I Hope It Wasn’t The Shoes

In packing my gym bag for tonight’s racquetball play I discovered that I could not find my court shoes.

Court shoes?

Yes, “back in the day” I was quite the racquetballer and purchased a pair of Mizuno racquetball shoes. As best as I can figure I accidentally left them at LA Fitness last week when I was going through a bit of concern about my keys (long story).

I was hoping that the shoes’ appearance, dank white with ugly olive laces (a recent addition out of necessity), would dissuade anyone from claiming them. Unfortunately when I stopped into LA Fitness this morning the shoes were nowhere to be found.

I wonder if anyone still produces racquetball shoes?

Today’s Daily Challenge
Spend a moment thinking about a negative life event that led to a positive outcome or change.

Feeling grateful enhances well-being, and by looking at a negative event within a positive framework, you increase your sense of gratitude. This exercise can also prompt you to look for the good in the midst of a bad situation in the future. In other words, if there was an upside once before, there may be one again.

If you consider this blog to be a “positive outcome or change” then you can thank the fucktards who robbed me at gunpoint nearly ten years ago and filled me with enough rage to start blogging.

One Demo Down, Two More To Go
My portion of the demo went fairly well yesterday, with nothing but minor hiccups. Let’s say that I was thankful that I am such a perfectionist that I spent almost every waking hour (and probably many sleeping ones) thinking/working on this project. This is not a lifestyle I’d prescribe to those of you fortunate enough to spend time with other humans, but for social losers such as myself, it seems to work.

With yesterday’s hurdle cleared I have one more HUGE “progress” demo to give in a couple of weeks to ensure that my app will be ready for the “Big Time” also known as Team Summit — a conference of Dish Network retailers held every year. Keep your fingers crossed for me, knowing what I have to accomplish and the time frame in which it must be done I just may need the help.

Not My Average $20 Dinner
When I normally spend $20 (or more) for dinner it includes a large meal and beer. Last night sanity ruled the world and after getting my laundry done I stopped into the Candler Park Market and picked up some salami, cheese, rice thins, and a one-liter bottle of Coke. I took these home and made a meal (one of at least four) from these ingredients — okay, the Coke will only last one more meal but the rest will survive for a third, if not fourth. Not only did I save money, I bet you that I consumed only about half of the amount of calories I would have had I eaten out.

How I Never Met Your Mother
I have a confession, I’ve never seen an episode of “How I Met Your Mother”. With everyone talking about the finale I decided to jump on the posthumous bandwagon and start watching the episodes on Netflix (think my “The Office” crusade from last year).

Boy was I every surprised to see that there are 184 episodes of “How I Met Your Mother”. What a commitment I was about to undertake! I decided that I was up for the challenge.

Have I ever mentioned my disdain for television comedies with laugh tracks?

I lasted five minutes into Season 1, Episode 1 before the laugh tracks telling me what was supposed to be funny ruined it all.

And that’s how I never met your mother.

Taxing Situation
This being April 15th means that it’s “Tax Day” in The States. Ugh. I owe again this year and granted permission to our Government (Hello NSA. How are you today?) to suck more money directly out of my bank account.

I also dropped a check in the mail today for the City of Atlanta’s Revenue Department. This check, for $30, was to cover the penalty assessed to Sharpened Stone, LLC for failing to report $0 revenue for 2013 in a timely fashion.

Today’s Personal Project
Exercise not spoiled by mega-caloric intake.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – would be better had I not misplaced my racquetball shoes
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – I listen to a lot of podcasts and some of my favorite are now part of a collective known as Radiotopia.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – Arg, I keep failing to jump on the scale

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

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

April 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

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]