Category: Self-Serving

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Cereal Freak!

Okay, I admit it, I LOVE cereal. Maybe because I’m a bachelor, maybe it’s because it’s easy, maybe because it’s always been my comfort food.

I eat it for breakfast, I could eat it for lunch, dinner and even before bed. A trip to the store with me includes a trip down the cereal aisle. I get obsessive compulsive about cereal. I go through phases. There was the time when I ate five bowls of Raisin Bran one day, I won’t tell you the consequences.

Then there is Cap’n Crunch… I believe it is the Devil’s cereal. You can leave a box in the back of your cupboard and it’ll stay crunchy. There isn’t the slightest bit of staleness. You can soak it in milk and that stuff stays crunchy. It also does the Devil’s work… you can eat it and it’ll tear the livin’ heck out of your mouth. I still love it, especially with Crunch Berries.

The cereals I love:
Cookie Crisp
Fruity Pebbles
Golden Grahams
Kix
Honeycomb
Raisin Bran (Kellogg’s Only)
Apple Jacks
Sugar Smacks
Corn Pops (Thanks Matt for reminding me!!)
(I think I could go on…)

The cereals I hate:
Chocolatey cereals
Peanut Butter cereals
cereals that look like they include tree twigs

I’m off to get another gallon of milk,

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What Can Brown Do For You?

For me, it can make my blog look a lot better. Now, I believe I’ve joined the ranks of Mel and Alexa and have somewhat of a professional looking blog. Do you get the whole Cleveland Browns color scheme?

The big facelift didn’t come easy. I tried to get it close to where I wanted it before I took off the bandages and let the world see what the new ‘do looked like.

I’ve got some tweaks to make but this blog design will stay with me for a while. I’ve got tabs (more to come) along with a good blogroll. You’ll notice some more tweaks over the next few weeks. Don’t be scared, click away.

Other good news to report, I think I’m winning the battle of my new computer. I’ve been trying to fix it while sharing the time trying to get the blog updated. It still freezes up on me every now and then so I have to figure out what’s causing it to malfunction.

{rolls eyes} I need sleep!

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Cleveland Construction

I really am getting fed up with the overnight construction on the Innerbelt. I’ve been late to work each night because I have to go to East 55th Street and double back to E.30th and Euclid.

It’s not fun going through that area at the time I head into work. There are stoplights every block and of course, I obey all of the red lights and don’t simply treat them as suggestions after looking both ways.

The worst part is there’s no rhyme or reason to when the crews are out on the job. If I knew each night then I’d take downtown streets to work.

I’m not saying I don’t feel safe. I see at least one police car on my way to work every night.

The first night, I took East 55th Street and followed the advice of my GPS to what I thought was my place of employment but it wanted to take me W. 30th. After I caught the error, I corrected it even though the GPS argued with me about the address.

The next night, I relied on my own knowledge of downtown Cleveland to get me to work. It still added extra time.

This morning after no construction detours, I saw the orange barrels again but this time I detoured to South Marginal and took a couple of extra minutes off of my delay.

I hope the construction is over soon because it’s causing me all sorts of headaches and frustration.

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Life, Not As I’d Planned It

One of my friends called me last night upset about things in their life. To them, it seemed like everything had been piling up and it’s hitting them all at once. I can sympathize.

My mother always told me and my sister never to compare yourself to anyone else. I’d say that’s sage advice. I often look at other people’s lives and think they have it all together. The truth is they probably don’t. We’re all human, make mistakes, get depressed, feel happy and long to be loved by that special someone.

My friend told me how they thought I had my life all together. They told me how they thought I had everything in my life on track. The truth is, I don’t. I had to think that I thought my friend had the same things going for them. I thought some of the things they did were more brave than anything I’d done in my life. I look to my friend for strength, advice and the energy that keeps me ticking.

I shared how I’d always thought my life would be much different at 35. I’d never thought I’d be single and living downtown Cleveland. It was what was supposed to happen to me, it was the right thing to happen to me. It wasn’t what I thought was supposed to happen to me. I figured I’d be married with kids and living somewhere in the ‘burbs. Of course, this blog would be a lot different if that were the case. I’d probably be complaining about my wife, kids or just life in general. For now, you don’t have to worry about those ramblings.

Another one of my friends taught me a valuable lesson, nothing happens on your schedule. Phil hammered it into my head until I got it. Now I get it. Whether you believe it’s God’s will or just how the universe is spinning out your life on this planet, I know I have limited control over my life. Sure, I try to flex my muscles and strong arm life sometimes but I realize I don’t have the strength to make somethings happen.

I get through my days with this outlook: What happened was supposed to happen. There’s a reason. Maybe I don’t understand it now but what happened did because it’s the right thing for my life. I’ll grow from it and my life will somehow be better whether it takes grief and happiness to get through it.

It’s my philosophy. Everyone may not agree with it but that outlook works for me and that’s how I get through each day… second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour.

By the way, we’ll all look back and laugh right?

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My Week: A Look Back

The last week was an interesting one.

I didn’t think I’d end up getting a stomach bug that would knock me out for Monday at work. My friend/co-worker’s father died so I worked dayside.

Tuesday quickly came and Stacie, Josh and I grilled out on the Viaduct. We forgot the fact that sometimes you want dessert after BBQ’ing. Next time, add s’mores ingredients to the grocery list.

Quickly up for Wednesday which proved to be a long day at work and play. I got out of work and rushed home to see the Dinosaurs. If you have young kids who aren’t afraid of very realistic dinosaurs, don’t hesitate to go. I didn’t get to post much of a review about “Walking With Dinosaurs” but the show is very well done. I think it’s just as fun for the adults to figure out how the dinosaurs work as it is for kids to see them in action. I was surprised at all of the kids around me knowing so much about the animals. They shouted out their names when they’d take the stage. There are some fun moments with the announcer when he talks about “poop”. Rodger, Rebecca, Stacie, Josh and I all had a good time. We stopped at Flat Iron Cafe for dinner after the show. The production at the Quicken Loans Arena started around 7:00pm and ended by 9:45pm with a 20-minute intermission.

Eight hours of sleep later, it was Thursday already. Jason, Russ, his friend and I braved the elements and watched the Indians take on the San Francisco Giants. We won but we didn’t sit through the entire game because it got started so late. The crowd gave Omar Vizquel a standing ovation as he returned again to the place he knew as Jacobs Field. We apparently made STO’s coverage of the game several times because of where our seats were. Several foul balls came whirling out our way. I think a fan got hit with a line drive foul ball. The ushers brought someone in to check the person out. I didn’t see them take the person out on a stretcher so I only could assume she was okay. I will have to admit if it got all of the way to me, it’d sure knocked me out. The Indians ended up winning the game by a score of 4 to 1. C’mon comeuppance!!

By Friday, I was tired by the time I left work. Josh, Dan and I went to Ro k Bottom to get some food and it was low-key. We played table shuffleboard, I took the first game against Dan. Josh won the next one but only by a couple of points. In bed and done by 11:30.

This morning, I’m off to volunteer at a non-profit. I get to hang with some kids and hopefully brighten their day with some ice cream. No plans yet for tonight but part of my day will be spent working out and cleaning up my place that is certifiably a bachelor pad. It’s a right mess!

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Emmy Nominated

I can now add “Emmy Nominated” before my name.

NewsChannel 5’s 11pm producer Tara Sutton and my former News Director, Steve Hyvonen, are also named in the category of Outstanding Newscast – Evening – Markets 1-20. The newscast was the night of the SuccessTech shootings. Everyone worked hard on the newscast.

You can see the complete list of nominations by going to the National Television Academy Cleveland Regional Chapter

WEWS/NewsChannel 5 got 19 nods for this year’s awards.

Congratulations to everyone!

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Good Karma Sunday

I had a good Sunday. It turned out in no way like I assumed it would the night before when I went to bed.

I got up and picked up trash from the street in front of my place. It’s amazing what people will throw away. The area looks a little trashy under the Superior Viaduct. I think that’s part of the reason people litter like they do. If there were beautification of the area, I don’t think we’d see as much trash. I picked up a Target bag full of garbage. Many of the items were beer bottles but I also found fast food leftovers, a flip-flop and a lot of handbills promoting a cruise on the Nautica Queen. People just peel them off their car windows and throw them on the ground.

I gave a friend a ride home to the East side. I don’t go over to that side of town often because I don’t have any reason to do so. I figured I’d call my friend, Missy, and see if she wanted to have brunch. We ate at Eat ‘n Park. I asked for no peppers on my omelet but got them anyhow. I could have complained but why. By the way, there was a man at the checkout complaining about something. Not as good of a day for the folks at Eat ‘n Park.

I also figured I’d drop by my sister’s home. My nephews weren’t home at the time but they arrived they were suprised to see me. It was hot as heck so I took the opportunity to swim in their pool. They’d just opened the pool so we made a whirlpool. It was fun for them but it was all to clean the pool and get all of the leaves and sticks into the center so we could clean them up easier. My littlest nephew, Ayden, is getting bigger and he’s even rolling over onto his stomach. He doesn’t like being in that position that long though.

After getting a lot of sun (I’m burnt), I hurried home to attend Yoga, yes, Yoga! It was a free class and say what you will but it’s HARD! If you haven’t tried it, you have no room to make any fun. I couldn’t believe the trainer who was “practicing” next to me. She got into poses that I couldn’t ever see myself doing. They claim everyone has that potential. One of the big parts of yoga is breathing but you almost forget to do it when you’re concentrating on trying to keep your balance and not falling over.

One of the strange moments for me was when you allow your foot you were stretching to come back to rest on the foot. You’ve just spent about 20-25 minutes stretching that side of your body. When you allow it to rest on the floor, I felt two things. The first was that it was actually longer than the other side of my body. A really weird feeling! What was even stranger for me was trying to find the floor with my heel. I thought it would be about a foot higher than it was. It felt like I was extending my leg below floor level. Think of the feeling you have when you are going down steps and think there is another one there and it’s not.

I rushed home and went to bed only to be woken up a couple of times but the feeling of the sunburn in my shoulders and arms. Still, even with the sunburn, it was a good, positive Sunday, one I wouldn’t have predicted.

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The Soundtrack Of My Life

My newfound friend from Australia posted this meme on her blog and since I’m a music freak, I couldn’t resist posting on my page. You can check out her picks by visiting here.

Opening credits: Robbie Williams – Millennium
Waking up: Natalie Merchant – San Andreas Fault
Average day: Scott Smith – Lively
First date: Stevie Wonder – Isn’t She Lovely
Falling in Love: Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am
Love Scene: Colbie Caillat – Bubbly
Fight Scene: Seether – Fake It
Breaking up: Beyoncé – Irreplaceable
Getting Back Together: Mulberry Lane – Harmless
Secret Love: One Republic – Stop and Stare
Life’s Okay: Peter, Bjorn and John – Young Folks
Mental Breakdown: Barenaked Ladies – The Old Apartment
Driving: Kanye West – Stronger
Learning A Lesson: James Taylor – You’ve Got A Friend
Deep Thought: Klazz Brothers & Cuba Percussion–Air
Flashback: Jack Johnson – Do You Remember
Partying: Tom Jones – Sex Bomb
Happy Dance: Maxine Nightengale – Right Back Where We Started From
Regretting: Maroon 5 – Won’t Go Home Without You
Long Night Alone: Mana – En El Muelle De San Blas
Death Scene: Sarah McLachlan – Angel
Closing Credits: Banana Pancakes – Jack Johnson

Folks, this isn’t easy. Try it yourself. I’ve always said I’d be for a way for me to hear music all of my life. I’d never get sick of it. What would be even better if the music somehow always would fit your emotions and what would be happening in your life. Although, I’m sure every now and then, I’d have to have a “pull the needle off the record” moment. Comic relief? Sure. Sometimes, the music probably would even alert me to what a putz I was being and I’d probably snap out of it. What do you think of my selections? Do you have any alternatives?

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My First Memories Of TV

I’m not talking about my childhood, I’m talking about when I actually got into the business.

We have a high school student “shadowing” Good Morning Cleveland this week. I wonder what’s going through his mind about the experience so far. He arrived bright and early this morning. You have to give him credit for that initiative. Actually, it’s part of his senior project so there’s a a reason he has to do it.

At any rate, it got me thinking about my first days in TV. Growing up in the Cleveland market, I was familiar with many of the people who were on the news. I remember walking by Judd Hambrick in the halls of Channel 3 when it was back on East 6th Street across from the Cleveland School Board of Education building. Judd is a tall man but he just seemed larger than life to me.

Some of the first people I met were Kim Brattain and Jim Hooley. My college professor worked as a weekend editor at WKYC and I got the chance to go up with her to Cleveland from Ashland. I was surprise how nice they both were. They were willing to answer my questions and even noticed me when I was getting dinner at the Galleria. This was back in the days of reporters like Joe Mosbrook and John Herrington. They were the veteran reporters who knew Cleveland like the backs of their hands. They’d been in television since before I was born. I worked with Mosbrook after I got hired at Channel 3. Oh, I can’t forget to mention Thor Tolo who was the most energetic person I’ve ever met. He was hopped up on hot cocoa. I think I saw him drink at least 4 cups myself.

I remember being mesmerized with the studio and the control room. I remember watching the robotic cameras zoom from place to place in the studio. It is still interesting to watch them. I remember the excitement of the producer, the editors and the assignment desk editor. I thought I want to be a part of this. It hooked me a little on this business.

When I got my internship, I couldn’t get enough of the station. I came in on days where I wasn’t scheduled. I thought it was so cool that I was an intern for a Cleveland station. I remember being so determined to get a job there. I interned in the promotions department under Dan Klintworth initially before he left the station. His secretary, Marcia, helped get me saavy to the business. She told me go down to the first floor and memorize the photoboard so that I could see a face and know the name. I did what she said and probably surprised a lot of people who didn’t know who I was.

So I can kind of imagine what my high school job shadow student is experiencing although, TV probably isn’t as big of a deal now as it was then. Now, it might be more interesting to tour the YouTube offices.

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500th Blog Post

I’ve wondered what day it would actually happen but I guess you can mark down May 6, 2008 for this milestone.

I actually started blogging after searching high and low for a way to repair my Toshiba laptop. My screen would flap all over the place and it made it tough to type. When I found the fix on another person’s blog, I decided to start one up so I could help others as well. My CRV Oil Life Reset post gets a lot of hits. Of course, like other things, I get a little obsessed and end up posting 500 entries about my life.

On this cool occasion, I got some good news today from the people at the Ohio Canal Corridor and Jacobs Investments. This weekend during RiverSweep, we are going to clean up the area that many people who live in my building can see. I know we only have three hours and it’s going to take us all of that time to get it done. There are pallets, tires, wires and all sorts of bottle all over the place. I can’t wait for it to look a lot nicer after RiverSweep.

By the way, I’m hoping you’ll think about coming down this Saturday morning and helping out. The information about participating is available by clicking on the link above.

This is my 500th post so I don’t feel forced to keep it to one thought. I’m still typing on that Toshiba laptop that I’ve had for almost five years but my life has changed a lot since that first post. I’m no longer in Texas. I’m no longer in Avon Lake. I’m living downtown Cleveland. A lot of other things have changed that aren’t going to be included at this point on this blog. People who know me know what they are. I’m content now. How couldn’t I be, I’m sitting out on my balcony looking at Cleveland’s skyline with a blue sky as a backdrop. I have a great job, great friends and a great family. I have a dream place to live and I’m healthy. I ask you again, what else could you want? I count my blessings a lot and don’t dwell too much on what I want. If I continue life on this path, I’ll know that I lived a life without taking away many regrets.

Leave me a comment and let me know you’ve stopped by!