Author: Chris M. Day

I'm almost 59 years old. I've been online for 33 years - starting with my own dial-up bulletin board system in 1993 - and continuing with AOL, my own dot.com web site, Myspace, WordPress, Twitter / X, Flickr, and Facebook.

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1997

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 8, 2022

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 2ND Friday of the month, so I go back 25 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday April 13TH 1997:

“Every Day Is A Winding Road” – Sheryl Crow
“MMMBop” – Hanson
“I Like It Like That” – The Blackout Allstars
“Call Me” – Le Click
“One More Time” – Real McCoy

Isaac, Taylor, and Zac Hanson from Tulsa Oklahoma introduced themselves to the world with a radio smash that dominated the airwaves during the Spring and Summer of 1997 (or Autumn and Winter south of the Equator). The world soon knew them as simply “Hanson”, and they stormed pop charts worldwide with their catchy popper “MMMBop”. It spent 28 weeks on my chart including 4 non-consecutive weeks at # 1. It was my # 6 hit of 1997 (out of 161 that charted).

Next #RetroFriday I’ll go back 30 years ago to April 1992. It’s when a hard rock band from Southern California skyrocketed to the top of my pop chart with a track more reminiscent of the rockin’ late-1980s.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going retro with me !

Tags 1997, Hanson, Music, Radio

Blogging Food Movies Sports Television Travel Wrestling

My Wild Wrestling Weekend Vacation 2022

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 7, 2022

And I am back from yet another vacation – this one a 6-day trip out west. I flew in to the Dallas Texas area early last Thursday morning (March 31ST). First stop after my brother picked me up at the airport (DFW) was a restaurant nearby that the locals love – Old West Cafe. I enjoyed a hearty breakfast during my first hour within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and it continued a new tradition for me and my brother. This was our first stop the last time I flew in to DFW (in November 2020), and it worked out so well that we’ve decided to do it every time I fly in to DFW.

Here’s me a few seconds before diving in to this culinary masterpiece:

We saw a movie that afternoon – The Lost City (starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Daniel Radcliffe – among others). I enjoyed it. A solid ‘B’. 3.5 out of 4 stars from me. It was my 3RD movie seen at the theatres so far in 2022, and that ties both 2020 and 2021. (By comparison my 2000 to 2009 average was 20 movies per year, and my 2010 to 2019 average was 30 movies per year.)

That night we went to WrestleCon in downtown Dallas at a large hotel with a convention center. You may have heard of ComicCon held in various cities each year around the U.S. (and probably the world.) Well this is the professional wrestling version of that. Picture a lot of vendor booths with well-known wrestlers behind many of them selling photographs, autographs, and selfies or pictures of you and the wrestler. These are real-life TV stars of the wrestling realm – past and present – of rival companies – sitting or standing right in front of you in living color. Just you and them meeting and greeting each other. It was quite the experience. I was a bit starstruck. My brother talked to a few of his favorites, and he bought their photo and signature, and I took a picture of them with my brother’s smart phone.

Also part of the convention was a show at the wrestling ring with a full card of matches. We had front row seats ringside for that first night’s show. These are mostly independent wrestlers. I’m a huge WWE fan (more on that later), but beyond that I’m not really in to the independent wrestling scene (or other promotions stateside and worldwide). I know of some of them because they used to work for the WWE. I was very impressed with this first night’s experience.

Night 2 (Friday), and we were in Garland Texas (a Dallas suburb) at the Curtis Culwell Center – a nearly 7,000-seat arena. We were there for the reboot of Ring Of Honor and their annual Supercard Of Honor pay-per-view event. It was a stacked card with a dozen matches that thrilled the more than 2,000 in attendance. (We had ringside seats again.)

Nights 3 and 4, and we were at WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium (where the Dallas Cowboys play). This was my 21ST WrestleMania (since WrestleMania X8 in 2002), but it was my very first LIVE and in-person. It was a bucket list event for me and my brother, and we finally did it. We were there for 8 hours on Saturday night and 6 hours on Sunday night. (The show itself was 4 hours on each night.)

If you have followed me online for a while then you know that I am a huge WWE fan. (I even preached a sermon about it here on my blog.) My brother got me hooked in June 2001 at a Raw and Smackdown in Tampa and Orlando respectively. Before those two LIVE events I had never seen an episode of either show. Since then I don’t think that I’ve missed one. I became a sudden and instant fan at those two shows at the atypical age of 34. (I never watched it as a kid either.)

Me and my brother watched the post-WrestleMania edition of Monday Night Raw at his house, and then I flew back home the next morning. My wild wrestling weekend vacation was complete.

A couple hundred million dollars were pumped-in to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex economy last weekend due to professional wrestling and its loyal fanbase worldwide, and I was part of all of that.

Tags AEW, ROH, Wrestling, WWE

2000s Blogging Christian God Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 2007

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 1, 2022

It’s the 1ST Friday of the month, so I go back 15 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday April 01ST 2007:

“Procrastinating” – Stellar Kart
“Wake Up ! Wake Up !” – Everyday Sunday
“Live Like We’re Alive” – Nevertheless
“Forgiven” – Relient K
“After The World” – Disciple

Those are all classics of the era right there. In my 8TH month of salvation I was completely immersed in the Christian pop and rock scene via my church, local radio, and online. Every single one of those songs (and many more of the time) bring me back to a part of my life that was unlike any before it. I was a baby Christian – on fire for Christ – a few months before my 40TH birthday.

Here’s the official music video for my # 2 hit that week 15 years ago:

Sometimes I wish I could recapture a sliver of that euphoria that I experienced during those early months as a baby Christian, but God does not intend to stay in place. He wants us to keep moving forward, and keep maturing with a soul on fire for Him. Don’t be sleepwalking through endless days. Don’t be procrastinating. Live like we’re alive !

Next #RetroFriday I’ll go back 25 years ago to April 1997. It’s when German Eurodance was dominant on the pop charts.

This is the end of an abbreviated blog weekend, as #SundayScripture and #Top10Monday are on hiatus this weekend. They will both return next weekend. In fact a full weekend of blogging returns next weekend – with 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Tags 2007, Music, Radio, Salvation

Blogging Driving Food Sports Travel Wrestling

My Spring Break Vacation 2022

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 31, 2022

And now – Week 4 of my 4-week series on my 6-day / 626-mile road-trip adventure here in South Florida and also up in Central Florida.

Last #TravelThursday I wrote all about my fun family day at Legoland near Winter Haven in Central Florida. From there I proceeded over to U.S. 27 (my favorite highway in Florida – affectionately known as the Chris M. Day Retirement Highway – or the #CMDRH). My family did the same in two other vehicles. We said our “good-byes” in the parking lot of Legoland. I’ll see my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces again – today. (More on that later.)

I stopped for Dinner at a place that I’ll probably be spending a lot of time at in the future (during retirement life) – Bob Evans in Sebring. Hopefully service greatly improves with future visits. I’ve eaten there a handful of times in the past, but this time service was the worst I’ve ever experienced.

I spent the night at a hotel in Lake Placid. That’s the other town that I’m eyeing for my future retirement / forever home. It’s very likely that I’ll purchase my forever home before I retire (maybe even later this year – but more likely next year). I’d begin to move things into my new home with each visit over a period of time.

My 6-day / 626-mile road-trip adventure ended the way it began 5 days earlier. I drove 3 hours to my workplace on the morning of Tuesday March 08TH 2022, and I worked much of the day. Then I went home and unpacked. That was the official end of another fun and successful vacation.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about my next vacation (which actually started yesterday). I’ll be spending 5 fun days hanging out with my family in the Dallas Texas area. Me and my brother – well we’re going to Wrestlemania !

I’m going to try to recap this vacation in a single blog post, but if I can’t fit it in 700 words or less (basically a 3-minute read) – then I’ll do a 2-part series.

I really want to get back to the original format of #TravelThursday where I write about a fun place I’ve visited (not necessarily while on vacation), or even a place somewhere in this world that I want to visit but haven’t done so yet. I think that’s the plan going forth after I write about this trip to and from Dallas Texas.

I thank you all for checking-out my blog and making #TravelThursday consistently my most-read blog post of the week (by far). Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Wrestlemania