Confidence Lost: Celebrating My Past

I have been thinking about rekindling the joyous days of last year’s vacation — the days before the transmission in the Jackmobile went belly-up.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the accidental ride which was the last good ride before the accident ride. The ride occurred in South Dakota, the ride which was supposed to be twenty-eight miles long that I turned into a fifty mile ride.

Last year’s ride.

Perhaps it was the beer. Perhaps it was being surrounded by so many young people. Last night I conjured a plan to ride my bicycle to work today. That plan turned into a plan to drive my bike into work today so that I could ride it home tonight, and ride the bike back into work tomorrow.

As I tossed about my bed this morning I convinced myself that I am still not ready to do either. I have too many health issues and too much uncertainty in my life at the moment.

My confidence was also not boosted by the snugness of the pants I put on this morning. And I just now realized that today is Wednesday and I failed to weigh myself.

Sad.
But true.

That Porter Is Popular
As I walked by Criminal Records the door flung open and my name was called out. It was my buddy Mike, with whom I was to have dinner with at The Porter Beer Bar before we headed down to Variety Playhouse for the The Hold Steady show.

As we entered The Porter I noticed the place was packed and I made great eye contact with an attractive woman — who was married. While Mike and I didn’t have to wait long to be seated, because of the number of people in the place we were seated in the far back region of the restaurant. If you’ve never been in the back of The Porter (and the last time that I think I was the place was still Bridgetown Grill) let me tell you that it is loud. So loud is the noise from the patrons (like the table of ten youngin’s seated next to us celebrating someone’s birthday) that my throat today is a little raw from having to raise my voice to talk to Mike.

The food was fair, the Reuben was decent and the garlic fries would have been a lot better had they been hot. I had been informed by the brewers from Monday Night Brewing that their beer was available at The Porter, but I didn’t see it listed, so I went with Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale instead.

The Hold Steady Rocked It
This may have been the fifth time (I could probably do the research but don’t have the time) that I’ve seen The Hold Steady with Mike, dating back to the first time I ever saw them at The EARL. Things have been a little strange with the band since the departure of their keyboardist last year (two years ago?). The last time I saw The Hold Steady play they had a substitute keyboardist, last night was the first time I’ve seen them sans keyboardist.

The band put on a decent ninety minute(ish) show, though some of their “classics” (haha) suffered from the lack of keyboards. I had a couple of Lagunitas IPAs to help me enjoy the show, and as an added bonus when I couldn’t make it back into the front of the crowd after a pee-break I was able to find a good viewing angle which also included a viewing angle of a very Paulie-approved young lady.

I’ll probably see The Hold Steady perform every time it’s convenient for me. I admit their arena-rock is not for everyone, but I kinda dig it.

I’m Thinking It’s Going To Be A Tomatillos Night
I need to check out this place before everyone else does.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – sad, cold because it’s 68ºF at my cubicle this morning and I’m dressed in shorts
Current Music – listing to this week’s “Build and Analyze” podcast
Website Of The Day – I don’t know why I don’t watch rugby, I really think that I would enjoy doing so. In honor of a sport I know little about, I present (and should peruse) USA Rugby. Look at that, Atlanta has a rugby team called the Atlanta Old White. HOWEVER I’d avoid going to their website as it seems to have been co-opted by a Russian as it immediately tries to redirect you to another (probably malware) site.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – stair climbing, 6 flights
Morning Weigh-In – I completely forgot this morning

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 62.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 86 flights

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

Vegetarian Days – 4
Carnivorous Days – 26

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

August Goals
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash
– Ride my bike no fewer than 150 miles
– 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 two 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]