Live And Learn

9:00am? Already?!? Some day I hope I can learn to stay ahead of schedule. But today is not that day, so this will be rather short.

Today’s Personal Project
Map my week out so that I can hope to start staying ahead, if not on, schedule.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Write a wish list for the next twelve months, and circle the top thing you’d like to achieve.

Thinking about how you’d like your year to go helps you clarify your goals. And though making goals is a good start to achieving your dreams, research shows that identifying the concrete, measurable actions you need to take is even more powerful. By thinking about what it would take to make your number-one wish come true, it begins to move it from wish to reality.

Good Time At The Aquarium
I joined my boss and an ex-coworker for drinks and fish on Friday night. We started the evening at Benchwarmers, and old drinking hole of mine (which, is now non-smoking), and then headed to the aquarium. The band playing on Friday night were okay, but even in an environment which is built for acoustics they would not have impressed me.

We wandered the aquarium for an hour or two. I think the aquarium is much like an art museum for me, a place to go alone so that I can do what I want for however long I want. In fact, if it weren’t so damn expensive to go in the aquarium (not to mention having to pay for parking) I would go more often.

Not What I Expected
Was I ever misplaced on Saturday. After finding coffee (anyone else bothered that most Atlanta coffee houses open late on the weekends?) I made my way to Highgroove Studio for the Code Retreat. Highgroove is sort of place I would love to work, except I do not possess the skill set for what they do. This lack of skill would prove cumbersome all day long.

I didn’t know what to expect from the day other than we’d be put into groups of two (six times in all) and told attempt to solve Conway’s Game of Life. I don’t normally think of myself as an incapable programmer but among this crowd I was in the bottom third. I struggled all goddamn day long to play by the rules imposed upon us. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper by day’s end.

There was a bright spot, however. For lunch they brought in Fox Bros BBQ, which was as tasty as usual, and made me feel better about not ponying up the $70 for that night’s pit master dinner.

Even though I had it for lunch I did attempt to eat dinner at Fox Bros on Saturday, but even after 8:00pm the place was packed with a line waiting to get in. So, I drove over to Decatur and ate at their sister restaurant Big Tex Cantina.

I Rode, I Mowed, I Did Neither Particularly Well
I really wanted to convince myself to drive out to Silk Sheets and ride, but I just couldn’t because, you know, I’m behind schedule. It took some doing, but I finally convinced myself to get on the Black Jack and tote my fat arse out to Stone Mountain and back. (Steve, my indecision is why you did not hear from me.)

After my journey I showered and plopped onto the bed, where “doing work” quickly turned into impromptu “take nap.” I was dragging all day long, and it wasn’t until late in the afternoon that I remembered that I was planning on mowing the lawns yesterday because:
a) They needed to be cut (and the dirt portions needed to be stirred)
b) The weather was agreeable, something that could not be guaranteed as the week started
c) I’m headed OTP later in the week, so my schedule is compressed

Shortly after 6:00pm I was out there, fighting the mosquitos (which are prevalent in my back yard), pushing my self-propelled lawnmower.

Have I ever mentioned that I should not have become a homeowner?

Feeling somewhat proud of myself for actually accomplishing my two main goals for the day (never mind that I failed at all attempts to write software) I “rewarded” myself to a second shower of the day followed by a night of watching and listening to podcasts.

Oh the lavish life I lead!

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, though the things which bother me continue to do so
Current Music – silence for now
Website Of The Day – You probably have to be the type of Seinfeld fan that I was in the 1990s (though my attempts at getting into “Curb Your Enthusiasm” have failed) to appreciate Jerry’s new outlet Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. Funnily, in episode 1 Jerry picks up Larry David, and the episode is titled “Larry Eats A Pancake.”
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Sunday = cycling, ~38.5 miles
Morning Weigh-In – still not checking

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~75.1 miles
Wheel Mileage – ~182.4 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 6
Carnivorous Days – 23
Pancakes Eaten – 3

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

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
3. God, No! — Penn Jillette
4. The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
5. Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
6. How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
7. Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
8. Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
9. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

July Goals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Post at least ten new photos during the month (let’s try this again)
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– 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
– Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course
– Ride no fewer than 150 miles

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]