There has been a slight changes in plans for today. I’m not writing this from an eclectic coffee shop, bar, or restaurant in Asheville, NC as planned instead I’m writing from the ITP Estate. A late night last night (spent mostly at work and The Fred Bar) led to a tired Paulie this morning. Combining my late slumber with the lack of packing and the 50% chance of thunderstorms all weekend (read “walking unfriendly”) forecast for the Asheville area I decided to get a later start on the day than I had initially planned. Oh, I’m still going to Asheville today and am planning on attending the Gomez concert tomorrow night (with the double bonus of having Canada’s Hey Rosetta! opening and being held that The Orange Peel — a legendary venue I’ve never graced), it’s just that my stay will be shorter than initially anticipated.
Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Say thank you to someone at least one time today.
Gratitude is great for you and the person who receives your appreciation! Research shows that grateful people take better care of themselves, and that gratitude lowers stress and boosts the immune system. Appreciating others also builds community and improves relationships, because it’s hard not to smile when someone sincerely thanks you.
I missed doing this yesterday (other than the heart-felt, yet non-chalant “Thank Yous” spoken to people serving you), so I will thank you all for being ITP-Readers, and in many cases great friends.
ITP Flickr Pic
None. Not even a walking map today because the thunderstorm that passed through Sandy Springs / Dunwoody and the threat of more of them kept me from walking yesterday.
No ExSE for Me
The past couple of years I participated in a mocking on Twitter of the SxSW music festival that we called ExSE. All SxSW weekend we posted fake ExSE concert announcements and reviews on Twitter. Hell, I even created a logo for the non-existent festival:
But with comedy, as with the stock market, you need to know when to get in and when to get out and it was time for me to get out.
Speaking Of The Stock Market (Again), I Should Have Gotten In
Now that Bank of America (BAC) has eclipse $9/share I’m kicking myself for not buying it when it was near $5/share. My target buy-in was $5.00/share, but it’s lowest point when I was tracking it was $5.04/share so I didn’t buy. Oh you nasty four pennies a share!
No guts, no glory. Huh, I wonder if that saying hold true with approaching women?
Erin Go Braless
Have a fun and safe St. Patrick’s Day weekend everyone — except you, ITP-Reader Barb, your having way too much fun already this week. 😛
I wonder if I can find a Mexican restaurant in Asheville tomorrow night so I can keep with my “St. Patrick’s Day <--> Cinco de Mayo” flip-flop tradition that I stole from my friend Sandy years ago.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but I really need to pack some clothing for this weekend
Current Music – listening to the Lower Dens concert recorded recently at SxSW
Website Of The Day – It’s SxSW music time in Austin, TX. There’s a part of me that wishes that I had moved to Austin instead of Atlanta in 1995. I wonder what I’d be doing today if I had — certainly not be driving to Asheville, NC — that’s for sure!
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 210.4 last Wednesday
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~28.3 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Days Of Bed-Making – 14
Vegetarian Days – 0
Carnivorous Days – 15
Pancakes Eaten – 0
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
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]
We have made it to Barcelona, sitting in a very gaudy ( not Gaudi) hotel having a free Estrella Damm from the 24 hr hospitality room.
There was a recent report on NPR about the lack of people saying thank you, or more generally a lack of manners. Being raised in the South, I have never really noticed this, as people generally are polite. The next generation may be a little lacking, but I think they are still polite in their own way.
Today is a day of work around the farm, with Debbies’ brother Andy coming over to take a looksee at the barn and its repair. The pool is being driained as we speak and there is an acid wash in its future. This means pool party and full contact dominoes at the day spa soon!
Tomorrow, a group of us from the Highland Games will be marching in the St. Patricks Day parade. Look for kilts and a large black and white dog wearing a green T-shirt that says “Kiss Me I’m Irish”.
Have a great time in Asheville.
-FP
So there will be a bunch of Scots, with a German dog marching in the St. Patricks Day parade???
I’m trying to figure out my Sunday, there was a two hour trail run scheduled but since I’m not running (it’s been a week…ugh) I might try to find someone to ride with or go to CF and yoga, might depend on the weather.
Precisely. So what’s your point? 😉
Sunday will be the road stage of the Union City race, so I’d steer clear of “Silk Sheets”. I know we use some of it, and we’re liable to screw up traffic as only a bike race can do. Just sayin’
At a standstill on I-26 West about twenty miles from Asheville. I’m being punished for trying a new route. Dangen!