Waiting To Exhale

My oh my it’s been a very stressful and long short-workweek for me. Today doesn’t appear as if it is going to be much better, but hopefully it will bring the manic attitude of this week to a close. Two nights ago I had a dream that I was at a circus and while there was offered a job by the Big Nerd Ranch employees who were also in attendance. It was just a dream.

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’ve done this before.

Walking In The Cold
I may not have parked my car the furthest away that I could have this morning, but I did walk to/from the NSLunch meet up yesterday. Lunch was held at Uncle Julio’s which is about a twenty minute walk (or less if I take the shortcuts) from my office.

The walk, especially to lunch, was brutal because even though it was plenty sunny outside it was still very cold and windy. I was forced to dig out a knit cap and gloves for my journey.

It was good to get some face time in with other developers in the community as I try to construct a network. The food at Uncle Julio’s is okay at best and overpriced imho. It had been a few years since I ate there, and then realized that the this is because I’d rather go to Chuy’s which is right across the street.

Now that I think of it, while this area of Dunwoody has it’s fair share of places to get “Mexican” food — Chuy’s, Tin Lizzy’s Cantina, Taco Mac, Twisted Taco, Uncle Julio’s — it doesn’t have any typical Mexican-style restaurant. Strange.

Member, Second Class
No, not Zoo Atlanta, LA Fitness.

My boss and I have been discussing smacking a racquetball around an enclosed room of LA Fitness recently in order to get a variety of exercise. Yesterday afternoon he and I sat at a table with the LA Fitness mobile app and he said “See, it’s not that hard to reserve a court.” However, when I tried I was bluntly told that my membership didn’t include court reservation.

It’s been fourteen months sing he and I signed up at LA Fitness on the same day. I recall that on that day I chose to pay more up front and then less per month, but I cannot recall if I was informed that this decision also cost me the ability to reserve racquetball courts (which I may have blown off since I had not played racquetball in nearly a decade and didn’t see it starting again any time soon).

I suppose that I could have discussed the issue with someone when I went to LA Fitness last night, but I was already tired and cranky and just wanted to sit on a stationary bike for an hour and ride. I did just that, and have come to realize that my local LA Fitness has the worst stationary bikes of any of the clubs I have visited. In fact, of the clubs I have visited my local one is the worst on all accounts. I assume this is because the built a new fancy-pants club a few miles up Abernathy, but still, we pay just as much as those people do and deserve upgraded equipment.

I Can Make My Own Non-Traditional Mexican Food
By the time I exited LA Fitness and was driving home it was past 8:30pm. With little food at the house and no desire to spend the time to either eat out or stop at a grocery store I decided to wing it.

Mmmmm, wings…

No, I didn’t cook up some wings, instead I made some white rice and then topped that with a can of pinto beans, a can of chopped tomatoes with jalapeños, and some hot sauce. Viva East Atlanta!

My meal was good, topped off with a few spoonfuls of Talenti Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup gelato. I am signing the praises of Talenti because while it is something that I shouldn’t be eating while I am trying to lose weight, it is so rich that I each such a small portion that I don’t feel guilty (much).

And then it was back into writing code until I could not keep my eyes open much longer (which realistically occurred around 10:30pm).

Weekends Were Made For Domesticity
With the exception of going to The EARL tomorrow night for the Escovedo/Buck show I’ll be Domestic Paulie. I have a lot of clothes to wash, a house to clean, an attic in which to get up and clean before the weather becomes warm, and a multitude of various other things to accomplish this weekend.

Hell, I might even go grocery shopping and do some cooking on Sunday. Look out! I’m fucking craaaaaaaazy!

Today’s Personal Project
Go back to the gym.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – harried
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Perhaps I’ll choose a recipe from Pintrest’s “Sunday Night Dinner Recipes”. Warning: Do not go here if you are hungry, or hate casseroles. You have been warned!
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – My scale is under a mound of dirty clothes

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 4 (4 cardio)

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

February Goals
– have European trip plans in place, if not carved in stone
– 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
– publish an app to the iOS AppStore (new)

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
2. “Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative” by Austin Kleon

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]