Weight Was The Only Thing I Didn’t Lose This Weekend

Well, I suppose that I also didn’t lose my mind either. At least I’ve got that going for me…

Taking It Personally
I’ve ordered many personal packages which have been delivered to my office that I don’t think much about doing so. During the Apple keynote last week I decided that I really did want one of Apple’s Magic Trackpads so I logged in to Amazon and placed an order for one. I was informed that my package would arrive on Friday, so I was prepared to get it then.

I was not surprised that the package was delivered while I was detained in an interview, so I was also not surprised when I had received an email from the woman who works at our front desk informing me that I had a package waiting to be claimed. I quickly went to claim my package but she was not there and I saw no sign of the package, so I returned to my desk.

I was surprised to see an email from a coworker who works on a different floor with a subject of “thank you” and no text in the body. I was further surprised when I returned to the front desk and was told that that coworker had come down and claimed my package! She said that someone had called down and siaid that I’d told them it was okay to take the box. WTF?!?! She was well aware that I receive personal packages from Amazon and I was stunned that she gave it away.

When I went up to confront my coworker he was not there, but I did see the Magic Trackpad, still sealed but out of its Amazon box, sitting on his desk. So I informed his neighbor, then our front desk, and then through a reply to his “thank you” that the package was mine, was of a personal nature, and that I have rightfully claimed my Magic Trackpad.

Luckily for me this purchase was fairly innocuous. What if this had been something embarrassing, like a Cat Fancy magazine?

The oddities in my life never cease to amaze me…

Someone Tell Me Why
On Saturday evening I returned to Buckhead for the first time in many years. Admittedly, the Buckhead of today is far inferior (from my point of view) to that of the mid 1990s, when I used to drink and not meet women each and every weekend. Few things remain these days, Henri’s Bakery where I parked for $10 on Saturday night (because I figured all of my old free parking spaces were gone, and I didn’t realize that the brightly-lit parking garage only a block further away was only charging $5), and the Roxy, which is now called the Buckhead Theatre and has been completely renovated (now that I think of it, did the Buckhead Theatre consume the sushi restaurant which used to be next to the Roxy?).

The reason for my return to Buckhead was to see the reunited Guided By Voices lineup perform. If my memory serves me well, I’d seen Guided By Voices at the Echo Lounge (how I miss thee) some time in either 2000, or 2001, but that was a long time ago and I’ve been to many concerts and have consumed many brain cell killing beverages since so I don’t quite remember.

My timing could not have been much better as I arrived in the dead time between the opening band and Guided By Voices, and then immediately ran in to ITP-Readers Terri and Tony in the lobby, and then to Terri’s husband ITP-Reader Pat and his buddy Mike in the beer line. Also seen that night were my old friend Steve, and many cute hipster women hanging with their hipster boyfriends/hubbys.

The concert was a blast. The band was tight, with the exception of some screeching feedback from the speakers, at least until “Uncle” Bob passed the line from sobriety into drunkenness. About the only thing I could have asked for the make my night more complete was for them to play “I Am A Tree” and “Teenage FBI” which were surprisingly absent from their main set as well as the three encores they played.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another weekend passed during which I took exactly zero photos. So, here’s a shot I took while at LEAF the previous weekend.

This guy was a master at riding a tall bicycle. Unfortunately I didn’t get a shot of him riding while wearing really big monster feet.

“The Power Of Positive Thinking” Is Turning Me Off
Had I realized just how much “The Power Of Positive Thinking” relied on telling people that reading and repeating Bible verse was the only way to happiness I never would have purchased the book. I am not a religious person and the constant inclusion of Bible verse and the insistence that I must have Faith in order to be happy is really turning me off this book. I will attempt to pick it up again once, perhaps twice, but if I can’t get past the Bible thumping I’ll cut my losses and seek a happiness plan which doesn’t rely on religion.

On thing I know positively, I had a blast at the Tilted Kilt and will be returning…

Bad Weekend For My Virtual Football Success

• I picked the Denver Broncos in my NFL Suicide Pool and they were clobbered by the Oakland Raiders.
• They’ll be popping champagne in Miami… My East Atlanta Deadbeat Dads played poorly and are going to lose their first game of the season. Surprisingly my decision to start Broncos’ QB Kyle Orton didn’t hurt me as he actually scored more points that the Chargers’ Phillip Rivers this week.
• I went 11-7 picking college football games, which did nothing to help me move up in my league.

Hey, at least the Florida Gators didn’t lose. _{they were on a bye week}

RealiTV Update: The Amazingly Phobic Race
Many spoilers await you….
Talk about playing on one’s phobias. I have to hand it to the two doctors whom I’ve discounted as serious contenders for some time. The docs benefited greatly by finishing first the last leg and were able to get to the Fast Forward before all other teams. Is it me or has this race spent an inordinate amount of time in the Nordic region? As a person who suffers from acrophobia I understand not wanting to do anything with heights, but I don’t understand being so afraid when you are in an enclosed gondola. Imagine how much she (Kat or Nat, I can’t recall which) would have shit her pants had she had to walk out on the bridge from which people were repelling! Of course, the Fast Forward literally tested the intestinal fortitude of Pocahontas (Nat or Kat, I can’t recall which) who has been a practicing vegetarian for twenty-two years and had to eat and entire sheep’s head! How Pocahontas managed to eat that and not instantly hurl I cannot imagine. With the fear of heights and meats conquered the two docs strolled up to Phil with plenty of time to spare. Next on their travel agenda is Russia, where I assume they will be forced to lose their big time gap.

As for the rest of the teams last night they all seemed to fall into on amalgam of nothingness. I don’t much care for Team Tattoo, who almost act as if they’ve never seen The Amazing Race before, and was hoping they’d waste time by eating the sheep’s head only to find out they couldn’t get the Fast Forward because it had already been taken. I’m sorta rooting for Team Gator (for obvious reasons), and as far as I am concerned CBS can’t show enough of Little Miss Cosmetologist II who is dating Notre Dame boy. And while they were certainly attractive females I have no sadness in seeing the two volleyball players finish last and get eliminated last night.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Doubt that Guided By Voices are a significant band? How many bands do you know have their own database site? Guided By Voices DB.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 204.6 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 9, Carnivorous Days – 15
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

October Goals
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Not get fired from my job
– Ride my bicycle no fewer than 200 miles
– Determine the fate of Sharpened Stone, LLC
– Complete at least one iPhone application (seriously, this needs to happen)
– lose five pounds
– eat vegetarian at least one day a week

2010 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 pounds) [update: On July 1 I’ve sadly gained weight; I’m at 203 pounds]
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
– Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Sharpened Stone.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online, completed
– Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides, completed
– Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]