too much to say, too little time!

since posting last, there has been a TON that's changed in my world.  unfortunately, today is not the day to write it all out.  needless to say, i'll update more as i get a chance and i have a feeling this will be a great place to output thoughts on upcoming plans and nuptials :)  yes, that's right.....my nuptials.  (does anyone on the planet other than me hate that word btw?)

of course i'm super excited to be planning that but on top of it, i'm ridiculously excited to go celebrate the joining of my friends lisa and avery.  they have been two of my closest friends for over a decade and i cannot wait to go party harty with them on new year's :D  not only do i get to go party with them but i also get to see those nearest and dearest to me while there!  it's going to be a good holiday indeed :)

i hope you out there have a very merry Christmas if I don't get a chance to write again or say it in person!  it truly is the season for joy, thankfulness, and lots of love :)

yours ever more,
~danban

when old meets new

so we're getting closer and closer to our Indiana trip and i can't help but think that this is a seriously exciting time.  it's a time where my past meets my future and i can't wait!!  i love and miss my lisa and avery and all other bloomington crew!  i have no doubt that they'll love my choice in boyfriend as much as i do :)  it's still a little nerve wracking as i value their opinions very much and i'd be disappointed if they weren't as excited as i am.  but i have little doubt that will happen!

it's an odd place/situation i find myself in as it's never one i imagined i'd be in.  a good situation no doubt, just a little surreal to be planning these kinds of trips :)

i'm very excited to play tour guide through my college days and memories!  lots of good memories were made there and i'm sure we'll make more on this trip and the next!  i'll update after the trip to share how the adventure went :)

til then,
~danban

changes in the wind

well, there are some massive changes upcoming and some small changes and all i think are good :) in fact, i tend to thing that change is good in general! definitely opposite to what most people seem to think but.......i'm not most people.

it's interesting to me that even a small change can impact your day in unforeseen ways. for example, we painted the upstairs bathroom and hung a new mirror and every time i see those small changes, it makes me smile! now we're talking a total of maybe 4 hours worth of effort but it's been weeks worth of smiles........totally worth it!!

slightly larger change of local in the thought process which inspires lots of thoughts of further life changes which leads to the largest change of all which i won't post as it's far from official :)

needless to say, i'm excited about what's changed, what's being planned, and what i don't yet know the future holds. for now, i'll focus on beer and how it can change my world!

all for now.....

much love,

~danban

how did you think that was going to end?

had the most odd encounter with a neighbor and fellow dog owner last night and it's left me at a bit of a loss.

we were walking the dogs and hadn't gotten far after crossing the street when we had to stop cause jax had done his duty and we're good pet owners who clean after their dogs. i'd held the dogs in the grassy area to be out of the way of anyone on the side walk while ryan cleaned. the aforementioned neighbor begins walking past us with his corgy. ryan had seen them in the neighborhood before and mentioned that he didn't like his dog near other dogs so i attempted to ensure that our boys were on the far side of the grass from him.

apparently this wasn't sufficient as the neighbor stopped with his dog in front of me as jax jumped to go say hi and sniff the dog. he stopped to forcefully say, "you need to control your dog". to which i replied, "ummm i have control of him....thanks". he wasn't convinced as jax did jump forward a bit to sniff his dog and began repeatedly to tell me that i needed to admit he was out of control. at this point, i'm getting angry with the confrontation and don't appreciate the implication that i'm not a good pet owner and that jax is an out of control dog. so being a little childish i kept responding with "he's in control" over and over and over and over again.

ok i admit at this point i became really childish and said "bite me". i am still in shock about his reply which was to start yelling at me that i needed to walk over to where he was and he would bite me!! i don't remember my exact reply but i'm pretty sure it was along the lines of are you effing kidding me and you are a lunatic!! he then proceeded to tell me if he ever saw my dogs again he would kick them!! of course i told him if he touched my dogs i'd kick him so hard it would hurt me :) very protective pet owner that i am! of course after that he said something to the effect of "fcuk you" and finally walked away. of course as he's walking down the block he keeps stopping to look back though i'm not sure why.....

so what i don't get is 1. why he thought that confrontation necessary rather than just letting us know he was concerned or nervous when he was around jax as he attempts to go sniff his dog, 2. how in his head he thought that was going to turn out well unless he assumed i'd just politely apologize and see the error of my ways which proves he knows nothing about me and my inability to be kind to complete morons, 3. why in the hell he picked a fight with a 5'3 girl accompanied by 250lbs of massive dog and a boyfriend who is not a tiny person and that neighbor assumed that was ever going to work out in his favor, and 4. if he had managed to get me to wrastle with him, wtf he was going to do with his dog.....hand him over to ryan for jax to "get at him"?!?!?!

i mean holy shit dude......have you EVER used that tiny excuse for a brain ever in your assholish life?!?! there is no scenario i can think of that would have ever had that scene end well for him unless he is dumb enough to think i would have apologized for the error of my ways.

the only thing i can think of is that he may have been in a bad mood from the day, displaying a horrible attempt to kindly let me know that my dogs needed additional training, or he's really just a flaming moron/asshole.

the whole experience left me shocked and at a complete loss. i mean boone and jax are liked by all but one dog in the complex and that's not even this dude's corgy! they are trained though i'll admit that they need other dog socialization as they haven't had a lot of it. they are the kindest dogs i've ever met and are scared by damn near everything so are completely opposite of aggressive. it really kind of makes me anxious to walk them now which is another shame. i love walking them and will not let this douchebag ruin that but am not looking forward to ever meeting him again which is impossible as he lives in our complex or the one next to us. it makes me sad that he ruined what promised to be a great walk with the boys and that walking them isn't something i'm really looking forward to at the moment in case i do have to encounter him again. i still don't understand why he had such an outburst and why he was so angry. i mean i'd never spoken to him before in my life!

people like him sadden me as i'm always amazed that humanity can sink so lowly as to lash out at unsuspecting people for no reason other than your own amusement. what happened to do unto others? guess i'll never really know wtf went on with him but it hurts my heart and makes me sad.

all i can do at the moment is hug my boys and look forward to seeing boone huntin and jax wrastlin him to the ground :) the walks will always be joyful as long as i focus on them and the good company of ryan! so that's what i'm choosing to focus on!!

~danban

sin city

headed to sin city this weekend and it's always a love it/hate it kind of place for everyone. it seems like there's almost no one who goes there and just relaxes, goes with the flow, and enjoys the sheer spectacle of it all. everyone seems to go with some goal, intention, unspoken plan in their pocket which i find very entertaining as a spectator.

my enjoyment is the sheer ridiculousness of the entire town and the people in it. yes, i'm specifically referring to the strip and the multitude of outrageous outfits, hair styles, levels of drunkenness and intelligence and not the locals as i'm sure they are lovely people! i have no doubt this weekend i'll see plenty of the above while cruising the strip and hanging in the lazy river.

no matter what happens, i'm sure it'll be an entertaining time and i'll have lots of stories to tell. i'm seriously excited about going to see the jabbawokeez!! hope everyone out there has a good weekend as well :)

~danban

good to dream the dream

so there's a new scheme a brewin in my head and heart! it makes me smile to think about and dream the hope of one day making it a very real part of my world :)

i find it's been a great distraction and a happy place to turn to when work is overwhelming or underwhelming as the case may be. it's good for me to have positive thoughts that can carry me throughout the long nine to five days that consume my weeks.

so here's to having a dream and letting that warm your heart, thoughts, and bring a little color into every day! i hope you find yours to carry you throughout your days :)

hugs,

~danban

it's a love / hate thing

well, back at the blogging world and back into running and it's been too long!

started really running again starting this past monday and it's not going badly so far. yesterday's run was a decent one considering i'm just getting back into it.....2 miles in 23minutes. well off my previous half marathon pace but is getting me to where i can actually conceive of the half marathon in december and january!

part of it is motivated by the desire to feel better by exercising and having a regular routine of exercise. part of it is motivated by my skinny bin under my bed that has all the clothes i used to love to wear but cannot fit into at the moment. the other part is motivated by my Simmones wedding at the end of the year and i plan to look GOOD!

i'm excited so far by the motivation since i've not had it in a good year and a half if not longer. i'm looking forward to the quick progress that i'm sure i'll have as long as i keep it up as i'm sort of surprised by how easy it's been so far!

good running to all!

~danban