Shoot I Love This Song Too…
So literally, just a few minutes ago I posted a video by Kris Orlowski, but I have to post this video as well. I love the video, the strings, the singers and the most importantly the song itself as it speaks of many of the best places in my home away from home, Bellingham, WA.
Enjoy!
Posted on June 24th, 2011 by David | 5 Comments »
It’s Time For A Course Correction
I am working on my fourth year of blogging. When I began blogging I started a blog called “An Anthology of Thoughts” and I blogged like crazy. I was a posting virtually every day and often times I would post multiple posts. I was a blogging machine.
Although my blog was anything but focused it ended up acquiring a fairly nice audience of people who were just interested in talking about life.
I ran “An Anthology of Thoughts” for a year and then shut down shop to began ”24/7 Life” and have been blogging here ever since.
I began this blog because I wanted to be more intentional, more focused.
I wanted to find my proverbial “niche,” and at times I did.
I would begin shifting my blog in a particular direction convinced that this was what my blog was supposed to be about, only to realize that there were other topics that I wanted to share thoughts on.
Truthfully, I kind of feel as though I am at one of those places now. There are some great topics that I would like to write about but I can’t decide what specifically to focus my limited time on and that has resulted in a lack of inspiration. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on June 17th, 2011 by David | 14 Comments »
Creating Change In And Through People
When was the last time you stopped to truly think about whose life you’re investing in?
Was it recently or somewhere in the distant past?
Could you even come up with a name?
I was watching the music competition show “The Voice” last night and a surprising thing happened. Blake Shelton, one of the coaches chose to save a contestant on his team who quite honestly is not a favorite to win. While she has a beautiful voice, she is young and inexperienced especially compared to the other other members of her team who were vying for this spot in the next round of the competition.
However, Blake said he chose her because there was more opportunity to create change with her than with the other two competitors. There is no doubt about the fact that this is true. Xenia, the teenage girl he decided to keep is a diamond in the rough. She has talent, but little in the way of confidence or stage presence. She really is a project, if you will.
http://youtu.be/5G3G_cpGLoI
Posted on June 15th, 2011 by David | 11 Comments »
Friday Feature #15 (On Monday): Laura Miles (AKA Mom)
As promised, here is last week’s Friday Feature…today… on Monday.
There are a lot of women that blog, in fact there is a vast community of mom bloggers who regularly post on life as a mother. However, there is one mom whose blog I am quite fond of and that is my mom.
My mom, Laura Miles has been blogging for several years now about the ins and outs, ups and downs of life and she never fails to do so in a humorous and/or heartfelt way.
If you knew my mom, you would know that her writing sounds exactly like the way she speaks and perhaps that’s one of the things I enjoy the most. Every post she writes is like having a conversation with her and that’s a nice thing.
Over the last several years as I have blogged and engaged in reading the blogs of others I have come to really appreciate those blogs that are open and honest. Heck, if they’re not honest, what’s the point.
Well my mom’s blog, In The Midst is one of the good kind. It’s an open and honest reflection on her life, both the joys and frustrations.
So if you are looking for a new gem of a blog to begin following, I would definitely encourage you to begin following In The Midst, by Laura Miles (aka my mom). It is a great read and full of wonderful laughs, insights and “tidbits” of knowledge.
Check it out and leave her some comment love.
http://lauraemiles.blogspot.com/
Posted on June 13th, 2011 by David | 6 Comments »
Friday Feature #11: Moe Vivas (@Moe_NYC)
Let me just start by saying that I have “met” some phenomenal people over the last few weeks via social media. If you recall, about a month ago I asked via a post if I should begin using Twitter as more of a networking tool, rather than just a means by which to communicate daily happenings to friends and family.
Well, after some deliberation I decided to begin engaging more regularly with a wider range of people and one of the people I came across via my good friend @ThatGuyKC was Moe Vivas (@Moe_NYC). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 6th, 2011 by David | 27 Comments »
When Good Fans Go Bad: a lesson in faith
Living in Seattle I have become accustom to following bad sports teams. Bad baseball teams, bad football teams, bad basketball…wait we don’t have one of those anymore.
In any event, I follow them whether they are doing good or bad. However something unthinkable happened this evening.
Around the beginning of the 7th inning at tonight’s Mariners game, my friend who I went to the game with, asked if we should head out. We were down 7-0 and quite frankly it didn’t look as though there was any chance of us coming back. Nevertheless trying to be somewhat optimistic I suggested that we wait until after that Mariners had batted in the bottom of the 7th.
Well the bottom of the 7th came and went with only one run scored, leaving us down by 6 runs. So we left….
FAIL! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on April 12th, 2011 by David | 12 Comments »
To Feel Like A Kid All Over Again
This evening I’m heading out to Safeco Field to watch my hometown Seattle Mariners struggle for a win. Truthfully they’re not a good team and haven’t been for quite some time. Yet going to the ballpark to watch America’s pastime gets me all nostalgic.
I remember growing up spending hours sorting through stacks and stacks of baseball cards and looking up their value in my Beckett Baseball Card Monthly, which I often got in my Easter basket…
I remember Ken Griffey Jr. in his heyday, and wanting to model my batting stance after his…
I remember simulating games in the backyard after dinner. I played all the positions…on both teams…
And I remember going to the Kingdom year after year to watch the Mariner’s play uninspired baseball…
Posted on April 11th, 2011 by David | 9 Comments »
Friday Feature #4: Amy Collette
Let me make a confession, I enjoy the Food Network. It’s not the manliest of channels but have you seen the stuff the cook up?!
You watch Bobby Flay mastering the grill in high def and you instantly want a rack of ribs, with some corn on the cob, a side of mashed potatoes and an ice cold glass of your favorite summertime beverage. Well a friend of mine has the same effect on me with the incredible creations she posts on her blog.
My friend Amy Collette is a baker, not by trade but by passion. Although in between jobs like so many great and highly qualified people these days, Amy still manages to stay busy with her desire to test new recipes for tasty treats.
In fact after starting her blog last summer, Amy came to the realization that the idea of being a professional baker was appealing. And now her blog Collette Kitchen Creations serves as a sort of recipe journal and baked good portfolio.
Amy says that with all the baking she does, she tends to give most of her creations way. This is fitting considering that she used to work for a non-profit that helped those who were homeless and has a heart for meeting the needs of others.
If you’re looking for some great recipes or baking/cooking inspiration, Amy’s site is a great one to check out.
Visit Collette Kitchen Creations or find Amy on Twitter @amyccollette
Posted on March 18th, 2011 by David | 2 Comments »
Friday Feature #3: K.C. Procter
As a new dad who both works fulltime and is in grad school I regularly look to friends, family, and others who are successfully balancing the many obligations of life. One of the people I look to most regularly is K.C. Procter.
K.C. and I have known each other for a couple years now and I have really come to respect him as a husband, father, grad student and employee of one of Seattle’s finest companies. And because he and I are at similar stages in life, we can both relate to the trials of trying to juggle what seem like a million balls all at once.
K.C. and I are also blog collaborators. We regularly talk shop about various blogging trends, techniques and new content ideas. Most recently K.C. and I have spent time talking about his new blog somewiseguy.com which as the site says is for “for dangerous dads, manly men (and the women crazy enough to love us).” If you have never read a dad blog before this is a great place to start. Although there is great content for dads, there are also a lot of posts dedicated to other manly topics such as technology, entertainment, etc.
However, what I love most about the site is how practical it is. Whether it’s personal reflections on being a dad, thoughts on leadership or just random manly banter, I’m able to connect with what he’s talking about. So if you are looking for a great blog, written by an awesome guy that focuses on “man stuff” this is definitely one to check out.
On a personal note, Happy Anniversary K.C.. I wish you and your lovely bride the best.
Visit somewiseguy.com or find K.C. on Twitter.
Posted on March 11th, 2011 by David | No Comments »
Back Tracking To Soundtracks
Every so often I like to look back at things I have posted over the years. I’ve been doing this blog thing for over three years now and have over 500 posts worth of reflections, insights and other nonsense. This evening I was looking at some posts from early 2009 and I came across one where I created a soundtrack for a fictional day in my life. It might sound strange but I do on a somewhat regular basis find myself thinking about what song would fit the particular situation that I’m in. In this particular post I created my playlist for the day and I thought it would be fun to share it with you again. Here’s and excerpt from the post but feel free to visit the original and check out the whole day.
5:00pm time to punch the clock and call it a week – “Where the Blacktop Ends” by Keith Urban
5:10 get let into traffic by nice elderly gentleman – “Whoever You Are” by Geggy Tah
6:00pm all out last quarter mile on the treadmill – “I Have a Dream” by Group One Crew
6:30pm BBQing with some close friends – “Summertime” by Will Smith
9:00pm cleaning up the dishes – “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie
9:12pm dancing around the kitchen – “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole
10:00pm bedtime
– “Your Body is a Wonderland” by John Mayer
This would be a great day for sure and it would be filled with a ton of awesome music. What songs would you want to provide the soundtrack for a day in your life?
Posted on March 10th, 2011 by David | 2 Comments »
