No Title Thursday

Usually I think of something clever for a title. This is as clever as I’ve gotten today.

Five Of The One Hundred Simple Secrets Of Happy People
Today I am starting a feature that will run for the next twenty blogging days.

I am currently, and deliberately slowly, reading a super-easy read called The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People. Each morning I read three of these “secrets.” (Remember when I mentioned exercising my mind?)

Here are five “secrets” on which you can ponder

• Your life has purpose and meaning
• Use a strategy for happiness
• You don’t have to win every time
• Your goals should be aligned with one another
• Choose your comparisons wisely

You may find this hard to believe, but I’m trying to live my life under the concept that it’s the only one I’ll ever have so I better enjoy it.

ITP Flickr Pic
Of all the people I know I should be the least aghast that at least one house in Cabbagetown has not been repaired since the tornado ripped through there in March of 2008.

After all I am the guy who has lived without preparing food or doing laundry in his house for the last year. I am also the guy who has yet to fix the gutter damage created by his neighbor’s tree back in 2008.

RealiTV Update: Top Chef – Someone’s Gotten Banged
Last night the Final Four cheftestants returned to Top Chef, but not in Sin City as we’ve seen before, but rather now in Napa Valley.

As the four, slightly-different appearing cheftestants give greetings to one another the Sonoma Wine Train arrives. And as to be expecting, I mean expected, a more-than-slightly-different appearing Padma exits the train; she’s got bangs, and the bebe bump resulting from another form of banging is showing; and she’s with Top Chef Masters contestant Michael Chiarello!

The appearance of the train can only mean one thing…. Quickfire Challenge, and given that we are in wine country the featured ingredient shall be grapes. I am quickly reminded why I think Top Chef is a much better show than Hell’s Kitchen when all four cheftestants produce food that I would love to eat. In the end cocky, younger-brother Michael Voltaggio won a new car (insert obligatory product placement here).

All four cheftestants now realize that the next challenge will be the Elimination Challenge which determines who will be a part of the Final Three. For this Elimination Challenge the cheftestants are required to produce two dishes, one vegetarian, one meaty, with only locally-procured ingredients. This challenge seems made for Atlanta’s Kevin Gillespie which much mean that he’ll get eliminated. Not only that, Kevin admits that he is once again going to produce something that is deemed “simple food” which I figure will bite him in the ass one day..

For the meats:

• Jennifer is going to produce a duck dish
• Cocky little-Voltaggio is going to produce a fois gras dish
• Big-Voltaggio is going to produce a short-rib dish
• Kevin is going to produce a beef brisket dish

For the vegetarians:
vegetables

It seems as if each chef has one dish loved by the judges and one that seems to fall short of the mark. It’s not until Uncle Tom Collicio mentions Jennifer’s inability to keep the grill hot enough to produce the grilled duck that she’d promised him that I realize her head is on the proverbial chopping block. Bryan Voltaggio wins his first challenge of the competition (I was somewhat surprised to hear this) and moves onto the finale.

With nervous times ahead Jennifer, Michael, and Kevin await to find out who will continue to vie for the title of “Top Chef” and who will be a sous-chef for that determination. And as it turned out Jennifer will be next week’s sous-chef.

Look At Me, I’m All Classy And Shit
Tonight I’m headed to the theater. Unlike most theatrical productions I attend, this one will be in Cobb County, specifically at the new(ish) Cobb Energy Arts Centre. This will be my first trip to the Cobb Energy Center and I already know that my next trip will be exactly one week from today.

Tonight I’ll be watching the performance of Albert Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps.”

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay but not great
Current Music – listening to the “net @ night” podcast
Website Of The Day – You like to watch movies online. You might even like to do so legally. If so, use Indie Movies Online to satisfy your craving.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 3 (3)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 2
Marta Rides – 0

December Goals
– Not get fired from my job

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]