Category: Life Happenings

4 Ways to Avoid the Frost in 2020

Posted on Posted in Life Happenings, RecommendedTagged , , , , Leave a comment

With 2020 rang in and all of us following our new set of precedents and goals for the new decade (more on that at a later time, it’s too early in the journey), some of us might find ourselves in need of something a little extra. Whether it is exercise, getting up earlier, or any resolution that involves leaving the house, one thing is always a deterrent and can halt any ambition or progress no matter how strong the will. It is kind of ironic that the first two months of our “new lives” are typically lived out in the coldest environment we experience every year. Whether you are in California or New Jersey, or just about anywhere, cold weather is imminent during the months of January and February. Immediate discomfort can come from being cold, and usually the warmest place is staying in bed or in your heated house. But here, I’m going to recommend 4 ways to stay warm and battle the New Year chill that accompanies the change in the calendar date. 

Image result for freezing emoji

Warm beverages 

On top of already being a satisfying way to wake up, a warm beverage can help ignite your body heat and break any chill you might have. Starting the day with a hot cup of coffee adds energy and warmth all at once at the start of the day. Typically this is extra essential if you wake up when the sun is just starting to rise, so by the time you finish the cup it is high in the sky and the land is slowly starting to heat up. Not just for the morning hours, a warm and welcoming cup of anything warm midday can also break a freeze and warm the inside in preparations for a commute home, a run outside, or just heating you up in the office. Coffee, tea, hot water with lemon, anything that has steam coming off of it is worth a go when the weather starts creeping down on the thermometer. 

Cozy Clothes 

Being comfortable in the chill is one of the number one ways to not be crippled by the cold. Whether you are up early in the AM or out late at night. Maybe you live in a climate that is stupid cold even when the sun is out at 1PM. No matter where or what the occasion, having a solid set of stylish cold weather gear can be essential to retaining heat all hours of the day. The two integral pieces are the jacket and the footwear. A heavy-duty jacket can help keep you warm in all types of weather, and adding some waterproofing properties might help if you find yourself caught in a snow or sleet storm. Either get a super heavy one or layer up to keep it toasty. On this same idea, having some extra warm hooves on your feet can also help stop the shiver. When your feet are cold, it typically tends to travel upward quite quickly. A good boot or something with fur on the inside will make it feel like you are walking on heated floor tiles. Warm toes and warm clothes brings the heat.  

Sweat 

While it sometimes is incredibly hard to exit the house or office and get a sweat going, it often can really heat up your internal temperature and make even the coldest soul turn warm. Running in the bitter cold can be tough, but it really only takes 5-10 minutes to warm up and start breaking a sweat. Whether you are running in a sweatsuit or shorts and a long sleeve tee, at one point you will begin to sweat. The more you bundle up, the less effort you have to put into breaking a sweat. A quick bike ride bundled up can also raise the temperature to sweat-worthy levels, and lets you take in your beautiful town or city while also escaping the cold. Sometimes just getting outside can lift the spirit, and the more you do it the more you realize how integral it is to living a happy life. The only thing that might be worse than being frozen is being cooped up inside for multiple days. Cabin fever is a real thing. 

Winter sheets 

Although it may seem a little counterintuitive since in the opening paragraph I was telling you ways to stay warm upon exiting your bed, staying warm while sleeping and recovering is also a key factor to a healthy lifestyle and also not waking up in the middle of the night quaking from the cold. We sleep for at least a quarter of our day, and helps our body reset and take on the impending cold the next day. In most climates, surely your summer sheets will not fight the cold enough. Rather than using every sheet you own on top of each other, having a second set of heavy hitters for when the nighttime chill creeps in definitely can lead to better sleep. This in turn also leads to not waking up cranky from the cold. The only downside is you might be so warm and cozy getting up might take a little bit more effort. But all in all, the better nights of sleep you get lead to better results in recovery, energy, and overall peace of mind.  

A Great Way To Spend A Sunday: Feasting

Posted on Posted in AGWTSAS, Life Happenings, RecommendedTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

Image result for mother india costa mesa

The end of the weekend was upon us. The impending Monday was looming it’s ugly head over the group of us. It was Sunday, and the sun had set. Some had worked. Some had surfed. Some were feeling great. Most were in rough shape. As we all sat in a semi-circle on a vintage couch, it was only destiny that all of us share one last supper with each other before the first full work week of 2020 slapped us in the face. After this pow wow we would split, and potentially not reconvene until the Friday that was miles away.  I already had an idea as to which meal was coming down the pipeline. All of us in need of something that is truly a treat for our taste buds. It was a meal my roommate and I typically used as a crutch to seal off the weekend in a delicious and flavorful way. It was off the beaten path, and required a short trip in a vehicle to get to. But the fruits of the labor would be worth it. 

As we crowded around the coffee table and mapped our orders, I knew calling it in would be a real treat for the lucky friend that would pick up the phone and dial. With all sorts of unorthodox names coupled with the person on the other line may not hear you clearly, sometimes it could be a challenge. We would dread calling it in. We decided on a trade-off system in which whoever called it in would not have to go pick it up. When push came to shove, someone had finally stepped up. Luckily, he was able to pronounce all the dishes correctly and just like that our order was put in. 20 minutes, said the lady on the other side of the line. It’s on. Looking back, calling it in was an easy task. But couple being tired and hungover and any small task can feel like a Herculean effort. We would play a couple more rounds of COD before we departed for the promised land. I would join my pal as copilot to steer him in the direction of deliciousness. 

I’ve done this pickup route many times. It takes at most 10 minutes to get there, usually is just a 5 minute pickup, and then another 10 to get back. A fraction of time to get to the source of the yums and enjoy a tasty dinner. This time was a little different. Nothing was looking out of the ordinary at first. We would make it to the restaurant in the usual amount of time. No clogging on the freeway and an easy exit lead us there in no time. Upon parking and entering,I noticed there was a family sitting down and eating inside. Typically, I have never seen more than 1 family inside eating in, and this is no different. The food is so damn good, but I can’t say we don’t think it is a little weird that out of the ~10 times we have picked up food here, we have never seen more than 5 humans inside. But I digress. All I cared about was the grab and go of the dishes we ordered. 

What went sideways was the wait for the food. We would enter the restaurant, and only see the family dining. No one greeting us at the door. No one in the kitchen. It was quiet. This isn’t particularly atypical, but usually someone would hear the door and emerge from the kitchen. When no one emerged from the kitchen, we would begin to hear some noise in the kitchen. It just sounded like the chef preparing the takeout meals. Surely someone would come out to check on the table eating in a reasonable time, I assured myself. A couple minutes go by and nothing. At this point the young boy at the table was having a ball watching me take different angles to look into the kitchen and see who was there to help us. I couldn’t see anyone, and wasn’t really feeling like walking back in the kitchen, so we waited. 

By the time someone had finally came out to greet us, we had shuffled through 3 of the bizarre songs accustomed to the restaurant, I became friends with the toddler at the table eating, and the smell of spices was starting to stick to my clothes. We had never had to wait this long, but also never placed such a large order. I joked with my buddies that we should eat in, but after sitting in there I am pretty happy that someone talked us out of sitting down. Something in there just isn’t right, and it only took me sitting in there for longer than 5 minutes to notice that. Finally, the food would arrive wrapped up and plenty hot. We would pay and carefully carry the bag out from the bottom. It was a ton of food, but everyone was pretty hungry. Back onto the freeway we went and in a moments time we were back to the comfort of my home. Before we could eat, I had to retell the story of the delay and the strange intricacies of the restaurant to those who have never been. But it was time to each. 

Chicken Korma. Chicken Vindaloo. Two Tikka Masalas. Two Garlic Naans. Tons of rice. It was time for the boys to feast. A quick 10 minutes of silence would go by as we all fiercely munched down on our meals. Everyone was clearly feeling better after eating, as we all were pretty laggy and unenthusiastic the whole time leading up to this moment. Sometimes all you need is a good meal. And sometimes all you need is good company. I challenge everyone to at least once a week host a slew of your pals in one place and chow down on some good eats. Doing it on the weekend sometimes ensures comical stories from the nights on the town or days sans work. Laughs will be had, stories shared, and bellies filled. A grand end to the first weekend of 2020. 

Peer Piece: Hanging up the Cleats

Posted on Posted in Life Happenings, RecommendedTagged , , , , Leave a comment

I never anticipated posting anyone else’s work on this site. I mean, the url name is jamesdgiordano.com so I figured all the content should come straight from the horse’s mouth. If you’ve been following along for a minute, you might have once stumbled upon the post Under the Influence (4 Substances) which tells of my inspiration and creative muses. At the very bottom of the list and probably the most present and important to me is friends. I learn a ton from all my friends, as you never are the best at everything and probably know someone who does something better than you. So when one of my close friends approached me about wanting to write a piece for the site, it tickled my interest. It is always interesting reading someone else’s writing, and I was eager to see what my friend had cooked up. Within the same day he hit me up and me responding with the green light, boom. The email comes in and attached is a word file. I opened it and saw how long it was and was even more intrigued. We were watching a football game so I closed my laptop and would dive in after the fourth quarter.

When I got to the last period, I went to go back to some of the parts I really liked the writing style of. My friend wrote a very descriptive piece with a lot to take away from if you are around my age. It’s an age that is still young but still old, and you learn so much about life and about yourself (check out this 23-year wrapup of my last year). It wasn’t a very hard decision. I knew I would post this and really liked the idea of having some different perspectives other than my own. We bounced some ideas and a couple drafts back and fourth and ended up with this. So here it is: dive into this work titled Hanging up the Cleats.

__________________________________________________________________

The phone rings. The bullpen coach picks it up. “34, go get hot.” I check my cleats one last time and head over to the bullpen mound. Tonight, wasn’t like every other night at the yard. There was a different kind of electricity at Safeco on this cold October night. The kind of electricity that you can feel on the back of your neck. The Mariners had finally made the post season and were hosting game 7 of the ALDS. It was the top of the 8th and we were nursing a one run lead. For me, it was business as usual. I was uncomfortably warm at this point after a couple of minutes of play catch. The kind of hot you get right before you start to sweat. Pull over off. On the rubber now. 10 Fastballs. 4 from the wind-up, the rest from the stretch. Top half of the inning retired. To the bottom of 8 we go. Working in the off-speed now. Dialing in the curveball and change-up. Working location, in and out getting a feel for my body. Breathing energy into the spots that are tight. Feeling what pitches are working tonight. First guy up in the bottom of the 8th grounds out. 1 out. I’m working figurative batters now. I know that I am facing 3,4,5. Going through in my head how I wanted to attack each hitter. Pop up to left. 2 outs. Slowing down now. Catching my breath and drinking some water in between pitches. Inning retired. To the ninth we go. I let one last 2-seam fastball fly. All of the lights in the stadium dim. A video starts playing on the jumbo-tron. Kernkraft 400 begins to blast throughout the stadium. I give a couple fists bumps to my guys in the pen as I start walking out. Bullpen gate swings open. Crowd erupts. Game time.

Every time I stepped on a mound growing-up, I visualized that scene in my head. That was my dream to bring the playoff atmosphere back to my hometown of Seattle. From the age of 2, I had one purpose in my life, to play professional baseball. Countless hours after school were spent dedicating myself to my craft. I quit all other sports. I stopped taking piano lessons. My life was wholly consumed by baseball.

Fast forward to my senior season at Chapman University. 3-2 count. 2 outs. Lefty at the plate. I get the call for an inside fastball. Runner on first so I’m out of the stretch. I let it fly, it’s a bit high but we get the swing and a miss. Inning over. Tears immediately start falling down my face. My teammates knew what was going on and they all met me outside the dugout. Each one gave me a hug as I walked off the field. It was the end of my baseball career. After full labrum surgery at 15 years old, followed up by Tommy John at age 20, my arm didn’t have any bullets left. At this inter-squad fall practice, I had thrown my last inning. After I made it through my teammates, I walked outside the dugout to greet our only spectator, my dad. I gave him a hug and we both let it all out. This was the second time ever that I had seen my dad cry (the first one being when Peyton Manning retired..). He said he was so proud of me and then that was it. 20 years of hard work, blood, sweat, two torn ligaments, and tears all over in a matter of seconds. And to this day I don’t I truly understood what that meant and how much that was going to affect the rest of my life.

Needless to say, the couple of months after I left baseball were some of the worst in my life. They say it takes you half as long as you are with someone, to get over them. To this day I am still not over baseball. By that metric still have 8 years to go… I quickly forced myself into situations to be busy to replace baseball. I jumped into a sales job during my last semester senior year while still taking a full load of courses. I spent all of my remaining time with friends or watching hours of Ted Talks until it was time to go to bed. I knew that if I left any time open to think, I would get into my head about what could have been if I had changed certain aspects about my baseball career. Graduation came and passed my senior year and I was officially in the working world. My lifestyle didn’t change. I replaced the time I spent in the classroom with work. 40 hours went to 60 in a heartbeat. Any time I had off I again spent out with friends and often drinking on weekends. Sure enough, a hard sales job paired with unhealthy living led to a burn out.

Fast forward a year and two sales jobs later, I sat there with the same dilemma that I had with each of my other jobs. The passion wasn’t there. I would work my tail off to get going and maintain my book of business only to burn out shortly after. It was harder to get out of bed in the morning. My life lacked a purpose or a direction. I thought that I had to do in life was to go to “Corporate America”, get a job, and eventually I will be making a bunch of money. Then, I could start a family and live happily ever after. Turns out that’s not really the case. As this trend continued, I started to become less and less like myself. I was struggling to have fun. I didn’t laugh as much. I could no longer love like I once did. I was becoming a shell of who I was.

Finally, I woke up one morning and I thought to myself, “this has to stop.” I knew I needed to find my passion in life. I needed to replace baseball. But how does one really find their passion? I thought that I actively needed to go and search out my passion like it was some type of hidden treasure. So that’s what I did, I spent every waking second actively searching for this new passion. After months of “searching” and getting frustrated with this notion that I needed to have everything figured out, I was no closer to replacing baseball than I was when I started. But not only was I no closer, I had drove a wedge between myself and the people around me. Daily and weekly calls and texts with my best friends quickly became monthly check-ins and then every couple of months. My relationship started to fall apart. I had become someone completely different. I was no longer the person my girlfriend fell in love with. I was so obsessed with the notion of having to figure out what my life’s path would be that I completely shielded myself off from living in the present. Recently, that relationship ended. Truthfully, the only real reason that it ended was because I couldn’t give her the love that she deserved. I couldn’t find it within me to release myself from my own anxiety about the future to see what was right in front of me. I thought that they only way for me to find my passion in life is to be 100% by myself and alone. I am going to have to live with that decision for the rest of my life.

If you read this far, you are trying to figure out what the point of the story is. To be honest with you all, I am looking for that silver lining as well. Up until the past few weeks, I never knew how much baseball meant to me. I didn’t know how much it drove me to be better every day. And what I really didn’t know, was how much soul searching I was going to do after I hung up the cleats. So, I will leave you all with this…

For all of the athletes out there in the world that had to end their careers before they got to their dream, you are not alone. We all reach our retirement date eventually. Everyone handles it different but do know there are people out there that feel the same. A lot of people will tell you it’s just a game. But to you, it was your entire life. You practiced every day after school. You played games on weekends. Time spent with friends, family, and significant others were sacrificed for your sport. It was our childhood. I think it’s important to know that we don’t have to have it all figured out after we stop playing. If I could do it all over again, I would take in every moment. I would be present. I would try to find the good in every day and be grateful that I even had the opportunity to play baseball as long as I did. The last two years of pain and frantic soul search could have been avoided. If I was present and open to opportunities, life would have shown me the path I was meant to be on. It took two years of burning out at jobs and losing someone I loved to land me square on my ass.

Today I will be present. Today I will be grateful. Today I will take a step in the right direction. I know from my experiences on the ball field that some of my worst mistakes spawned my greatest triumphs. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before you can rise to the top.

Game time.

 

Coffee Climates in Chronological order

Posted on Posted in Coffee, Life Happenings, RecommendedTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment

I love coffee. Every morning, I wake up and start prepping the brew. French press or moka pot? I make a decision and then grind some beans in accordance. During the workweek, I always make the cup at home. It’s too early and there is too little time to stop somewhere and come back home for breakfast. When the weekend hits, i try to take advantage of treating myself to a cup on the road. Cheap or expensive. Potent or flavorful. Hot or iced. For me, there is a time for every type of coffee, and even a place sometimes. Here is the method to my madness for ordering some joe outside of your home.

IMG_1160

Drip coffee

This is definitely the go to upon awakening. I still typically I tend to brew at home to save some money and slow the morning down a little if I am drinking drip, but every now and then I hop in the car and drive for a cup. The time I am drinking a drip coffee is always in the morning, the earlier the better. The drip coffee tastes best extra hot, slowly helping wake you up while making you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Drip coffee for me pairs well with a drive: whether it is an early AM road trip or a morning surf check that requires multiple stops. You can slam it pre-session, or save half for the post session. Drip coffee also taste great nuzzled under your covers on your laptop. You can even make it last all morning (unfortunately for me, it never seems too) and can even turn iced if you make it back home with any leftover. A win win win situation.

Almond Cappuccino

The cappuccino is a kick-starter. Packaged in a nice small container and typically not aggressively hot, for me the capp is a grab and go coffee ready for maximum caffeine in a minimum amount of time. I really love the taste of espresso: the dark and smoky taste is delicious, and the aromas it gives off tickles the nose. A good cappuccino is hard to drink slowly. I typically drink mine way too fast because I love them on the warmer side. This is a great drink to grab, park, and paddle out. Or grab and get after it. Also, if you are feeling a little on the slower side, this is a better fix than drip coffee. Less fluids jumping and twisting in your stomach. And you also can drink some water after rather than hoping right out. I’ve had all sorts of capps: whole milk, half and half, almond and oat. I prefer almond at this point. Oat is nice too though. The almond capp is perfect for when that morning cup just didn’t cut it for you.

Iced Americano

Unless I wake up incredibly dehydrated, I can’t really drink iced coffee early in the morning. Even pre-Coachella in 90-degree desert weather, I tend to still like to sip a warm beverage while waking up. It helps you ease into your day. The iced coffee comes in the afternoon. For a while I was keen on just an iced coffee or a cold brew. But as of late, an iced Americano has been my play for a nice afternoon buzz. The typically are a little cheaper than cold brew, and give you the bitter and deep taste of espresso over ice. Dare to get a double and you really can start bouncing off the walls. Drink it black to soak up the entire flavor or add a splash of dairy to lighten the color and taste. A little sugar never hurt in this caffeine cocktail either. I am happy I started getting this classic drink, or else I’d be stuck in the cold brew rut. This is perfect for an afternoon that is jammed packed or is going to require activity late in the day.

Iced Flavored Coffee

This is the mid day pick-me-up, when you have little responsibility or the vibe for the day is lounging. I find these drinks perfect for a beach day or a relaxing day at home, when time goes by slowly. They usually aren’t as caffeinated, which sometimes is what you are looking for. The iced flavored coffee is vague, but refers to any flavored drink which has just as much sweet to it as coffee. The really delicious, less potent potions that differ from place to place. Whether it is lavender cold brew, iced maple latte, a dirty chai latte, or anything under the sun, these drinks are meant to spoil you. Nothing is sweeter than sipping on a delicious coffee that doesn’t make you go nuts or start tweaking. Like I said, these are the drinks you sip while tanning. For taking a stroll or bike rides around town. Just the perfect drink for a do nothing day. Treat yourself. I also tend to drink this drinks more sparingly as they usually come with a larger price tag. If I were to pick this as my go to afternoon drink, my productivity would take a hit and so would my bank account. But every now and then, it just feels right.

 

 

I AM THANKFUL…(Everyone should be)

Posted on Posted in Life HappeningsLeave a comment

^ (it starts @:45)

I am thankful I am thankful for delicious food, prepared by myself, my friends, or a stranger depending on the mood.

I am thankful for holidays, as we reminisce on these days.

I am thankful for good rest, even though my full bed is far from a nest.

I am thankful for the West coast, even when I miss the East most.

I am thankful for Mother Nature, as I am enamored by her grandeur.

I am thankful for surfing, without it my life would constantly swerving.

I am thankful for my (short) BMX and Skate careers, these would teach me to get back up after being beaten almost to tears.

I am thankful for technology, so I can see where my friends all be.

I am thankful for social media, as it can work like an encyclopedia.

I am thankful for money, while it is not everything it is sweet like honey.

I am thankful for silence and quiet, sometimes I need to go on a noise diet.

I am thankful for pen and paper, sometimes it is needed when I’ve met my maker.

I am thankful for music, and all the activities I can do to it.

I am thankful for music by ASAP Rocky, for he always can get me feeling cocky.

I am thankful for an ego, sometimes negative but it gets my priorities in a row.

I am thankful for great friends, even though sometimes friendships must come to an end.

I am thankful for family, for those that took care of me.

I am thankful for my upbringing, the lessons and the teachings.

I am thankful for my heart, even when it can be cold and dark.

I am thankful for imperfections, as they often turn to helpful reflections.

I am thankful for being me, being young wild and free (that was kind of corny). But it’s true, everyday feels like something brand new.