Ich Bin Ein Atlantan

Like most of the people commuting to work ITP I did it by car. My original plan was to drive to midtown and then MARTA to the Perimeter Mall area since I desire to be back in midtown later tonight for a play at the Woodruff Arts Center. But no, I did as I always do. But tomorrow may be a different animal.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Learn the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common condition that causes pauses in breathing or shallow breathing when sleeping. Because it causes poor quality sleep, it’s the leading cause of daytime drowsiness and lethargy. And even if you don’t have the condition yourself, the snoring of a bedmate with sleep apnea can interrupt your rest at night and affect your well-being by day. Reviewing the signs and symptoms may help you (or someone close to you) recognize a problem.

I think I know them. I probably exhibit them nightly.

Hey Direction Man
Three times this week I was stopped on my morning walks and asked for directions. I’ve been as helpful as I possibly could be, but these people are going to some obscure places.

What I’ve found interesting in this day/age of cellphones and GPSs is that all three people had the information printed out, and non of them seemed to have a cellphone that they could consult for further help.

The Circle Of Life
When I go out for my strolls I don’t wear my eyeglasses. I see little point as I generally know where I am going and still have enough near-sightness (that is seemingly decreasing at a rapid pace) that I am not like Mr Magoo out there.

On Monday’s walk I saw what was unmistakably a bird of prey sitting high up in a dead tree. As I passed in awe I realized just how vulnerable humans are to nature. Think about it, had this bird decided that I were delicious prey (I’m far too fatty for that, btw) and swooped down toward me what recourse would I have?

Yesterday as I made my way to the lavanderia down that same road I saw a mass on the road. As I got closer I could see it was an animal. As I got closer I could see what was most likely feathers. As I got closer I could tell undoubtedly that it was a large bird. There is no telling if it was the same bird that I saw in the tree, but that didn’t matter at the time.

Dinner Cost Me The Shirt Off My Back
Literally.

After doing laundry last night I decided to eat dinner. I have two great choices near my chosen lavanderia, Las Tortas Locas, and El Pollo Norteño. Last night I wanted chicken so I chose the latter.

Apparently the restaurant closes at 9pm because when I entered around 8:20pm they were in cleanup mode. The nice waitress assured me that I could sit and order with no rush, so I did.

With chips and salsa (and an evil soda; wasn’t there something yesterday about skipping sugary-drinks?) in front of me I decided to get up and get some of the hot sauce that they have on their fixins bar. No thinking I plunged the small ladle into the orange-red sauce to stir it, but my angle of entry caused the sauce to splatter — all over my off-white t-shirt.

There was no cleaning possible of the eight-ten spots now littering my shirt, I just had to sit there in embarrassment while I ate. I suppose that I could have gone out to my car and fetch one of the newly-washed shirts, but I didn’t.

I know that there is no way that I would be able to get these spots out completely and I have plenty of “yard work” shirts, so I ditched the shirt.

Other than that the meal was exactly what I wanted.

Today’s Personal Project
Go to the play tonight, return home and start putting some plans in place.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – feel like I am going blind
Current Music – Listening to the built-in “The Beatles Radio” station playing Joe Cocker — “With A Little Help From My Friends”
Website Of The Day – I Am ♥ Atlanta.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – I check again some day. For today I’ll just call myself morbidly obese.

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~33.1 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 33
Carnivorous Meals – 30

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

September Goals
– exercise no fewer than twenty days (and I’m starting on Day 3 so I have my work cut out for me)
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber to replace my malfunctioning faucets

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

1. Pages 1.7 for iPad (Timestompers Guide) — by Sean Wells
2. 60 Mountain Lion Tips — by David Sparks and Brett Terpstra
3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — by Charles Duhigg
4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy — by Douglas Adams
5. Amazing Things Will Happen: A Real-World Guide on Achieving Success and Happiness — by CC Chapman
6. So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love — by Cal Newport
7. Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life — by Steve Martin
8. Who Am I: A Memoir — by Pete Townshend

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]