T-shirt #365: IRISH TUX

Holy crap, I made it! And like I have written before, I did not get here alone. My family, friends, Facebook friends, Hope Lodge guests, internet sponsors, and local businesses all helped me get here. Thanks to everyone who donated t-shirts and read this blog during the year!

22 years ago I was getting back from the hospital after a 4 hour surgery, 11 day stay, and Crohn’s Disease diagnosis. I think tonight will be a bit better than that night in 1988. I think due to the fact that I was getting back from the hospital helped me to remember every New Year’s Eve since. Here’s a peek:

1988-1989: Quiet night at my parents’ house after getting back from the hospital

1989-1990: Party at my cousin Katie’s house

1990-1991: Party at a (then) friend of a friend’s house (his parents were away) in Grafton who is now a Worcester police officer

1991-1992: Party at a friend’s in Westboro

1992-1993: Party at the same place as 91-92 (this is when I got my David Way sign)

1993-1994: Quiet night watching movies at a friend in Westboro

1994-1995: Party at UMass – the only New Year’s Eve I ever drank!

1995-1996: Road trip to NYC to be with my girlfriend

1996-1997: Phish concert at the Fleet Center

1997-1998: First Night in Boston

1998-1999: Home alone in Waltham, watched Return of the Jedi

1999-2000: Drove “Dave’s Millennium Taxi” (Mom’s minivan) to my roommate’s friend’s party

2000-2001: Took limo and saw Barenaked Ladies at Fleet Center

2001-2002: Party at Andy’s in Grafton

2002-2003: In Buffalo with girlfriend

2003-2004: Went to JJ O’Rourke’s with roommate

2004-2005: Quite night with a girl I was pseudo-dating

2005-2006: Party at a friend’s in Westboro

2006-2007: Made an appearance at a friend’s party in Westboro, was back at apartment watching a movie when it was midnight

2007-2008: Working at Hope Lodge

2008-2009: Working at Hope Lodge

2009-2010: Watching Mark’s band (Catch and Release, Dirty Fever?) at G. Willikers

2010-2011: End of blog party!

There will be much more to report later...

Happy New Year’s everyone and I hope you come up with and stick to a great resolution!!!!

I will have another blog for 2011, stay tuned for http://mylifescanned.blogspot.com!

T-shirt #364: MAY THE MASS TIMES ACCELERATION BE WITH YOU

When Snorg Tees said they would donate t-shirts to my blog, this one was a must have. What better way to change my label from Star Wars dork to Star Wars dork with a basic knowledge of physics?

This is the 15^th Star Wars-related t-shirt that I’ve worn this year. For a list of the others you can check out this Empire Strikes Back t-shirt that I designed.

I do love the original Star Wars movies. I even started a Facebook page (Dear Mr. Lucas, please make a Star Wars Theme Park) because I think going to a Star Wars them park would be amazing…can you imagine walking past a life-sized AT-AT? But then I heard they were releasing the Star Wars movies in 3D. I think I might enjoy watching the originals in 3D, but I refuse to give any more money to George Lucas by seeing these movies in the theatre again.

How many more times does he have to “re-imagine” these great flicks? How important is trying to climb that all-time box office gross list? How much money does Lucas need to make from people going to see these movies? So, I started another Facebook page. This one is called “Lucas should donate Star Wars 3D profits to charity”.

George Lucas is worth $3.5 billion according to Forbes. Come on, Mr. Lucas, I think you can do something good with the future 3D release of the Star Wars movies. Tell me all the profits are going to charity, and I will gladly give my money to see them again. May the Force be with us all…

PS- ONLY ONE MORE T-SHIRT TO GO!

Off to Carl's for some end-of-the-year video game hockey!

T-shirt #363: Etnies Ryan Sheckler Autograph (#3)

One thing is for sure: I couldn’t have started or finished this blog without help from other people. My friend Glen gave me the MacBook I have been posting these daily entries on, and my sister Megan gave me the idea to start it.

During the summer when I figured out I wasn’t going to have enough t-shirts to complete 2010 wearing a different t-shirt each day, more people helped me make sure I did.

My family and friends helped, which wasn’t much of a surprise. A few Hope Lodge guests were happy to pitch in and help the Lodge.

Then, people I didn’t expect started helping out. Website after website said they would donate. http://www.80stees.com, http://www.benjerry.com, http://www.bustedtees.com, http://www.chowdaheadz.com, http://www.crazydavestshirts.com, http://www.foulmouthshirts.com/funny-t-shirts/, http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Homepage.jsp, http://www.lastexittonowhere.com (out of England!), http://www.letterfromjohn.com/, http://www.lifeisgood.com/, http://www.nerdyshirts.com/, http://www.psychoreindeer.com/, http://www.snorgtees.com/, http://store.theonion.com/, http://www.threadless.com/, and http://www.topatoco.com/ all donated t-shirts.

Facebook friends I hadn’t seen since grade school and others I had never met in person sent me shirts.

Then, a brother of one of my Facebook friends said he would donate Etnies t-shirts autographed by Ryan Sheckler. Even though all of the website donations were unbelievable to me, this Etnies donation really blew me away.

I really can’t thank everyone for all of their support for this blog enough. You all made it possible, and you all are helping Hope Lodge. Thank you again to my family, friends, and all the websites and businesses that donated t-shirts to me. And thank you especially today to Christi and Robert Brink, Etnies, and Ryan Sheckler!

You can see this t-shirt listed on Ebay here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250749136629#ht_500wt_1156

And for more info on Etnies and Ryan Sheckler:

http://www.ryansheckler.com/bio

http://www.ryansheckler.com/videos/post/sheckler-skates-at-x-games-16

http://etnies.com

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE, ALMOST AT 365!!!

T-shirt #362: Hockey Night in Canada

First of all, thanks to my awesome mom for getting me this t-shirt! (I don’t think they sell it anymore, but you can see others here: http://bit.ly/hnicshirts)

This is me standing near the “Bruins Corner” in my parents’ house. Do your parents have a Bruins Corner? I didn’t think so. Oh, they do? Does it have a picture your father took of the last goal scored at the Boston Garden autographed by the player (Adam Oates) that scored it? This one does. Pretty cool, I know. I’ve mentioned it before and I say it again proudly: I am from a hockey family…

Yes, we McGraths love our hockey and we love our Boston Bruins. Even though I wasn’t there, I’m sure both of my parents (and perhaps my sisters) were yelling with joy after Mark Recchi scored the game winner with less than 20 seconds left. We don’t hold back when it comes to our beloved B’s.

Even though most of my career BWMs (Bruins Watching Minutes) have taken place at my parents’ house with family, many of my career HPMs (Hockey Playing Minutes) have been with people outside my family. Even though I never played in organized leagues growing up, I loved to play and I played as often as I could. I think my junior year in high school I played pond hockey 2-3 times a week from December through the end of February. And I would venture to say that 95% of those times, I was playing with one of my best friends, Andy.

Even though our “Pond Hockey Days in Massachusetts” weren’t going to get us scholarships to BC or Harvard, they were always great times (okay, there were a couple of times Andy had to break up "chippiness" between me and a Grafton kid) and they were a big part of starting what I know is a lifetime friendship. And I bring up Andy today because it was one of the rare days of the year that I actually got to hang out with him. I wish it could be more, but I take what I can get…

Andy was #2 in our high school class. He wasn’t #1 because that guy had one more A+ than him. I personally think Andy would have made a much better Valedictorian (he not only got A’s, he rowed crew, ran track, could play guitar, and was (dammit) better than me at hockey!). So, he’s “wicked smaht”. He went to Harvard, got his PhD at Harvard, and is now a professor of anthropology at the University of California. Oh yeah, he also published this book: http://amzn.to/andysbook

But Andy is not a brainiac with no social skills. The guy is hilarious, witty, and one of the few who laugh with me when others might shake their heads and think “well at least he’s entertaining himself…” He’s also one of the kindest people you will ever meet. He supported me through my cancer and struggles with drinking, and is always there for me if I need someone to talk to. Definitely someone I’m lucky to have in my corner.

That’s the great news. The not so great news is that I only get to see Andy about once a year. His schedule only allows him to come back to Massachusetts during the holidays, and for most of that time (understandably) he is with his family. I have visions of the day I can afford to fly out to California (or Oregon to see my friend Glen) on a weekend whim, but for now those are just daydreams. And I’m not one to harp on the negative.

I hung out with Andy today, and it was great (as always). I love the guy like a brother, and cherish every minute we get to see each other. We saw Tron today, and one of the themes of the movie was trying to create the “perfect world”. My vision of a perfect world has many things, and one of them is enough hockey rinks so you can play anytime anywhere. The other is a world where I get to see my close friends more often (and yes, play hockey with some of them!). No matter what world I live in, I know I’ll have Andy as a close friend. For that I am very thankful, no matter how many times I get to see him. Love you, man!

T-shirt #361: Employee of the Month

This shirt is one of many that my wonderful sister Carolyn got for me…thanks, Ca!

Although I have never been honored as Employee of the Month at any of my jobs, I did get the “Staff Star” a couple of times when I was the lead teacher of a residential program.

At Hope Lodge there are only two fulltime employees, so I like to think that my boss and I swap this title every other month.

Even though I have never officially been an employee of the month, here are some tips that might get you that title someday:

1. Get to work on time every day – if this is a problem it means you don’t know how to use an alarm clock. If you keep hitting snooze, put the alarm clock on the other side of your bedroom.
2. Don’t leave work at the earliest time you are allowed to (I admit, I did do this a lot when I was a teacher).
3. Bring in cookies or other treats for your supervisor and co-workers – rule of thumb: the “chocolatier”, the better
4. Be nicer than usual to anyone you think wants to be your enemy – if you throw negativity back in their face, it almost always comes back to haunt you
5. Don’t come up with lame excuses as to why you can’t cover for someone – supervisors should remember this stuff
6. If you are really sick, STAY HOME – getting other people sick will not help the workplace
7. Don’t complain about work when you are at work: Be happy you have a job in the first place and if you need to vent about it, do it elsewhere (NOT on Facebook!)
8. Be honest – Only take on more responsibilities if you think there’s room on your workplate for them
9. If you’re in a meeting, it’s much better to bring up good ideas than to keep looking at your watch
10. Unless you are a rock star, professional athlete, or other celebrity – do NOT let your sex tape get into the wrong hands!

T-shirt #359: IRISH STUD

I will make no statements as to whether or not what this t-shirt claims is true. That’s for everyone else to judge…

But, here is a list of the Top Ten Things That Make Being Irish The Best:

1. Drinking – whether you want to drink a lot or drink none at all, Irish heritage is a great excuse
2. Music and step dancing – Along with the drinking goes traditional music, sessions, and dancing. Irish people know how to party!
3. Irish writers – The list is long but includes James Joyce, Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, William Yeats, Oscar Wilde, and Jonathan Swift.
4. St. Patrick’s Day – Yup, we have our own holiday.
5. John F. Kennedy – We proudly claim one of the best presidents of the US.
6. Irish sayings and blessings – Here are a few of my favorites: “May you be in heaven a half hour before the Devil knows you’re dead.”, “May you live to be 100 years, with one extra year to repent.”, “As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.”
7. Sunblock – Being able to brag about how high your SPF is: I want to come out with my own line of sunblock that just says “Irish” on it.
8. Potatoes and stew – Even though Ireland isn’t known for it’s wonderful cuisine, I will never get tired of eating potatoes and beef stew
9. Humor – Have you met an Irish person with no sense of humor? I don’t think I have.
10. Family – Even though everyone may not agree on everything and there may be that “crazy relative” you always worry about Irish families tend to love each other no matter what.
11. (Our list goes to 11) Irish names are better – Liam, Conor, Brendan, Patrick, Colin, Colleen, Shannon, Maura, Cailin, Kiara, etc., etc.

PS- This shirt was donated (thanks, Mrs. T!) so I’m not sure where it’s from, but I found it here: http://www.shopirish.com/Irish-Stud-T-Shirt

T-shirt #358: Holy Bible, TLDNR

If you don’t know, TLDNR stands for “Too long, did not read”. Luckily, I know God has a sense of humor. And He also knows that, thanks to my St. John’s (http://www.stjohnshigh.org) education, I have read the Bible. I may not be able to quote chapters and verses, but I do remember (what I think is) the main message…

I love Christmas, but I can’t honestly say that I believe Jesus was God in human form. I do think that it’s amazing that after 2,000 years people are still talking about and worshiping the son of a carpenter. And I think Jesus’ message was great and simple. He wanted people to love each other. Like I wrote for my “Coexist” t-shirt (http://bit.ly/coexistshirt), he preached the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. But I see many “Christians” not doing that. I see them preaching hate. I see them excluding others. I don’t see them acting like Jesus. I wouldn’t be surprised if some Christians said this t-shirt was sacrilegious. But like many religious groups, it’s the extremists that you hear about. Not all Christians are hateful excluders just like not all Muslims believe “jihad” gives them the right to kill non-believers.

What I don’t understand is why the loving/understanding/peacefulness of Christmas can’t be applied to the other 364 days of the year. Little acts of kindness, generosity to strangers, and Love can happen every day of the year. If everyone lived by the Golden Rule every day, it could be like Christmas all year long.

People decide to fight and be selfish. Religious zealots choose to take their beliefs and turn them into hate, war, and exclusion. Leaders have not figured out a way to live in peace. We are not taking care of our earth home or our family of humankind.

To me, Christmas is not a religious holiday. I go to church, but it’s more for my mother than for God. I do believe in God, but my God doesn’t care what you call Him or who/what you think is divine. My God just wants (like Jesus) everyone to get along and take care of each other. My God wants no one left behind. My God doesn’t like people using His name for hateful acts. My God does want people to act like it’s Christmas every day, but doesn’t care if it’s December 25^th or June 25^th or a religious holiday.

To me, the real Christmas and Christian thing to do is very simple. Love, and do it all year long. You certainly don’t need the Bible to do that…

PS- thanks to Busted Tees (http://www.bustedtees.com/tldnr) for donating this shirt!