Has there ever been a Sunday night where there wasn’t some sort of wreck on I-85 South? If so I can’t recall one. Last night I looked (and trusted) Google’s traffic and wound up exiting I-85 South at US 411 and making my way ’round Athens in order to get back to Atlanta. This detour cost me an extra 45 minutes in the car, and by the time I was settled at home with the car unpacked (and all my shit still on the floor) it was 9:30pm. The house was 65° F when I entered. Apparently Autumn arrived in my absence.
I fell asleep on the couch and was disappointed to see 6:10am on the tv when I awoke, still tired, but knowing that I needed to get out of the house.
I have just made an executive Decision to sit my ass down today and relax. Hell, I have to be healthy by week’s end for the Neko Case (Thursday), and two Neutral Milk Hotel shows (Saturday, Sunday) for which I have (ahem, two) tickets for each.
Today’s Daily Challenge
Stand 3 feet (.9 m) from a wall, lean forward with arms crossed, and lift your heels ten times.
This challenge can help to strengthen the calf muscles and provides a nice stretch to an area of the leg that can become tight. You’ll also feel a good stretch through your shoulders as you lean into the wall.
Sounds like something I used to do at physical therapy.
LEAF: Different, But Still Fun
My semi-annual trip to Black Mountain, NC was a little different this time. Sure, the trip didn’t immediately originate from Atlanta, but there also things missing from this LEAF that changed the atmosphere.
People for one. This may be the first time that I started attending LEAF that the “mountain top” camping area wasn’t filled; I dare say the grounds were no more than 75% filled.
There was no “Love Bus” (see photos posted after last year’s LEAF), or “Forty Fingers and a Missing Tooth” (a comedy/juggling ensemble), no trapeze setup (to be fair I don’t think this has been there the past two times either), or a guy riding a ridiculously tall bicycle.
No, it just wasn’t the same.
But there was plenty of fun to be had as I spent quality time with ITP-Readers Lisa and Randy and played around with their two boys.
I chose to skip the Speed Dating event again — let’s just say that I’m not “there” yet, even in my overweight, “woe is me, nobody loves me” condition.
With the cold front that passed through western North Carolina we were treated to a cloudy Friday, an overcast Saturday complete with cold winds on Saturday night, and a cold Sunday morning that quickly became an outstanding Sunday afternoon.
We were having such a good time yesterday that we didn’t ship out until after 4:00pm, which was probably one of the reasons I had to change course last night on my drive home.
ITP Flickr Pic
I have a ton of photos (mostly by a seven-year-old and a 3.5-year-old) to digitally sift through. I was clearly too late and too tired to attempt this last night.
Bookin’ It
With time away and very little internet I started catching up on some of my audiobooks while driving. On my way up to Bryson City I worked on finishing Billy Crystal’s autobiography Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? and on the way home I listened to a large portion of Andrew Mellen’s Unstuff Your Life!: Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good (yes, another one of those books).
Are Marketers Reading This Blog?
There were two pieces of mail — one for North Carolina mountain property, and one for log cabins — in the mail that I sorted this morning. Am I being watched? 😉
Today’s Personal Project
Figure out how to combat this season’s first “change of temperature” cold (or allergies from this weekend). Figure out how to guarantee that I have the proper attire on for the weather changes (I’m in a short-sleeved t-shirt today but failed to pack any outerwear for tonight).
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – tired
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – This is Atlanta Beer Week. Given my health and my weight I should probably abstain from partaking.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 213 pounds (October 21)
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~10.1 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)
Days Of Bed-Making – 0
Vegetarian Meals – 25
Carnivorous Meals – 24
Marta Rides To Work – 5
Bike Rides To Work – 0
October Goals
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber to replace my malfunctioning faucets
– submit to important documents, neither of which I can talk about at this time
– walk no fewer than 75 miles
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
- Pages 1.7 for iPad (Timestompers Guide) — by Sean Wells
- 60 Mountain Lion Tips — by David Sparks and Brett Terpstra
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — by Charles Duhigg
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy — by Douglas Adams
- Amazing Things Will Happen: A Real-World Guide on Achieving Success and Happiness — by CC Chapman
- So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love — by Cal Newport
- Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life — by Steve Martin
- Who Am I: A Memoir — by Pete Townshend
- Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? — by Billy Crystal
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Crazy busy today after taking friday off.
New customer Kettle Foods (as in the potato chips) is the most difficult customer I’ve ever had to deal with. Now I can purchase their chips again, they have pissed me off so much. I just keep hoping they kick us out, that’s how difficult they are.
Good weekend besides that, spent Friday running around running errands instead of going camping, spent way too much money at IKEA on wardrobes for the basement bedroom. Saturday tried a new szechwan place on Buford Hwy – Gu’s Bistro. Very tasty, though too expensive for lunch.
Sunday we went to Black Sheep, it was fun, we actually knew most of the folks there. Trail was long & hard per Allan & everyone (Little Easy & Portajay) but we walkers did our own version, still was plenty long, but we managed to avoid the swamps.
I’ve been to Gu’s and think it is too expensive in general.
I miss going to Black Sheep and wonder if by the time I can return (if ever, this foot never seems to be getting back to 100%) if I will know a soul.
Still struggling, wondering if I have a cold working on me. I’d have gone home already if not for the fact that I am not sure that I am really “sick” and I just burned three days of remaining paid-time off.