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January 28, 2005
Just another lunch ...
I was out to lunch with a coworker a few weeks back at a joint across the street that many of us frequent because of its proximity to the office.
Another group of four coworkers joined us and ordered this HUGE mini-keg of ale.
I obstained, but I recall a time not very long ago when I wouldn't have been able to. I used to enjoy Friday lunches boozing around downtown. Of course I'd head back to the office a couple hours after I'd left with such a buzz I wasn't very productive for the rest of the day ... that is, until Happy Hour came around around 4:00 and I'd turn into quite the social-productive-butterfly.
Until next time, America. (Don't ask me why I've got that dorky Maury Povich 'A Current Affair' signoff in my head ... because I don't know!)
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 26, 2005
My first meeting with the new intern
We've got a new intern who started on Monday. She's a really nice girl who's just out of school and wants to make it big in the industry.
Being that I'm completely slammed, I shot my hand up when asked if I had anything that might be good for her to work on.
A short while later I met her in a conference room with the documents I intended to pass off to her. She was wearing a really nice knit zip-up sweater that she must have gotten for Christmas, as I'm sure she can't afford much on her measley intern pay rate.
Coffee in hand, and sort of on an energy kick with all that's going on today, I sat down right next to her.
I began going through the project, explaining a little bit about the client, the background of the project, the politics, etc, and then took a drink of my coffee.
As I was on an energy high, I took too big of a swig and felt the sudden urge to cough. Picture me, though - I'm facing her as I'm drinking, not two feet from her face. All of a sudden the urge became a reality and I coughed coffee all over her white sweater! I tried to aim my head to the side, but ended up just doing a wide-angled spray and getting even more of her.
I was completely embarassed and ran to the kitchen for paper towels. I came back and she was just sitting there, continuing to read through the documents I had brought.
I was still in a state of shock at my earlier blunder, so I cleaned up the coffee on the chair, table and floor. Then I went back to the documents and realized that she was still just sitting there. She must have been frozen in a state of shock, too, but was too nervous, being so new with the agency, that she wasn't going to clean it up!
The poor girl. Gawd, do I feel awful! I told her to go get herself cleaned up, and we continued the meeting when she was finished.
Oi.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 25, 2005
Toilet Princess
A busy Monday has flown by. I'm just finishing up work at 1:00am.
BUT ... I did get to the gym today! I've sort of fallen off the bandwagon lately, so I'm trying desperately to get back on it.
Does anyone in your office like to hop on other folks computers when they're not around and broadcast company-wide emails in an effort to embarass the poor person who isn't at their desk? I've had the luck to be in offices over the past few years where this is a common occurance. Today, this nifty new product was claimed as the email sender's prized possesion:
The caption reads:
Toto's Sound Princess, available on the Japanese website seiketu.co.jp, is a new devise that plays noises to cover up embarrassing bathroom sounds. it's a watered-down version of a similarly tricked-out Japanese toilet gizmo.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I love Google
Google's latest venture is looking really cool.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 22, 2005
Your's truly is now a print model
My first step towards international celebrity status is complete - I've been featured in my first print ad! And, if you can believe it - they printed me just as I was!
No wardrobe stylist. No hair stylist. No makeup artist. No airbrush specialist.
Just me.
Granted, my feature debut is a tad small ...
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:38 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
About me
My name is Dan.
I am a 26 year old single gay guy. I live in Minneapolis, MN. I grew up in the 'burbs here, and have lived here nearly all of my life. The only exception being the six months I spent in LA when I was what I called "semi-retired," or sometimes "on vacation," or other times, "looking for work."
I checked myself into an alcohol and drug treatment center in Feb of 2004. Since then I have been an active member of AA and have been sober since. I'm grateful for my sobriety every day.
I've worked in advertising for over 5 years now. It's generally a fulfilling life, but I am still hoping to actually be 'semi-retired' by the time I'm 30. My life used to be defined by my work/job/career, but these days I've discovered other things that mean just as much to me, if not more.
I've been single for quite some time, and while I'm not actively seeking out a partner in life, I wouldn't be opposed if one came along. I'd rather spend my life with someone as opposed to without.
My parents are still married after 28 years of marriage. I have 5 sibblings, 6 neices and nephews, and a rather large extended family - most of whom are in Minnesota.
I very much value the friendships I've maintained over the years. I find it utterly amazing that other people can bring so much joy to someone's life and am grateful that I've been fortunate enough to have had a lot of joy brought to me. That didn't really make sense, but hopefully you got the gist of it.
I fill the virtual pages within this site for a few reasons. I began writing after my sponsor in AA suggested I begin journaling as a part of my recovery. Of course I wanted to do it 'my way,' so I put it online.
These days I write in an attempt to continue sharing my life with friends and perhaps find new friends. I write because it allows me to think things through. I write because I want to share my life with those who might be interested.
At times my posts will contain nothing but nonsense. Other times they'll include memories. Sometimes I'll be ranting. And sometimes I'll write about something I've just learned, or, if you're lucky, I'll share my daily epiphany.
And, I write for myself. I don't know how long I will continue blogging, but years from now I want to be able to look back at this site and read about what I was going through at different points in my life. I want to be able to recall the good times. I want to see how much I've (hopefully) grown.
Thanks for visiting. Feel free to stick around.
Dan
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:38 AM | Comments (33) | TrackBack
6 - 9 inches
We got a boatload of snow yesterday! It's about time. We've been suffering with -30 degree temperatures and barely a trace of snow to pay off in the beauty department.
The poor guys across the street have been shoveling, building more, shoveling, building, shoveling, building ...
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:37 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Hibernation
I've done little today other than sleep and blog.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 20, 2005
Pink Slippers Award
The Pink Slippers Award is leaving the office. I'm very sad. So is Ryan.
... so is Mark.
There are more photos in the gallery.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 19, 2005
Pyramid scheme
I know. I know. This is totally a pyramid-scheme-type deal, but I couldn't resist trying.
This company claims to offer you a free G4 iBook if you sign up for one of their promotions. Many of the promotions are free or trial subscriptions that will charge you if you continue a membership. All you have to do, though, is cancel before the trial expires.
I don't know if it works or not, but what can it hurt to try? It's a free frick'n iBook!
Anyway, take a look. Sign up if you want, and then get your friends to do the same and you too can be the proud owner of a new iBook :-)
Posted by SparklesMpls at 07:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 16, 2005
The new me
I finally had some time to put my new blog in order. After installing Movable Type a couple days ago, I knew that putting together a look for the site and integrating my gallery wouldn't be as easy as dragging and dropping. But now it's done! Well, almost - I still have to put together an 'about' page for myself, but I did get the gallery working in the template!
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 13, 2005
Customizable M&Ms
Holy shit - this is the coolest thing ever! Order M&Ms in up to 5lb bags, with YOUR OWN CUSTOMIZABLE MESSAGE!
Can you imagine walking into a party and seeing a bowl of these that say, Suck me, Lick me, or Eat me?
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 12, 2005
Hello Movable Type!
I've made the big jump to Movable Type. After many frustrating nights trying to get it installed I finally emailed my hosting company looking for help. Turns out that my MySQL server wasn't actually adding the new user I was adding with the admin tool. Who'da thunk?
I'm now looking for a template, or maybe I'll get really crazy and try to create one myself. In the meantime I'm going to go through all of my previous entries and clean them up, as the import of my old blogger.com data wasn't without it's own small flaws... the largest of which is that my comments will probably be gone forever :-(
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 10, 2005
Bloggers Unite(d)!
Today I learned how to play scrabble! You might be asking yourself, "Why does a 25 year-old need to learn how to play scrabble - doesn't everyone know how to play scrabble?" Well, I'm living proof that not every 25 year-old knows, but perhaps now all of them do, since I learned!
And who had the patience to teach me (but then totally kick my ass in the scoring)? My fellow bloggers! We had our first blogger-get-together at Aaron's house. We snapped a few photos, to prove to anyone who cares, how real we are.
It was a good time. I'd met some of them before, but some were new. Very normal group of people. And Aaron has a couple of really cute dogs, but I didn't get any pictures of them.
Mighty, Mike, Jim, Wanda, Eric, and Chris were mysteriously absent and still have yet to prove themselves real.
More photos in the gallery.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I have changed insurance companies
I have changed insurance companies THREE TIMES in the last couple ofmmonths. Don't ask. During these months I have run out of what I like to call my "happy pills." on a number of occasions for up to a week at a time. They cost $400 per prescription, and I once had to pay for them out of my own pocket. Each time I run out, I have about 36 hours before I start to go a little loopy.
Well, ladies, today I hit the 36 hour mark and I am whacked! I just went over to Walgreens and got my prescription filled, but I don't remember much of the walk.
Let's hope they kick in soon!
Posted by SparklesMpls at 01:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
