'Tis The Season

Happy hump day!


I apologize for missing last week blog friends, family, and rando followers, but things were a little hectic and I really didn't have too much to say.


However, this week, how can we not talk about the Big Guy's holiday? Santa is coming?! Here?? I know him!!


During this time of year, our lives are over taken by family parties, work parties, buying presents, spending money, decorating xmas trees, wrapping, etc. on top of the normal rigor of everyday life (i.e. work) and planning for New Years. It's hard to juggle all of these things, but I mean it's worth it right? You can't beat this time of year ... everyone's in good spirits (kinda), work shuts down for at least a few days (some people a few weeks), schools out, people are around you may not see enough. Overall, good times. 

With those good times comes a little bit of stress. It's not always an easy time of year, for a lot of the reasons I mentioned above, and it's important to keep things in perspective. The big picture and what really matters. We are about to start a new year and can make that whatever we choose to make it. For me, as you know from my lofty 30 before 30 list, I'm planning for it to be the best yet. Keep that in mind when you starting to get a little stressed out over the next week ... or just go bowling and play photo hunt for a few hours. 


Ok, so the Marshy Blog question I have for you is: 


What is your favorite Christmas movie? You know it's going to happen. Curled up on the couch, bottle of wine/Jack, Christmas tree shining, fire burning, woman/man in your arms ... what's on the tube?


Here are a few classics (in no particular order):


Elf
The Polar Express
Christmas Vacation
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Home Alone
It's A Wonderful Life
The Holiday
A Christmas Carol/Story
Miracle on 34th St
Love Actually
Wizard of Oz
Four Christmases 
Bad Santa (ok, that was a joke ...)

Nat, you have such a pretty face, you should be on a Christmas card.
Oh, you just made my day!



Enjoy the holidays all. I know I will. It's been a blast so far and I'm very much looking forward to the next couple of weeks with Nat and our families. 


Seasons Greetings and tidings of comfort ... and joy,
Marshy

Friday Night Fights ... in the NHL

Since Seguin is apparently a "good kid" and just "over slept" on Tuesday, I guess it is time to move on. What I wanted to write about today is a lot more important and significant anyway. Fighting in hockey.

Have you read the New York Times series on Derek Boogaard this week?

If not, when you have an hour or so free, do it (links below), then come back and tell me how you feel. You do not need to be a hockey fan or violent individual to appreciate these articles. Learning about the craziness of a man's life and how he used fighting and rage to complete his life long dream of playing in the NHL is pretty spectacular stuff. This also led him to addiction and brain damage making a remarkable story turn devastating.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/sports/hockey/derek-boogaard-blood-on-the-ice.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/sports/hockey/derek-boogaard-a-boy-learns-to-brawl.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/sports/hockey/derek-boogaard-a-brain-going-bad.html?pagewanted=all

For those readers who do not know the basics around hockey fights, there are a few basic rules and reasons for why and when they happen:

1) If someone asks you to go, you go.
2) Every team has at least one guy who's sole purpose and why they make a pay check is to fight. Everyone knows who these guys are.
3) If you lay out a superstar (Crosby, Datsuyk, etc.), expect to be fought.
4) If your team has no life and is getting beat around the rink, you need to go out there and fight for a spark.
5) Once the refs jump in or a guy hits the ice, the fights over.

Before I dig into the Boogaard stuff, I want to talk about point #3 for a second because it's getting a little out of control. It seems like in today's NHL, every time a guy makes a big hit, he has to drop his gloves. Like he has no choice. Whether it's a clean body check or you accidently run into someone, within seconds, someone's skating at you full speed with their gloves already off. I am all about eliminating the head shots (i.e. Marc Savard), because it's obviously having an impact on player's careers, but if a big dman or an aggressive forechecker drops a guy and it's clean, take his number for the next shift. Don't get me wrong, I love the fights, but guys should not have to fight every time they decide to throw their weight around on someone with their head down.

Anywho, back to the point at hand. There has been a lot of talk on sports radio and the NHL network around this article and the possibility of eliminating fighting from the game. I say this ABSOLUTELY can not happen.

First and foremost, the NHL would lose millions of dollars and fans. Not that people solely go to games or watch the B's on NESN to see a fight, but it's a huge part of the entertainment factor for the regular fan. Secondly, the strategy and impact of a hockey fight is something that makes hockey truly unique. In no other sport, are you allowed (minus a 5 minute penalty) to take matters into your own hands and call out a rival or goon/ass/dbag who's been sticking guys all night and actually fight him. Basketball? Football? Think about how sick it would be if these guys could square off and have a go.

"Marshy, hockey players wear pads, they don't even feel it."

HA, not only do I say I'd love to see you get in a hockey fight and tell me how fun it is, but take a look at Shaun T's face (see right). That's not WWE blood.

Fighting makes the dirty players, namely Sean Avery, think twice and if he wants to play dirty, he knows he will have to stand up for himself and be accountable for his actions. Hate Avery as much as the next guy, but the guy fights when he needs to and draws penalties when he doesn't.

I follow NHL fights pretty closely and check ESPN box scores daily to see who scrapped the night before and this is usually followed by a quick trip to YouTube to see the tilt. It's such an important and GREAT part of the game that I would be devastated to see it go. The fact that guys brains are turning to mush or these guys in their mid twenties have to sit up at night crying because they know they will have to fight Donald Brashear or Colton Orr the next tight is terrible, but in the case of Boogaaard and a few others (Rick Rypien, Wade Belak) there were other elements to their downfall, including addiction to painkillers, alcohol, etc.

Fact. Getting punch repeatedly in the face leads to brain problems or dementia. Obviously. I don't need to cut Boogaard's brain in half to tell you that.

These are grown men who are making the decision to fight on the ice and none of that blame can be put on the sport or the NHL. Why is the MMA even in existence if fighting is the reason these guys are dying? It would be a shame to lose that element which has been around since its existence to an already great game.

My Top 10 Favorite Hockey Fighters of all time:
10. Darcy Hordichuk
9. Jared Boll
8. Shaun Thornton
7. Donald Brashear
6. Joey Kocur
5. Lyndon Byers
4. Cam Neely
3. Tie Domi
2. PJ Stock
1. Bob Probert

Notables: Wendall Clark (AHL), Kevin Kaminiski (AHL), Jay Miller, Milan Lucic, Chris Nilan, Dan Carcillo, Terry O'Reilly, Georges Laraque (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxFS2JAyleo&noredirect=1)

Who'd I miss? Who are your favorites?

Have a good weekend!
Marshy

And we have our answer ...

Tyler Seguin is a dbag.


For those of you who didn't watch the B's last night or listen to the Sports Hub on your drive to work this morning, our boy #19 skipped team meetings/breakfast yesterday morning in Winnipeg which led to Coach Julien sitting him out of last night's game. 

"I'm going to carve you up, Seguin"

Apparently this has happened on multiple occasions - and what great timing to provide us with the answer we have been looking for over the past few days.


The kid's a punk. I've picked a side. It's official. As my buddy Colin points out, let's look at Derek Jeter. Can we compare Seguin to Jeter? Maybe not, but let's take out the sport they play and think about Jeter at Seguin's age. Seguin has the potential to be a 17-20 year guy in this league accruing awards and accolades similar to that of #2. As much as I hate to say it, pretty safe to say that playing for the Yankees and in New York City is a FAR bigger stage than the Bruins and Boston. 4 rings in 5 seasons, 12 more seasons without causing any type of riff in New York possibly the world's biggest sports stage, and signing massive contracts solely based on his character at this point in his career. Jeter has done it right. Thanks, Niloc for the email rant, as always.


#19's excuse for not making the meetings, "I set an alarm, but my phone was still on Boston time." News flash - that makes no sense. If he set his alarm for right now, 10am Boston time, he would have been woken up at 9am Winnipeg time which in most cases would have actually made him early for meetings. This theory might not make complete sense but did you hear what Jack and Brick said? The window for this breakfast and meetings was extended and a total of 3 HOURS! He had 3 hours to roll over and be like, "shit i'm late" and get his ass downstairs to sit in a chair, eat something and listen to someone talk. We've all heard stories about NHL hangovers and long nights with players puking on the ice or in a bucket at breakfast the next morning. The kid can't get himself from a hotel room to a lobby?

"Listen, I'm hung over, your hung over,
and this kid doesn't show up. Dead man."

Secondly, pretty sure if Seguin can afford that Benz we discussed in Monday's blog, then he probably has a mobile phone that adjusts itself. If you set your alarm for a certain time, that alarm goes off no matter where you are in the world at that time. Yes, it was a long flight the night before from Pittsburgh, but 23 other guys played in the same game #19 did and took the same flight. How did they get to the meetings? Side question, if Chara misses a meeting, does he get benched?


Thirdly, NHL youngsters have roommates on road trips. Unless Jordan Caron was trying to sabotage his way into the lineup and effed with Seguin's alarm or was like "go back to sleep bro, we got time", then pretty sure there's no reason Punk Boy couldn't get up. PS: what does Jordan Caron bring to the Bruins? Anything?


Back to the topic at hand, this happens once, no big deal, but 3 or 4 times, the kid thinks he's above the team which is going to lead to losses like last night. I don't care who you are, how old you are, or how many goals you've sniped, your 1 of 24 and if Bergeron doesn't dangle and feed the kid's stick for an empty net goal, how many scoring titles is Seguin going to win? Zero. Gronk is setting records and out banging porn stars, still making time to call into the Sports Hub once a week. 

"Take notes hockey player."

Couldn't Seguin just do that and at least show up to team meetings? 2nd year in the league and he is going to need his teammates and coaches to like him or it will be a long, disappointing career for a potential hall of famer.


For the dozens of people who texted or emailed or verbally expressed whether the think dbag or the man, it's time to man up and make a comment. This could be a great debate, so voice your opinion and let's come to a consensus on this.


Happy Hump Day,
Marshy

#19 at 19 years old: the man or a dbag?

This past Saturday night, was out and about around the Garden with Nat, Patty C and Finn and during our cab ride home from the North Star to have a nightcap at the Waterfront Cafe, our cab pulled up next to Tyler Seguin's dealership black Benz at a stop light.

We pulled up on his left to be blinded by his $20,000 watch hanging over the steering wheel and a slight head turn to basically acknowledge the fact that we all saw him and knew who he was. If I hadn't said "is that Tyler Seguin?", I think Finn could have stared him right in the eyes, been told he was on the Bruins, and was the #2 overall pick last year and still wouldn't have blinked twice.

It was not determined, but in the front seat was believed to be B's d-man Adam McQuaid and in the back, some nerdy looking kid who actually looked like he was 19 and still maybe in college, obviously riding his boy's coat tails ala Vinny Chase. Anyway, after Tyler got the satisfaction that we noticed him, he rolled down the window, turned up the music and started a slow head bob. He gave one more glance in our direction, then peeled through the traffic light over the bridge into Charlestown.

The reactions started flying - what a dbag? who does he think he is? is he serious? My initial reaction was "hold up, he's 19, in the top of the league in scoring, making millions, and is obviously a stud, so he can do whatever he wants." This did not go over too well, but sparked an interesting debate the next few days with the boys. Is Tyler Seguin allowed to be a dbag? Colin said it best when his response was "I think about when I was 19 and I was the worst human ever ... and certainly was not making millions of dollars to play in the NHL." 

I would like to think that if I was in that situation, I'd be classy and friendly and still doing regular 19 year old things (on a huge budget of course), but I also think I would have a little bit of swagger that people who didn't know me would classify as dbag'ish. It's hard to say that you wouldn't. You're living the dream of kids all around the world. Maybe at this point last year when he was struggling to make the every night lineup, we could say hey buddy why don't you worry about your ice time before you start peeling off, but this year, the kid has been sick. He has to be feeling good about life and where he's at that maybe some sort of swagger is undeniable.

I don't know, it's hard to say because not me nor anyone else probably reading this is in his shoes. The consensus of our cab was "dbag" as we watched his $100k+ car speed away which Natalie immediately pointed out was not his because of the dealership temp plates.

What Tyler should also know is the response he got from those in my cab that were not me:

Finn (front seat): "Who is Tyler Seguin? Should I roll down my window and tell him I was the long snapper on the Waltham high football team and I'm not impressed?"

Pat: "McQuaid is the man, I could kick Seguin's ass."

And my favorite ...

Natalie: "He's not even that cute."

So, take your watch and your millions and your future hall of fame career Tyler, and shove it. 

No, I'm not jealous. What do you guys think?

Have a good week all!

Marshy

Here's to you ... Mr. Office Bathroom Toothbrush Guy

Welcome back from Turkey Day break bloggers. I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving filled with plenty of food and booze. This isn't my weekly post, but I just needed a venting outlet for a minute. 

My question is: have the number of people who brush their teeth during the day in the office bathroom increased drastically or what? It's not like it's always right after lunch either, it's all day. Like 8:30am? Didn't you just brush your teeth at home? 


Maybe it's our new office or maybe there are new people on my floor, but I'm thinking one guy saw another guy brushing his teeth and decided, hey I can brush my teeth at work too! I really don't understand it. It can't be a bad breath issue, there is gum for that. It can't be a hygiene issue, because I consider myself as hygienic as the next guy and have never had a cavity (knock on wood). Someone explain this to me!


My thought - go buy some Trident and brush your teeth in the comfort of your home.


That's it, see ya later in the week for my blog about the current cleanse Natalie and I are embarking on. We're at Day 3, I'll hit you up on Day 5!


Peace,
Marshy

A Tradition Unlike Any Other ... Thanksgiving

Every year during the first full week of April, we hear the famous words of Jim Nantz echo from our flat screens or laptops as the camera soars through the majestic treeline of Augusta National ... "A tradition unlike any other ... the Masters". 


These words have become synonymous with the most well known golf tournament of the year and can be heard at times and places where the sport may not even be applicable. Whether you are an avid golfer or don't know the difference between a driver and a putter, but know the name of Tiger's 3rd mistress, there is a chance you have heard them while your boyfriend, husband, or father tears up during a montage of fist pumps and 50-foot putts sinking on the unmistakable greens of Augusta. This week, we set out to participate in traditions of our own, with family or friends, new or old, and I think we all can agree that gearing up for Thanksgiving and everything that surrounds Thursday is a feeling ... unlike any other.


Turkey Day is basically all of my favorite things wrapped up into one: football and action, hanging out with people I love, and green bean casserole. Oh, and of course, leftovers. The only thing that may be missing is chicken parm, but I think I do OK taking care of that craving every other day of the year. What constitutes a good Thanksgiving in your mind? 


The way the turkey is cooked? 
The sides, because who really cares about the turkey anyway? 
How much you won on the Lions game? 
The limited amount of travel you had to endure? 
The level of your hangover from Wednesday night in the Old Port? 
The late night turkey sandy?
Or is it just who is around you and having the chance to relax for a few days without the stress of school or work? 


I think the easy answer is all of the above, but we don't live in a perfect world, so if every year for the rest of my life I can sit down at a table, and then on a couch, with people I love then I'm good. Although I wouldn't hate if that leftover turkey sandy remained a staple ... 


As Nat said in her blog last week, life happens. Sometimes we have to adjust, maybe even on a yearly basis, to make sure we still make an effort to fit in as many of the good things about this week as we can. Tradition. Family. Food. I don't think we need to worry about football, or Vegas odds, going anywhere. 

In the past few years, whether Greg, Julie and I were up in Maine together or Mom and I headed across the street to the Belangers, we have been pretty consistent about cooking and football in sweats, drinking Peju (see winery pic right), and sitting down for a meal that usually lasts about 30 minutes. Perfection. This is often followed by more Peju, an amazing food coma nap, and then early evening leftovers and apple pie. Ahhhh.


This year, I am only adding to that perfection and could not really ask for anything more, with a new Marsh (Lex and bear below) and a Natalie in the mix. 

In two days, all of these favorite Marshy things are coming together in one place, at one time (well two places at two times, but by one place at one time, I was simply referring to Thanksgiving as a whole ... ya know?). Mom's heading this way, we are combining family forces with the Pateys on Thursday, followed by Lexi and leftovers at Greg and Julie's. Life is happening and moving forward in a way that keeps me excited about what is next - from holiday traditions to snow storms to vacations. This Thanksgiving I am hoping is only the start to a new tradition ... unlike any other ... for years to come. 

I'll leave with you this:

"Turkey for the girls andTurkey for the boysMy favorite kind of pantAre corduroysGobble gobble goo andGobble gobble gickelI wish that turkeyOnly cost a nickel
Oh I love turkey on Thanksgiving."

Happy Thanksgiving y'all.
Marshy

Personas of Social Media

It's Monday. Everyone must have done something exciting, sad, embarrassing, or fun this weekend. So, it's time to share that with your "network", right?

Let's take a step back. What is the first website you launch when you get to work in the morning? If you don't sit at a desk all day or it's Saturday, what do you open first when you wake up? I am not one to judge, but I think the majority of my network will answer Facebook. For me, it's not #1, but it's undoubtedly within the first minute. 

1. Work email
2. Work IM
3. Gmail
4. Fantasy everything
5. ESPN
6. Facebook
7. Twitter
8. Google+
9. Barstool 

In that order. Every single day. Then I'm ready to go. I don't know everything, but I'm pretty sure Facebook sneaks towards the top on that list for 90% of my network (maybe ahead of work email) and I'm curious as to what else is on your list.

Social media surrounds us and has revolutionalized the world in the past 5-7 years. The impact it has on our lives, our relationships, and our families is insane. Don't get me wrong, I love it more than the next guy, but my question today is: do you have a method to your social media madness, aka posting, commenting, uploading? Do you only comment here, post pictures here, and share certain information here? If so, where is that? 

What I have done in this post is lay the framework for a few different social media personas and I want to hear your thoughts on where you fall. 

Here is my quick list (to be updated/tweaked as necessary):

1) Tweeter. A Tweeter could vary in their social media age, status, and existence. They could also be a professional athlete, movie star, or senior level marketing type promoting a product. Nevertheless, the Twitter platform of 140 characters or less is their #1 source of social media for both news and posting. This person may not care to share absolutely everything personal to them with their network and may have minimal interest in what their high school sweetheart or 8th cousin did Friday night. They have the information they want and know what's going on in the world first. Another classic Tweeter sees the main objective of social media being to drive revenue for their company or self promote themselves to gain mind share. Tweeter wants to put out and receive information that is influential to their life quickly and simply without the BS of comments, likes, and Zynga games. 

2) Bookie. The Bookie is someone who loves and may even be addicted to all things Facebook. This guy posts any and everything on FB. They check in on FB. They refresh FB on their smartphone every time they turn it on. They send/receive FB messages. They are FB chatting (do people do that?). The plethora of Facebook is them. You know this person, you love this person. Bookie is not going anywhere and is social and fun with lots of friends and pictures and knows basically everything about you and me because when you post a picture, they see it within minutes, and are looking through the rest of our pics and showing their Bookie friend seated next to them. The Bookie wants you to know what he is doing and he really cares about what you are doing (either sincerely or superficially). Love it or hate it, we've all been a Bookie at one point and have some Bookie in us.

3) Trendy (think this needs a new name?). Trendy only uses the newest, hippest (I said hip) social media trend. She was the first one on Facebook, loves Pete Cashmere and Mashable.com, Tweeted before Ochocinqo, experimented with Buzz and Google+, but didn't stick with it because it's not gaining the hype, and is usually posting things about or in relation to social media trends. Trendy has a blog and thinks maybe she can be the next Zuckerberg after watching The Social Network 20+ times. Her posts are usually not about breaking up with her boyfriend or getting drunk at the tailgate, but she is visible and likes to be seen.

4) Moody. Moody spreads themselves evenly among the various social media choices depending on what kind of mood and situation they are in. They post on Facebook because it's the fun outlet and everyone else does. They tweet because it may or may not take over the world some day. They check in on Foursquare because it's more selective than Facebook with a chance at a free bowling game or appetizer. They upload to Google+ because it's more clean and not ruined by all things Facebook. Moody enjoys social media, but also some sort of privacy. Moody is all about the sharing and receiving information, but does not have loyalty to one site or another.

5) Finn. Finn does not do, care, or even think about social media. Occasionally, Finn checks it on his girlfriend's computer or phone, but in the end, lives life and is happy without anyone knowing about it or knowing what you did last summer. Finn is the guy who didn't save high school yearbooks, has about 20 actual photographs of themselves, and does not know the name or occupation of more than 10 people they went to college with. This title may even be in reference to someone I know, but there is 0% chance he will get mad at me because the thought of a Finn reading a blog is impossible. 

Pretty safe to say that I am a Moody and I'm happy being just that. As a matter of fact, the top of my Chrome screen right now is Gmail, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, MFL (Marsh Fantasy League), and Blogger ... in that order. So far today, I have tweeted, spent time stalking on Facebook but not posting, checked in on Foursquare, uploaded a picture to Google+ of Nat and my seats at the Bruins last Thursday (see right), and here I am blogging. To be honest, I have no rhyme or reason to why I didn't check in on FB, or why I posted this pic to Google+ and not Facebook, it just felt right. I found it hard to argue that I'm anything else but a Moody and actually believe most people may be right with me. 

As a second matter of fact, I'm going to go post this blog link on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ right now.

Where do you stand?? What about LinkedIn? Is that a social network? Do you connect with friends on LinkedIn or just use it for networking?

I embrace the argument that you could fall into multiple categories above, but like with all things in life, you need to make a decision ... and tell me why. Actually, feel free to comment with just your list of order of websites opened every day, because I think that will be very interesting.

As always, arguments/additions to my personas is more than welcome. Actually, I am not calling these final because I want to make them better ... this is my quick first draft. Also, not sold on the persona names.

Have a great week, kids.

Marshy

Faith, Fortune, and Foxwoods

The 1997 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings had a saying posted in the home locker room of Joe Louis Arena that read: "Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe". The beauty of this motto is its versatility. You can take it in any way, shape, or form, and apply it to basically any aspect of your life. In the case of the Wings, they had faith in their strategy, believed in each other, and were rewarded with the Cup. In my case, since I let go of the dream to win a Cup by age 16, this saying has popped into my mind numerous times in the past decade. And this past weekend, a bunch.

Saturday morning, I made my first ever attempt (albeit only a few minutes) of Tai Chi. Ever done it? I stood there, on a Yoga mat, body relaxed, arms hanging to the side, incense burning, arms lifting in the air, and I began building my chi. I highly recommend it. You basically form an invisible ball with a force that generates between the palms of your hands and this in essence is your chi. Don says the greater your chi, the happier your partner. That's the ultimate goal, right? Apparently, for beginners, your chi/ball is anywhere between the size of a golf ball and a softball. As your chi grows, your ball grows. As I stood there, in the last year of my twenties, I was thinking about all the things I wanted to do (see blog post 1) and people I wanted to make happy, and could legit feel this ball being formed between my hands. It was pretty unreal. I believed in the process, am in a good place with an overall good state of mind, and was rewarded (or so I was told) with extremely good chi for a beginner and a pretty big ball ... NBD, fist bump. Faith.

So, that started my Saturday. Later in the day, went out for Greek food - love me some spinach pie. Have you ever had your fortune read through Greek coffee beans? Again, do it. As a matter of fact, wake up early next Saturday, do some Tai Chi, go eat Greek, and have a Greek woman tell you what's going on in your life. You can thank me later. The woman who read Nat's fortune was the owner's wife and made a disclaimer that she wasn't very good ... Ha! This was not your average witch on the side of the road in Old Orchard beach asking for $25 and looking to pull you into a dark room behind a curtain. This was for real and a friend, so we went for it. Let's just say she down played her abilities and the reading knocked us on our asses... in a good way. Believe.

The next day Nat brought me to Foxwoods for a final bday surprise. Reward. Ever been to the Big House on Sunday night/Monday morning? Little different scene. Unlike trips with the Moose Man or the Burkes where I may find myself at a poker or roulette table for hours on end, we did a whole lot of exploring, drinking at various bars, and hit up High Rollers - Foxwoods' luxury bowling alley. Golden walls surrounded multiple lanes separated by potted plants and chandeliers which Nat described as "bowling in a Pottery Barn". We felt as though we owed it to our bowling team, Alley Ooops!, to play a couple of frames as we missed out on week 1's win before calling it a night. We'll be ready for week 2.

Faith. Believe. Reward.

Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose.

Marshy

Welcome to Marshy's Blog

What up kids? 


It's about that time ... no, not to bring forth the rhythm and the rhyme, but for you to begin hearing what goes on in my head. If you have no desire to hear what that is, it's ok, go read your Facebooks and Barstools, but you'll be sorry. I'm about to let you inside and drop some serious knowledge, wisdom, and life lessons on your ass.


What exactly is on my mind? Well, glad you asked. The first item up for a bid (come on down) a week after my 29th birthday, and a few days after my girlfriend's birthday (http://nataliepatey.blogspot.com wink plug wink), is an idea her friend (can't wait to meet you, Emily Dorsey!) presented to us about creating a "30 before 30" list. If you have never heard of it before "30 before 30" is 30 things I would like to do before I turn the age of 30 - which will happen on October 28, 2012. Pretty self explanatory, right?


Makes sense for an initial blog post too, right? Seeing that I have less than 360 days left to complete these things, and my Mom (what up Mom) said "you guys have some work to do", I should probably finalize my list and get a move on.


Here it is. Take a read, let me know what you think, and don't worry, I will keep you posted as I begin knocking these babies out of the park a la Big Papi circa 1997.



1) Jump into the Pond (don't worry about it)
2) Have zero credit card debt
3) Manage 5+ people (work related)
4) Take a helicopter ride (or magic carpet, whatever presents itself first)
5) Launch a blog (whoa, can I check this one off?!)
6) Write three more articles (here's the first: http://www.nesn.com/2011/02/perspective-from-the-pond-the-world-pond-hockey-championships-in-new-brunswick-canada.html) or two chapters of a novel
7) Read 8 books
8) Hike a specific trail
9) Travel overseas (Italy, Greece, India to start)
10) Spend an overnight with Lexi (my beautiful niece); Nat - please help
11) Volunteer my time somewhere, to something important
12) Go to a Broadway play (pipe down, I am still man)
13) Learn how to de-stress (drinking Ketel or Jack does not count)
14) Invest in something long-term
15) Get to a solid 185lbs (so you can see how jacked and tan I am)
16) Run a 10k
17) Do 100 pushups straight (see 15)
18) Learn 3 songs on the guitar (Chap - please help)
19) Go to the Wellfleet Oysterfest 2012 and obviously, Land Ho
20) Begin and finish multiple TV series (see Nat's blog)
21) Have 5 bottles of "good" wine in my wine cellar (which is a $20 wine rack from Target at the moment)
22) See Zac Brown Band live 
23) Go to Disney World (what up Melissa!)
24) Pop a bottle of fine champagne on the beach (toes in the water, ass in the sand style)
25) Camp out (obviously with s'more stuff, sans chocolate ... we'll get to that later)
26) Go through a toll and pay for the car behind me
27) Swim with fish
28) A W2 that says a certain amount of $ at the top
29) Establish a solid foundation (/bank account) for a good life
30) Ah the big one ... don't you wish you knew? 



So, that's it. Wish me luck and check back for the progress of the best year of my life. 


Subscribe. Comment. Tell your friends. I am hoping to provide you with an update a week minimum for the rest of my life ... ok, well for a little while. You will get to know me and the most important people in my life (just sparked an idea for blog post #2), so buckle up kids, we gonna have ourselves a time (Tim Burke shout out!)


Thanks for stopping by, San Diego ... or Boston ... or wherever.


I'm Marshy