This is while I was on vacation. You don’t know all the strange looks I received while writing this and taking a photo of this. I actually wrote the whole alphabet.  I would like to see Photoshop make type look like this, SO BRING IT ON!!!

SO as i am about to go for a run, i am reminded of the last time i went running/stalked. Ok let me start from the beginning. Running is a very lonely activity and that is what i like and dislike about it at the same time. SO, i was running and saw another person running in the same direction that i was running!!!!!! SO of course i made it into a game. My game was to to try and catch him. He was running faster than me, so it  was a challenging game:)

He looked back at me half way through the run and when he saw me he did nothing and kept running, but as I made every turn that he did he started to pick up the pace. Now i don’t know if it was because of me, but it was pretty convincing that it was. He kept looking over his shoulder as if to say……”are you still there” or “who is this guy” or “get the hint go away”

Well i did not get the hint and did not go away. I was at this point following him where ever he was going, it was fun and really forgot i was running.  I had know idea where i was a t this point as I was following him. Eventually i had to break off and go back home as I was lost and only can run so long on my foot.

However, the whole time i was thinking of funny things to do when this other runner would turn around. here are a couple: BTW would love to hear Any of your funny things to do or say.

1. Slice my throat with my hand
2. Two handed wave
3. Say ” i see you”
4. Dart out of the way in the bushes every-time he turns around
5. “HEY you, do you have any friends”
6. “can i follow you home”
7. What’s your address, i will meet you at your house”

~dzob

I want to comment on the state of graphic design. I am not talking about getting jobs I am talking about what I am seeing that graphic designers are doing. From Magazines, movie poster, flyers, etc. It seems that graphic design has been confused with layout artist or template followers. WHEN did this happen and WHY? The WHY I can tell you; Because it is easy. It is easy to follow a template and just layout in copy and text, but takes true skill to think of a concept. Any one can put words on color, but it is the designer that makes it come to life.

I have seen too much of the template designs and it is driving me crazy!!! COME ON DESIGNERS stand up for what is right and challenge us! I would bet money that if magazines where more DESIGNED and less LAYED OUT more people would buy them and keep them and share them.

So, that being said….Colleen, another contributor on this site, and I were talking and she suggested the idea of a REAL TO LIFE layout. So we take our normal 16” x 10” design and make it 16 feet x 10 feet and have to create elements NOT using the computer. SO if you wanted type you would have to draw it or recreate it or even print in out but then put it on your real life spread. If you wanted people in your spread you would have to have people lay in your spread.

The idea of this makes me feel alive and want to try this out. I was thinking of doing a test run and posting photos of what happens. Imagine the possibilities!!

~dzob

While I was running I was thinking about what super power I would have if I could have one and it has always been mind control. Because I thought that if I was in a fight with another super hero I would win hands down. They want to burn me with fire, I can control them and say, “no you don’t”

But as I was running I saw this guy; We has about 45 and had on Khaki shorts, t-shirt and sweat shirt overtop kind of sloppy looking, but not dirty. He had a dunkin donuts back and coffee in one hand and his cell phone on his belt, but here is the weird thing, he was trying to hitch a ride. So that got me thinking…..what is his situation. Did his car break down and he stopped for a doughnut and coffee or is that cup and bag really old and there are drugs inside.

My mind starting going some strange places and that is when I realized that my new super power would want to know other peoples situations. Who they are, why are they here, etc. It is killing me that I don’t know that guys story.

So, i have not written in a while and I  know all two of you are upset that you could not get my daily rant or running story…well i am back to running and back to tell a story (YES!!!)

SO I tore my Achilles Heel and I went to see an orthopedic doctor and he told me to stay off of it for about a month and than get physical therapy. That month seemed liked the longest month in the history of longest months. after my LONG month I went to PT and saw a great doctor who started to give me some exercises to do and I asked “When can i get back to running?” his response “probably not for another month or two”……OR TWO!!!!!! about two weeks later he had me walking and eventually jogging. YES!!! I said i am back….well sort of.

He looked at the way that i was jogging and said “HUH….run some more……HUH, interesting.”

That did not sound good so i asked him what was wrong and he said “the way you run is weird and no wonder you got injured and he have to fix it” so basically my whole life I have been running stupid!!! SO we fixed it and i have to stretch before I run which I never did before….SO i have been running for about a month now for 2o minutes non stop, which has been great.

This morning I run for 23 minutes….30 minutes here I come!

Oh and I had to get fitted for “REAL RUNNING” shoes and they feel like a glove and now I don’t want to wear anything else. They are amazing, exspensive, but amazing. thanks for listening!!!

~dzob

So i found out last week that i have achilles tendonitis which means that I have to rest my foot for two weeks. Which means no running:( Because of that you will not get any strange running stories. So instead of a running story I have a bread story

My mom makes bread from scratch and it is amazing!!! A couple of months ago I got the recipe from her and starting making bread. The first time wa a little bit of a disaster, but today was the third time and it turned out FANTASTIC.

There is NOTHING better than warm bread right out of the oven. SO if you are in the area stop by the house smells like fresh bread……wait jsut kidding don’t stop by:)

~dzob

So last week I went for a run at in the trails at catonsville. It was great; muddy and hard to find where i was going. I slipped a bunch of times got my shoes wet and muddy and it was amazing. those are the kind of runs I love. Any way this post is really not about the run, it is what happened after the run….

I went to the gym to shower and change. I always hate this because it is the same gym as students use and I don’t need to see a student in there. I really hate seeing people i know from work or school in a different setting than what i know them from. Isn’t weird when you see a teacher in the grocery store or at a restaurant. now think about it if you see them in the gym changing. So anyway i hate showering at the gym at school, but I have to so lets move on.

When i get into the gym I see some paper towels sitting next to my locker. (clue #1) than i hear the water running from the shower area. My first thought is who is using them and the second is oh crap! so i have to do, so i can get back to my office, so i go into the shower area and i see that it is an old man (clue #2). SO i ignore him and go about my business and when i am done showering i go back to my locker and see that the paper towels (clue #1) are being used by the old man. He is standing on them! I have been in a lot of locker rooms and have seen a lot of old man and THEY ALL STAND on a towel and or paper towel while they are getting dressed. what is that? I am going to have to start to ask questions, it fascinates me so much.

Let me ask; what is the first thing that you would put on clothing wise when you are in a locker room? My answer would be underwear. That is not what old men do. First is they air dry, so that’s great. The second is a shirt, no bottoms, what? and the third is socks and then come the underpants……why…why….why. I don’t know why they do it that way but i have seen to much. I don’t want to see your junk…cover it up!

This guy put on his flip flops, so yes he has flip flops but he stands on paper towels, and goes to the hand dryer to blow dry his hair…….with nothing on, but his flip flops….so hw was flip flopping if you know what i mean…..damn!

It is so weird…anyway just had to share

I hope you enjoyed:)

~dzob

and p.s i have many more if you ever want to hear more…..maybe i should not have shared that:)

I am trying to replace some bi fold doors in my room and they are so hard to install. You have to make sure the top is in a while you are holding the top you have to some how keep that pressure and make sure that the bottom is in. WHO the F designed these things. They are the bane of my existence (and yes I know what that means).

ANd lets say by some stroke of home depot gods you get the door in and secure, it could get loose and you are back to being frustrated. AHHHHHHHHH.

If the bi fold door was a person i would beat him up. Ok maybe not beat him up, i am really not a fighter, but i would find someone to beat him up, ok i don’t know nay friends that are fighters, i would……would……would….um………right about him in a blog.

I think a lot about perception. The way we see people form a far and what stories you make up about them. When I am out any where I LOVE to people watch, in fact I like to try and figure out what the people are doing, what their relationship is, and why they are out. It is so fascinating.

So i often wonder the little glimpse that we see can really distort our perception. We are only seeing part of the picture. For example if you see a parent being mean to their child (pulling them, or yelling at them), you may think what an awful parent. BUT what you did not see is the 6 hours prier where the kid has worn the parent down and this was the last straw that we saw. And I think single people or even married people that don’t have kids perceive this differently than people with kids. Single people may say, “and that is why I am not having kids” where other parents may say, “I know that feeling” or “what a bad parent”

SO this all leads up to two scenarios that I have seen that I want to share.

1. a couple of nights ago I saw, while picking up my take out order at a pizza place, a man about 30ish sitting at the table eating pizza out of the box and crying. And he wasn’t even trying to hid the fact that he was crying.So my question is why was he crying, what didn’t we see and was his intention to eat at the restaurant?
   Think about it and reply
2. The second scenario is when I was running the other day I saw an older man in his 50’s walking on the sidewalk in gym shorts, a fleece, brown dress shoes, and black socks. So my questions are:
   A. Did he look in the mirror?
   B. IS that his normal exercise gear?
   C. Does he own exercise clothes?
   D. What makes you change into gym shorts but not change the shoes?

~dzob

Ok, so I have not written a running story in a while and thought it was about time. Because this semester I am teaching many morning classes my running schedule has been disrupted. I would usually run about 7:30 in the morning and then go into work, but this semester i have 3 morning classes, so i have to find time to run while at school.

So if you see me running on campus please do not honk:)

I was running at catonsville’s campus Monday, did any else know that they have trails on campus? anyway that is where i was running, the trails. I LOVE running trails! There is a lot more to look at, to dodge, to think about. I LOVE IT. can you tell i love it? But i also hate them, because they make me nervous….why do you ask….I fear the people that may be lurking in the woods, murderers, strange people, and my own shadow:)

Any so i was running and feeling good, crossing rocks, going up steep hills, going down long hills, climbing over trees, etc….i felt like i could be on survivor:) I was doing good until……….i saw a flash of something through the trees….it was yellow…..no it was orange……is it moving………and then……………..i saw that it was a student…..or was it…..yes yes it was a student and they where taking pictures with their camera.

Run some more…..almost run into..more people….now i start to wonder why there are so many people in the woods….i don’t know what makes me more nervous, lots of people or not any people.

Run some more and I am really starting to feel tired and it is almost the end of my run and then it happens…………………there is a rustling in the bushes…..i think maybe it is another person, nope the bush is to small……….then more movement…..keep running eyes straight ahead…..and then it happens…..this thing darts from the bush right in front of me and I almost trip/step on it and then it darts back into the bushes….breath……than it come back out and this time I start to get nervous….i still cannot get a good look at what it is…it does this about two more times in a matter of seconds…….it turns out it was a scared squirrel!

A squirrel, A squirrel. A squirrel. I was scared of A squirrel! what? While this was happening i actually yelped out WHAT THE F….I had to laugh at my self for being so scared of such a little animal

Hope that made your day:)

~dzob

I think as adults we loose finding fun in the little things for example as I am writing this my son is in his underpants playing with post it notes and putting them on his fingers and pretending they are claws. First he made them sea weed and now he is putting them on his shirt and saying “hickory, snik, mick….i just said snick”

Why as adults are we not able to do things like this? Is it because we think that it is inappropriate, or we feel silly, or any other reasons? It really is sad to me. I am a little different, I like playing and having fun and really playing “WITH” my son. I think to many parents just want there children to play by themselves. When ever I go to a party that has kids I feel like I am running a day care, because other people’s children come over to me because I am playing “with” my son. I.e. Down on the floor, giving him piggy pack rides, building with him, etc. I don’t find it hard, but maybe I am different.

anyway this post was supposed to about finding fun in the little things and turned into something else, oh well. “stinky socks” says my son.

~dzob

So, I get lost very easily. That is why I normally have my GPS on even though I know where I am going. Not only am I not good with directions and could get lost in a parking lot (True story) and get wrapped up in my own thoughts and usually forget that I need to make a turn or get off of the highway(another true story). That is why the GPS is good because it make noises and brings me out of my own thoughts and back to focusing on where I am going.

So here is why I am writing this. The other day I am going form towson town mall to CCBC (essex). I decide to take the highway and I decide to take 695e towards essex and get off on exit 35. SO I repeat this to myself about 5-10 times so i remember.

You may ask your self, why didn’t you use your gps? and that would be a fine question. The reason is it was in my bag and I did not feel like reaching back and getting it and plus I thought how hard could it be. 695 E exit 35.

I am on the highway…….and approaching the split of 695 and 95. 95 exit is on the right and to stay on 695 is on the left. I am deep deep in my own thoughts………….and I stay where I am which happens to be on the right…..and I exit to get onto 95 s. By this time I still do not notice that anything is wrong. Until I start to merge and I think to my self there is a lot of traffic and construction on 695……wait…………….I am…………….on……………95 south!!!!!!!! There are no exits soon once your are on 95. SO swear, swear some more and get out my GPS….

It guides me to where I want to be and I will always use the GPS no matter how close, far, or how many times I have been there.

~dzob

“I AM THE BEST, OR AT LEAST I AM THE ONE THAT YOUR NOT”

any thoughts!

So I have not written in a while, but i have a lot to say! My family and I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago and I have some things that I noticed.

1. People love to not wear shirts! And I don’t mean on the beach, when they leave the beach. There were people at the gas station not wearing shirts and people getting food without their shirts on, it was ridiculous. What makes them think that because they are at the beach that it means “NO SHIRT FOR ME” On the actual beach does not matter, but it does matter when it is off of the beach.
2. I was amazed at all the people running, biking, walking, etc in the morning. I was one of them, but I found it interesting that so many where doing it as well. It is good and not a complaint, but I was surprised. Because it was so hot there were tons of people running shirtless! Now I run and get hot but ever once did i say “it is so hot at 6 am that I need to rip of my shirt” I know it gets hot when you run, but I don’t want to see your sweaty back fat!
3. I think people who run at noon are idiots, they wonder why they are so hot. UMMMM maybe because the sun is straight above you and it is the hottest time of the day, maybe. “Maybe I should take of my shirt to show you my amazing pectoral region” Which way is the gym:)
4. Why is it fun to dig big holes in the sand? I was right there with the rest of the idiots digging a big hole. “look i dug a big hole, now what?” I don’t know what it is, but it was fun!

I have more, but that will do for now. Comment on your observation while on vacation!

~dzob

I was driving home from the store today and i saw i guy on the corner in work out clothes, gym shorts and t-shirt, and he was looking around….but that is not the weird thing. Wait….He was holding dress shoes.

SO here is what I want to happen from this post. That is the end of dress shoe guys story you need to tell me how he got to the corner holding dress shoes in gym clothes.

I will post my answer later:) I think this will be a fun little game. If you read this on facebook, come to dzobel.com and post the answer, so everyone can see it!!

~dzob

Today I am going to stain my deck. I don’t know how to do it, but how hard could it be, right? he answer to that is it could be very hard. I can see my deck looking striped like a zebra:) I power washed my deck last week and that was fun for about 30 min, than I was thinking… could this be any more tedious? It was amazing how clean the deck got. But anyway.  Hopefully no dog will try and bite me from my deck:)

OH! but my neighboor does have a dog that every time I go outside it goes crazy. SO now it is a game about how crazy i can make the dog. I am not mean, but PEOPLE control your animals. They leave the dog out all day and night, never see them walk the dog. I don’t like them and there dog jsut makes them worse.

It started out as such a nice post and then i had to find something that annoyed me to put in the post. HA!

~dzob

I was at a birthday party with my son and it was at a bouncy party palce. The best creation!!! IF you have never been you need to get a child and go. It would be a little creepy if you showed up and had no child:) It is a big room filled with all sorts of moon bounces, and yes for my 30th birthday party I had a moon bounce….and BBQ. My two favorite things!

Anyway, SO I was at this party and about 5 kids where in the moon bounce running in circles and loving it! it made me think that when do we loose that ability to have fun running in cirlces. When was the last time you heard one of your friends say “Hey dave let run in a circle for about 30 min”. The only time I heard it was when I was running track and you have to run in a cirle. But you understand!

Or when was the last time pretended a pillow was a fire truck. When do we loose that raw energy and creativity?