Another Round Of Stormy Weather

Wow, we are getting some extreme weather this year. Luckily for me no one decided to use my route from Perimeter Mall to Decatur as my commute was quite bearable last night. I’m also glad that I was not at home when my power went out (again), nor was I trying to host a Top Chef viewing. When I got home all of my computers were off, meaning that the power was out long enough to drain the UPS batteries to which they are connected. The power at the ITP-Estate goes out so often I’m thinking of getting an old-school analog clock which will let me know for how long the power was out when I am not at home.

I Like Decatur, In Fact I Almost Wish That I Lived Closer
Last night I decided to pony up the $3 for parking in order to be close to my Decatur destination Eddie’s Attic. Since my commute took me about twenty minutes less than I had anticipated I had some time to kill so I decided to take a short walk. On my list of things to do was try and find where Big Tex Cantina is located. I walked through the Decatur Square inventorying the businesses which inhabit it now, lamenting that I did not have enough time to stop in for a beer. The thought of heading to Decatur’s Taco Mac, but there was not nearly enough time for that either.

While walking down East Ponce I was stopped by a somewhat sketchy man who asked me if I knew the location of a specific hotel. He seemed okay with me not known and continued walking. A minute or so later he had turned around and was walking at a faster pace than I was (which is not hard to do as I tend to amble). Not wanting another interaction I ducked into the store shared by The Cook’s Warehouse and Sherlocks, which would be a natural destination for me so I didn’t mind stopping there. I had to laugh when I looked up and at the other end of Sherlocks was my friend Ralph (aka “One Ball”) who was picking up some beverages for he, and his darling wife Debbie (aka “Snail Trail”) and their nine-month-old son. After chatting with Ralph I realized that it was time for me to head to Eddie’s Attic so that I could make sure that my name was on the guest list and to get a decent seat (more on this in a second).

I never made it to find Big Tex Cantina.

Has Thinking Man Tavern closed? They appeared closed when I drove by a little after 10pm last night. That seems to be an early closing time for a bar. Did they lose power with the violent storm and closed business for the night?

A Fantastic Show At An Increasingly Frustrating Venue
I used to love Eddie’s Attic. Eddie’s Attic is an intimate, non-smoking venue which implores its patrons to shut the fuck up (my words, not theirs) while the performers perform. Eddie’s has a table reservation policy, and for people like me who can never get enough people together to warrant a table purchase they have bar stools and a rough, carpeted grandstand. In year’s past the barstools were first-come-first-serve. However in recent times (read “at least the last two times I’ve gone to Eddie’s”) most of these stools have been labeled “Reserved”).

I am fully aware that I paid nothing to see last night’s show. Music Allies, I really appreciate your generosity!

After confirming my only seating option was the grandstand I found a decent spot against the railing on the second row. As the place filled up two young ladies came to sit in the grandstand and after a minute sitting there the young lady sitting next to me asked “Sir, are you committed to sitting there? I’d like to sit next to my sister.” I was a dick and did not agree to move because

1. I was there early in order to pick my seat
2. Her sister was in the middle of the grandstand and I wanted to be on the end

She was nice enough with my rejection and proceeded to turn her back to me. Ha!

I should have been a double-dick. With the grandstand filled two more people arrived and asked if they could sit where my, and the young lady still sitting next to me, would put our feet. Perhaps it was because I was still feeling like a dick for refusing to move, I agreed to give up my feet-space. I wish I hadn’t. I lasted about two-thirds of the show before my sore legs started to bother me as I tried not to kick the guy sitting at my feet, and I got tired of getting elbowed in the knee by the guy. After one of the songs I excused myself, went to the bathroom, and upon returning to the music room found a place to stand.

Did Eddie’s oversell? Don’t know.
Will I return to Eddie’s? Probably, but it may be only if I reserve a table.
Am I amazed people can’t keep their pieholes shut for two hours, especially while music is being performed live? Absolutely! What the fuck is so goddamn important that you can’t wait until the break between songs to say it to the person sitting next to you?

Now for the good stuff. Ben Sollee‘s trio put on an extremely entertaining show last night! Due to some difficulties there was no opening band. A beautiful young violin/fiddle player named Phoebe Hunt, who is also part of the Ben Sollee’s trio, played three (a trio if you will) solo songs as an opening act. If you like folk with a hint of bluegrass then I suggest you check out Sollee’s music.

Blais Rekindling His Atlanta Restaurants
Yesterday I saw an article in the AJC saying that Atlanta chef, and Top Chef All-Stars winner, Richard Blais is going to open a new restaurant in midtown near Tech. The article also went on to mention Blais’ hot doggery “Haute Dog” which is scheduled to open some time this Summer in the space formerly occupied by San Francisco Coffee on Highland.

Time To Start Hoarding Virtual MARTA Tokens?
Also in yesterday’s AJC was an article mentioning that MARTA is raising its rates significantly in the beginning of October.

• Single fare tickets will go from $2.00 to $2.50
• Monthly fare will go from $68.00 to $95.00 (!!!)

From the article:

Just two years ago, at the time of the last fare increase, the basic MARTA fare was only $1.75. The price of a monthly pass, then $52.50, will now rise to $95, an 81 percent increase.

I think this is outrageous! Never mind that most people ride MARTA in order to save money (or because they can’t afford personal transportation), but last year MARTA also significantly reduced the bus services. Anyone else think MARTA is broken?

Looks like it’s time for me to load up my Breeze Card with as many rides as my Transportation Savings Account will allow to beat the price increase.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fat, sore, but okay
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Build And Analyze” podcast
Website Of The Day – I think that I picked Peter Callesen‘s awesome paper sculpture (I don’t have time to fact-check). So as a back up plan I’ll point you at Calvin Nicholls‘ equally impressive work. And thanks to my friend Lee for pointing to Nicholls’ work.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – physical therapy
Morning Weigh-In – 205 pounds (2011-06-22)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)

Vegetarian Days – 5
Carnivorous Days – 17

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

June Goals
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash
– Get back on a bicycle
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Not get fired from my job
– Run at least once
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than five days done!
– Lose three pounds
– Go out on a date with someone else
– Finish The Laws Of Simplicity done! and read another book

2011 Goals [will be a little more fluid than in past years]
– Reduce my weight by 25 pounds based on the my weight as measured on February 1st
– Completely read the book Daily Negations which I received as a Christmas gift.
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business — one which does not get penalized.
– 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
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than two one half-marathon
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store

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

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]