The Times They Are A Changin’

I am a winner!
Let me repeat that!
I am a winner!!!

Who knew going to the bathroom could pay off so nicely? On Sunday at The Midway Pub I finally had to “break the seal” after four beers (an important factor to this story) so I headed off to use the restroom. Whilst standing there doing my business I saw a sign for a raffle which was being held at the bar last night. For $5, which was going toward the cost of medical attention for one of the bar worker’s dogs, I had a chance at winning $100 in bar cash. I won’t lie, I was happy to donate $5 to the cause but I really entered because I was two sheets to the wind and hadn’t a care in the world. Hilariously, at least in hindsight, when I handed my ticket stub to the bartender I said “I’d like to turn in my winning ticket.” This morning I found out that I won!

I Nearly Bought A New Laptop Yesterday
But instead bought a new iPod. A new iPod? Did I go off the deep end? Perhaps. But I didn’t purchase a fancy-pants iPod Touch (capacity is still too low for me); I purchased a refurbished iPod Classic 160GB. My thought process was this. First, I have but 3GB available on my current iPod 60GB. Further, that iPod has a now-failing screen and I am getting prepared to watch it die any day now. The 160GB iPod Classic is being phased out, and oddly replaced by a 120GB version. And finally, I can use the 160GB iPod Classic in disk mode as a backup drive for future photography trips (I doubt I’ll be lugging the portable hard drive that requires both USB ports with me in the future.)

[Update @ 10:00am]: I’ve heard rumor that the Macbook is going to get an update soon. I guess that I am lucky that I didn’t purchase one yesterday.

What’s The Best Way To Undo Exercise?
Beer and $1 tacos of course! Last night the largest EAV Monday Running Group that we’ve gathered in some time completed a new, and somewhat sketchy, four-mile loop. After finishing off the run we headed to Blue Frog Cantina where I consumed one Guinness, three $1 tacos, and countless chips. It’s a shame for the others in the group that I didn’t know that I had won the $100 gift card at Midway because we had to stop there prior to heading to Blue Frog Cantina and I would have purchased a round of drinks for all.

ITP Flickr Pic
The water level in Lake Hartwell is incredibly low.

And here I thought that Georgia was getting a lot of rain this year.

Not All Endeavors Are Firing On All Cylinders
Yesterday when I berated my fantasy football team the East Atlanta Deadbeat Dads I failed to mention one other responsible party for the loss — me. Apparently I failed to understand the rule that if a game is postponed, a la the Baltimore v. Houston game, that the players involved would be scored as if they were on a bye week. Therefore, because I played the Baltimore defense, I scored zero points for them. The East Atlanta Deadbeat Dads lost their game by nine points.

Strange Pussy (Cat)
This morning when I exited ITP HQ I saw a new cat in the neighborhood that was very different from all the other feral cats on the block. This one was drinking out of the bucket in my driveway which catches rainwater, and unlike the rest was not the least bit afraid of me. He/She just stared as if to say, “I don’t know who you are, but you are interrupting my drink.” In fact, it wasn’t until I started the Jackmobile’s engine that it thought better of being in the driveway and scampered off to the safety of my front door.

Even two-and-a-half years after JFK’s disappearance I am not ready to allow another animal into my life, but I do admire this little guy’s/gal’s moxie; it’s one confident pussy (cat).

[Update @ 11:00am]: Had I more time this morning I would have taken some photos of this cat. It certainly didn’t seem to mind me being there, I’m sure it would have been amenable to my photo taking. Further, I have decided to refer to it as “Tigger” if I ever see it again.

Digital Download Of The Week
I don’t have any new material to suggest buying this week. Instead, I’ll tip you off on something that may save you money. Every day Amazon deep-discounts one of their cds. Yesterday I downloaded Elbow’s “The Seldom Seen Kid” for a mere $1.99.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood – lucky
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Hold Steady — “Constructive Summer”
Website Of The Day – I like tv and think I like TV In Japan even better.
Exercise (b)Log – running/walking, 4 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage – 11.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage – 73 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work – My car
Monthly Marta Rides – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 7 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

September Goals
Still no idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]