NaBloPoMo - I'm Half Way There

It's November 15th and that means I'm at the mid-point NaBloPoMo or National Blog Post Month.

In the past 15 days, I've shared stories about my plans to write daily, the Plank Pose Challenge (which I've had to take a break from this week, but I'll be back at it tomorrow), Calvin & Hobbes, menopause, my plans to buy Michael Jordan's house next week, the awesome shit my friends say that keep me in stitches, all that I'm grateful for, and five new experiences (here, here, here, and here), and becoming a multi-millionaire thanks to the kindness of a stranger in China.

It's felt great to be writing regularly again because writing relaxes me. It helps me process life, even when I'm writing about completely inane topics, and it often forces me to question my own beliefs as I try to explain them.

I guess, in short, writing keeps me sane.

What do I have planned for the next 15 days?

Among other things, I've got a major announcement planned for Sunday, I'll be sharing details of my trip to Springfield and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a computer virus warning from my company's CIO, and many new adventures that I have yet to share with you. 

I hope you're enjoying NaBloPoMo as much as I'm enjoying it. See you tomorrow.

The House That 23 Built aka My New Home

You may have recently seen in the press that my beloved Michael Jordan has put his Highland Park, Illinois home on the auction block.

When this news hit the media last month, I posted it on Facebook inviting my friends to join with me and form a coalition to purchase the home. We only need $250,000 between us. It's 56,000 square feet on 7+ acres of property, with an NBA regulation basketball court, infinity swimming pool with private island, PGA regulation putting green, tennis courts, a lake, a full beauty salon, 500 bottle wine cellar (that's enough to get through 2014), and much more. The house has 9 bedrooms, including a 3 bedroom guest house. Plus, it's being sold furnished. This is a bargain.

I figured that if a number of us chipped in, we would easily have enough money for the winning bid and with 9 bedrooms, there would be plenty of space for all of us to live in the house simultaneously. Obviously, we'd need to do this in order to afford the monthly upkeep on it and the property taxes.

Friends came out in droves and, in the end, we formed a Facebook Legal binding agreement through the status and comments among six of us.

One of the new homeowners, Anthony, posted the video below providing us all with a tour of the inside of the house. I don't know about anyone else, but I think it's pretty move-in ready. MJ seems to have been a fairly responsible homeowner and the house is fairly updated.




The auction is on November 22nd, so we'll be in by Thanksgiving. It's going to be the best Thanksgiving ever.

Inspiration from Michael Jordan

Coming down off one of the best weekends in ages (more about that later this week) with very little sleep, today was a rough Monday and I had a tough time finding my inner motivation to get going. It was especially tough because I knew that today was going to include yet another trip to the vet with Betsey and wouldn't include any answers yet.

So I turned to one of my favorite sources of inspiration . . . Michael Jordan. I think you'll find these videos inspiring too.

Maybe It's My Fault - Michael Jordan Nike Commercial


Look Me In the Eyes - Michael Jordan Nike Commercial (#2 in the "Become Legendary" series)


Failure - Michael Jordan Nike Commercial


Happy Tuesday!

My Love Affair With Michael Jordan

I love Michael Jordan. Well, maybe lust is a better word.

I don't remember exactly when it started, but somewhere in the late 1980s, I became obsessed with #23. I can't say I was a huge basketball fan, but Michael Jordan had me captivated and never lost my attention.

Not only do I love him as an athlete and greatest basketball player ever, but as an inspiration as well. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He's missed thousands of shots over the years. He's overcome horrible tragedy in losing his father, his best friend, mid-career. No matter what, Michael Jordan gave the game of basketball his absolute best, scoring some of his highest per game point totals when he had the flu. He kept his dream alive and never let it go.

Why is Michael Jordan the greatest? Certainly because he has a gift and talent that few people in this world have. But more than that, he practiced harder and in a more focused way than anyone else. He was committed. He never played half-assed.

One of my favorite Michael Jordan quotes of all time speaks to this "whatever it takes" commitment.

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan

More quotes here.

I got to watch him play in person just a handful of times in Washington DC. One of the most memorable was the last game of the 72-10 season in 1995-96. Of course, the Bulls went on to win their 4th NBA Championship that June, on my birthday. It was also Father's Day and the first championship after he returned from his 18-month retirement and I'll never forget watching him drop to his knees on the hardwood clutching the ball and then lying on the locker room floor crying and saying he'd won it for his Dad. Quite a few of those championships came either on my birthday or were celebrated on my birthday. I always believed that happened just for me.

And come on, didn't we all want to "Be Like Mike"? Heck, every time I pick up a Gatorade now, I still think about this commercial.



Congratulations on your enshrinement into the NBA Hall of Fame, Michael! No one deserves it more.



UPDATE 8:03pm: The enshrinement just ended and Michael's speech was amazing. His closing comment is my new favorite Michael Jordan quote: "Limits like fears are often just an illusion." You got that right. Here's the Chicago Tribune's coverage of the ceremony.