Stymied

Two nights ago a slight irritation appeared on the skin under my left eye but above my chin. I picked at it thinking it was nothing. Yesterday the irritation grew slightly, and more irritating, taking on what looks something like the appearance of poison ivy. I left it alone as best I could. This morning the irritation persists, much like it did yesterday, and there was a swelling next to it that I abated with a ice compress (which was tough to do because ice was about the last thing I wanted to touch on this freezing cold morning).

I debated on going to my doctor this morning, but have decided to wait it out, and if it looks worse by early afternoon I’ll take my chances of going then before they close at 4pm.

Ain’t life grand.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Make a plan to donate one unwanted gift that you received during the last year.

That colorful sweater that just isn’t you? The set of giant coffee mugs that won’t fit in your cabinet? We’ve all received things that we don’t need or want, but we often hold onto them out of a sense of obligation to the gift-giver. But extra items cluttering up our home can lead to stress, something no gift-giver wants you to have. By passing it on, you’ll free up some physical and emotional space, and your gift may be enjoyed by a new recipient.

All non-monetary gifts I receive are bought by me. However, I do have a number of things that will be finding their way to Goodwill either this weekend or early next week.

Why I Prefer The Internet
I booked two hotel rooms yesterday for my April trip to Austin. The first hotel room is for the first two nights; this hotel is about 1/3 the price of the hotel in which the conference will be held. I booked this online with no problems.

For the second hotel room I had to call the hotel to ensure that I’d get the “conference rate” for my stay there. The actual booking of the room went fine, but then the GD hotel kicked me over to their “Vacations Club” guy who tried to sell me some deal in Pigeon Forge (which he pronounced “Pig-eon Forge”) until I finally had enough and quelled his deal; I hate trying to be upsold.

Setback
If my eye wasn’t concerning enough for me to skip my cardio workout last night (and it definitely was this morning) the news delivered from Denver was. A coworker and Ukrainian friend of my coworker/friend “K”‘s knows was in a bad snowboarding accident earlier this week while snowboarding in Colorado and has been hospitalized. She has been concerned. Matters weren’t helped much given the fact that on Monday (before we heard the news) when she, my boss Hank, and I walked together she mentioned going on a snowboarding trip and I joked about the dangers of the sport and the fact that it seems to me that the human body is amazing and complicated machine.

To keep her mind off of things (oh, did I mention that her home nation is currently having a revolution?), Hank and I took her to Taco Mac for a few beers and dinner. After a few beers and some food I took her home and headed back ITP to make sure that the ITP Estate pipes hadn’t burst, and go to sleep. The former was a success, the latter, notsomuch.

ITP Flickr Pic
Got nothing. However, I have taken a camera out of the trunk so I can use it. I look through the lens using my right eye, so I can’t really use this left-eye nonsense as an excuse for not taking photos.

One Last Time
As I do, I called to make a haircut appointment in order to keep up my appearances, save this nonsense going on under my eye of course. I was trying to set up something for next Wednesday night so I could pop over to George’s afterward. “Oh, her last day working here will be this Saturday.” the person to whom I was talking said. So, I’ve booked something for tomorrow, and will have to either find out if she is going somewhere convenient (and not overly-priced for my budget), otherwise come February I’ll be on a search for a new place/person to cut my hair.

Dangen.

What I Want To Do This Weekend
I’m supposed to work out tonight, and brave the bitter cold later to head to 529 to see a Hüker Dü cover band called “Zen Arcade” and a Clash cover band called “Clashinista.” Both of these are in jeopardy based on the condition of my skin problem.

I’m also supposed to go to Athens tomorrow to the 40 Watt for the Camper Van Beethoven / Cracker show. This too is in jeopardy.

HARUMPH!

Today’s Personal Project
Hope that my skin returns to normal without having to go see my doctor, go home, and probably not go out.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – pissed off at this new malady
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Atlanta Startup Drinks — “A drinking group with a startup problem.” Huh, that slogan sounds vaguely familiar…
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – Oops, I failed to check. Let’s say 215 pounds.

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~18.6 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 5 (2 cardio)

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

January Goals
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber to fix all of the sinks at the ITP Estate
– walk no fewer than 75 miles
– have European trip plans in place, if not carved in stone

2014 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
– 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
– Sell the ITP Estate (tentative)

2014 Goals: Unmeasurable
– Continue to 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)

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2014

1. “Johnny Carson” by Henry Bushkin

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]