Auf Wiedersehen

The Germany Alps

I head out of Philly today at 1:45pm on a plane to Dulles, and then a few hours later from Dulles to Frankfurt. I get to Frankfurt at 7am German time where I have a ticket to a high speed train to take me to Cologne. It was 71 Euros in case anyone was wondering and travels 200 miles in 1 hour. In Cologne there is a famous Dome which I’ll post through Instagram when I get there and you can see that updated on the feed to the right. That will mark my arrival.

I’ll have my phone and have limited data through 4g but when I get to the hotel, I’ll be able to connect to the Wi-fi and communicate with ease. I wrote in a previous post not to contact me but I was only half kidding. I don’t plan on spending much time in my room or on the phone as I have a lot to do in a little amount of time. I plan on taking a good amount of pictures and learning as much about the culture as I can. It’s really a whirlwind of a trip.

Do all German girls look like this?

I’m only gone 10 days of which well over one day is spent in the air, train, or car. People seem to think that fatigue is something to worry about on a trip like this but I’m not sure where that comes from. I intend to sleep on the plane and spend 20 hours a day awake. Who has any good stories about sleeping? Either way it’s going to be quite a trip and hopefully one of many to come. As in, I have such a good time, I can’t wait to go back and schedule more vacations to foreign lands.

My studying of German was fairly weak because I spent the first month or two not using DuoLingo. Once I got into the DuoLingo program, I progressed much faster. I sound like an American when I talk and it takes me about 5 seconds to figure out what each word means so if anyone is talking faster than that, I’m in some trouble. Either way my go to phrase is going to be, “sprechen sie Englische?

The great thing is that I’m pretty flexible in my schedule and am pretty much winging it. I have a tradeshow to attend for the first 3 days which is why I’m going but after that it’s all getting to know the people we do business with. Quite the opportunity if I do say so myself. Like I wrote before, don’t bother checking back because I won’t be posting (although I suppose my Instagram or Twitter feed may have updates in which you should just follow me). My return is 2/27 and my guess is I’ll have a 3 or 4 part trip report that I’ll compile over that weekend. I’ll probably be posting links to the entries everywhere so if you are a regular reader, you’ll know when I return and am posting again. I honestly expect them to receive major blog traffic as I know what I’m doing now and I know what to look for. Posts of this caliber only come around so often and I expect to knock it out of the park which means it may take me a while to write them. Either way, check back at the end of February.

Chances I meet Minka from Eurotrip?

By Tom Stortz|2014-02-18T10:24:03-05:00February 18th, 2014|My Life|1 Comment

SideWindered At Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain

I decided to go to Blue Mountain to get some experience skiing because the plan when I head to Austria was to go skiing in the Alps. I think I’ve gone skiing about 3 times over the course of my 30 years on the planet. Needless to say, I would be mince meat on the Alps without some warm up.

The weather attempted to deter us but Jeff, Evan, and myself woke up early on Friday morning and headed off to Blue Mountain in the Pocono’s. We made a pit stop at Wawa on the way their where I downed to Sizzlis and they were delicious. We were one of the only sedan’s making the way up the mountain but we made it safely. For $99 dollars, we were able to purchase tickets and equipment. We were ready to go a half hour after we arrived which was pretty good. Only noteworthy story at this point was that I put my boots on the wrong feet and when the guy who was handing out skis looked at them, he asked me, “are those comfortable?” Type I skis for me.

Jeff is a pretty experienced snowboarder and Evan had gone a decent amount when he was younger so we had a decent range of talent. We started off on Burma Road which was green. Unbeknownst to me you are supposed to wrap your poles around your hand, I got one planted in the ground and lost it on the first run. This also caused my ski to fall off which got us off to a rocky start. A little girl, maybe 6 years old, handed me my pole as she came up behind me. I didn’t feel embarrassed at the time but in hindsight, this is pretty pathetic. Getting my ski back on took forever as well so Jeff was down the mountain while Evan waited for my tard self to get it together. We eventually made it down as things improved.

After a flawless run down Burma road, we decided to tackle a few intermediate hills. I was getting better after each run but would still probably bite once or twice depending on the situation. After a non spill run on a blue square, I was flying high. We met Jeff at the lodge and ate a bit before getting back out again.

The lines for the lifts were non-existent which made this the perfect day to do it. Also the weather was perfect as it wasn’t too cold. The 3 of us actually did a few runs together which was pretty fun. Jeff and Evan had a little bit more balls than me and did some freestyle hills which had a few tricks.

At one point I didn’t want to go down a freestyle part of the course so I went to the right in unknown territory. These decisions usually don’t work out and I was confronted by the steepest hill I’d ever encountered. I basically fell down the entire time it but I made it safely.

Sidewinder is the middle blue that goes back and forth

Sidewindered

At that point I’d probably give the day a high 8 fun factor if we quit there. Naturally we decided to do one more run and decided on the course Sidewinder. We had done it earlier in the day and I fell a time or two but it wasn’t horrible. For whatever reason this time was different. There were some bumps to start it and I gained too much speed too fast and bit it. My ski fell off and I was unable to get it back on. For what it’s worth, I wasn’t even lifting up the part on the ski that had to be down so no wonder it was impossible. Jeff hits me right in the head with a snowball during this process which was a complete dick move but he did help me get the ski back on after feeling bad about it. After I got the ski on, I fell again but this time I hurt my ankle and the ski fell off again. This was turning into a nightmare. I ended up walking down the hill and basically feeling like a pussy and it pretty much ruined any good feeling leaving the day.

Either way I’m glad I did it and for about 90% of the time it was a great time. Fortunately I’m not seriously injured and we made it out and back with no issues. My one remark from this trip is, “if your ski falls off while your on a hill, you’re gonna have a bad time.”

By Tom Stortz|2014-02-15T09:52:52-05:00February 15th, 2014|My Life|0 Comments

A Letter To The Readers

Attn: Blog Readers

These next few posts will be the last you hear of me for quite some time. I leave for Germany on Tuesday the 18th and will be away until Thursday the 27th. This blog will not be updated throughout this period of time. There is no point to check the site as I promise you there will be no updates. I contacted Verizon today and set up international calling but it’s relatively pricey and will only be used when I have to so don’t call me. I will be able to check email and reply as I also purchased an international data plan but don’t email me. I won’t be completely aloof but don’t contact me.

Either way my intent is to come back with a kick ass entry of a European adventure that should be awesome. I’ll take notes throughout the days and make sure I don’t miss a detail. I will have pictures galore and act like an asshole tourist. It should be the best entry of my life and I’ll make sure I live up to the highest blog standards. Don’t forget about the site though during this hibernation as time will move quickly and I’m sure you’ll get by without the daily dose of rnningfool. Countdown of 4 days.

By Tom Stortz|2014-02-12T21:50:43-05:00February 12th, 2014|My Life|0 Comments

Coincidence? I think not.

Yesterday was a weird day. One of our wholesalers held a convention in Lancaster and I attended. I left Philly at around 9am and got there less than 2 hours later traveling east on 30 for most of the drive. Along the way I stopped at a Wawa to get gas and as I was outside filling up, the song “Hold Me Now” by the Thompson Twins was playing on the speakers above the pumps. Oddly enough, my FirstWave station on XM was playing the same song. I confirmed that the two speakers weren’t on the same stations and left shaking my head.

Don’t get me wrong, Hold Me Now, is a great song with over 850,000 Youtube views, but the timing of this is unbelievable. Two various stations, play a song that was made 30 years ago, at the same time, while I’m sitting there to notice it. This has to be one in a million. I left the gas station wondering if this was some sort of a sign and that I should be looking to hold anything in sight.

Tanger Outlet’s in Lancaster

I arrived in Lancaster early for the show and decided to get a few new articles of clothing for my upcoming European adventure. I will note that the pricing of these outlets is phenomenal. These aren’t your typical outlets where even though they are called outlets, they have normal pricing. Things were heavily discounted. I got a brand new style pair of Puma’s for $45 bucks, 2 nice Calvin Klein button downs for $35 dollars each, a pair of pin stripe pants for $35, a Jos A Bank bomber jacket for 70, and some knitted boxers and plain white t-‘s for $40 bucks. The boxers and t’s seemed expensive for what that’s worth but I got about half a dozen of each. I was completely satisfied as the goods are all high quality.

Onward to the next coincidence. I’m at the show and everything is pretty low key which I expect from something held near Amish country. At 5pm there is a dinner which I was giving a ticket to. I only knew a few people at the show of this pretty tight knit group where everyone knows everyone and decided to eat dinner by myself. I sit down at one of the tables and eat rapidly to not have to be a loner for too long. As I was eating, a woman of about 45-50 sits down next to me asking me if I’m sitting alone. I welcomed her to the table and we began talking.

To start the conversation I jumped to a conclusion based on her company’s location and name that we’ve sold our line of tools to her. Naturally I was confused with another customer with a similar name and came off like a moron to start but that’s what you get for assuming. Either way she brushed it off (she sold paint if you catch that one) and she told me about her business and how well she was doing with Facebook. I said I have 100 likes, she said she has 22,000.

Turns out, this woman was the owner of a company that was started in 1816 and she was the 5th generation. If you know anything about me and our business, our company started in 1853 and I was the 5th generation. Here are the stats on businesses that last this long, “The Family Firm Institute says only 12% of family-owned businesses stay viable into the third generation, and only 3% are alive at the fourth-generation level and beyond.” So here I am again overcoming unbelievable odds to meet this person. If there were say 300 people who attended the show that day, I met probably the only one who would spur this blog post. I would say this was easily less than 1% shot of meeting this random person who has such a similar business experience as me.

Considerations, if I ate with someone instead of choosing to eat by myself, this would never have happened. If I ate at a different time. If I didn’t go back to get a slice of prime rib I would have left before she got there. Meeting her made my day and trip. If I did nothing else that day other than meet that woman, it was a success. We shared family stories and various ideas on maintaining the longevity of a business. It was wonderful and I came out of it with more ideas I would never of had sitting at 210 Vine St. That’s why people are the most powerful source of information. Knowledge is power. Coincidence is an even higher power.

By Tom Stortz|2014-02-12T08:34:32-05:00February 12th, 2014|My Life|2 Comments

Neurosleep Review

The bottle is pretty slick marketing.

After I finished working out at City Fitness yesterday, I was greeted by a pretty female rep for Neurosleep. She had a stand set up with about 50 bottles of a Neurosleep product and was giving out free samples. Normally this is something I walk past but I figured it was free and I wanted to cordial. She gave me the spiel of how the drink helps you fall asleep by releasing melatonin and I took my bottle and headed home.

I showered up from the gym, ate my dinner, and then started continuing my education of the German language with the Neurosleep bottle next to me. I had no idea what to expect so I twisted off the cap and the liquid inside was thin like water. I took a sip and it tasted pretty good considering I figured it may taste like Nyquil. As I started sipping the bottle, I noticed myself caring less about studying and more about closing my eyes. I was already beat from the workout and this was just adding to my fatigue. I quit studying and got ready to sleep.

I would say the liquid worked because I laid in bed, turned on sports radio, and fell asleep within minutes. I awoke an hour later to some noise in my place but fell asleep soon after. At 5:30 in the morning I woke up again feeling strangely refreshed. As in I could have gotten out of bed if I wanted and started my day. I was considering doing it but it’s cold outside and warm in bed so I fell back asleep for another hour and half and got up at my usual 7:15 time.

I feel fine today and feel well rested after an 8 hour sleep. All in all I’d say the product worked well because I was more tired after consuming the liquid. I’m not really sure why I would drink this if I don’t have any problems falling asleep which I don’t. There was one odd thing that happened though which I can’t fully pinpoint on the drink but it’s so rare that I think it was. I hadn’t shaved in 5 days and had a mild stubble going and I felt something irritating on my skin. I shaved off my facial hair and cut a part of my face which was raised and irritated. It wasn’t like a pimple just a rash I suppose. It went away after the nights sleep but I’m always cognizant of new things that enter my body and the effects. Either way the product seemed to work well but I don’t see a use to it.

By Tom Stortz|2014-02-07T09:05:55-05:00February 7th, 2014|My Life|1 Comment

Philly Wingbowl 2014 – Dump Em Out!

A view from the Upper level. Hard to make out the eaters below but great view of the Jumbotron

Wingbowl was such a good day that I had to wash my jeans. Where to even begin. First thing is that I made the right decision to attend a Wing Bowl in my life. I expected booze, titties, and wings and it delivered on all accounts. Shee asked me how many boobs I saw and I said triple digits which isn’t an exaggeration. There aren’t many events when 20,000 people get together to support all of the 7 deadly sins. This was truly an epic day and I’m already looking forward to next year. Here is my play by play of the day.

Guess the Asshole?

The crew was myself, Sam, Jared, Alex, and Mahoney which is a pretty solid party crew. I couldn’t decide if I should sleep or not before the event which is oddly timed at 6am. I wound up getting 45 minutes of sleep at about midnight and then met up with everyone at our building in Old City at 1:45am. We started off pumping some Young the Giant and playing asshole which is a pretty solid, not getting to fucked up, drinking game. Alex reigned as JC for most of the game and enjoyed the dictatorship as Jared elegantly put in this post referencing another angle of the festivities. The Presidents hat can also be seen to the right.

At about 4am we called a cab and he reluctantly took 5 drunk assholes in his cab to the Wells Fargo center. We walked around the tailgaters with Sam shouting out “Happy Wing Bowl” to passerbyers who weren’t sure how to react. It was pretty cold and we were contemplating how to sneak some Jim Beam and Southern Comfort through security. Using hats and hidden pockets this was accomplished successfully. I bought a 7 dollar Pepsi and mixed 2 drinks for Sam and I which he pointed out were “strong”. Sam passed out in his seat for 15 minutes at around 7am while Alex, Jared, and I walked around the stadium with no purpose. We got back to our seats and there is an amazing thing where the camera will point to a girl, displayed on the Jumbotron, and she’s pressured to flash the camera. Once she succumbs, which about 70% of them do, the camera cuts away as not to make it seem like a porn conference. As Alex says, “Dump em Out!” There was also a huge fight that broke out in the level next to us which was awesome.

The contest seems secondary to everything else but it was won by a 125 lb woman named Molly Schulyer who is an absolute beast. She broke the record by 26 wings set by Kobayashi last year. That’s 363 wings in 30 minutes! A huge highlight on the Jumbotron was a 2011 puking by Sloth.

Some other notable events were Matt Stairs coming out to Stone Cold music downing 2 beers at once and Jason Kelce of the Eagles eating a pathetic 60 or so wings. The weirdest thing about the Wing Bowl is that once you leave, it’s light outside and normal people are going to work. I wish I could say that’s when the day ends but I would be lying. The 5 of us piled into a cab and headed to Delilah’s for a breakfast buffet. I had a plate of eggs which were actually delicious as my only sustenance for the day. It’s a 15 dollar cover (perfect equilibrium amount) and the place is absolutely packed and filled with dimes all over. It’s is a mad house with boobs and tight bodies everywhere. I felt pretty good not being too drunk and able to function properly. I had a few Coors lights, a couple dances, and an all around pleasant time.

What a successful Wingbowl Hand looks like at the end of the day

After Delilah’s we walked across the street and met up with Gourlay and Skin and Bones at Finnigans Wake. Remember now it’s about 11am and they are charging a 5 dollar cover. A band was playing and Miller beers were 2 bucks which is amazing as I look back on it. I probably crushed about a half dozen brews and we were dominating the dance floor as only 5 of the drunkest people in there could do. At about 2 or 3 pm I was toast as I believe the rest of the crew was as well. I walked home and sang along to some Billy Joel in a drunken stupor. I wandered upstairs at about 6pm and crashed for 5 hours when I woke up at 11pm, showered because I was disgusting, and then slept again until 6am. I awoke before 7am on a Saturday which is a first in decades and am writing this blog post. I actually feel OK which is quite surprising.

The Wing Bowl day is a reason to make and spend money. It’s what you live for. Major props to Jared for proving that he can act like an adult in my presence and was cool to hang out with all day. Sucks that the day has come and gone but another day must go on. I hope the people I went with enjoyed it as much as I did.

By Tom Stortz|2014-02-01T08:23:32-05:00February 1st, 2014|My Life|1 Comment

Devising A Plan

Hypothetically she looked like this with brown hair.

I’ve been hitting the gym on a regular basis and there’s a cute girl who I’ve seen probably the last 4 times I’ve gone which is both good and bad. It’s good because she likes to work out but it’s bad because my schedule isn’t that routine that I go the same time and she’s always there. I get the feeling she may be a gym rat which is better than the complete opposite but I think she’s pretty dedicated.

I’ll run on the treadmill and and I’ve seen her before on the elliptical. She’s stood out to me because she works the machine pretty good for a girl and she’s got a tight body. So I’m getting my run in and after about 2 miles I see her leave the elliptical and she takes a treadmill 3 to my right. Something was wrong with the machine and she had to leap frog a person and take the one right next to me. I’m already midway through my workout so there wasn’t any hello or anything but it was pretty coincidental she ended up right next to me.

Remember, she’s already logged time on the elliptical and now she was pumping out 8.0 mph on the treadmill which is fast for most people let alone a girl who just worked out for at least 15 minutes that I saw. I sweat like a beast on the treadmill so I have to wipe my brow every minute or two which isn’t typical but it’s way better than the opposite. I also watch either the Nature Channel or the Game Show Network when I run so I had on The Chase and Family Feud followed it. As my run was ending I noticed that she went from the news to Family Feud. If she didn’t turn to Family Feud, I would have never made this post. It was either once again complete coincidence or she was trying to make a connection. The thing about it is, I wasn’t coming up with any suave opening lines and I’m dripping head to toe and the situation felt weird for a conversation or even an introduction. Considering I’ve seen her 4 times the last 5 days I’ve gone, I think it’s safe to say I’ll see her again. Using Family Feud as the opener would have been pretty good but she also is a work out nut so I could probably work that angle too. The gym’s always been a strange place to pick up chicks in my opinion but the good thing is at least they are trying, or in this case getting, in good shape. Any good gym openers?

I was also dumfounded when Sam and Gourlay had never seen Can’t Hardly Wait so this is a good example of this situation and what I described on Saturday.

55:30 is the exact scene I was referring to. The movie is worth a watch and the JLH kiss scene at the end was never forgotten.

By Tom Stortz|2016-10-29T13:23:03-04:00January 28th, 2014|My Life|0 Comments

Sunday’s Without Football Suck

I’m not even sure where to begin with in this post. No football on Sunday’s is awful. I’m watching Billy Madison and the Hard Charge Mud Run currently and that’s about as low as it gets. I’ve never realized how much spare time Sunday brings with no football. Not to mention I feel like a turd from yesterday which is just adding to the boredom. Yesterday was one of those days that should have been fun but didn’t end up fun. Sam and Gourlay came over early yesterday and everything was going fine. We were day drinking and things were good. The Cohen’s came over and we played a hold em tourny which was also all in good fun. When we left to go to the concert, I’m not sure what happened.

Evan got me a drink at a bar and then I pretty much disappeared by myself in a wave of people. I couldn’t see anything and I was pretty shit faced hanging out by myself. At some point I left, went back, and fell asleep only to get a 2nd wind and start playing some drinking games at around 7pm is my guess. I passed out after an hour or two of that and then some madness happened that I wasn’t much apart of. We pissed the neighbors off for an umpteenth time and the new toilet that just got installed on Friday won’t flush properly anymore. The top step of my stairs is a huge liability and I’m just happy no one got seriously injured. I can’t even type properly right now and I’m happy to just write anything at this point. Until tomorrow when I’ll be feeling a bit more chipper.

By Tom Stortz|2016-10-29T13:16:38-04:00January 26th, 2014|My Life|0 Comments

Simple Life Improvements

Most of the time, the older you get, the smarter you get. It’s fairly obvious why and it’s due to learning from experience. At the ripe age of 30, I can say I’m figuring it out. I’ve made too many mistakes to count in the past and I’m sure I’ll make many more in the future but I’ll share with you some of the life improvements I have made.

Got To Make A Change

I use a soft pick for my gums now. I’ve always gone to the dentist twice a year my whole life. Every single time I go to the dentist they’d floss my teeth and my gums would bleed. The X-rays would show pockets (spaces) in my gums which were dangerous long term. I was told repeatedly to floss (which I did do about 3-4 times a week which wasn’t enough) and tried fluoride but it never improved. Finally I push these picks in between my gums and actually feel the spaces. After months of doing this, I guarantee my gums will improve and my teeth will be 100% again

I rarely snack on junk food or chocolate but that doesn’t mean I eat healthy. I don’t cook so I’m usually either taking out or firing up the oven to heat something frozen. These type of meals tend to have a lot of sodium. My most recent blood results showed that I was bordering on high cholesterol. Even though my weight is fine, I have practically no fruits or vegetables in my diet. I doubt I’ll have a heart problem but I get the feeling this leads to unhealthy skin which I notice from time to time. Currently I’m sitting her with a jar of fruit and attempted to cook some broccoli pasta on a skillet which I’m sure wasn’t all that healthy. Either way it’s an effort in the right direction.

My knee is finally back to full health which seemed endless. It was a good 3 months to heal and when I can’t get my cardio in, my life honestly gets depressing. I eat more crap and don’t have proper balance in my life. Since then I’ve steadily increased mileage where I can comfortably do 5 miles in under 6 minute miles now. I want to stay at this level without pushing myself too hard to avoid injury. I’ve written before but I’ll write again, getting injured is the worst thing you can do to your body because it prevents training.

I’ve been reading less and I know why. It’s because I have a book that I can’t get into. It’s Malcom Gladwell’s David and Goliath and the book isn’t that interesting. I found all his other works compelling but this one is a pure snoozer. I don’t like abandoning books because they are bad so I read about 10 pages a night before I go to sleep and at this rate I will read one book this year. I would guess I average about 2-3 dozen a year but I’ve gotten caught in quicksand. If this happens to you, I hope you are smarter than me and lay it down.

That’s all I’ve got but life is always about improving and when I look back at how I lived through college and thereafter, I’ve come a long way. It’s never too late to make changes. Being smart a lot of times isn’t even being smart, it’s just not being stupid.

By Tom Stortz|2014-01-22T20:45:58-05:00January 22nd, 2014|My Life|1 Comment

Let Me Tell You Why The Cold Sucks

The Bitter Cold Bites

I hate this frigid weather. They say hate is a strong word but I 100% hate it. I hate shoveling, slipping, driving, and delays because of the weather. Everything is worse. This list will go in further detail of the pros vs the cons.

Pros

Morons will list things like hot cocoa, fires, and relaxing but they make no sense. Things that you can do in your house don’t define things to do in the cold.
No activities in the snow are fun.

Cons

My frostbiten foot numbs up to the point of discomfort.
Shoveling snow hurts my back.
I don’t own the proper gloves or winter hat which leaves my extremities feeling like icicles.
Shuffling feet when walking is slower than molasses.
Deliveries to stores are delayed and I had to eat a day old bagel and the Nantucket Nectars Half and Half was out of stock. Where were the juice guys?
You have to prepare for cold weather and it causes major inconvenience. The heat needs no preparation. Possibly even less preparation than normal.
Wind gusts seem to always be aimed directly at your face or other uncovered areas
Without boots, snow is always dampening socks and the bottom of my jeans stiffen.
Pipes freeze, glass cracks, heat and electric cost more, and general discomfort ensues. It all sucks.

Winter, snow, and ice make everything outside shitty. I can’t think of anything that I like about the cold except that it makes my bag of peanut M&M’s frozen in my car and they taste great. This is the type of weather that makes me wonder why I don’t move to somewhere warm like Florida.

By Tom Stortz|2014-01-22T16:03:38-05:00January 22nd, 2014|My Life|2 Comments