Looney Junes: My Crazy Busy Month from A to Z

It's been a hell of a month for yours truly. A little bit of everything has happened. A tour of the alphabet is in order....

Awesome girlfriend and cat family. I'm loving the new set-up and loving it even more with the loving g/f and cats that inexplicably entertain me on a daily basis. We've all adjusted to the new neighborhood quite well.

Bowling this summer. Our team has sucked so far this year. However, to start the second half of the year, we swept our first series. Let's see if this carries over into July & August.

Cell Dwelling at US Cellular Field. I've gone to a few games there this June, both unique in their own ways. I experienced my first-ever fog delay on a Monday night game when the White Sox faced the Blue Jays. I also attended the second game of a doubleheader on June 28th as the White Sox blew a 9th inning lead against the Indians.

Donations. Thanks to a last-minute pledge for money in my St. Jude/Warrior Dash efforts, I was able to gather a total of $1070 from my network of family and friends. I know those kids at St. Jude appreciate every single dollar donated. Thank you to everyone who donated.

Exercise. I need to find a gym soon or find new workouts to do. I don't want to regress to what I was before January 1st.

Fit Happens Champion. Over 30 pounds lost. Still have about 20-25 pounds to go before I'll be completely happy.

Game 6 - in both NBA & NHL Finals. Watched both in different venues (NBA at home, NHL at a bar). Each viewing experience left me shocked and reaffirmed why I love watching sports - the unexpected, unscripted drama that you can't get anywhere else.

Holding pattern. I had big plans coming up (trip to Seattle, new bowling league in Fall) that may need to be put on hold with the layoff. Hoping that I can find work quicker than the three months it took between jobs last time.

Ink for my computer. Yep, need some more ink. I had no idea what to write for the I portion of this blog, as you can tell.

Job search in progress. Yep, out of a job starting the end of day, July 5th. Any help would be much appreciated.

(5)K runs. I did my first one in quite a while on June 2nd. Fittingly enough with one of the guys who helped get me into shape. Thanks Chris. Going to try making them a monthly thing. Might hold off on this, depending on cost of 5K. Me needs to save some dough, yo.

Logan Square - love the new neighborhood feel. Moved here June 1. Love it here so far.

Mohawk. It may be short-lived, especially if I start to get interviews soon. I got it in dedication to my cousin Marilyn and the Warrior Dash run. Plus I look awesome with it.

Networking. It's the key that got me my last two jobs. It's exactly where I picked up when I heard the news of being laid off. So far, it has not produced results, but I have faith that my networks will be what gets me employed again.

Olivers. This remains my go-to suburban bar, particularly after bowling on Wednesdays before heading back to the burbs. I caught most of Stanley Cup Game 1 there, the end of Game 4, and always share good stories and good times with my friends there.

Pizza places. My favorite part of moving into a new Chicago neighborhood is to try new pizza places. I do miss Pat's Pizza, but there's a few good joints around here that I'm sure we'll enjoy just as much.

Quarterback Keeper. In less serious news (or more serious, depending on your level of fantasy football interest), trying to decide who to keep in my fantasy football league. Earlier in June, I was thinking Kaepernick. Now, I'm thinking Peyton Manning. I'm not sure how much longer Peyton has. I can keep either one of these guys for the next three seasons. Who would you choose?

Rear ended on June 14th. It was my second accident in a row where my car was not in motion when I got hit. Luckily, it was only a few minor bumps on the bumper. The guy who hit me offered to pay for my troubles, but I was not about to bother with that.

Stanley Cup Playoffs. Definitely the most active I've been involved with hockey in my life (from betting it to watching it). While I give bandwagon people a hard time, I have no problem with them. Bandwagons breed new fans of a sport, and that's never a bad thing - as long as people take the time to learn the sports they follow.

Trans mount. I needed a new one of these for my car (I couldn't tell you what a trans mount is or where it is in my car). I was about to get a new one and pay $400 last month at Firestone, but they didn't have one for my model car. Luckily they didn't - totally forgot about what was covered by CarMax and the warrant. Just got it fixed by CarMax for the low price of free.99.

Uncle Brian. Still is awesome to say. Will always be awesome. Every moment I've had to hold my nephew Brayden has been a fantastic moment. The last two times I saw him this month, he has been looking around and soaking in his environment. Can't believe he's already six weeks old.

Victory parade. I debated whether to attend the Blackhawks parade, but my parade experience in 2010 was all I really needed. Millions of people, with even just 5 or 10 percent of them drunk and an even higher percentage annoying, was not my cup of tea for this year's celebration.

Warrior Dash completed on June 16th. It was much tougher than when I did it three years ago. Glad to be a part of Team Carter.

eXcel Spreadsheets. As I was transferring files to my personal email before my work computer is taken away, I forgot how many excel spreadsheets I've worked with over the years. Many of my blogs had data stored in excels.

Year is half over. The year has flown, but it feels like this month has lasted longer than 30 days, as you can see by this blog.

Zombie Seinfeld. I caught this production on June 14th, right after the rear-ending. It was an excellent adaptation of Seinfeld that does not require one to love zombies (I can't stand zombie stuff) or even Seinfeld. Great job by Jeremy & Dan Eden, as always.

Warrior Dash/St. Jude Donation Update - Thank You All

To all of those who have donated towards my Warrior Dash run for St. Jude tomorrow, for those who have been an inspiration in my second round of weight loss, and for my great network of family and friends, I want to say thank you.

With a couple more donations yesterday, I have been able to reach over my $1000 goal, which I raised from my initial $500 back in April. The initial donations I received from all of you was overwhelming and has inspired me to keep going for higher goals (both for donations and for my fitness level).

Inspirations/Dedications

My Bohawk, in honor of my cousin Marilyn

Here are but a few of the people I have in mind when it comes to this race and the donation efforts:

• For my cousin Marilyn who passed away in 1989 after developing a brain tumor as a child, but I know is with us in spirit. From this donation process and dedication, I have learned that people live as long as you keep their story alive.
• For my brother, who as a kid was slowed down only by the leg braces which remained between his legs for years.
• For my friend Jim, who was just medically cleared of the colon cancer that he found out he had last summer. He is the ringleader of the crew of people racing on Sunday, otherwise known as Team Carter.
• For my cousin Kyle, who is currently going through chemo for a brain tumor. His battle is far from over, but he is doing as well as he can, thanks to a strong spirit and a great support network.

There may be a few others I'm missing, and I apologize for this. Some of you may have donated money to this cause with someone else in mind, and I'll gladly dedicate the 3.1 miles to them as well.

What is the Warrior Dash?

Speaking of the race, for those not familiar with the Warrior Dash, you'd probably be interested to see some of what the race has to offer. Take a look at some of the obstacles on the course: http://www.warriordash.com/obstacles.php

When I did this three years ago, I was actually most worried about the Cargo Climb and getting stuck in the rope. And I almost lost a shoe in the Muddy Mayhem portion of the race. If I'm not mistaken, the race ended with the Warrior Roast. It looks more intimidating and dangerous on the webpage than it actually is.

This isn't a race about time for me, but for enjoyment. I will likely walk very small portions of this race to regain energy, as this isn't your typical 5K. They will have times for the race, but I couldn't care less.

Sadly, I won't stand out too much in this at the Dash

I was going to wait till race day to show this picture to the world, but I figured I'd show you what I'm wearing for the race. I was looking to get a California Raisins shirt to wear in honor of Marilyn (I believe that was a favorite of hers), but instead I got a D.A.R.E. shirt and a headband in the colors of the 80s. The great thing about this race is that people dress up even more than this, so I will look like a businessman in this outfit compared to some of the other costumes.

I will keep you all updated on how this race goes. Unlike the 5K I completed at the beginning of the month, I have no goal for time. I'd expect somewhere in the 32-33 minute range, but again, time is not of the essence in this one.

Last-Minute Donations

If you'd like to make a last-minute donation (June 15th) to provide a little more money to St. Jude than my network already has, follow this link and donate what you can:

https://waystohelp.stjude.org/sjVPortal/public/displayUserPage.do?programId=2252&userId=964629&eventId=333033

Again, I appreciate all of your donation efforts and sharing of my St. Jude page to get even more donations. It means a lot to me, my family, and most importantly, the kids of St. Jude.