Without Bad Luck I’d Have No Luck At All

Ugh.

I hope that your Labor Day weekend was much better than mine. Though, admittedly it would be hard for it not to have been.

I was hoping that September would be a good month for me, but already I have written it off.
What’s today? Oh yeah, September 4th. Since the beginning of the month I have worked twelve hours of “my time off,” have been unable to set up a meeting with someone I met a few weeks back, and something else bad happened that I’ll describe below.

Today’s Personal Project
Try to put my sorrows behind me. Time permitting, start putting more of my crap into boxes that I will be taking to Goodwill this week.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Punch the air in front of you, switching arms, for thirty seconds; take a break and do it once more.

You don’t need a punching bag to get the benefits of a boxing class! Punching the air in front of you works your arm and shoulder muscles, raises your heart rate for a cardio workout, and helps blow off some steam in a way that won’t get you into trouble. How’s that for a knockout exercise?

I sure would like to punch something…

The Only Positive Thus Far
On Saturday night I went to see “My Name Is Asher Lev” which was put on by Theatrical Outfit. As with many of the plays I’ve seen there (specifically at the Balzer Theater) this was done extremely well. The cast consisted of three people, an actor who plays Asher Lev, an actress who plays Asher’s mother as well as an art dealer, and an actor who plays Asher’s father as well as a litany of other male roles throughout the play. I wouldn’t exactly call the subject matter of the play uplifting, Asher is a Hasidic Jew who takes up painting and in the end winds up being ostracized by his parents, but the quality of acting make the experience of seeing it worthwhile.

ITP Flickr Pic
What is it about people damaging the cars I drive around Labor Day? Why can’t I have nice things?

Two years ago on Labor Day week some shithead scratched the car I was renting in Denver, twice.

This year I chose not to go to the Colorado Invihash. Instead, I was doing laundry yesterday and when I came out of the laundromat I saw that this had happened to the Jackmobile.

I heard nothing because I was in the rear of the laundromat wearing earplugs as I attempted to watch a Stanford iOS course refresher in order to help with all of the goddamn work that I have to get done in the next two weeks. Of course there were no witnesses, no one came into the laundromat asking for the owner of the car they just damaged, and no note was left. I called the police and filed an accident report, which will do no good in reality because the Jackmobile is really too old to get cosmetic body work done and I don’t need another hit on my automobile insurance.

This is the third time someone has hit one of my parked cars! Back in the 1980s someone ran into my Mustang, denting the area behind the driver’s door, when it was parked on a street. Back in the 1990s someone hit my 240sx, denting the area behind the driver’s door, when it was parked in a parking garage. And now this…

Seriously, before anyone asks me why I am not a happy person, they should have to endure the never-ending amount of bullshit with which I’ve had to deal over my forty-seven years.

I Need To Find My Running Legs
I’m sure that they are stored somewhere along with my running lungs and running mindset.

Full of rage and a raging headache, I left the office after putting in “only” three hours on Labor Day. While the weather wasn’t exactly “nice” yesterday, it wasn’t raining so I decided that I should seize the opportunity and go for a walk/run.

My attempts at running could be classified as nothing better than terrible. I currently don’t have the feet, legs, lungs, or mindset for running. I shall keep trying because I think even shitty attempts at running are better cardiovascularly than just walking, but it’s a bit disheartening.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – pissed off
Current Music – silence, though I’m thinking that today will be a full on punk music day
Website Of The Day – While they only take rechargeable batteries I am planning on using Call2Recycle to find a nearby place to recycle mine.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – walking/jogging, ~5.7 miles
Morning Weigh-In – 204.2, though my pants feel no different

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~5.7 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 4
Carnivorous Meals – 3
Pancakes Eaten – 3

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

August Goals
– Eat no fewer than forty-five vegetarian meals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Take unused electronics to recycling center
– 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)
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Ride no fewer than 150 miles (might be hard given the amount of travel scheduled this month)
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 75 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups

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

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

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]