Camping, Gym, Rambis August 10, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Uncategorized.Tags: camping, kurt rambis, minnesota, minnesota timberwolves, weight loss
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Camping Trip #2
One thing we’d been hoping to do more of this summer is camping. After failing in our attempt two weekends ago, Lauren and I went to the Wild River State Park on Saturday afternoon, a 59-mile drive north of the city, right on the Wisconsin border near North Branch, MN. We ignored dangerous weather alerts and set up camp for the night on our rustic camp site. As usual, I pitched the tent while Lauren got the fire going. We had a merry evening, playing Trivial Pursuit and cribbage while eating brats and marshmallows over the fire.
And then the inclement weather hit and we were sent scurrying for the tent as the sky lit up with lightning, followed by fairly heavy rain. Our fire survived for a while longer but soon it was washed out. Lauren fell fast asleep, leaving me sitting in the tent with quite literally nothing to do. I was wide awake and had only my phone to entertain myself, so I played over an hour of Scrabble before falling asleep around midnight. We woke up in the morning and headed straight home to pick up the Rosoks at the airport.
Below 240
As I’ve mentioned before, my weight loss attempt went very well in March and April, dropping me from 268 to 243, but there I stayed for all of May, June, and July. But yesterday at the gym I weighed myself and was down to about 239! My initial goal of 235 is very much within striking distance before the wedding. Some people, including my dentist today, asked what my secret is. Well, I went from doing literally nothing to occasionally doing something active. And that’s all!
Kurt Rambis
I am a big fan of the moves new T’Wolves GM David Kahn has made so far, including today’s news that former Laker great Kurt Rambis has been named the new head coach! Sadly, he has since ditched the thick-rimmed glasses.
The newest Wolves coach!
Wedding Stuff, 4th of July, NBA Draft June 24, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Best Picture Winners, wedding, weight loss.Tags: aaron rush, dsu, gym, hasheem thabeet, honeymoon, minnesota timberwolves, nba draft, ricky rubio, uruguay, wedding
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Lauren and I are beginning to think about where we should go on our honeymoon. We’re thinking we’ll hold off until December when it’s cold and we’ll be more excited to get away. And we’re also thinking it will be some sort of tropical destination, hopefully something all-inclusive. Beyond that, we haven’t narrowed it down much more. My initial suggestion of Uruguay has basically been stricken from consideration, and Lauren’s step-brother very frankly said to me: “Trust me, you don’t want to go to Uruguay.” Probably would have been way too expensive anyway. If anyone has any great suggestions or personal experiences, feel free to leave a comment!
I also had the chance yesterday to talk to the wedding officiant, Aaron Rush, who I knew well from my DSU days. Rush was a fellow fourth floor resident, and we had hoped to find someone we knew to do the wedding. Other names that were floated around included Dick Poppen and Greg Van Heukelom. Sounds like Rush will be up in August and we’ll take in a Twins game and discuss plans further.
I am planning on going to the gym once again tonight, which will be my fifth straight day. I weighed in at 244 Monday night, my new low. My initial goal of 235 by the wedding seems very attainable as I’m already 75% of the way there. 235 is what I weighed when I graduated college before I spent 96% of my day sitting in front of a computer.
Plans are starting to come together for the 4th of July weekend. Lauren and I will head back to South Dakota for a few days and hang out. I tossed around the idea of camping one of the nights, maybe even on the way there, and going fishing for something to do. I can’t remember having gone fishing since the late 90s. We may also take in the Willow Lake city festivities on the 4th, something I haven’t done in about nine years. Looks like we’ll miss out on seeing the Krogman family again, though.
In some very unrelated news, I am really happy with our local NBA team, who has disappointed badly ever since Kevin Garnett left town. When the Timberwolves hired David Kahn as the new GM a couple weeks back, there were a lot of groans and a lot of unenthusiasm. He didn’t seem like he was their top choice; he was just the one guy who didn’t take his name off the list of candidates. But I gotta hand it to Kahn, because he’s already succeeded in one thing—people are paying attention to the team again. With the draft coming up tomorrow and the Wolves holding on to four first-round picks, it will be very interesting to see what happens. Kahn yesterday made a big trade with Washington that sent Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the Wizards for three players I’ve never heard of and the #5 pick. I bet the Wolves trade their 5 and 6 picks to move up even further so they can take Ricky Rubio or Hasheem Thabeet.
I also found out today that the Oscars will now have ten Best Picture nominees each year. I am not sure if I’m thrilled with that or not, but that’s the format used up until 1943.
I posted this by e-mail for the first time, so I hope it displays correctly!
We Need Favre May 18, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in baseball.Tags: brett favre, minnesota timberwolves, minnesota twins, minnesota vikings, minnesota wild
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Most know my favorite NFL team is the Chargers, but I still consider the Vikings a very close second. Cheering for Minnesota sports teams in general over the last two decades has been a terrible experience most of the time. In the time I’ve paid attention (since about 1992) the Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, and Wild have combined to win zero titles. Nor have any of them even appeared in a championship game. I did the math, and only Washington, DC has had a worse streak amongst cities with all four major pro sports.
Not only have our teams appeared in zero championship games, but they may have suffered the most heartbreaking playoff losses. The Vikings lost to the Falcons in ‘98 after a 15-1 season… sorry Walsh and Nick for bringing that up. Then they got annihilated by the Giants in the NFC title game in 2001, 41-0. The following year, the Twins lost to the Angels in the ALCS. The following year, the Wild lost to the Ducks in the Western Conference Finals. The following year, the Timberwolves lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
The Twins lost in the ALDS to the Yankees in 2003 and 2004 in heartbreaking fashion. Really, really tough losses. And after a great 2006 season, they were swept by Oakland in the first round. The Wild were competitive for a few years, then kinda fell apart this season, missing the playoffs, where over half the teams get in. The Vikings had some lean years before a first-round loss to the Eagles this season. And the Timberwolves have been a laughing stock the past few years.
The Twins have seen their best players leave year after year—David Ortiz, Johan Santana, Torii Hunter, Chuck Knoblauch, Cristian Guzman, Corey Koskie, and so on. The Wild lost Rolston and Demitra and will probably lose Gaborik. The Vikings rid themselves of Randy Moss and Daunte Culpepper, amongst others. And the Timberwolves traded away Minnesota’s biggest star since Kirby Puckett when they shipped Kevin Garnett to the Celtics.
Yet during that time, none of those teams have really brought in any star players. Sure, they’ve drafted some great players like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Adrian Peterson, and Randy Foye, but they’ve never really gone out and acquired anyone of significance. Joe Crede, Bernard Berrian, Jared Allen, Al Jefferson, and Owen Nolan I suppose might qualify to some as star acquisitions, but no real franchise players other than possibly Jefferson.
The Minnesota teams aren’t going to win very often, and when they do show signs of promise, they crush us with monumental defeats so devastating we think we’ll never be able to watch a game again. So the very least I can hope for is for one of our four teams to make a big move. Something completely un-Minnesota-like. Something that only a New York team would do.
That’s why I am really hoping that the Vikings get Brett Favre. Don’t you? I think bringing in one of the greatest all-time players to one of our teams would be big. I lobbied for the Twins to sign Barry Bonds and now am hoping they’ll make a push for Pedro Martinez. I hoped the Wolves would surround KG with some talent like when they brought in Cassell and Sprewell in their primes, but they neglected to do that after 2004.
I don’t think the Vikings would be a Super Bowl favorite with Favre, but it would at least be something positive for one of our teams. It would create some major buzz around here for once.
Nick, Walsh, any thoughts?
Quick Rant on Various Sports January 20, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in baseball.Tags: arizona cardinals, kurt warner, lauren poulter, minnesota timberwolves, minnesota twins, paul molitor, pittsburgh steelers, super bowl, twinsfest
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Thought I’d take a minute to go off on the hot topics in the sports world. If you’re not a sports fan, might not be too interesting to you!
After Sunday’s AFC and NFC Championship Games, we’re left with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. That will be an interesting Super Bowl. I’m always pulling for an underdog team to make it. I had reasons to cheer against every team but Arizona this weekend. The Steelers just won it three years ago. The Phillies just won the World Series, so I didn’t want to see another Philly team win a title. And the Ravens won it all in 2001, which is also recent enough that I wouldn’t want to see them do it again. That left the Cardinals as my team to root for. The last time the Cardinals won a title in the late 40’s, my grandparents were high schoolers. Who woulda thought Kurt Warner would be able to lead another team to a championship game? Win or lose, this puts Kurt Warner in the Hall of Fame, I think. If I was betting right now, I’d put my money on the Steelers. But then again, I would have bet against Arizona in their games against Atlanta, Carolina, and Philadelphia as well. We’ll see if the Cards have another trick up their sleeves.
The Timberwolves have been playing out of their minds lately, winning 7 of 8 (nearly eight straight if not for a late collapse against Miami). As of this very moment, the Wolves have the best record in 2009 of any team in the Western Conference. Too bad you also have to include 2008’s putrid record. The Western Conference is very strange—there are a group of good teams and a group of bad teams, and they’re separated by a very wide margin. The Wolves have moved to the front of the pack of teams with no chance of making the playoffs, which also includes Golden State, Sacramento, Memphis, Oklahoma City, and the LA Clippers. But they’re 10 games back of Dallas, the worst of the good teams. That’s a big gap.
Could Gagne return to Cy Young form as a Twin?
And as for baseball, I’m very bored with this off-season. Thanks to the state of the economy, teams are not making many moves, and the Twins have been by far the quietest team of all so far, almost staying completely “pat” with their roster. The only new players with any sort of experience or name recognition with spring training invites are knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and one-time hot Oriole prospect Luis Matos. The biggest news surrounding the Twins has been the recent rumblings that they’re interested in relievers Brandon Lyon and Eric Gagne. Right now, I’m so desperate for the Twins to do something that I’d jump out of my seat to hear they signed one of those mid-tier relivers.
Will we attend Twinsfest '09?
Twinsfest is this weekend, but for the first time since 2002, I do not plan to attend. I remember after last year telling Lauren that it was a waste of time. It was wildly crowded, the lines for anything were a couple hours, and I’ve done and seen it all many times before! To stand in line for a big-name player’s autograph means camping out for basically the whole day and shelling out $25 or $50. I still think it’s cool to go down on the field of the Metrodome, but I’m certainly not mesmerized by meeting the players anymore, possibly because I’m older than many now. The only reason to go would be to get back in the baseball mood with spring training just around the corner. Well, that, and to see which Hall-of-Famers Lauren can literally run into now that Paul Molitor has been checked off.
Live from the Doubletree! November 29, 2008
Posted by glanzerr in dj.Tags: anniversary, birthday, christmas, dj, minnesota timberwolves, minnesota vikings, thai, walking
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I’m sitting here preparing to DJ my final event of the year, the annual Founders Day dance. I figured I’d be done DJing for the year, but when someone specifically goes out of their way to request me to DJ, I guess I’d better give it another shot. Besides, the money that I’m making for this night of work will pay for hotel rooms for our upcoming trip, which I’m sure I’ll be writing about more soon. Lauren and I were originally going to go to San Francisco for a couple days before my trade show in January, but we’ve altered the plans a bit.
In other news, it’s Day 4 of 5 of vacation from the full-time job. It’s the longest break of consecutive days I’ve had off of work since my first day on January 3, 2006. Not to say that I’ve just been lounging around the house all this time. Wednesday I walked over seven miles around Uptown and checked out a couple local gyms, and at night went to the Timberwolves vs. Suns game.
Thursday Lauren and I did lounge around most of the day before heading over to the Poulters’ for Thanksgiving. By my count, it was the first time in my 27 Thanksgivings that I was not celebrating with the Glanzer family. Friday I took another long walk during the day, this time to downtown. Later, Lauren and I attended her friends’ annual day-after-Thanksgiving dinner at 50’s Grill in Brooklyn Center, then returned home to celebrate Jason’s 26th birthday.
And today, Lauren and I took another long walk around Uptown and got lunch at a Thai restaurant. Then it was time for me to go earn a few bucks by DJing. There’s still one final glorious day of rest and relaxation tomorrow, and plans are to do some Christmas decorating, watching the Vikings game, and perhaps celebrating the 1-year anniversary of my first date with Lauren. Hard to believe it’s been a whole year already!
Happy birthday, by the way, to Jordan who turned 24 today, and Grandma Bell who turns 70-something tomorrow!
And Snow It Begins… October 26, 2008
Posted by glanzerr in random, wedding.Tags: chelsea, hot tub, jesse cooney, liverpool, minnesota timberwolves, san diego chargers, snow, wedding venues
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Get it, instead of “an so it begins?” It is officially snowing out here in Minneapolis. I was up bright and early this morning at 8am and rode my bike down to Brit’s Pub in downtown to meet up with Tim and Kate for their weekly “football club,” or soccer, as we Americans know it. Lauren stayed home since she didn’t get to bed till almost 4. Today’s matchup was Chelsea vs. Liverpool. I am not a big soccer fan and don’t really understand the game very well, but I figured I’d give it a try. Liverpool won 1-0 and the large crowd at the bar, largely made up of British people, rejoiced. I hopped on my bike to ride back home (about a mile) and was shocked to see a wintry mix of rain and snow. It was fricking freezing on the ride home and the wind was really blowing, but I survived.
Friday night, after work, Lauren and I headed over to her parents’ house for dinner and to talk about fun wedding stuff. Lots of ideas were thrown around as to where it could be and what sorts of cost-cutting measures we could look into. So far, no decisions have been made, but it was good to get the ball rolling a little. Later that night, Jason, Cooney, Sarah, and I went to The Herkimer Bar down the street to celebrate Cooney’s 25th birthday. Lauren stayed home since she was a wee bit tired from the work week. Jason and I bought a few rounds of shots for the group, and quickly sent Cooney running for the bathroom. But I think it was safe to say a good time was had by all.
Saturday Lauren and I did a bit of running all over town doing some random errands, and at night briefly took in a Halloween party at a friend’s house. We skipped out fairly early to return home so Lauren could hang out with her good high school friend (and bridesmaid) Elise. Word is that Elise wants to have us over to her parents’ house this week to sit in the hot tub. I can’t turn down a free sit in a hot tub, especially if this crappy early winter weather continues.
And Wednesday night is the big Timberwolves season opener. Tim invited us over to watch the game at their pad. The Wolves certainly look improved. Though I don’t get into the NBA nearly as much as baseball, it holds me over until spring training starts back up. My prediction for our T’Wolves this year is 33 wins, which is still terrible but a big step up from a year ago. The Chargers are absolutely getting annihilated by the Saints right now, and I’m pretty down on the two football teams I cheer for, so NBA it is!
Only, Like, 129 Days Til Pitchers and Catchers Report! September 30, 2008
Posted by glanzerr in baseball.Tags: chicago white sox, minnesota timberwolves, minnesota twins, sioux falls skyforce, volleyball
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1-0 White Sox. That’s gonna be a tough one to get over. John Danks pitched a hell of a game, as did Nick Blackburn. Ken Griffey, Jr. got really lucky on a throw in center. And I was right about Brendan Harris’s huge game… he had half of the Twins’ two hits.
The season is over, but it hasn’t really hit me yet. Some of the other friends out with us tonight to watch the game showed their frustration, but I so far have remained cool and collected. I apologize in advance to those who happen to be around when it does sink in!
Not much else to mention tonight. We’re planning on a winter volleyball league. I decided if a team I like can’t win a championship (which hasn’t happened in the 16 years I’ve paid attention to pro sports) then I’ll have to go out and win something myself, dammit!
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I’m trying out for the Timberwolves’ D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce in three weeks. Gotta get in shape!
