I’m Headed To Exile Island

It’s time again for one of my annual retreats. This weekend you’ll find me in Summerville, GA camping in James H. (Sloppy) Floyd State Park. Rumor has it tomorrow I will also be participating in the third annual Twisted Ankle Trail (Half) Marathon. Given that I have not run in months, it is currently still just a rumor. If I do decide to run I will probably set a PR for slowest half marathon.

One thing will be different this year. In past years there has always been a group of Atlanta hashers who go up and camp for the weekend. We’d gather on Friday and Saturday nights grilling out, drinking and commiserating. This year I am contemplating sequestering myself and spending the time collecting my thoughts, reading (who am I kidding?) and venturing out to take photographs.

If nothing else I will be coming home happy on Sunday because I know that Cheerwine is available in Summerville.

With Camping Comes “Camping Pants”
Today I am wearing a hideous pair of jeans that I have dubbed my “camping pants.” This particular pair of pants have seen far better days and are adorned with iron-on patches to cover the holes that I’ve worn in them. However, they fit (a key to my minor-happiness) and I could care less if they were destroyed, that’s all that matters today.

ITP Flickr Pic
Because you are not supposed to take pictures of Marta

I took this picture of Marta.

Good On Ya, REI
With my GorillaPod SLR-Zoom scheduled to arrive at my local REI store on Saturday I was a bit surprised and pleased to hear that it arrived on Wednesday. Last night I headed to REI as a stop-gap between work and Smith’s Olde Bar to pick it up. Sure enough one had been sent there and was waiting for me. What was a bit peculiar was that they seemed to have two on the sales floor as well. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that REI would check the inventory of the store to which the order was being sent before sending it? Eh, either way I have it in my possession and will be putting it through its paces this weekend.

If You Weren’t There, You Missed A Great Show
At Smith’s Olde Bar last night I may have been one of a handful of people who had heard of Stars Of Track And Field, and perhaps the only to have purchased their CD prior to the show. That certainly worked to my benefit as I had my way with the front of the stage and was able to take a shitload of pictures (no results yet, fingers crossed that they turned out the way I wish, and I think that I need to invest in better glass). The boys put on a fantastic show, and after set I was able to thank two of the three musicians in the band (no handshakes of course) for their efforts.

Most people were obviously there to see Joseph Arthur And The Lonely Astronauts. While I had heard a few of their songs, I was far from familiar with Arthur’s catalog. I was right up front for the first handful of songs (as Arthur played a Flying V and then transitioned to a highly-decorated electric-acoustic). However I was shooting with a 50mm lens and being up front meant that I was too close. So, I started wandering around like I owned the joint (and I must say that it was rather fun); we’ll have to see how everything turned out. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Arthur and his band’s set as I wasn’t sure what to expect. I contemplated buying their CD at the show but didn’t feel like dealing with the merch table, so I headed out prior to any encore.

I was home by 11:30pm. If I didn’t need to pack to get out of town today I probably could have stopped in to The EARL and caught last night’s headliner.

The Jackmobile Looks Nekkid
Because I see no sense in riding around with a roof rack that I cannot use I took the rack off the Jackmobile this morning. The car actually looks different to me, much like when someone you know changes their hairstyle. On a positive note, I should get better gas mileage now.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood – on the outside looking in
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Joseph Arthur — “Enough To Get Away” (JINX!)
Website Of The Day – Merlin Mann has started yet another blog. I’m link to this for its domain name alone, Kung Fu Grippe, although the content is funny as well.
Exercise (b)Log – I’m saving it up for tomorrow
Mode Of Transportation To Work – My car

May Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 200 lbs)
2) Exercise at least five days per week.
3) Read two books, specifically
3a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
3b) “The Evolution Of Useful Things…”

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]