Wasted Weekend

In many ways I did productive things this weekend, but in the end I wound up getting wasted each night.

Today’s Personal Project
Not to get wasted. In fact, I desire to do the opposite and go to LA Fitness tonight.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Fit in a walk by parking as far away as you can or getting off the bus or train one stop early.

Walking for five minutes may not sound like much, but it adds up quickly! For example, if you walk five minutes to your office in the morning and then five minutes back to your car at the end of the day, you will have walked 50 minutes by week’s end. A short, brisk walk can get your heart pumping and make you feel energized. Plus, that quick bit of down time is good for your mental well-being.

I occasionally did this when I rode MARTA. If it’s not raining tonight perhaps I’ll perform today’s Daily Challenge. Hell, if I want to be a stud I can walk to LA Fitness from my office.

I Hate The Traffic In This Town
A quick scan of the traffic on Friday afternoon convinced me that heading toward East Atlanta was going to have to be put on hold.

Still not feeling spry I dismissed the idea of heading to LA Fitness and headed to Taco Mac instead. I was flying solo and seemed to beat any of the Friday happy hour crowds that were due to arrive so I was immediately seated. I was served by a lovely and sharp waitress, whose name I’ve forgotten since no one there wears name badges any longer. While seeing me struggle to find a beer that I had yet to consume she asked me about the beers I liked and didn’t like; I built an immediate trust in her beer knowledge and turned my list over to her with a request of “Surprise me, please.”

The guy at the table next to me was also waiting out traffic and was on his first night of being a Brewniversity member. We chatted for a few minutes and upon hearing that I just surpassed my seventh anniversary asked me for a beer suggestion; he seemed okay with the Lagunitas IPA I prescribed.

Photoshop Phrustrations
Bright and early on Saturday morning I joined a handful of my Flickr/RPS photog friends for some Photoshop tutorials. The meeting place was nearly a stone’s throw from my office so I knew exactly how long it would take me to reach the office. What I wasn’t expecting was having the process seem too much like I was going to my office, so I forgot to pack my computer’s power cord. Luckily I’m an “arrive early” person so was able to get into my office, fetch my other power cord, and make it to the office prior to the 8:00am start.

We spent nearly an entire day (it broke up a little after 3:00pm) working through examples. Since I was running Photoshop Elements, and not pure Photoshop, I ground my teeth more than once as I struggled to find analogous techniques, not always entirely successfully.

When I finally made my way through the amazingly heavy Saturday traffic I passed a gaggle of hashing friends who were headed on foot to ITP-Reader Betsy’s house after spending time in what I heard was a very lackluster EAV Art Walk. I was asked to join in the festivity, and being the mensch that I am saw no problem in driving to the liquor store for more alcoholic munitions.

ITP Flickr Pic
When presented with good light and a subject willing to pose no photographer worth his/her salt would pass.

I’m just trying to figure out if this image is really sharp or not; my initial feeling is that it is a wee little bit soft.

I Don’t Do Change Well
At first my plan for yesterday involved chores followed by a dinner at a coworker’s house (with other coworkers) which was mentioned last week at Taco Mac. Having not heard a whisper about dinner since the initial mention I made the assumption that the deal was off so I entertained the idea of going to the Black Sheep Hash since it was very near East Atlanta. My enthusiasm for hashing waned when the hashing plans made the previous night fell apart, unfortunately too late for me to even consider joining the bike ride about which ITP-Reader Barb had informed me.

And then about an hour later I received a text message asking me if I was still able to join the group for dinner.

Can you feel my angst in the recounting of my day?

I wound up fighting more heavy traffic (a wreck on I-285 near LaVista) to my coworker’s Tucker house were he, my boss, and I ate some good “Arroz con Pollo” and drank far too much wine.

By the time I arrived home, 10:00pm, I was able to scarf down a Snack Pack chocolate pudding (one of the tastes of my childhood) before falling asleep on the couch within the first ten minutes of watching my recording of The Amazing Race.

Don’t Panic
Thanks to Google I now know that today would have been Douglas Adams’ 61st birthday. I was unaware how “young” Adams died, 49, nor from the fact that he died of a heart attack; pity on both accounts.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh, still not 100% but I can’t sit on the sidelines any longer
Current Music – listening to last week’s “R3-30” podcast from CBC Radio 3
Website Of The Day – Supposedly studies have been done showing that we are more creative when surrounded by white noise. I’m not sure Coffivity qualifies, there seem to be too many distinctive and repetitive noises and voices on which I tend to place my focus, but it’s an interesting concept.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing, one big, fat, weekend of nothingness
Morning Weigh-In – weigh in again before lunch

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 14
Carnivorous Meals – 16

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

March Goals
– not get sick
– lose two pounds
– walk/run no fewer that 50 miles
– lift weights at the gym no fewer than eight times
– finish at least two of the books I am reading
– take at least one box of things to Goodwill
– post at least ten photos in the blog
– drink a lot less alcohol
– prepare a house repair plan and budget
– return ITP-Reader Martha’s coffee percolator to her
– return ITP-Terri’s crutches to her

2013 Goals: Measurable
– Get my weight down to 190 pounds so that I can wear a 36″ waist pants comfortably
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Dissolve Sharpened Stone
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Completely run at least one 10k
– Fix all (or at least most) of the things which are wrong with the ITP Estate

2013 Goals: Unmeasurable
– Simplify, simplify, simplify
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– 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)
– Take two real vacations, perhaps one abroad
– Take a more proactive approach to meeting women (read “stop being such a pussy”)

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2013

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]