When Dan Zarwell told us he and his girlfriend Jen Esser were about to start making their way through our 100 More Things to Do in Milwaukee list, item by item, we were flattered.
When he seemed so excited about getting the first thing done, we wondered if we ought to warn him that we did a second list and a number of other similar lists. Would it send him over the edge?
Nope, Zarwell is blogging about his experiences doing the 100 things -- actually, he and Esser have started with the second of the lists (the first can be found here) -- and his spirit is anything but broken.
OMC: Why did you decide to undertake this effort?
DZ: I decided to do this because one Friday night Jen and I were sitting at her apartment and we literally could not think of anything to do. It felt like we'd already done everything the city had to offer. The next day I Googled "things to do in Milwaukee" and found your list. Reading it, I realized I hadn't done more than four or five things.
Since starting the list I've been doing some research on the history of Milwaukee and I'm finding that this really is a great place to live. It's already giving Jen and I a great sense of accomplishment -- discovering these cool little things to do around the city. I think February is one of the longest months of the year ... ironic, considering it's the shortest.
Having a long list of things to do and see is really keeping us upbeat as we wait for spring to come around. I also enjoy writing but I've never really put much of an effort towards it. I admire what you do and I think in the back of mind I'm considering this blog the first step towards a portfolio of sorts.
OMC: Do you really think you'll make it through all 100?
DZ: Yes, I think so. We have a lot of doubters already, to be sure. It's funny that almost everyone who has seen the list has picked out the bocce ball league as the one they think we won't do. I'm excited for that one. I mean, what's not to love about that?
OMC: Are you worried about any of them?
DZ: We do have legitimate concerns about some of the list. For example, we can't seem to figure out what "Where's Kato" is. We have also found out that Goldmann's no longer exists. We plan to go where it used to be and see what we can find out. Aside from that, it's mostly a matter of making sure we don't miss date-specific events like Annunciation's Greek Festival. If all goes according to plan, we will finish the list with going to State Fair to see the rabbits.
OMC: Anything you're especially looking forward to?
DZ: I'm looking forward to a lot of them but to name a few, the bocce ball league, Paintball Dave's, sailing lessons, Holler House, the massage. If I had to name a couple that don't sound as great as the others ... learning to sew (and) shopping for women's clothing in the Third Ward.
I think part of it is doing things you wouldn't normally do, just to give them a chance. So with that in mind, I pretty much look forward to everything.
OMC: Do you realize there are other lists on the site with suggestions for things to do in Milwaukee, near Milwaukee, with kids, etc.?
DZ: We know there are further lists. We decided to go with this one because the first one seemed to have a lot of things we'd already done. We like the uniqueness of this one, however, if we can generate a lot of interest with this blog we may decide to start in on the others. Time will tell on that. We're having so much fun already that it seems like a distinct possibility.
OMC: What do you other than this?
DZ: I am a project manager at an advertising agency in Tosa. I also live in Tosa. In my off time I play in a band called Signalfire. We are starting to get some gigs around the city. We had a show at The Rave just last weekend -- part if the reason I didn't get anything done on the list.
I've lived in the Milwaukee area my whole life. It just seems hard to believe there are all these things in my city that I never knew existed. I'm seriously grateful to have found your article. It really has given us a different perspective on Milwaukee. Not much else I can really say about "me." I'm a pretty simple guy with enough time on my hands to take on something like this.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
