The Accidental Hasher

Two days.
Two walks.
Two different parts of town.
I accidentally found hash trail — twice.

On Saturday the temperature in my office became unbearable (seriously, when I left to go for a walk to “cool down” the temperature inside the building was hovering around 85º F). As I started to walk out of the office’s parking lot I noticed flour, fresh flour. Being Saturday afternoon, and a hasher a heart, I decided to follow trail to see where it went. I quickly confirmed that I was “on-on” and not “no-no” but being in “nice workout clothes” I gave up the trail when it went into a part the Perimeter Mall area known for mud and brier.

Here is the rambling trail I followed:

The red pin is where I finally decided that I wasn’t going to find the end; I had been off trail for a while and was trying to box to find it again. When I gave up I pulled out my phone and saw that I had a voicemail from the hash’s hare. I found that the trail’s end was nearby, so I headed toward the end, getting actual hashers to follow me like Pied Piper. As I stood in circle (in an ancient marathon t-shirt — because it was never my intent to hash on Saturday) I did two down-downs as penance for my stupidity for following trail.

And when I went back to work to find the office’s temperature had actually risen two degrees, I packed up my shit and went home.

On Sunday I started to my walk from the ITP Estate, changed my initial plan to walk around Grant Park and headed down toward ITP-Reader Martha’s house instead (I wish I had been carrying her stuff because I should have stopped by her place to say ‘Hello’). As I turned north and headed up Cherokee Av. wouldn’t you know that I found trail again?! This time I knew that the trail was a day old (it was a Black Sheep Sunday and I rightly surmised that this flour was Saturday’s Atlanta Hash trail) so I decided not to follow it. I completed my route without seeing any more trail. I’m not sure how far I walked on Sunday as my MapMyWalk app recorded 4.75 miles, but Gmaps Pedometer clocked the walk at 5.00 miles; either way it was a lot better than 0.00 miles.

Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
List 5 traits, skills, or talents you’re happy you have.

We often don’t take the time to consider what’s special about ourselves – and for many people, it’s far too easy to focus on the negative. But when we acknowledge the things we do well and appreciate the wonderful qualities we have, it strengthens our self-worth and reminds us that we are unique and have a lot to offer.

1. I am loyal. Do me right and you can always expect the same from me.
2. I am punctual. Tell me when to meet you and you can guarantee that I will be there on time.
3. I love to write code. I feel fortunate that I can perform a job I love (even when I work many more than 40 hours in a week) and that the job pays well enough to support my habits.
4. I am self-sufficient (in a non-financial manner of speaking). Being single for nearly seventeen of the past twenty years encourages one to figure out how to do things for one’s self.
5. I am committed to writing this blog. Admittedly some days are better than others, but I’ll keep trying for the foreseeable future.

Whew, that was harder than I thought that it would be.

ITP Flickr Pic
Want to see what happens when the hare recognizes your car in the parking lot?

Does Barcelona Do Daylight Saving Time?
When will we finally realize that this nutty time shuffling we do twice a year is nonsense. I was more than ready to punch someone in the face when I awoke on Sunday morning — one hour “later” than normal. ITP-Reader Barb was smart to go this weekend prior to Europe’s non-sensical time transition.

I was going to head into the office, but with Saturday’s heat I chose to stay at home instead. As you read above I did manage to go out for a walk.

What I didn’t get around to doing this weekend was laundry, so I’ll be hanging out at the lavanderia tonight.

RealiTV Update: The Amazing Race — There’s Something About Rachel
I cannot stand the teams containing Rachels on this season of The Amazing Race. Both teams are arguing endlessly and the to the Rachel with Brendon all I can say is “STOP BEING A FUCKING CHILD! YOU ARE 27 YEARS OLD, GROW THE FUCK UP!”

While I love my RealiTV I am tired of the commercials, especially those extended ones which occur within the show. Seriously, show the Ford. Fine. Mention the Ford. Fine. But continually push their “coolness” and then conveniently add a Ford as part of one of the challenges is going too far in my books.

AND NOW THE SPOILER
I knew it was time for a non-eliminiation leg! But in this case I’m not sad to see The Kentuckians go. I’m completely impressed with the generosity of the border patrol guys, and they have put themselves at the top of the list of teams I’d like to see win.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – irked
Current Music – listening to a recent 5 By 5 podcast
Website Of The Day – Have you ever wanted to back up your Google data? Google Takeout is here to help.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Saturday = ~3.5 miles; Sunday = ~5.0 miles
Morning Weigh-In – check in on Wednesdays now

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~20.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 11 (I missed yesterday)

Vegetarian Days – 0
Carnivorous Days – 11
Pancakes Eaten – 0

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

March Goals
– Lose at least three pounds (net weight loss)
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
– 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
– Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
– Submit 2012 paperwork for Sharpened Stone, LLC
– File tax paperwork for 2011 income taxes
– 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]