Just Add Water

I had my mind made up to run six miles back to my car last night. When I exited the Marta train at Lindbergh as rain started to fall I wondered about my sanity. However, the rain subsided as I meandered my way back to my car and I finished the run with a less-than-stellar, but still rewarding ten-minute-mile pace. The run doubled my monthly mileage this month…

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

I do not have to react to criticism with hurt feelings. It is my interpretation of the meaning for me that produces the pain. Bob says, “Sometimes you act like a three-year-old,” or Esther says, “You sound like a preacher.” What meaning do these comments have for me? I am the one who must choose to interpret them as derogatory; they are not inherently so. I am the one who must make the connection and call it bad. I believe that if I were more fully conscious and acceptant of the way I am, if I were more familiar with “me,” I would not feel so criticized or complimented by people’s words but would be confident to judge their accuracy for myself.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

What Are The Odds? (Not That High Really)
Since I attended the University of Florida every time I see the words “University of” on the web or in an article I complete the phrase in my head with “Florida.” Most times I am wrong. Yesterday was a different story however.

While perusing Flickr I saw a user whose name was shortened to “University of” on my screen. Clicking on the image I saw that I had stumbled upon the scans of the University of Florida Digital Collection, an odd melange of scanned images most of which are animations.

What the hell, at least I thought that it was pretty neat.

ITP Flickr Pic
From Tuesday night’s model shoot at Elliott Street Pub in Castleberry Hill.

I like.

RealiTV Update: Top Chef
What can I say, I really like Top Chef. Of the reality show genre I think that it is the realitiest.

In last night’s episode former contestant Sam returned to melt the hearts of women everywhere. One such fangirl was Antonia which scared the bejeesus out of me because I thought for sure that there was foreshadowing and she was going to be eliminated.

The QuickFire Challenge was strange. The chefs were given forty-five minutes to make a salad! Their goal was to create the “new Waldorf salad.” The challenge had personal humor for me as just ten hours earlier I was joking about the “healthiness” of the taco salad on which I was munching. Somehow Sleazy Spike won the competition with his “Sexy Steal Salad” and for his efforts he received ten extra shopping minutes for the Elimination Challenge as well as the ability to cockblock the other chefs by picking item which were exclusive to his dish.

For the Elimination Challenge the chefs had to produce a hardy, healthy boxed-lunch for Chicago policeman (and women). Sleazy Spike picked bread, lettuce, tomato, and chicken for his cockblock and couldn’t have been more proud of himself for doing so. Later in the competition he also tried to play Master Marketer by limiting the the number of boxed lunches on his table to make it look like they were extremely popular. Have I mentioned I don’t care for Spike? In a strange turn of events only two chefs were brought into the Judges’ Table for selecting the victor. The two potential winners were Stephanie and Dale. Dale’s inclusion surprised me because I didn’t think that his dish looked that filling. I must have been completely wrong though, because he wound up winning.

The bottom-feeders for the night were Spike (which made me pleased), Whiny Lisa (which made me pleased), and Crackhead Andrew (which would have made me pleased earlier in the competition, but much like a crack addiction I’d grown to enjoy his presence). Andrew’s un-substantial sushi box, which also violated one of the rules of the competition by lacking a whole grain, got him the ax. Look for Lisa and Dale to exchange words again next week — I just have a feeling.

Tonight Should Find Me In Decatur
I’ve agreed to play Team Trivia at Raging Burrito tonight if we get a quorum. If not I’ll lallygag around the house collecting the things I need for my camping in Summerville this weekend.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood – good
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Black Kids — “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend…”
Website Of The Day – While I am a big fan (and member) of REI some times you need options. One of the best camping options that I know about is Campmor.
Exercise (b)Log – running, 6 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage – 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work – Marta
Monthly Marta Rides – 11
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 45 (45)

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]