping in only to wake with a pounding headache from too much rum/cake, the sound of the same Christmas carol in every level of your house only to realize that it is on in your car while you drive away cursing; the wonderful excuse to purchase yourself that super-cool gadget you wanted, why, because it is up for super duper sale of the century during that 16 1/2 hour sale at Super Sale-Mart; the smiling faces that make this country everything that it is, everyone is so happy and willing to help you get into your car (only to take your parking space) or help you dig your car out of the snow and let you in during the traffic back up, just thinking about those smiling faces makes me smile and feel good about our society.

The Holidays are time to reflect and realize that while you have to go back to work soon, your congressman and senators have off till the end of January, almost like your college students. There is something special about the holiday season that just make me feel good to be an American and living in a great state of commerce and happy loving people in this country.
Too my three readers of this blog; Happy Holiday's, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Endings, Happy something or other, and have a great New Year and good luck with your resolutions.

Here's to the Holiday's.   Cheers!!!

White Meat vs. Dark Meat

So the other day I was carving the last of the leftover Turkey from Thanksgiving and I was noticing the amount and the type of meat leftover.  There seemed to be a whole lot of dark meat untouched, both entire legs, both wings, and thighs, were all left.  Now, my extended family of 24 people that were at Thanksgiving, are mostly white meat eaters; which is totally cool and that is just the what they prefer, this is not about me holding that against them.  I enjoy both colors of meat, but dark meat seems more tender and more flavorful, and also does not seem to dry out as much.

But I got thinking...

Has our society convinced us that white meat is better than dark meat?  Is there an underlying racial bias that dates back before the emancipation proclamation?

KFC and Popeye's charge more for white meat chicken, which infers that a higher value is placed on white meat.   When you buy chicken at the grocery store the dark meat is always cheaper.  They sell a Turkey Breast of just the white meat, most sliced deli poultry is sliced breast (white meat), and restaurants sell the breasts with main courses rarely legs or thighs. 

My unofficial and completely unfounded thoughts about this are that  back in the days of slavery the slave owners used to eat the white meat of the poultry they cooked (chicken, turkey, goose) because they thought that white meat was better because they were ignorant.  So as time as gone on, the dark meat has been associated with not being as tasty because slave owners sucked and made everything about color.

I believe that because dark meat is normally so close to the bones of the bird they are infused with more flavor and our society has forced our opinion to like the white meat.  I say buck the system, DO NOT pay more for inferior meat on your poultry bird parts, do not let the man tell you his lies about what meat is better, just because it cost more does not mean that it is better, take a stand against unknown and unforeseen racism.

Scott Sigler audio stories

A few years back I came across this podcast from Scott Sigler and I have been listening to his riveting stories ever since.  I am not normally a fan of horror or sci-fi but his stories are really addictive. 
Check out this link for more info, and enjoy.

www.scottsigler.com

I hope you like it as much as I have over the years.

Giving Thanks can be hard

This time of year tends to be highlighted by crappy situations for many people.  I now families who have lost loved ones during the holidays, or they have lost their jobs due to the continued recession, or their prayers never seem to be answered for what they want most.  But we are suppose to be mindful of the things we are thankful for, I believe that is easier said then done.

I know that sometimes it is hard to see the things we are thankful for, especially when it seems like parts of our lives are crumbling around us.  But this time of year is not about seeing the bad, it is take the extra effort and focusing on the good things, even if they are small.  That can be really hard but you have to begin the thought process somewhere.  Maybe it is being thankful for certain freedoms that come with living in this country, a healthy family/your health, a job, smiling children, loving spouse, or a roof over your head. 

I encourage you all to take the extra effort to try to see the positive side of life, if even only for a moment. 
Have a great Holiday. 

Kudos to DC United's Rookie of the Year and DCU season in review

DC United's youngest player and only shining spot in a pathetic season, Andy Najar, won the MLS Rookie of the Year the other day.  At the age of 17 he the youngest player to win this award.  The last time a DC United player won this was Ben Olsen back in 1998.  Olsen, who began this season as the DC United Asst. Coach was promoted as Interim Head Coach after the home office rightfully sacked Curt Onalfo, after he failed to win more that 3 games in his first 18 (3-12-3).  MLS legend Jamie Moreno also retired this season which is a sad day for DC United and also the league as a whole.  He was a class act and one of the best MLS ever had

Now, that is the basic newspaper season stuff; but here is the Balddave opinion. 
WTF United, first off, Curt Onalfo?????  Onalfo was a bad coach with a losing record (27-29-22) when he coached KC for 2 years, he also was an assistant with the US National Team under Bruce Arena (apparently he did not learn anything).  While I respect all the things Curt Onalfo has done for DCU and US soccer, he has proven to be a terrible head coach and should stay as an assistant or continue his youth coaching in McLean VA. 

Now Ben Olsen took over the team as Interim Head Coach in Aug of the season.  Ben was but into a crappy situation and was handed a team in disarray.  He did the best he could and trying to provide that passion that DCU seemed to be missing all season.  The players were there, most of them healthy, but they just really lacked the passion we used to see in the old days. 

Andy Najar the 17 year old Honduran that emerged out of the DCU Youth academy was an excellent bright spot throughout the season (especially towards the end).  He played with excitement, passion, and sometimes aggression.  He played like a kid that loves to play.  This season he created a duality within his play.  On one hand he was growing up learning to play like a man; making good decisions with the ball, keeping his frustrations in check, and trying to put 100% on the field every game.  On the other hand he still is only 17 years old and therefore has a certain amount of youthful excitement in his game; he still seemed to get a kick out of playing with the "big boys," and at times looked like a high school kid just having fun.  If his excitement and attitude can work it's way through the locker room, and they name a quality head coach (b/c Ben Olsen should not be forced to do that again), we should have a good squad next season. 
I guess I should also point out the number of injuries DCU sustained through out the season.  Lost Namoff to a concussion, Clyde Simms, Chris Pontius, Bill Hamid, and others I cannot think of right now.  DC United needs to get healthy, it is a long season and you cannot count on your starters all season long. 

6 Steps to a Sober Day

During this time of year many of us find ourselves at festival type functions to celebrate the holidays.  Most of these celebration have us enjoying a few alcoholic beverages.  After a few drinks and 20 minutes at this function, you realize that you would like to leave but your Aunt has not stopped talking about her new hobby of using her cricut to make crap for your family.  So you have another drink, and another, just to keep your sanity during magical time of year.   Now, how you get home is part of different diatribe, but hopefully you were responsible and had someone (that is sober) drive you home, like a taxi, or a sober parent, or your 16 year old daughter on her learners permit, or perhaps maybe, just maybe, you lived close enough you could walk.
Here is the crux of our holiday situation, you are having guests over the next day for brunch, or you have to drive 3 hours to see grandma, or maybe you have to be at a religious service at 8am.  How are you going to be sober and not hungover to participate in the following days activities??  The answer to that my friends is, my 6 Steps to a Sober Day.
These steps are not to be followed to the letter, nor do they need to be followed in the order presented.  But they all need to be completed to have a sober day and give yourself a fighting chance at finishing this holiday season with consuming as much booze as possible to continue blocking out how crazy your family really is.   You will have plenty of time during the year to think back and remember that your family was not that bad, until you come home for Thanksgiving and relive it all over again.

The 6 Steps are below
1  Water -- Stay hydrated.  Water is the key to any hangover cure.  Since your drink of choice is a natural dehydrator, you have to replenish the blood stream to keep you from getting a headache.  My professional advice is to drink a full glass of water before you go to bed and then continue to sip water all morning.  I also recommend you put a glass of water next to your bed to assist with step 2.

2  Advil -- this one is really not negotiable, you really need to take some advil.  The best way is when you wake up in the middle of the night to pee (we all do it after we drink to much, around 3 or 4 am you get up and have to pee) take the advil, then go pass out again.  When your alarm goes off and you reach for the snooze button you will realize that the advil had a chance to work.  Most people take the advil in the morning when they are already awake and they already have a headache, my early morning advil is a preemptive strike against the inevitable.  

3  Shower --showering is a beautiful thing, and we all now it.  The hot steam in your pores and heat make us all feel more alive.  Plus, showering might wash off the throw up that is stuck in your hair. 
4  Take a Shit -- Most of the time drinking too much beer will give you what scientist refer to as the beer shits.  Grab a newspaper or a magazine and have a seat on the porcelain throne.  You can't rush this process, let it happen, relax.  You will feel much better when you have completed it all.
5  Food --All that alcohol has been swashing around in your belly all night working to get into you blood stream by the morning it needs some help, have some breakfast.  Normally, a greasy breakfast sandwich from BK or McD is the best, they are loaded with grease, you get your major food groups in (egg group, bread group, breakfast meat group, cheese group, and potato group), and they are pretty convenient, the last thing you want to be doing at 8am after finishing off a 5th of Crown is cracking eggs and wielding a knife to cut your bagel. 
6    Coffee -- This is the cherry on top of your morning that will push you to the next level.  To quote Superbowl Champion and Hall of Fame coach, Mike Ditka; "Coffee is the lifeblood that fuels the dreams of champions."  You will never get your day rolling or finished for that matter without getting some caffeine in your system.  Now, I will let you make the decision as to what type of drink you choose to inject yourself with this drug.  I am flexible, feel free to use a latte, or frozen type drink, perhaps you like Redbull or Monster, but for the old fashion traditional types will be having black coffee.

I provide you this insight as a service to all those that have failed year after year.  I find myself to be a self proclaimed professional and my mistakes of trial and error are you gain.  I hope you do not have to go through all the painful mornings and subsequent afternoons of headaches and people sounding really loud.  I urge you to share these steps with your friends, share your new knowledge, let them see the light (in a good way).

Cheers to you all, have  happy holiday and remember
"Beer before liquor, never been sicker"   
(These little rhymes are mostly wrong; I have proven and dis proven this a number of times).