“The Official Blog of Daniel J Garcia”

“Good day, Sunshine…”

It seems that I am never going to get myself back into a regular posting routine. I guess all of you in internet-land will just have to copus and dealus (thats pseudo-latin for cope and deal). I find that actually going to my blog and starting to type is the first step. The rest of it just kind of pours out in a series of jumbled, thrown together sentences and thought phrases. The result is a mixture between sometimes moments of clarity and other times not so much. Anyway, on with the show…

First off, I just found out that everyone’s most loved sensei Mr. Miyagi (aka Pat Morita) passed away the other day. I usually read CNN on a daily basis and I don’t remember seeing anything on there about him. That is pretty annoying. The man was so ingrained into our 80’s pop culture growing up and I am a little sad at his passing. I don’t know how many people called me “Daniel-San” over the years, in fact, some still do. The Karate Kid was such a great 80’s film of coming of age and standing up for yourself, and Mr. Miyagi was our Yoda. We will miss you Pat.

In other news, things are generally going pretty well. I am happy, healthy, and there is a noticeable bounce to my step. I even feel like singing again. If I get ambitious, I may try and visit one of my old chapters to see about singing with them. I don’t want to put the cart before the horse (or the lead before the bass, heh heh), but we’ll see. Ask me this moment, this second, and I will tell you that life is good. Tomorrow may be another day, but right now I am smiling, cause when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you…

I also went to see “Walk The Line” last night, which is the new Johnny Cash biopic. I would have liked to have heard some more of his hit songs, but on the whole, it was a very good movie. Joaquin did an excellent job as the venerable Mr. Cash and Reese Witherspoon was fantastic as June Carter. It gave a lot of insight into how he got started and how he fell in love with June. I liked it and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some Oscar nominations for both Joaquin and Reese. They even had them singing a Bob Dylan song as a duet (It Ain’t Me Babe), so right there you know that it was a good movie! BTW, for the generally uninformed (certainly not any of MY friends I’m sure), the title refers to one of his songs, coincidentally titled “I Walk The Line”.

This is a great song that is still ringing true for me today. It also helps that it is in my vocal range! If I get adventurous enough, and with enough encouragement, I may get up and attempt to sing it sometime, but not without more practice!

Anyway, I REALLY need to do some coding today. I also need to laundry, eat lunch, and go to the gym. What’s that you say?!?! Go to the gym?!?!? YES. I even have a personal trainer. So far he is kicking my arse, but he’s a pretty nice guy. I’ve only actually been there twice starting last Sunday, but I DO plan on going weekly, multiple times a week. I have found that I have pretty good leg strength but my arms…not so much. Hopefully that will all change. In the spirit of having an open mind and putting my best foot forward, I even got some workout clothes, a new pair of tennis shoes, and a gym bag. I am a walking Nike ad! To my credit, it was all on sale and at least the shoes are pretty comfortable. I have a pair of New Balance sneakers which hurt my feet too much. I think I will be giving those too Goodwill at some point.

Finally, in a new effort to add some more fun to the site, I am giving in and will be attempting to add some silly quizzes, features, etc. Today’s choice? What is your pimp name!

Your Pimp Name Is…

Maestro Glider

Maestro Glider. Yea, I like that!

Be seeing you…

Daniel General

Good morning and Happy Sunday. Although I use those five words all the time in various combinations, I don’t think I have ever strung them together quite like that before. I don’t usually get up too early on Sundays, but for some reason I woke up at 7am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I had a wonderful night last night and couldn’t get to sleep until after 2 or 3am or so. I’m a little surprised to be as awake as I am. Although conscious and surprisingly coherent, I really didn’t want to actually get up and do anything yet, so I compromised a little. I ended up laying back down and watched the remake of Shaft. I caught the beginning of it on TV the other week and decided that maybe I really did want to watch it all again. Since I have it on DVD…

Samuel L. Jackson is one Bad Mother F…ummm, BFM. It’s true, he has a wallet that says so. Actually, come to think of it, he also has a purple light saber that says that too. heh heh

Yes, I have a plethora of useless knowledge and trivia available on command whenever the need warrants it. (Jefe, what is a plethora?) Bonus points if you know which movie that’s from.

BTW, here is a cool link courtesy of my friend Bill Byrd.

Sincere Slugs

Crank up the volume and enjoy the show!

Anyway, I was invited to go up to Lake Zurich to watch the Bear game today. I admittedly know very little about the Bears this year or really about football in general, but I haven’t been up to my buddy’s new house yet and since I am still riding this happy mood feeling, I thought I would go up there and hang out.

As mentioned before, I had a wonderfully fantastic time last night. I shan’t go into details here, but as the title references, it was thoroughly De-lovely. Somebody cue the music…

Be seeing you…

Daniel General

“And there we were all in one place…” -D. McLean

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated and for that I thoroughly apologize. The month of October has come and gone and we are now pushing through to December. The biggest news that happened, of course, is that the White Sox had won the World Series in a 4 game sweep. I had the honor of again singing at Sox Park this year (check out the picture of me in front of Reinsdorf’s office) and I am very happy for them. Other than that, October has pretty much been a whole lot of the same old same old.

My writing ambitions have quickly become non-existent, but I haven’t given up hope just yet. The first step is to keep blogging here and there and then we’ll see. I must say that I am in a pretty good mood tonight and have had a pretty good day overall. I got a haircut, ran some errands, and saw a Sweet Adeline show. The ladies were fantastic and I really enjoyed the evening. I haven’t had a really good day for a while and I am still smiling because of it. I’ll have to figure out what alignment of stars or what not caused it and see what I can do about having a lot more of them.

BTW, I was going to add an entry a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t quite get to it. I got as far as the subject but then got distracted with something else. By the time I realized it I was already in bed and didn’t feel like getting back up. I of course promptly put it out of my mind and so here we are.

One thing I have been enjoying recently is television. There are some really good shows on right now. I know I mentioned the shows in an earlier post, but here is what I am watching and enjoying now, mostly by day showing:

The West Wing – this season has really picked up and the show is pretty good right now.
Family Guy – Guilty pleasure. Stewie is awesome.
Arrested Development – Not as funny as season 1, but funnier than season 2. Bob Lobloblaw. LMAO
How I Met Your Mother – I’m really digging this show. Good characters, good actors.
Kitchen Confidential – Still seeing how its going, but it does make me laugh.
Prison Break – Started watching it, stopped, started again after catching a marathon. Decent show.
Two And A Half Men – Laugh out loud funny at times. I also like reading the vanity cards at the end.
Out Of Practice – Waiting and seeing. Still enjoying it.
My Name Is Earl – Funny, funny, funny! Quickly becoming a favorite show.
The Office – Didn’t like it at first, am liking it better now.
Boston Legal – Spader and Shatner are pure TV Gold.
Apprentice Martha Stewart – Still watching, usually fast forward through a lot of it.
Drawn Together – Second guilty pleasure. This show is wrong on so many levels, yet I am drawn to watch it.
Joey – Fun and Funny. Still liking it.
Apprentice Trump – Still the best reality show out there.
ER – I miss Noah Wiley, but the show is still good (at least Maura Tierney is still there, rowr)
Monk – Didn’t used to watch it, but I am starting to get hooked. I empathize with him at times.
Saturday Night Live – Still love watching the Weekend Update segments (Tina Fey, rowr)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Still funny. Stopped watching for a while. Starting to watch again.

And finally, one of my new favorite shows…

The Colbert Report – Funny, funny, funny! It’s also very clever. Pronounced like Coal-bear Ray poor. Why? “Because its French, B*tch!” – S. Colbert

As you can see, I do keep myself busy with TV, but surprisingly enough, these are all shows on expanded basic cable. Who needs digital cable?!?! Ok, I will once the Sopranos start again, but for the most part, I am very entertained with the current offerings. It’s like TV is getting good again. It wasn’t for a while.

So anyway, to mention the title, as is a theme with all my postings, that is a favorite song of mine. I’ve liked it since I was a teenager. Time, time, time, see what’s become of me? Well, time is rolling along and I am still doing ok. For the uninformed and the uninitiated, I am referencing “Hazy Shade of Winter” by Simon & Garfunkel. Lyrics below:

Some people may look at that and think it’s a sad, depressing song. I choose to look at it as a song of hope. Yes, sometimes life knocks you down but that’s ok. You cannot truly appreciate the highs without experiencing the lows.

So, another novella come and gone. It’s not the first and it won’t be the last. I’m just happy I made the time to post again. It’s after 2am Saturday night/Sunday morning and I am still Mr. Happy Guy right now. I think I’ll head to bed soon and get a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is a coding day.

Be seeing you…

Daniel General