Back At It

I’m back at work today, though admittedly not at 100%. But then again, when am I ever at 100% these days?

Today’s Personal Project
Keep feeling better, plan what I need to accomplish this weekend.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Share one favorite breakfast that fills you up and keeps you energized.

Most people know that eating breakfast is important. But as anyone who’s eaten a doughnut and then crashed an hour later will tell you, what you have for breakfast matters just as much! The breakfasts that give you the most get-up-and-go contain a combination of some protein (such as peanut butter or an egg), complex carbohydrates (like oatmeal or whole grain bread), and fiber (fruit or veggies). By sharing and reading about others’ best breakfasts, you will learn some new ways to bring slow-burning energy to your day.

Um, pancakes? Unfortunately that fails their “slow-burning energy” test. And why have I yet to eat any pancakes in October?

Well Enough To Rock With The Hold Steady
I finally got into the shower yesterday at 9:15pm and the only reason I did so was to go out to The EARL to see/hear The Hold Steady with my buddy Mike. Mike and I have seen The Hold Steady about five times now, including a show at The EARL some years ago, and last night’s show did not disappoint.

The Hold Steady are currently working on a new album and with a festival date this Saturday in Charleston (as Mike pointed out to me) a stop in Atlanta at a small club to play their hits and work out a few new songs was too good of an opportunity to pass up. The hits were played and new songs were sprinkled in to their set. I had a few cheap beers and enjoyed the hell out of the show.

It’s Not The Number, It’s The Look
Years ago when I lost a lot of weight people would always ask me for a target weight that I wanted to attain. “It’s not the number, it’s the look.” I’d tell them, and then go on to explain how I just wanted to look nice and to have my clothes fit well.

Stepping on to the scale today and seeing it read “only” 202 pounds should have pleased me, but didn’t because I possess a wealth of mid-section fat that looks horrible, makes my pants feel weird, and wreaks havoc with keeping shirts tucked-in nicely.

So again I say “It’s not the number, it’s the look.” though I must admit that it I could get down to around 185 pounds again I think that I’d look fairly awesome (for an old man, anyway).

Less Of A Cookbook, More Of A Storybook With Recipes
I picked up my recently-delivered book White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story with an intent to start perusing it this weekend. As “cookbooks” go it seemed small, and its pages were not glossy. As I started flipping the novel-like paper pages I realized that not only were there no photos (a must for a a cookbook in my view) but there was a lot of prose and very few recipes. It turns out, at least from my initial scanning, that the book is a set of stories which have an accompanying recipe. Interesting. However I really wish that I had been able to get a Kindle version now so that I don’t have to lug this novel-with-recipes around with me as I attempt to read it.

Weekend Plans In Flux
I had started waffling (or as I say “pancaking”) about my weekend activities prior to becoming sick on Wednesday. Now with my health teetering on okay I don’t feel comfortable making any solid plans. There is the “Fast Forward: Modern Moments >> 1913-2013” party at the High Museum tomorrow night that I could attend. I hear that the Candler Park Fall Fest is this weekend as well.

If I want to be proud of myself I should spend the time I’ve opened up doing chores — laundry, yard work, de-cluttering — or at least figure out a way that I can meet Channel 11’s Julie Wolfe (kidding, well not really).

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – better, not great, but better
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – I was about as lowbrow as I could be yesterday, and thus I spent time yesterday looking at Totally Looks Like.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 202 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~40.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 11

Vegetarian Meals – 20
Carnivorous Meals – 10
Pancakes Eaten – 0

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

October Goals
– Wear “nice” clothes to work at least twice a week, if for no other reason than to have people wonder why I am dressing up. New!
– 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
– 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 100 miles
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 100 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups
– Read a non-techincal book
– Find someone else to go out on a date with

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]