Don’s Ego

05/29/2009

Hold the phone!!!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — donkowalewski @ 2:29 pm

“Hold the phone” is sort of outdated in this world of voicemail, call waiting, Twitter, SMS texting, and email, but it beats “stop the presses”.  At least the youngsters who read my blog know what a “phone” is.

Why am I shouting “hold the phone?!?!?!?”  Because.  These shoes (left).  I’ve been waiting and waiting for Newton to finally introduce their trail-runners, and instead, I just Googled “barefoot running” and look what I found!  Wow!

First, I’ll be unique, for sure.  Second, people will notice me (which is something very important to me, hence …this blog).  And, thirdly, it will make me an even bigger barefoot running geek than I already am.

Personally, I’m getting the FiveFingers KSOs, which I’m sure you’d all agree are the best option?  Yes?

Look for me on a trail near you, soon (and for my wife to be nearby, laughing at my ridiculous shoes).

05/26/2009

Notebook, Part 2?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — donkowalewski @ 4:57 pm

Admit it.  If I had an original Trapper Keeper, that would be awesome.  Imagine me, sitting down with you for whatever reason we might set a spell, and me pulling out a Trapper Keeper.  And imagine you tell me something like, oh, a recipe or an important phone number, and then imagine me ripping the velcro open and going into one of the vintage Trapper Keeper folders, or going to the back page and to the legal pad clipped inside said Trapper Keeper, to write that important bit of info down somewhere.

Should I bring it to work and use it during presentations and meetings?  Should I bring it to parent-teacher conferences?

Last week, I blogged about how much I wanted a notebook in which I would record every thought that crossed my mind.  And now, this week, I suddenly remembered that for about the past two years, I’ve wanted a Trapper Keeper.  An original.

Should I, for the sake of humor, drop $25+ on an unused one, or should I take one of the $4 “slightly used” versions also available on eBay?

Of course, if you’d like to buy it for me, or contribute to the “Buy Don a Trapper Keeper Fund”, leave a comment and I’ll let you know my PayPal info so you can help.

Either way …May of 2009 (or maybe June) …it will be the month I get a Trapper Keeper.

Should I also then part my hair in the middle, and feather it?

Do you want to know about this awesome trail-run I did this weekend and that I …yawn …finished fourth overall?  That question is rhetorical.  Of course you want to know that …and you will …soon.

05/21/2009

Notebook?

Filed under: Uncategorized — donkowalewski @ 12:21 pm

I need a new notebook.  I want a place to capture random thoughts, random quotes I like, memories I’d like to keep, and pictures of stuff.  I thought, for a time, Twitter was going to be my salvation.  I thought, “hey, any random thought I have, I can Tweet.  Then someday, I can go back to my brilliant Tweets and write some really brilliant stuff.  This experiment lasted all of a day-and-a-half.  Here’s the results of that experiment.

  • If Chrysler had ever bothered to look at my Jet-Shark-Tank car design I drew up when I was 9 years old, they wouldn’t be in this mess. …9:46 AM May 1st from web
  • You should read spunkybean.com and my American Idol recap. It’s among the top-10,000 recaps just like it.9:41 AM May 1st from web
  • Desperately seeking Susan. (Let that marinate …it’ll be the most entertaining Tweet you read all day, I guarantee).7:18 AM May 1st from web
  • Do you like Plain White T’s new song “1,2,3,4 (I Love You)?”. Cuz I do. Does that make me a pre-teen girl?5:29 PM Apr 30th from web
  • Inboxzero …just chnaged my life. Go to 43folders.com if u r interested in learning the secrets of what do-it-all folks do.1:16 PM Apr 30th from web
  • Has anyone written a Chuck Norris v Swine Flu joke yet?12:05 PM Apr 30th from web
  • Should we all really start worrying about swine flu? Should I have a big, fat Red Coat Tavern burger for lunch?11:43 AM Apr 30th from web
  • A short man can appear taller (and actually be taller) if he focuses on his posture and shoulder positioning.9:27 AM Apr 30th from web
  • Bad? One man. He chose the middle urinal of three, forcing me to use a stall. Worse? He left without washing his hands.8:24 AM Apr 30th from web
  • I’m going to give up coffee because I’m too lazy to make it, and too broke to buy it.7:24 AM Apr 30th from mobile web
  • When I travel, I miss my wife and kids, sure. But more than that, I miss my DVR. Hello, couch. How ya been? Let’s catch up on some TV.

Do you see a novel that can be written from those random thoughts?  Me neither.  Nor do I see an award winning, quirky, romantic comedy screenplay. 

Oh, and this picture (and this picture) really looked cool.  Someday I want my grandkids to be going through my home and find a musty, old cardboard box, too heavy to move, and to open it and find notebook on top of notebook.  Plus I read a really awesome book, once, called “How to Think Like Leonardo DiVinci” and he kept countless notebooks.  His were full of inventions and philosophy, sure, but I think my notebooks full of tracings of old Calvin & Hobbes comics will be just as revered.  And, also, my mother kept spiral bound notebooks by her phone at work and she recorded every single conversation she had.  Date, time, caller, tidbit describing the conversation.  Most tidbits were boring and work related.  But every once in a while there’d be something like this …”4/23, 11:13am, Dad called SHIT!”. 

I admired her discipline to this practice, first and foremost.  But secondly, I just was amused and enjoyed peaking inside her brain.

05/16/2009

I Write Alot

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — donkowalewski @ 9:53 am

The “e” on my keyboard is sort of chipping away, and there’s a definite greying of the white-on-black lettering.  I guess I’m a big fan of words with the letter “e” in them.  And I’m proud of the fact that this keyboard scar is the result of a year-and-a-half of typing furiously and trying to launch a writing career. 

Blogging, more blogging, ghost-writing, script-writing, email sending, and writing about American Idol.  If I’ve done anything, I’ve proven that I can stick to this.  And considering, since I was much, much younger, I’ve only ever wanted to write and create things, the mere fact I’m doing it still (pretty much daily), feels like an accomplishment.

Have I purchased a boat and named that boat something cleverly veiling that my writing royalites paid for it …something like “Type O Positive” or “The Write Stuff?”  Nope.  Not yet.  But considering I have a big family keeping me busy, a full time job, and a wicked addiction to this thing called “sleep”, I feel pretty good about the dozen or so loyal readers I have and all the positive comments I’ve received.

Of course, you know, I’m still toiling away at spunkybean, writing my American Idol recaps, and trying to contribute at least a few additional things each week.

And then there’s the Mel Robbins blog, which I was going to ghost-write, but it turned out to be easier writing in my own voice, but trying to mostly agree with and compliment the wise and wonderful Mel Robbins.

But when I really, really feel like ghost-writing, there’s the blog at success.com.  I won’t say whom I wrote something for, but let’s just say at one point I referenced “my husband Chris and I” and for those who know me, you know my husband’s name isn’t Chris.  And for those really, really close to me, you probably know that I don’t even have a husband.  Yikes.  I hate sharing my personal life this way.

And finally, there’s this blog. An ode to my ego and my inner thoughts.  Because my Facebook and Twitter posts just aren’t enough.  Not only do I want the world to know when I’m sad about the fact it’s raining, or that I’m ready for the weekend, I also want them to know about my hair, my writing, and, well, pretty much everything I do and think.  Thanks for stopping by and clicking around.

05/07/2009

Knee Deep in To-Do’s and Wanna-Do’s

Filed under: Lessons — Tags: , , , — donkowalewski @ 8:50 pm

I’m always down on myself because I’m not getting to my To-Do List.  And finally, on this 7th day of May, 2009, I think I’ve found a way to beat that nagging sense that I can’t accomplish anything.  Sure, I could read a book about time management, perhaps learn to prioritize, and actually apply the things I read about at 43Folders, their section on how to use 43Folders, and even more specifically, their section on Inbox Zero (a trend that’s sweeping the business world …well …the geeky part of the business world …the part that wastes  time learning how not to waste time).

Ahem. 

I could tackle my To-Do List, sure.  But, better yet, I need to rename that list.  I’m going to call one list my To-Do List, and the other my Wanna-Do List.  Talk about revolutionizing the “List” game … just remember someday when you see a notepad for sale at Hallmark with a picture of a kitty cat staring at nest full of baby birds, and that notepad is labelled a “Wanna-Do List” …remember me, and this blog entry, and think about how shiny and expensive my car is that I was able to buy from the royalties from my 12-part CD series, my four books, and my speaking tour on the subject of “To-Do versus Wanna-Do”.

This blog entry?  It’s something I just crossed off my “Wanna-Do” List.  And boy does it feel good.  It’ll make me enjoy my To-Do’s a little more …so excuse me while I take out the trash (to-do) and load the dishwasher (to-do) …and bathe (wanna-do).

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