Running The Numbers

Wow, have I really only run six miles in the past two weeks (excluding Sunday’s hash)? Good thing that I am in the process of tapering for Saturday’s Twisted Ankle Half Marathon then. I have had a serious backlash toward long-distance / training runs since ING and if history proves me right I will pay for this malaise on Saturday. Good thing that there will be plenty of non-alcoholic beverages nearby (because we will certainly be following The Law by not bringing alcohol into a Georgia State Park^*) following the run.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

“What an ass I made of myself.” — No, I didn’t make the impression. It was his impression of me. I don’t come across as any one thing. I don’t predetermine a set reaction. There are any number of ways a person can react to what I do. How he chooses to react is his responsibility. (This is a little harder to see if I “make a big hit.”)

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

There’s Learning, And Then There’s Doing
While I’ve been trying to make time for reading, nothing really teaches me like doing.

It was true again last night. I went to my People Photography class where we spent way too much time (imho) doing student critiques (none by me because I failed) and then spent about thirty minutes looking at examples of shots that we are to have for next week. I’m beginning to think that I am not going to get as much information out of this class as I have from others I’ve taken at Showcase.

To get some “hands on learning” (not really “hands on” because you don’t get to touch the models), Maigh and I wound our way from Showcase down to Elliott Street Pub for the bi-weekly meeting of the Atlanta Photographers Guild. The evening was fun, I drank a few Chimays, ate an awesome Mad Italian sandwich, saw some friends that I’ve not seen in some time, and I think that I snapped a few quality shots (although I need a lot more practice in order to get the shots I am really striving to get).

Another lesson learned last night is that I need to be more careful with my photography equipment. I found out last night that I accidentally broke the plastic LCD cover while setting my bag down a little too carelessly this week. Luckily it’s only an $11 error (for a piece of plastic?) and no damage appears to have occurred to the camera itself.

ITP Flickr Pic
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is currently featuring an exhibit of sculptures in motion.

The yellow items in this tree slither like a snake when the wind hits it. I thought that it was pretty cool.

I’m Gonna Party Like It’s 1995!
When I moved to Atlanta in 1995 I knew exactly two people. In the following months my friend Ron made the migration from Huntsville as well and we hung out for a few months before parting ways. One of the highlights of the things Ron and I did was meeting up at the old Cotton Club on Peachtree (you know, when it was next to Pasta de Pulcinella and Frijoleros) to see Jimmie’s Chicken Shack perform.

I’ve long since thought that Jimmie’s Chicken Shack had ridden into the sunset, and perhaps they did but are now starting up a reunion tour. Next Monday night, May 19th, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack will be playing Smith’s Olde Bar and I will be in attendance.

I hope the still rock as much as my thirteen-year-old memory of the last time I saw them does.

RealiTV Update: Hell’s Kitchen
Who are the people on Hell’s Kitchen that I am supposed to like? Is it Christine? It’s not Corey, Jen. Bobby, or especially Matt.

Matt to me is a passive-aggressive dweeb and it bugged me to watch him smugly celebrate every time Ramsay took the piss out of Ben in last night’s episode. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly believe that Ben deserved Ramsay’s ire as much as any of the whipping posts on that show, it was the constant joy that Matt got out of it that bothered me.

For once I thought that the reward challenge was relevant. Any chef worth his/her weight in salt (Get it? Chef? Salt? Oh, never mind!) should be able to identify common food items. How do you incorrectly identify cooked shrimp? What about radish — it has such a unique flavor?! Anyway, red team out bumbled the blue team and was rewarded with spa pampering while the blue team had to clean the living quarters.

I was glad to see a “normal” service again for the elimination challenge. Gone were the notions of cooking for children, catering for a Sweet 16 party, and all other hair-brained ideas that reality cooking shows have been employing. However, even a “normal” service was too much for the men who managed to lose — again. In the end Matt scored his monumental comeuppance by watching Ben get booted from the show.

I seriously hope that I am never forced to eat in any restaurant in which these contestants cook.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood – better than yesterday
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Replacements — “Left Of The Dial”
Website Of The Day – For many Wednesday is “new comics” day. Let’s all celebrate this by visiting a web comic strip that keeps me entertained, XKCD.
Exercise (b)Log – nothing, it was photography class night
Monthly Foot Mileage – 6 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage – 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work – Marta
Monthly Marta Rides – 10
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 44 (44)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

* – yeah, right. 😉