It’s Bidness Time

So many things which need my attention — Sharpened Stone paperwork, the cancellation/downgrading of a Premier Google Apps account which is/was set to auto-renew on Sunday, organization/filing of much paperwork, 2010 income tax planning, oh and this thing I call my “job.”

114
Instead of heading straight home in what seemed to be traffic from hell I decided to join my boss and another coworker for a beverage or two at Taco Mac. Had I not been to Tilted Kilt recently I would have accused them of poaching most of the Taco Mac waitresses, as there were more dudes working than I’d ever seen before.

I had Taco Mac Passport beers #113 and #114 last night, one of which answers the question “What’s so fresh and so green and will never be ordered by me again?” The answer is Terrapin Brewery‘s So Fresh, So Green Green. The beer itself wasn’t green in color but its tequila/turpentine flavor (to me) all but turned me green while drinking it. It was all I could do to finish the fanciful glass which was placed in front of me.

ITP Flickr Pic
Nope, not today. The drought of quality photography continues…

How Hard Is It To Have Your 50¢ Ready?
This morning it happened again. I drove down an Exact Change lane behind someone who waivered but gave me no opportunity to pass them. And then when they pulled up to the toll booth they didn’t have their 50¢ ready. This morning’s encounter was even more frustrating because this person sat at the gate, searching for their 50¢ for what seemed to be an eternity. It got so bad that the people behind me started honking, and I gave an obligatory “WTF? Let’s go!” honk as well.

There is exactly one toll both in Atlanta (there should be zero, but that’s another story). Is it really too much to ask to have your 50¢ ready to deposit in the basket when you choose and Exact Change lane?

And to answer the eternal, “Why don’t you have a CruiseCard?” Because I don’t like the way the CruiseCard people conduct their business and I always have change at the ready in my car. In fact, before I started doing laundry at a laundromat again the toll booth was one of the rare opportunities I had to spend the change given to me on cash transactions.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – frustrated
Current Music – listening to the “Breakfast Club” podcast from CBC Radio 3
Website Of The Day – Longreads wasn’t developed for people like me, but you might find it useful.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
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 – 18
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]