OKC Downtown Apartments

I NEED TO FIND A PLACE TO MOVE INTO BY JUNE 1ST!

I have been to the majority of the apartments in the Deep Deuce, Midtown, and Arts District. If anyone has any questions about the facilities I am more than happy to answer those. I had some great experiences, and, well honestly I felt bad for some of the apartments owners who are paying employees who 1) Didn't enjoy there job/have a good attitude  2) Don't speak in complete sentences.

List of apartments visited:

(Deep Deuce)

Level

Deep Deuce Apartments

Maywood

(Midtown)

Edge at Midtown

The Montgomery

Aberdeen High-rise

(Arts District)

Avana Arts District

Sycamore Square

(Not Downtown OKC Locations)

Lincoln At Central Park

Stoneleigh On May

The Retreat

Kaitlyn and I preferred the Deep Deuce and Midtown location over the Arts District simply because it felt safer. Arts Dist. is between the transit center and Oklahoma County jail, prison, court houses. Deep Deuce has easy interstate access and short walking distance to Bricktown. 

Midtown's apartments were all across the spectrum. Montgomery was awesome, for a single business person making money in the bank (shawty what you think). I gave Aberdeen the benefit of doubt after reading the reviews, however the high-rise's didn't have a washer and dryer or hookups for them. I hope their owner(s) take the apartment complex more seriously and put more effort into keeping up with the competition. Then there is The Edge which gives you all the amenities of a large pool, dog park, and roof-top sun bathing pool, but failed at the size of the apartment square footage. 

So that means Midtown apartments are out along with the ones at the Arts District. Initially we were ready to apply and put down what ever payments at Level. In a perfect world that would be quick and easy. I could have a peace of mind, a place to live in a month.  Most of these apartments listed above don't know what units will become available till about a month in advance. That is what the tenants are required to give notice before their lease is up. (STRESSING AT MAX)

Just as Kaitlyn and I were about to sign a contact and pay to live at The Maywood, we received an email from the Midtown Renaissance leasing office. They take older building all around downtown area and renovate them to lofts, studios and apartments.
Some of there buildings are

1212

430

The Cline 

The Guardian

 Mayfair

909

They have several more buildings.
We applied for 909! Fingers crossed I hope to be moving in no later than June 1st. Exciting!


If anyone wants information on places to live in downtown OKC I have seen many to compare.

Danny

#LeanInTogether

National Equal Pay Day!

Here is to the women that pursue leadership roles in the workforce. I do support women in gaining gender equality. Why would you not? Seriously though our country would be so much more advanced than it is now. The stereotypes will die down and everyone will have a better understanding of respect. I respect my mother, fiancee and future mother-in-law and support them to succeed. Young men are taught to be leaders. It is okay for a boy to be ambitious, but as soon as a girl shows leadership it less excepting. Why? The United States has broken many glass ceilings, but I feel that soon one more will break and I will be happy to raise a family and daughter under those circumstances. (No mom we're not pregnant)

Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg has took action by writing the book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead. It has moved myself and many more to do their part in the homes and work place to split the responsibilities 50/50.

Sheryl has also partnered with the NBA to help this movement 

#LeanInTogether

10 Ways Your Trainer Makes You React Like Kevin Hart

I have been trying to get into "Wedding/Beach Body" shape. Remember a couple of blogs before about the standards Kaitlyn and I have set for each other... Yeah I have further to go than she does.

So I reached out for help from Landry Hammond (in the pic below)

First of all, she is a monster! She about kills me every time I workout, and this post is dedicated to Lanham and the faces I make during the workout.

When she shows me the 16 minute circuit workout she wants me to do and the right technique. You want me to do all of that????

When she uses terms "Hollow Out" and  "Air Squat". Air squat? You want me to squat air? 

And when all the weight your lifting is 15 lbs or less. You think this is going to be an easy workout.

But then after after 300 jump ropes, 20 sit-ups with 15 lbs medicine ball, 15 rows with 15 lbs bells, and 10 push ups. Repeat 5x in 16 minutes.

After the third cycle you want to yell.

Sweating so hard you're worried about looking like a fool.

Last set of push-ups and you're telling yourself to power through it!

Finished the workout and feel like a million bucks.

But then LanHam says she wants you to do a 2 minute side plank, and I'm like >>

Finally the workout is done you just want to get breakfast and dance in the mirror like Kevin.  

Little Things BIG effects

Recently I've been getting in trouble with communication with Kaitlyn (my fiancee). What the heck Danny you just talked about communication, don't you have it down? - Eh, I know what I'm expected to do, applying it sometimes is difficult.
It started out with having plans one night, however a friend called and invited me to go out to a OKC Thunder game sitting in suites club section. 1) I am a huge Thunder fanatic 2) It was a free ticket 3) I've never been in club. They have free food and soda beverages. So what I did next was good. I called Kaitlyn for permission to go to the game. It was difficult to ask, because we hardly have an quality time during the week.

[Her schedule starts at 5:30am - getting ready for work. Goes to internship from 7am-12pm. Then she heads to class. After class she either puts in a few more hours at her internship or goes home to study and wedding plan]

[I don't start getting ready till 7:30. I have classes from 9am to 12:15. I go home and get ready for work from 3pm to 8pm. By the time I get back into Edmond Kaitlyn is already getting ready for bed at her house, so I don't both going over] Our quality time usually comes on weekends.

Expecting to see each other and breaking that news to her was tough, but I am lucky enough to have an understanding lady who also wants me to have fun and be happy. I promised I would text her when I got there, some during the game and when I got home. I did well until I didn't text her when I got home. The next morning I knew I was in trouble again when I was municipal court doing some observation for a experience research paper. In the court house it is highly frowned upon to have you phone out and if it goes off I believe it is a $100+ fine. So guess who didn't text Kaitlyn good morning, sorry about last night, I am at family court I can't talk right now, HEY I AM ALIVE DON"T CALL THE COPS. When I left the court house my phone had a few messages, snapchats and a missed phone call.

By now if you are a guy you are probably thinking, she's a girl and she will get over it.
If you are a girl you are thinking that I'm dumb for not telling Kaitlyn that I made it home, good morning and I can't talk for a few hours I am at court. So simple. Just do it. She probably was worried and thought you died.

Advice passed to me that I will pass to you:
The little things in life play in big ways.

In life you are always doing one of two things. Attributing to life giving words (actions) or attributing to life taking words (actions). Or how my football use to say, you are either getting better or worst there is no stagnant.

Danny

The Many Faces of Westbrook

Russ Russ Russ, we all saw or at least heard of what game he had last night wearing that mask!  I also caught some poorly "Executed" photoshop masks people created for Russie.

Like this one. What's more intimidating than the Phantom of the Opera? A hell of a lot of things. This one was just nonsense to me.

A spartan was a good thought! But when I think of this helmet and Spartans I think of the movie 300, and in that movie I remember them yelling while they kick people into huge holes. This mask would have been cool on the picture above.

This mask has already been used on other NBA players like LBJ. Let's be more original.

This was one of my favorites. I feel that Russ is a Warrior!

So having seen these I took it upon myself to create some new masks for Westbrook using my iPhone and whatever free apps I found to help me.

I give you Robo Westbrook, blowing smoke off of those 3pt. caliber hands.

Showing up to the game in an incognito Flash mask. I know we saw this play where he takes it coast to coast and puts it down. Yeah that's a Flash play or just a Russ play.

Then there's the Venom Mask, BEACAUSE HE'S SO DEADLY! Enough said.

This kid took me out of my original creative thoughts and I came up with the next Westbrook.

Paper Plate Russell. While James Harden eats from an indivisible plate in the air, Russie Russ wear's his plate on his face. 

Shhh Girl: Come Here

"Time to eat children!"
"S*** a hole in my yoga pants :( in the butt. Are they still wearable?!"
"Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog."

Commas are important. 

Time to eat, children!
S***, a hole in my yoga pants :( in the butt. Are they still wearable?!
Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking, her family, and her dog.

This has very little, to nothing, to do with my post.


Last summer I took an Interpersonal Communication class that helped me understand relationships better and allowed me to understand how to effectively communicate with women. More specifically, how to communicate with my significant other.

Communication
- process of acting on information

Human Communication
- process of making sense of the world, and sharing that with other by creating meaning through nonverbal and verbal messages.

Interpersonal Communication
- distinctive transactional form of human communication -- mutually influential for purpose of managing relationships.

This seems pretty simple, right? Well, what makes the message confusing or misinterpreted? Everything!

First example, let's say the Source is a male, we will call him Brandon and the Receiver is also a male, but his name is Esteban. Their goal is to properly fold a towel. Brandon and Esteban more than likely experienced life, culture, and language differently. Brandon's mom showed him how to tri-fold towels and that's what he's done since he was young. Esteban hated putting up laundry, because he was always in a hurry to go out in play so he just folded the towel in the conventional square. So what Brandon tries to communicate is arbitrary and probably has different meaning to Esteban. It would be easy to conclude that these two would be in a disagreement after their conversation, because of their different background and thoughts.

So which one is right? Reality to one person isn't reality to the next. Reality is what you experience and what you experience isn't the same throughout each person.

Physical Experiences (5 senses): 

Seeing, Hearing, Tasting, Feeling, Smelling

Injury

Weather Climate

Blind

Crying

Laughing

Sugar

Emotional Experiences:

Admiration

Fear-Terror

Discrimination

Grief

Surprise

Source encodes message in a channel of face to face, electronically or nonverbal. Then the message is decoded by the receiver, then the receiver responds with feedback (essentially becomes a new source). The noise is all the distractions, internally (not focused, multitasking) and externally (TV on, sidebar listening to someone else, kids yelling). 

So fellas, universally we are pretty similar. According to Men's Magazine our Top 5 favorite topics are: 1) Sex. 2) Romantic Fantasies. 3) Hobbies/ General Interest. 4) Hopes and Aspirations 5) Music. Pretty accurate. So as long as we talk to only guys we're in good hands.

Curveball 

What about women? The whole experience = reality thing, yeah that applies to them too. And we have no idea what goes on in their head. Women's Top 5 favorite topics are: 1) Hopes and Aspirations. 2) Hobbies/ Interest in General. 3) Music. 4) Dreams. 5) Sex. That's practically the opposite from what we're use to as guys. This diagram below is how I feel talking to girls. Everything has different meaning which makes it noise.

Tips for effective communication:

- "You should have already known, I don't need to tell you." Guys, we've all heard this a few times. Ladies remember the whole experience is reality? That's your reality and I know us guys seem to read minds but truth be told we don't so communicate with us.

- So guys! When your significant other is talking, you better be listening. Because once they tell us (insert important topic) and you say, "Uh huh, okay." I forgot, I didn't know, I didn't hear that is the most invalid argument to stand behind and you might as well grab the throw cover that doesn't reach your feet and head to the couch.

- Be able to share reciprocal interest/ hobbies (Nonsexual. Stupid I even have to say that). If that isn't going well then it's probably not going to work out. It's important to experience life together, that's when important communication occurs.

-  Guys want to turn your girl on? Listen! Turn off ESPN sit down for some quality time and...... wait for it.... respond with empathy, not a solution. Boom! This could be the biggest finding on earth next to America.

- Guys, when we have issues we tend to examine it like a math problem. Add or subtract certain thing or person to obtain the best possible out come. We are the problem solvers. When girls have an issues (whether it be a school, work, or car issue) unless they say, "How do I fix this?"  They don't want you to solve the problem. Yeah, I was confused too when I first heard that. I will repeat it. When a girl comes to you upset about something and you are doing the right thing and effectively listening, DO NOT RESPOND WITH A SOLUTION. Refer to the previous bullet. 1. Listen. 2. Show Empathy. 3. DO NOT GIVE A SOLUTION. 4. Hug her. At this time she will melt in your arms from anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. It might be fourth quarter in the semi-finals of the playoffs and Thunder maybe down by 5 and Kevin Durant has a hot hand; However, you should stay put and stay calm.

Danny

Honeymoon Challenge

Have you ever made a new years resolution that you'll workout more frequently or that at the beginning of this year you'll lose that flabby stuff? By the end of February, if you made that far, you've given up. This is nothing like that!

Okay so my fiancee and I challenge each other constantly to be better physically and spiritually. A few months back we thought it'd be fun to set challenging expectations for one another for the wedding day/honeymoon. They may sound surface level for someone just reading this, however I assure you, meh they maybe, but not completely.

So you want to know what she asked of me?

To have a six pack of abs by the wedding day.

(THIS IS NOT ME JUST AN IMAGE FROM GOOGLE THAT SOMEONE SITTING NEXT TO ME SAW ME COPY AND PASTE HERE...AWKWARD)

I know what's going through your head, yeah yeah shut up. But do you know how difficult it is to get abs? If you're a twig not very. It's something you can't buy, there's no sort of "magic pill".

Instead, I have been enhancing my daily lifestyle habits that I will continue to work on and develop. A helpful post she sent me was "Get Fit: 44 Small Changes That Impact Your Health In Big Ways". 

When she set that challenge for me it wasn't selfishly for her. It was for me, so I could be healthier. She loves me without the abs already, but I would sure like them too.

Danny

http://elitedaily.com/life/get-fit-44-small-changes-impact-health-big-ways/916455/

44 Small Changes list, check out the link above for a more in-depth description and example for each point below.      (*= Controlled, **= Working progress)

1. Prioritize* 

2. Make a schedule* 

3. Include interval cardio workouts*

4. Weight training*

5. Consume only real food*

6. No fad diets*

7. Start off your morning with a cup of hot water and lemon

8. Never skip breakfast

9. Smoothies for breakfast

10. Eliminate dairy**

11. Limit your drinking*

12. Try meatless Mondays

13. Eat at the dinner table

14. Try vegan desserts

15. Create muscle confusion*

16. Be motivated*

17. Meal Prep

18. See the doctor regularly*

19. Spend some time relaxing, too*

20. Work out with a partner or take a fitness class

21. Portion control

22. Infused water

23. Confidence*

24. Eat food for its real purpose*

25. Detox Tea

26. Healthy protein* 

27. Eliminate red meat**

28. Choose fish

29. More meals

30. Do not eat two hours before bed**

31. Let go of eggs**

32. Choose brown rice

33. Make vegetable pasta

34. Drink green tea

35. Eat ginger

36. Be aware of when you're hungry and when you're just bored*

37. More sleep**

38. Be aware of ingredients in the food you're eating*

39. Let go of soda*

40. Incorporate coconut oil

41. Use natural sweeteners**

42. Try juicing**

43. Find a workout that you think is fun**

44. Don't give up!** 

Barry

Barry Sanders. If you're a fan of the game of football you know the name. Shifty, illusive, and selfless are just few additives to describe the former OSU Cowboy and Detroit Lion.  

• Heisman Trophy winner of 1988
• NFL Honors - AP Offensive Rookie of the year 1989
• AP NFL Offensive player of the year award 1994, 1997
• Best NFL Player ESPY award 1995, 1998
• Most Valuable Player award 1997
• Hall of Fame induction in 2004

He had 49 combined receiving and rushing touchdowns in college, 109 combined TD's in the NFL and ran the ball over to the ref every single time as a celebration. 

Barry certainly acts like he's been to the endzone.

He continues this into the NFL however I couldn't find a highlight tape specifically on his humble moments. Watching the many highlight videos on youtube I did catch Barry help hydrate others by handing out several gatorade cups to his teammates. 

Be great! Be humble! Be Barry!

Danny 

#HOWTODAD

I myself am not a father, but I found this video both hilarious and proper.

Hilarious, because it's filled with real life: dad woken up to something other than peace, the kid with the broken arm, and all the chaos.

Proper in the ways that he doesn't confuse a child by saying that's just the way it is, but educates them on plot twists and the differences in what others think of you by the way you simply wear a hat.

Just thought I'd share something fun and enlightening.

Danny

NFL Play of The Year

How about that "Game Changer" play that everyone will remember for the rest of Football history?

Oh, you thought I was talking about the game closing INT to seal the Lombardi Trophy that the rookie from West Alabama made Sunday at the Super Bowl? That was one of the best games I've seen, but no.

I'm talking about the real game changer.

Domestic abuse. It's nothing new, but it's out in the open now. And it's only funny to some people because they either haven't had it happen to someone they love or they're the ones enforcing it.

If you watched the video above you might have caught yourself either breathing heavy or holding your breath for a moment. I did.

There were two times I recall, when I was too young to understand, that my Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle had to come over in the middle of the night to pick up my Mom, Brother and I.
At four years-old, I remember my dad angry, yelling and throwing his dinner dish into the fire place all because he didn't approve of what my mom prepared him for dinner.
That was the first time my dad taught me how to react when something isn't right.
When the second event happen I was in the middle of it, literally. Watching the Disney VHS "Sleeping Beauty" between my parents in their bed. My parents were talking and the little comment that my mom made ignited my dad to jump over me onto my mom, shaking her violently. I believe I was yelling for my older brother who had hurried to call my grandparents. I was five years-old and that is forever embedded in me.

Those are the lessons that young men are taught; First, when something isn't done right curse, yell and belittle someone and second if someone offends you put hands on them.

This is tough to share because it's real and personal. Luckily that was the last time that happen and my dad, realizing that he didn't want to lose everything he truly loved, changed.

My parents are so so so happy together and I love them both. This story is showing two good and wonderful people at their absolute worst.

But like Ray and myself, all guys have seen or have heard the act of devaluing a woman. Internally this causes us to believe it is natural and right.

• The World Health Organization reported in 2013 more than a third of women fall victim to physical and sexual violence. Vast majority of the cases the abuser is the husband or the boyfriend.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports 3,200 servicemen were killed in battle from 2000-2006, at the same time there were 10,600 domestic homicides in the U.S.   

More men need to teach younger men to respect and honor others.

Danny

Videography Via Drone

I was reading around this digital journalism blog www.mulinblog.com where innovator Dr. Mu Lin shares his research about digital media journalism. The resources are out there ladies and gents you just have to look for it! 

Reasons why you should own a drone video camera; If you're in marketing, wedding or event videographer, gift for a creative teenager, or because I just said drone and you can tell friends your hobby is flying drones!

Advice On Blogging

If you're not passionate about what you're blogging, then don't start to blogging.

Referencing from Blogging your Passion http://bloggingyourpassion.com/if-youre-not-passionate-about-your-message-dont-start-a-blog/

• If you don't believe in what you're typing the quality of the post will suffer. 
• Think like the readers when you're posting.
• Originality, being original never allows you to run out of things to blog about.
• Be educational.
• Add value.
• Examples and personal stories draw interest.
• Keep in mind not everyone comes from where you come from, was raised the way you were raised, believes what you believe, or have experienced what you have.
• Most importantly be relevant to the audience.

Danny

 Assignment II

Pre-Read Book Review

I just begun to read A Call To Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power by Jimmy Carter. Background on Jimmy, he born in 1924 and grew up on a farm in the small rural town of Archery, Georgia. He mentions at that time growing up, there was about fifty African American families and only two Caucasian families including his own. If you are interested in the movement of equality for women, minorities, or human rights in general this is a great informative read.

"I began to realize for the first time that I lived in a community where our Bible lessons were interpreted to accommodate the customs and ethical standards that were most convenient." -Jimmy Carter

This was personally difficult for me to read because I am a believer and I have sat in many church services. After Jimmy expressed that in his book he quoted scripture that I have many times read, but now I read in different mind set. 

²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.


<sup>(That is usually when my head shuts off and I begin my argument to defend myself as the Alpha in the situation. But, there's more.)

25</sup> Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing^[a] her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”^{[b] 32} This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:21-33 NIV)

Verses 28 and 29 say it right there! Why do we think so little of women? Why do we believe they're inferior to men? I don't think little of myself, I don't see myself lower than the man next to me. Why when ask how many women leaders can I think of (not including celebrities) and how many men leaders I can think of the ratio is 1:100. 

I am excited to continue A Call To Action by Jimmy Carter. And hopefully I convinced just one person to do the same.

 photo from PolicyMix (http://www.policymix.com/?p=1)

Danny

Class Assignment

10 Blogs I found interesting to read. 

http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/vcravid

http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/datewithlucy

http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/april-byrd

http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/mbhaggerty

http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/4dframework

http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/yadielsmama

http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/dr-curly

http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/parentwin

http://newsok.com/blogs/okc-central

http://portal.clubrunner.ca/101053

Breaking down Urban Neighbors: Downtown Neighborhood's Association, http://portal.clubrunner.ca/101053. Urban Neighbors (UN) has the vision to create and build downtown OKC as the next big community. They strive to connect with other professionals that share a reciprocal desire.

1. Strengths of Urban Neighbors are the way they promote local living and businesses. They welcomed Avana Arts District new apartments with a blog and highlight photos. UN also helps promote H and 8th, a local hangout, entertainment must do.

2. I learned from this blog that I'll get more traction if I help promote and credit others. Give love, to get love.

3. The only advice I have for Urban Neighbors is to add a search bar near or at the top of the blog. That'll help locate specific posts since there is a ton of great information.

Danny

Intro To My Blog

From the small town of Clinton, OK I was born and raised. So it's safe to say that I was taught in a narrow minded way. I wasn't given many options going up, like playing football for the Red Tornadoes. It was just expected in the 16 State Championships, small Bible belt town. It wasn't till I graduated and moved to the City that I was given choices and was challenged in many ways. I continue to learn and modify my thoughts and behaviors from previous experiences, but my core morals remain intact.

Moreover, I'm using this blog to teach men and women things that an average guy would go through and how we've been "taught" to react. I have a hard working dad that I dearly love, but I'm here to teach what I wasn't taught.  

This will take patience and being non-aggressive from my readers. Don't look to argue, instead find one thing to take from my lessons.

This is a University required blog.

Danny