:: Life on Planet Dan-E ::

All my DVDs are back in L.A. so I've tried out Netflix for the last two-plus months and so far I like it. There's no late fees so I can keep the discs as long as I want, which makes it great for watching TV shows. I've seen the first season of "West Wing," the only two seasons of "Sports Night," a few foreign films that you might not find at Blockbuster, and I just started the first season of "Alias."

I think "Sports Night" might be one of my favorite series of all time, and not because it's about sports. "Sports Night" is about the sports the way "Charlie's Angels" is about law enforcement. It revolves around a "Sportscenter" like news program but it's really about the personal lives and relationship between the people who work there. Each episode is really fast paced, very funny, and extremely well written. The women on that show are attractive and funny, but that's for later. Part of the reason I like it is because of I can, on some levels, relate to one of the characters, also named "Danny" (no relation).

We both share a love of sports, a dry sense of humor, and a penchant for verbal gaffes. We both have a rather strained relationships with our fathers, and have at one time or another, fallen for an otherwise good woman emotionally scarred by a past relationship. I was especially engrossed with this storyline: Dan spends an extraordinary amount of effort trying to get a woman named Rebecca Wells to date him, with her reluctance being the result of a past marriage with an emotionally abusive sportscaster. Once they?re together he spends an extraordinary amount of energy trying to help her get over the detritus left by her ex-husband and is somewhat successful - only to discover that she?s still married, albeit "separated." She eventually decides to give her marriage a second chance by going to counseling. Dan, trying to be a good man, is supportive of her decision and they part amicably but the result leaves him in an emotional funk.

I got caught up in this storyline since it my dating past involves a few women who were scarred by past relationships. I'm not drawn to the emotionally damaged, I was never out trying to be some girl's knight in shining armor and I certainly am not now, but for whatever reason that was the only type I had any success with (Freud would have a field day, I'm sure). I would never discover this information until I'm already waist deep and discover the relationship was ill fated from the beginning. Of course, there were a couple of relationships that failed mostly because I was an enormous doofus but that's a whole other blog.

I don't know where I'm going with this. I've certainly broken myself out of that pattern and it's not like there's really anyone that I'm interested in now. For whatever reason, I seem to be thinking about relationships more lately. It?s probably due to the fact that I'm unemployed and on spring break and not really used to having this much free time. And when I have down time, I tend to think and that's never a good thing.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 9:11 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: More Spring Training ::

I saw Sandy Koufax. Hall of Fame lefty for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966 Sandy Koufax. We went to our second Marlins spring training game (vs. the Mets) and it was much better than the Dodger game even though it ended in a 1-1 tie. We started off in the bleachers and ended up right behind home after the seventh innning. That was when we discovered that Mr. Koufax was sitting one section over and a few rows back from us. I tried to get an autograph but the line was already huge and the game ended long before I could get to him. Fortunately, I did manage to take a picture of him sitting in the stands just in case people don't believe me ;)

Unfortunately, my spring break in Palm Beach is being cut short since my host's parents have told him that they're taking a family trip out to the west coast of Florida but I can't complain since I had a blast up here. It's not often you get to see pro baseball games so cheap. I even got right fielder Shawn Green's and catcher David Ross's autographs.

Did I mention that I saw Sandy Koufax? =D

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 5:27 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Spring Break ::

I'm spending my spring break at a buddy's place up in Palm Beach and it's been pretty nice so far. We discussed the irony of being students attending a school and living in South Beach and going to Palm Beach for spring break, whereas many other students are looking forward to spending their spring break in South Beach.

For those of you back home, the area of Palm Beach that I'm staying in reminds me somewhat of parts of Orange County. Lots of construction and new development, close proximity to the beach, and mostly friendly people. Part of the fun, if you're a baseball fan, is that it's pretty close to several spring training sites and the Marlins have a pretty nice venue called Roger Dean Stadium. I went to a Dodgers @ Marlins game on tuesday and I won't go into game details other than saying it was a fun experience.. I would have normally been ok with cheap seats but this being the Dodgers, I wanted to get as close to possible so we started off with great front-row seats right at first base. Thanks to some mild sprinkles some people cleared out early and we moved up to seat right behind home plate.

We're going back to catch another game or two before the end of the week and if there's time, maybe check out Dodgertown. I've been told that it's been rated the number one spring training site in all of baseball. If only the actual team itself lived up to those lofty standards.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 12:14 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: School's Out! ::

Winter quarter 2004 is officially over! And boy did we finish with a bang. After graduation and award ceremonies, a few of us went over a friend's place for the "end of quarter" party. I waited until about 11:00 or so to get there, thinking that that's when everyone would arrive but it seemed the party started long before, since people started filing out the moment I got there. You should know this isn't unusual behavior, since partygoers typically leave parties the moment the alcohol runs out and these people are especially talented in sucking a keg dry.

A few of us ended up going to a place called Rumi, which was ok but a little dark and very crowded (it's Thursday for cryin' out loud!) but the music had an 80s theme going so it was tolerable. We were only there for about an hour before heading out to another place called the Shore Club. One of the girls we were with seems to have a knack for getting into seemingly exclusive places without without waiting in line so our group was let in pretty quickly. Its one of those places where a bottle of vodka costs $200 and a bottle of Dom would set you back $300. She must have a lot of influence since I was let in wearing a t-shirt, cargo pants, and flip-flops while everyone else in the club was dressed to the nines. (She was dressed down too, in a shirt and jeans but she's also tall and blonde.)

I should mention at this point that I'm still at a loss to explain how or why people get a rush being allowed into places like this. These are the kinda places where "cool" is defined as "discontent." I'm quite cerrtain that the people in our group were the only ones at any point that cracked even a smile. Seriously, why do some women think it's sexy to look sullen?

I don't recall how long we were there, only that I got home around 3:00am and had a difficult time getting out of bed this morning. Not because of a hangover (I only had two beers the entire night). I'm just too old to be doing this sort of thing on a weekday =P

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 7:31 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Journal ::

Another thing I've started doing since moving to South Beach is to keep a journal of sorts. It's similar to my blog in that I mostly talk about myself, my thoughts, my opinions and the frequency of updates is, well, infrequent. It's dissimilar to my blog in that my journal contains many thoughts and stories of things that happened to me that I'm just not willing to share. There are a couple of entries that overlap (the dinner at Taste for example) but my journal contains greater detail.

I'm hoping to look back at these eventually and be able to see a measurable amount of personal growth in the future, and not necessarily in the "geez, I was such a dork back then" sort of way. (I do enough of that already).

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 8:44 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Chips, and more of it ::

Ever since moving here I've made a dedicated effort to eat healthier that what I might consider normal. First on the list, PopTarts don't count as fruit. Seriously, I don't buy much junk food, if at all. If I want something crunchy, I have celery or carrot sticks with peanut butter. If I'm craving something sweet, I munch on fruit. If I needed a quick bite, I've avoided places like Burger King and McD's and get myself a relatively healthier (and tastier) sandwich.

So why is it that every time finals rolls around I develop a craving for chips? Any kind of chips for that matter. Potato, tortilla, or plantain (if you haven't tried them, you must for they are delish), it doesn't matter. I want something crunchy, salty, and a little bit oily. It happened last quarter and it's happening now. I had a bag of plantain chips with lunch and I just bought a large bag of corn chips that I hope lasts until tomorrow afternoon.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 8:34 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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A litte over a week ago I had a very pleasant dinner with a pretty cool lady from my school. I was walking out at the same time she was and I invited her to Taste Bakery for dinner and she said yes. It was sort of a "planned spontaneity" moment on my part. I honestly couldn't say if it was a date or not, (maybe not, now that I've thought about it) even though I paid for dinner (it’s just proper etiquette; you ask her to dinner, you pay). All I know is that I had enjoyed a good conversation and that my roast beef panini tasted better than it usually does. I wrote about this before, how a simple meal usually tastes better when eaten in the presence of an attractive, charming woman who's capable of intelligent, fun conversation.

It was only one dinner and I hope more will follow. I have no idea where this is going to lead, if it even is going to lead to anything. All I know is that she's fun to talk to and really, that's all I'm looking for at this point.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 6:15 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Happy Birthday Mr. Fender ::

"Jimi Hendrix made it scream. Stevie Ray Vaughan made it cry. Eric Clapton made it rock."

Leo, you are a god living among us humans. Happy Birthday.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 7:48 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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It's funny when I think about it. (Actually, lots of things are funny when I think about it long enough.) I've always been a casual hockey fan and while I root for the Kings and Ducks, I haven't been to see either team at their respective arenas. In my seven months here I've already been to two Florida Panther's games during my stay here. Go figure. Last night's game was a spur of the moment thing organized by a classmate who happened upon some free tickets and being an advocate of all things free, it was hard to say no.

Going to a hockey game is similar to going to a baseball game in that it's more than just watching your team, it's about experiencing the game and it's surroundings. Hockey just happens to be faster paced and a little more action packed. Even if your team loses, you still go home feeling like you’ve had fun (Unless you’re a Red Sox fan).

Still, it would be nice to go to a sporting event where the team I'm rooting for actually, you know, wins. Yesterday the Panthers lost 5-2. Last time they lost 5-3. Last season's Marlins game 3 vs. the Cubs was an 8-5 loss. I went to a Lakers game last Christmas and they lost to Houston. The last two Dodgers games I went to were also losses. Now, I still had fun at all the events but still.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 6:59 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Geeks of the World Unite! ::

Geeks of the world Unite! The Academy's lifelong tradition of shunning fantasy and science-fiction movies and relegating them the "genre film" status has been finally lifted. Geeks everywhere are banding together in celebration with what they must consider a monumental victory for "one of our kind." I can say that without any hesitation since they probably don't have anything else to do, unless there's a Star Trek convention in town. And it's not like they're gonna be out on dates or anything.

Actually, I didn't really pay too much attention to the Oscars (though I will say that out of the five, "Master and Commander" was arguably more deserving than "Lord of the Rings," despite its epic accomplishments and my own affection towards it) since I've been so wrapped up in other things, despite being a huge movie fan. I didn't even know it was on until I went to the laundromat and saw it on their TVs. I actually wanted to switch it to SportsCenter but I'm pretty sure I would have been chased out by the group of people whose well-being seemed predicated on whether or not Charlize Theron's would win.

I haven't yet but I'm quite eager to see Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" to see what all the fuss is about. I mean, I know what the fuss is about. I'm referring to the huge negative backlash from certain special interest groups who've been spewing pejoratives long before the movie was ever viewed. I know the story that I'm going to see, I know about Gibson's style of direction, and I already know about the some of the historical inaccuracies presented in the film. I find it odd that I'm not looking towards some life-changing experience the way some have described even though I can understand why some viewers have left the movie sobbing. Maybe it's because I'm fully aware that this story is merely one man's interpretation of the story. I'm just looking to be entertained.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 8:48 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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