Low And Slow

No, I am not talking about my exercise efforts. I am talking about the pork loin that I’ve had in a crockpot cooking since last night. I’m playing Den Dad today and feeding a handful of coworkers (pork sandwiches with baked beans from a can). For a while I have been trying to get people to volunteer to make one group lunch a week, this way we can all eat good food without spending cafeteria / restaurant money and it gives us all a chance to show off any “cooking” skills we might possess. The program has not been a huge success, but I keep trying.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Take a moment to recall something funny that happened to you and a friend.

Although we all have a few laughs from time to time, there’s nothing like silly adventures from the past to bring the funny right to the surface today. When we recall fun times, it reconnects us to important people in our past and reminds us that there are little pleasures to be found in everyday life. This can motivate us to reach out to those around us, and to try and look for or create new pleasant memories.

There was this one time at Band Camp…

Taking The Slow Train Home
When I realized the shoes I was wearing weren’t conducive to making a four-mile walk (even though they should be) I used this as my opportunity to opt out of getting exercise last night. It’s not to say that I got no exercise yesterday, I think my walking from/to MARTA racked up at least a half-mile.

My decision not to walk was also influenced by my missing the first MARTA train on my journey, having to wait at least fifteen (probably closer to twenty) minutes for the next, and then waiting at least ten more for the eastbound train to take me to my car.

Once I arrived at the Jackmobile I drove over to Edgewood Retail District where I stopped into Target for a few essentials and the into Kroger where I wandered the aisles like a zombie as I tried to decide what I was going to concoct for lunch today.

All of that brainpower used on today’s lunch overpowered any thought of dinner so I did a Monday night replay and had bread/salami/cheese/ice cream/beer as my meal.

Holy Crap!
Crap, I forgot to mention last night’s weird event of the day. Upon returning home I dumped off my first load of baggage and was headed out to get the mail and bring in the trash containers. To my surprise I came upon a young lady who was letting her dog shit in my front yard.

“Excuse me, do you happen to have any plastic bags?” she asked.
“Yeah sure, I’ll be back in a second.” I said.

She politely picked up her pup’s deposit, and I was glad that she didn’t then ask to put the baggie into my trash can (I would have let her, but I’d rather not have a bag of dog shit in my trash can until next week’s trash pickup.

I wonder what would have happened had I not happened upon her while her dog was doing his business…

ITP Flickr Pic
Darn, I didn’t make time last night to upload any photos that I took at the aquarium.

I Work In An Anomaly
I’ve thought about this before, but it struck me again today — the Perimeter Mall area is one of Atlanta’s anomalies. To date there is one gas station and perhaps one dedicated grocery store in a mile radius from the mall. I make the distinction of “dedicated” grocery store since there is a Super Target and a Wal*Mart within a mile, both of which sell a limited selection of groceries. I have to believe that somewhere there sits at least one local politician who has made a boatload of money from the restriction of these services to this area, especially in regards to the sole gas station.

Nearing The Final Stretch
Oh, that sounds ominous. Fear not, I am only talking about The Office. As you may or may not remember, I started an effort to watch every episode of The (American) Office, in order, one a day. I am currently in the midst of Season 7 (of 9) so I am squarely on target to finish this mission by year’s end.

While this may be my only “accomplishment” of 2013, I will at least be able to say that 2013 was the year that I left the office behind. *snicker*

Today’s Personal Project
A whole lotta juggling going on today. Not talking about my weight, but am talking about many other facets of my life.

Also, return to doing to coding exercises after work.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – good
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – I am not using my Kindle Fire (first generation) and ws going to donate it to E-Books for Troops, only problem is that they do not accept Kindle Fires. So, I found this article (given a catchier name by yours truly) How To Put Out A (Kindle) Fire as the first step in figuring out what will happen to this device next.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – “nothing”
Morning Weigh-In – 213 pounds (October 1)

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

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 1
Carnivorous Meals – 2

Marta Rides To Work – 1
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

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]