Don’s Ego

Here we are on Day 4 of “I Love Don Week” and I dare say this has been the best “I Love Don Week”, yet. Record numbers of people are observing the holiday week and even my trash collectors took today off, I assume, as a floating holiday. Typically, “I Love Don Week” is just my wife spoiling me rotten and these “I Love Don Week” blog entries are mostly designed to entertain her and a few friends. Things are changing. Random people are stepping up and helping make the week very, very special (note: “Dad” is not a random person, but when I write it that way, it makes it sound bigger than life).

You’ll notice two more things crossed off my wish-list. I rarely cross more than one thing off that list. This is exciting. Yesterday, upon arriving home from work, there was my new tea kettle. It’s by Farberware, it’s sea foam green, and is quite an upgrade from my stainless steel IKEA teapot. That old pot? The handle was broken. The stainless steel was stained. It once shot water at me, burned, and scarred my hand. When it whistles, the whistler cap always shoots off. This new tea kettle …wellz, I gotta tellz ya …they’ve really thought about this whistler. It’s very subtle, but it whistles. It has a springloaded hinge so nothing can shoot off of it. And not being steel like my old one, I swear it boiled water in half the time (though there is now some fear of rusting and it does warn about rusting).

See how fun it is to buy me things? I get excited. New teapot. New teapot. New teapot. Not sure if random people know why I’m smiling like I am, but hopefully a few of them are thinking, “that looks like a guy who just got himself a quality water boiling device.” It should be obvious.

Then, my wonderful father got me a gift card, which I immediately redeeemed for a new pair of black dress shoes. I went with some Rockports. I know, I know …yer sayin’, “but Don, aren’t Rockports old school and intended for men in their 50s and 60s?” Perhaps, but Rockport’s have been around a while, they have a reputation for comfort, the 50 and 60-year-olds I know swear by Rockports, and because they ain’t a “hot brand” like Cole Haan or Kenneth Cole, I feel like I’m getting more shoe for my money. No,  Rockports will never be Johnston & Murphy’s or Ferragamo’s, but I’m thinking I made a good choice. Time will tell. Don’t let me down, Rockport.

With the rest of my giftcard, I’m going to buy some tire black spray and some car wax and spend a couple hours waxing my car. Hey …it’s my birthday week, I’ll spend it how I like.

May your “I Love Don Week” be filled with pleasant thoughts, laughter, and love …for Don. More tomorrow which, incidentally, is my “4-Hour Body” diet day-off, so I’m going to gorge like a thing that gorges, like, say, Joey Chestnut – he’s the hotdog eating champion guy. Like him.

• NEW! rubber rain boots
• NEW! new backyard grill
• NEW! writing desk (possibly a roll-top desk)
• thermometer for my tea kettle and/or outdoor grill
• tea kettle with built in temperature gauge
• new filters for my Aeropress
• gift card to Chazanno’s Coffee Roasters in Ferndale
• a new digital camera (12MP or better)
• Ducky Momo t-shirt
• gift card to Birmingham Palladium
• Wii Game: Lego Harry Potter
• Wii Game: Lego Pirates of the Carribean
• auto detailing kit (mostly I want the new towels, rags, and brushes)
• a new suit
• Adidas barefoot trail running shoes
• a time machine
• game for vacation: Story Cubes (Storycubes.com)
• game for vacation: Malarky or something fun from http://www.patchproducts.com/
• game for vacation: Wits & Wagers

Here’s some Weezer and some My Chemical Romance at the same time …totally, totally awesome. Two bands I dig immensely, and they dig each other.