But first, I made a disgusting omission yesterday. Yesterday was the birthday of one of my dearest friends, ITP-Reader Lisa, and I completely forgot to mention that on this here blog. Hope it was a great day and that you got to spend it with the guys you love most — and ITP-Reader Randy too. 🙂
July: Hot As Balls And Just As Useless
What should be the most joyous of months for yours truly wasn’t. The easiest culprit for my discontent was the lingering hip problems. July saw the “end” of physical therapy (more on this later), the purchasing of the next Red Rocket (which is not red), failure to return to exercising, along with a collection of problems that you’ve either read too much about or I’m not willing to share.
Yesterday’s iPhone fiasco was merely the cherry upon the top of my life’s sundae. Fortunately, early reports indicate that after spending the night in a sealed container with rice and desiccant my iPhone seems to be fully functioning again. Whew. So you now know that if I don’t answer your call (and you get sent to the new and rather blunt voicemail message I’ve set up) that it’s not an iPhone problem but rather I am ignoring you.
You know that holly bush with which I’ve been fighting all month? One of the two which make it impossible to see as I back out of my driveway? It took nearly twelve-and-a-half years but I almost got into an accident last night pulling out of my driveway. As I’ve been doing ever since moving is I looked down the street in both directions and upon seeing no cars proceeded to back up. Except yesterday as my car’s rear end passed the bushes there was a car on the street! I’m not saying the car was speeding (as many do on my small street) but it was a Corvette… An accident yesterday would have been ironic as one of the main reasons that I’ve been spending time cutting those damn things back and raising their leaf mass is to be able to see the road as I back out.
Crossroad
At one point yesterday I was planning my exit strategies. Because I’ve been rather displeased with my recent output I thought today might be the final InsideThePerimeter I’d ever write (and it may still be, one never knows). As I keep hearing of people my age dying, or having health issues (from which I am certainly not immune) [Did you know that tv’s Maura Tierney is 46 years old? Did you know that she had breast cancer last year?] I keep thinking that it’s time for me to put some things, mostly financial, in order. Getting old sucks, but let’s all try to get old together.
Deja Vu All Over Again
Yesterday’s doctor’s appointment was almost comical. In addition to being informed that I’ve lost a good bit of muscle mass, my doctor prescribed more physical therapy and set me up with an orthopedist. Oh, did I mention that the orthopedist I’ll be seeing during the first week of September is the same one I saw at the end of May? Huh…
My doctor warned me that the more my hip pops, the more damage it’ll do and the better chance that I’ll have an arthritic hip when I’m older. Well Hell’s Bells, there’s something to look forward to! Maybe by that time we’ll have personal jetpacks and I won’t need two healthy hips. Or maybe something else will kill me before then.
Don’t Know How Much I Want To Push Myself
There is going to be a great show tonight at The Drunken Unicorn. Second-billed is a band called Country Mice who I caught wind of via the PR firm that represents them. Normally I’d have no reticence about going out on a Friday night for a show, but I am meeting my photog friends early tomorrow morning so that we can head to a camera gear swap meet in Dalton, GA before proceeding up to the Ocoee River to do some photography up there; weather permitting (there is a 50% chance of rain for that area) tomorrow should be a great day. I think that I’ll make sure my iPhone is in a waterproof case tomorrow.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – scared shitless, if I can be perfectly honest
Current Music – the sound of me munching on a blueberry scone from Starbucks while drinking the free drink they gave me as a birthday gift.
Website Of The Day – I want you to try some music you’ve probably never listened to before — jazz, specifically the jazz made by Trombone Shorty. Oh, you’ve already heard of Trombone Shorty? Give yourself a gold star!
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – none taken
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~12.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 4
Carnivorous Days – 24
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
July Goals
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash
– Buy a bicycle and start riding again
– 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
– Lose three pounds
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]
Apparently, the horses celebrated Lisa’s birthday yesterday by getting into an argument with the neighbors and tearing up a section of fence. Parker has a nice scrape along one leg and a chunk taken out of another. I have told them and told them not to talk politics or religion with the neighbors, but they just don’t listen. Furtunatly, they just knocked boards ott and didn’t break any.
We are looking forward to a visit from Barb and Allan tomorrow prior to going to a concert around the corner from the farm. Some of Barb’s Parrotthead friends live nearby… small world.
A slightly late happy birthday to one of my 2 favorite Wisconsin women!
-FP
I bet they were fighting about the debt ceiling Steve. That topic has many people foaming at the mouth these days. 🙂
Have a great time tomorrow.
I say start backing into your driveway when you get home – so you can pull out forward in the morning. Allan backs the car/truck in almost all the time when he gets home, and I’ve even started to do it sometimes. It is nice to just pull forward in the morning.
Looking forward to a dip in Steve & Debbie’s pool – and it isn’t going to look like gatorade this time! I got another email – the “house concert” will be having a smoked pork butt, plus some wings, so we are supposed to bring a dish to share……. I see more tomatoes & mozzerella & maybe salsa to bring to that party (or what else can I make with tomatoes?) What other leftovers do I still have from last week?
And – hopefully Steve & Debbie can make some new very “local” friends.
Yeah, I have a friend who had breast cancer at *age 37* – it really brings it home, doesn’t it? She fought and defeated that sucker (yeaaaah!). But, wow. 37 years old. You know it can happen that young, but when you become older than said age? It really hits home.
Great to hear about your phone being OK! Guess it won’t be dying young afterall. 😉
And what a great idea, Barb – backing in the driveway. Since I mainly park on the street now, I always just “pull out” and I hadn’t realized how nice that is! (we have a back parking lot, but I only park there if I can’t get my primo street parking)
Speaking of backing into spots though (cause we were kinda there)….someone told me once to look around business parking lots: that “unhappy” employees tend to back into spots more often than happy ones (what? so they can pull away and get out quicker?? I’m not sure) …. so especially if you’re going to interview there, you’ll get a good idea how many folks actually like working there!
Stacy – nowyou make me wonder – lots of people here at my office back in…….
Too funny. I always dislike those who back into or pull through parking spaces. Why? Because the driver’s door is now on the wrong side and will probably wind up hitting my car when the driver gets out — and the Jackmobile has many scars from careless drivers.
I have started backing into my driveway on occasion, mostly when I need to load large items like sacks of laundry into the back seat via the passenger-side door. Normally when I pull into the driveway front-first I pull so far over to the righthand side of the carport it makes using the passenger-side door hard to own wide.
and Stacy – I’ve just started some sh*t here today with the backing in thing – I love my crazy office sometime………
Paulie – you don’t think the door dings can happen just as easily in the regular direction? I’ve never thought about it making any difference. (I love pulling thru spaces to the other side, again, so I don’t have to back out…….)
I was going to call you Schleprock yesterday but thought it may push you over the edge. 🙂
I back my truck in most of the time for 2 reasons. 1. it’s easier, truck is huge and backing saves me from having to move like austin powers to get in a space. and 2. I used to valet park cars and can back in almost without looking.
Yes they can happen but they are far less like to happen on my driver-side door if everyone pulls into spaces (or don’t pull through) because fewer cars contain passengers who’d do the damage. Not surprisingly I always attempt to park in the right-most parking space of any row in an effort to reduce the number of times a car will park next to me and have its driver open their door into my car.
My mom died at 35, the year I turned 35 was rough. It took a couple of more years before I started to figure it out but live your life for your, make yourself the priority, learn to say no (the most powerful word I know) to others and yes to yourself!! Never been happier.
the only time I back into a parking space is at the gym (it’s a messed up parking lot), I will always pull through if the option presents itself. The backing in only pisses me off when it is clear the person has little experience doing it and I have to wait while they try to figure it out.
Why do you say you failed at returning to exercise? You did return, I heard you say so yourself. Maybe you didn’t run/walk as many miles or days as you’d have liked but you did do it. Give yourself credit where credit is due. I lost a good bit of muscle mass after I tore my ACL, it isn’t uncommon, use it or lose it as they say.
On a fun note, tomorrow me and my team, Cougars and Cubs, will be competing the first annual Turf War, at the gym. Swing by if your in the ‘hood and check it out, should be … well let’s just say, I’ll be pulling a truck, interesting.
Because I have pain in my hip again (right now as a matter of fact) and cannot exercise is why I consider my return a failure. I was hoping to be beyond pain which was not a resultant of tired muscles from exercising.
I’m meeting my photog buddies at 6am for a departure north so I shan’t be in the ‘hood tomorrow. Best of luck with your truck pulling. Just keep in mind that a body in motion stays in motion unless there are people around to stop it or step on the brakes. 😉
pulling a truck?
maybe I should get Martha’s gang from the gym to come move the hottub?
I’m a “puller througher” myself – if it’s there, I take it. Mainly because people are absolute idiots in parking lots. They fly down the aisles at ridiculous speeds (I bet Mr. Corvette does!) and if you’re backing out, you can be so screwed.
I can see a little better in the new car, but with my old one, being so low to the ground? If I had a SUV parked next to me, I had to be all the way backed out before I could even see around it! So I had to count on people driving slow enough to see me pulling out and stop….not flying down the aisle at 40mph or whatever it seems they do and smash into me. So, yeah. If I can do the pull through and be able to see sooner, I will do it.
That’s a tip, too: when you’re driving down one of these aisles, pay special attention to the parked SUVs. You’ll never know when there’s a car on the other side of it that’s fixin’ to back out.
Barb – way too funny! Are they all agreeing? Hahahaha
I was also told that backing in is a racial thing too – that more black people back in than white people. I’m not going to venture why that would be though. (and all my black friends here at work are agreeing with it – too funny!)
Laura, do you know when you’ll be competing? I am debating running over to watch. But it might get too hot.
Barb, I think you just need to figure out how to make a competition out of the hottub moving and the CrossFitters will show up. 😉
Yeah, too bad you can’t flip a hot tub into the back yard like you could a tractor tire.
You could make up a few tshirts for the “2011 Great Hot Tub Tote” Folks would start lining up to help.
Jenka, WOD 1 starts at 8:30, WOD 2 at 9:45…the third one is the truck pull. The added safety measure of a ‘driver’ has recently been added.
I seem to remember a Wheelhopper ending with a group moving an old hot tub, you could try that also.
“Safety”? And I thought you people were hardcore. 🙂
Well it is pure for economical reasons, a gym owner doesn’t make any money if all his clients get run over by a truck.
BRILLIANT!
This explains why I’ll never be a successful business owner. 🙂
Lisa’s bday was very nice – she appreciated your textful wishes. I think the boys were pretty well behaved and her mom is in town, so I think it was relatively “relaxing” (emphasis on relatively).
Have a great weekend!