Addressing The 200 Pound Gorilla In The Room

Hey there… I’m back. Sorry about Friday.

I am that 200lb gorilla in more ways that you would ever care to know. But as of this moment I have vowed to invest mentally, physically, and financially in my future. After all, it’s my future I should direct where it goes, right?

No Sooner Than I Had Subscribed And I Was Unsubscribed
About six weeks ago I ordered Yuban coffee from Amazon. In fact I ordered six bags of coffee and began a coffee “subscription” during which I would receive six more bags in six months. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my subscription would probably provide me with more coffee than I could/should consume and considered canceling my subscription.

On Saturday my decision was made for me as I received an email from Amazon telling me that my subscription had been canceled because Yuban coffee was no longer available through Amazon’s subscription services. I guess that procrastination can pay off sometimes.

IT Flickr Feed
Before heading to last week’s Studio Lighting Workshop (which apparently went in one ear and out the other) I had dinner with friends at Six Feet Under

It’s now safe to say that we’ve had a chilly January in Atlanta. I only wish that I had thought to take this shot from a dozen more angles.

Yesterday’s Main Course Was FAIL With A Side Of FAIL
Wow, where to begin. I started Sunday with a completely positive attitude. I was up early, made myself a pot of delicious coffee, and put on some somber music to provide that special Sunday morning feeling.

And then the bottom dropped out.

Around 11am I decided that it was time to shower and consider going outside. The plan was lunch somewhere and a return home for productive behavior. This plan existed until my mortal enemy the mirror attacked. For the same reason I spun into depression in Nashville last year I did yesterday.

After consolation from friends I ate some grits (strike going out to eat) and then decided it was time to step up to the plate and finally do some studio photography — after all I had just sat through a class the other night! My first attempts were thwarted by an incompatibility with some new equipment that I had purchased recently. Fear not, I still had my old rigs. Well, shot after shot baffled me. Underexposed. Change settings. Underexposed. Change settings. Okay shot. Take another with same settings. Underexposed.

“Oh it’s going to be one of those days.”

I decided to take a break. I went upstairs to check Twitter and Facebook, and WHAM! My iMac, which had been performing a data backup for four hours, froze solid. A reboot, which of course negated the backup, was in order. I started everything again, lo and behold it froze again. I have never had this system go south like this and am still puzzled why it did not once, but twice.

Enough was enough. All plans at being “productive” were put on hold, it was then about 3pm, and I was headed to The Midway for food and a beer. Except The Midway was having an event, so I wound up at Holy Taco instead.

I Didn’t Get Fucked Up At The Fucked Up Show
Perhaps the only bright spot yesterday was heading to The EARL to see the band Fucked Up perform. I was supposed to meet up with someone at the show, but that person never contacted me and I couldn’t find her at the show. I’m not surprise that I couldn’t find her, as the show was much better attended than I had anticipated; having only a 50mm lens on my camera proved fairly useless.

Fucked Up is a Canadian (Toronto, to be exact) punk/speed metal/hard core band. You’d might not know this — especially with dress-wearing, librarian-appearing, bespectacled young woman driving the bass lines — but there is no doubt when the vocalist “Pink Eyes” starts bellowing lyrics.

I timed my arrival to The EARL perfectly. I arrived around 10:30pm, wandered through the remains of the The EARL’s third annual luau party (should have attended), and into the backroom where I was obviously not the normal Fucked Up demographic, but was there just about as the band was to take the stage. I’ve been to enough of these types of shows to know to ignore where the mosh pit would erupt, and I was spot on. The band belted out an approximately forty-five minute set (by my estimation) and I departed; it was a “school night” after all.

Tomorrow The Jackmobile Will Look Like The Clampett’s Car
If you are old enough to remember The Beverly Hillbillies then you’ll get that reference.

In addition to loading up laundry for another laundromatathon, tonight I’ll be loading the Jackmobile with a bunch of stuff (read “irrelevant junk”) destined for Goodwill. It’s only part of the booty which will eventually get extracted from my abode, but it will be a refreshing feeling to get rid of some of my stuff.

But If I Going To Pay Sales Tax, I Might As Well Buy It Locally
Almost placed an order today, but balked at the sales tax enforced by a company not located in Georgia. What I was going to order is irrelevant, and since I was on the fence about buying from this company I decided against placing the order. Pisser.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – pensive
Current Music – listening to the latest Coverville podcast
Website Of The Day – I haven’t been to New Orleans in years. I refuse to go back fo Mardi Gras (it’s no longer of interest to me) but I may return for the Louisiana Road Food Festival happening on April 4-5.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing. BOO! HISS!
Monday Morning Weigh-In – yep, 200 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 3 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 26 (26)
Vegetarian Days – 4
Carnivorous Days – 21
Marta Rides – 0

January Goals
– Complete all necessary work on the dining room (not going to lie, I picked an easy room first)
– Lose no fewer than two pounds
– Run no fewer than 50 miles
– Completely read Softbox Lighting Techniques for Professional Photographers, Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas, and How to Be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic’s Guide to Spiritual Happiness

2009 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]