You Blink And One-Twelfth Of The Year Is Done

It’s January 31st.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Write down one word that describes how you want your day to go.
(my answer is at the bottom of today’s post)

January Recap
Well, I missed many of the goals I set to accomplish this month and depending what I call “sick” I might also miss out on “Not to get sick for the entire month” as I’m not feeling all that grand at the moment. I’ve got something really annoying going on today which is going to drive me a bit more irritable than normal. 🙁

I started walking. That was good.
I didn’t walk/exercise enough. That was bad.
I attended a dinner party. That was good.
I didn’t eat vegetarian for ten days. That was bad. Hell, I didn’t even make it once. That was very bad.
I started taking photos again. That was good.
I ate six pancakes. That was good, and probably a bit bad.
I didn’t meet any women, never mind asking one out on a date. Unfortunately that’s par for my course.
I came close to getting my tax paperwork in order. That’s okay.
I didn’t completely heal from my wreck of eleven months ago. That’s because I now feel that will never happen.

Wandering Aimlessly
I took my camera out on a stroll yesterday after work. My goal was to luck into a great reflection shot of the Concourse (King & Queen) buildings.

At least I got a nearly four-mile walk yesterday…

ITP Flickr Pic
Another shot from Sunday’s Chinese New Year celebration.

Interestingly, the man in the front of this dragon is ITP-Betsy’s neighbor Mike. Small world, eh?

Geez, It’s As If I’m Doing The Repairs
Last week we were informed that our office workout/locker room would be closed for repairs from “Monday through Thursday.” Given that I was out of town on Tuesday and Wednesday this didn’t seem to be much of a hardship for me.

When I left the office on Friday afternoon I asked the security guard on duty when the workout/locker room would reopen. “Monday” I was told.

When I returned from my walk last night I asked the security guard on duty when the workout/locker room would reopen. “Wednesday, no later than Thursday” I was told.

It’s comforting to me to see that people are as accurate as estimating the time needed to complete construction jobs as they are estimating the time needed to complete software jobs.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – frustrated on many levels
Current Music – listening to this past week’s “This American Life” podcast, and its amazingly frightening
Website Of The Day – I’ve become a bit of a crossword nerd recently and find myself going to the USA Today’s Puzzle Page to do theirs online. Someday I’ll graduate to not needed the help provided when I start to type in an incorrect answer.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – walking, 3.9 miles
Morning Weigh-In – 213 pounds (ugh)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~15.6 miles
Wheel Mileage – ~6.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 5

Vegetarian Days – 0
Carnivorous Days – 30
Pancakes Eaten – 6

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

January Goals
– Lose at least one pound (net weight loss)
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash (though I’m beginning to think that this will never happen)
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
– Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
– Follow up with doctors, lawyer, women in whom I have interest
– Participate in a least one dinner party (perhaps held at my house when plumbing issues are addressed?)
– Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
– Submit 2012 paperwork for Sharpened Stone, LLC
– Gather all tax paperwork for 2011 income taxes
– Request free credit report
– Successfully arrange for automatic payments for my mortgage
– Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
– Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than one one 10K
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
– Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
– Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
– Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
– Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
– See more live concerts than I did in 2011
– Eat more pancakes
– Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Answer: “productively”