Inside The Perimeter

Work is frustrating me because I am unable to do the sort of coding that I want to do, the type of coding I was hired to do. Because I sit all day trying to get something working, and get pissed off failing at that, I have little motivation to work on my own SwiftUI apps after hours.

To literally let off some steam I put in thirty minutes on my trainer. I may have overdone it a bit though, and am a little concerned about the state of my right shin. Of course my leg could also hurt a little because I am not getting much exercise these days and it has weakened.

I sat through German class last night but really never got fully engaged. To be honest, my mind kept wandering to today, because of my weekend plans. This weekend was supposed to be the Lake Hartwell campout, which was postponed. Since I had to abandon those plans, I am headed to do other outdoor, potentially muddy, fun. Woot!

One other good thing about today is that a new season/series of “The Great British Bake Off” is available on Netflix as of today.

Hope you all have a wonderful and healthy weekend. Until Monday…

Kicking out another shorty today.

With the exception of watching my yard waste pile disappear yesterday was pretty mundane. I did some work, or more accurately failed with every attempt to fix a problem that I am having with code I didn’t write. When my internet crapped out at 2pm I used it as a sign to get out of the house and go to Aldi. Apparently I wasn’t the only one with the idea because Aldi was more crowded that I have ever seen it.

I attempted to get some exercise by mounting my trainer, but I could only muster thirty minutes.

I thought the evening would be spent watching Top Chef virtually with Betsy, and the prepping for German class. Well, one of those occurred…

Not much going on today. I need to work, and then my first German class kicks off at 6:15.

Hope all is going well in your world.

It’s 6:30am and I had an incredibly satisfying night of sleep.

Last night I met up with my buddy Shelby. We met at Home Depot on Ponce, convenient for him since he lives nearby, where I successfully picked up my trash cans to be turned into compost bins.

From Home Depot we went over to New Realm Brewing for a couple of beers and some dinner. I ate an enormous Beyond burger with french fries.

Upon arriving home I discovered that the City of Atlanta failed to pick up my yard waste as scheduled. I should probably use this to my advantage by adding more to it this morning, but won’t due to lack of motivation and shortage of time.

What I really need to do today is study some German while learning some new coding techniques.

Tonight’s goals are to get some exercise, start planning this weekend’s meals, and do Top Chef and TV with Betsy.

Happy and Healthy Hump Day to you all.

Two months after my birthday and it’s crazy dark outside at 6:15am.

Yesterday wasn’t the most productive day I’ve ever had, but wasn’t too bad either; I toiled at work, put trash and recycling out for collection, made an Instant Pot’s worth of “baked” beans, and did about an hour of yard work. I really wanted to do more yard work, I still have a bunch of privet to cut down to open up more sunlit-space for vegetable planting, but just wasn’t feeling it. I should also have been a good German student and started to prepare for the return of class on Thursday, but only wanted to vegetate on the couch during the evening.

My neighbor’s are amazing (or maybe just young), because I heard them partying in their back yard and on their back deck until almost 2am. To be fair, the only reason I know this is because I woke up often after falling asleep sometime around 10pm.

Today I need to do a load of laundry, to be started once I knock out this blog post, and then plop my ass in my office chair to do an hour of German studying before starting my work day. This evening I am going to finalize my online transaction at Home Depot by either getting my trash cans, or getting a refund. Afterward I will be meeting up with a buddy for a beer or two.

I’m starting to keep an eye on the weather for this weekend because I have some outdoor activities scheduled. Sadly at this point it doesn’t appear that the weather is going to cooperate.

Tuesday Tale of the Tape: 188.8 pounds (-1.4 from last week’s weigh-in); yard work is magical! Want to do some with me? 😂

I am finding 2020 to be only slightly better than 2016, whose single catastrophic problem was Trump’s election. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing on Friday giving this administration another opportunity to ram in a lifetime appointment of a Supreme Court Justice dealt me an emotional blow. I fear for the future of our country.

In a lighter vein (I think I am using the correct homonym here), this weekend did a lot to help me temporarily ignore my gloom and doom outlook.

On Friday I joined Bonnie on a visit to Red’s Beer Garden to take advantage of their two-week-long Oktoberfest. Remember Oktoberfest? Until COVID it was Germany’s premier celebration…
I have no idea what I did on Friday night…

I spent about five hours on Saturday morning toiling in the ITP Estate’s yards. I started with a ceremonial mowing of the front lawn, and finished with hours of tree lopping and limbing, and marching of branches to the curb for Tuesday’s scheduled pickup. After a brief respite, I made an error thinking that going to Home Depot on Ponce was a good idea. What a clusterfuck. I didn’t even consider standing in line to see if my online order was actually available since my last update says that the trash cans were delivered to the store on 9/11 but my current status is “Wait for an email telling you that you can pick up your order” I figured it would futile to try and sort it out then. On Saturday evening I watched “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix; it’s a well-made movie about the insidious behavior of social networking, but didn’t reveal much new information for me.

Yesterday I did a walkabout with Betsy and her dog Bella early in the chilly morning. As afternoon neared I readied myself for Wheelhopper, whose start was at Glenwood Kroger. The trail wasn’t expertly laid, but after two brewery beer stops I cared a little less and rolled back to Kroger where trail ended. In a rare twist I went to the On After because we chose to go to Midway Pub. An added bonus of appearing at Wheelhopper was getting a bag full of peppers from Barb. Thanks Barb! I will be using some of those peppers today when I make some “baked” beans in my Instant Pot.

I have a bunch of things on my plate today, and all week for that matter, so I will be skipping tonight’s Moonlite trail.

Hope you all had a fun, healthy weekend.

Friday. Woot? Though I fell asleep relatively early, I didn’t sleep all that well and am subsequently tired this morning.

Due to scheduling changes last night was spent at Red’s Beer Garden, celebrating Oktoberfest with some German-styled beer, a pretzel, and a vegetarian hot dog covered with sauerkraut. I believe a fun time was had by all who showed up.

Today I need to get some shit done. If I finally get the “come and get it” email from Home Depot I may wind up driving to Ponce to get the two garbage cans I ordered weeks ago. Yeeesh! If I kick off work early enough tonight I may also try and beat the darkness by getting a head start on this weekend’s yard work.

Tomorrow will be dedicated to cleaning up the back yard.

Since Sunday’s Wheelhopper starts at Glenwood Kroger that’s now on my calendar too.

Have a fun and healthy weekend all!

7am and still pitch black, funny how this happens.

Thursday, Thursday, wet Thursday. It appears that the remnants of Hurricane Sally will be passing through today, perhaps lingering into tomorrow. If only I still had turnip plants growing I’m sure they would have enjoyed this weather. One of the tasks I want to accomplish this weekend is starting another round of Winter planting as I get Wee Little Farm (Georgia) up and running; the addendum of the state is because there is actually a farm already named “The Wee Little Farm” in Idaho!

Yesterday didn’t prove to be as productive as I hoped, though I did make a foray into the basement and put in a less-than-aggressive thirty minutes on my trainer. On the aches and pain scale from 1-10 today hovers around 3 due to numerous small injuries/maladies with which I am dealing.

Last night I took the opportunity of staying at home, as if that’s been a rarity the past six months, to make a wonderful dinner. Because it’s not hot outside, the lack of sun will do such things, I felt okay using my oven so I made an impromptu casserole using fake chicken, black beans, frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, a packet of “yellow” rice, and cheese curds — all sourced from my pantry, refrigerator, or freezer. Huzzah!

Today I want to get some coding done, you know so I continue to get a salary; do some German studying, since classes start again next Thursday; and attempt to clean/organize/gather things in the the house. If I can avoid plopping my ass on the couch and watching YouTube this should all be manageable.

Just noticed that two more stalks of my underperforming sweet basil have fallen over, becoming compost material in the process.

May you have a pleasing and healthy, potentially rain-soaked, day.

Not much to discuss today. The biggest news yesterday was Apple’s announcements, including the lack of the announcement of a new iPhone, and the postponement of BRAG Spring Tune Up to 2021. Barb, if Steve has another adhoc gathering and you have any influence, I’m sure Bonnie and I would love to be invited.

Healthwise things are improving, if ever so slowly, and of course new things are occurring — why is the middle finger on my left hand stiff and sore today? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Today I intend to finish up the laundry I started last night, clean up some of the messes I created yesterday, do a lot of coding, and hopefully put some time in on the trainer; let’s call today “Progress Day”! Half of September has passed, I should consult my monthly To Do list to start knocking off some of these items too.

I am keeping an eye on Sally. Because I have a bulk waste pickup scheduled for next Tuesday I have a ton of yard work to do this weekend and would love to not try and accomplish it in rain.

Hope you are continuing to be healthy and happy.

Real short one today since it’s nearly 7:30am and I have barely started with my day. I am feeling tired and incredibly unmotivated today.

I wound up going to Moonlite last night. The start was Mellow Mushroom in midtown, in the Promenade shopping center (think across from Grady High School) which now annoyingly has paid parking. To be “fair” the first two hours of parking is free, but it’s a huge annoyance and will most likely convince me to avoid going to the businesses unless I get there by cycling or walking.

Because of my leg I just walked 2.5 flat miles with Bonnie. My injury proved to be fortuitous since the trail turned out to be 6.5 miles (what has happened to Monday night hares?!?!) and most of the pack finished after Mellow Mushroom had closed at 9pm (thanks for nothing, COVID). Our short journey allowed us to get back in time to drink a beer and order a delicious pizza, two pieces of which I have already consumed as breakfast.

Not much going on today as we all prepare for days of rain…

Hope you are remaining healthy.

Tuesday Tale of the Tape: 190.2 pounds (+2.4 from last week’s weigh-in); one cannot eat pizza and expect to lose weight…

I spent my weekend hogging all of Bonnie’s time.

On Friday she and I got together for a little beer drinking at SweetWater Brewing, followed by a nightcap and impromptu dinner whipped up at my house. Of course we drank and ate like the cultural icons we are, in my carport.

Saturday saw us attempt, with a little success, to ride the Beltline following the Beltgrind’s modified map. Keeping in mind my leg, we rode slowly and carefully clockwise from East Atlanta. We made it just beyond the end of the Westside Beltline in an “abandoned” apartment complex where we were thwarted by overgrown kudzu and a heightened fear of poison ivy and re-injuring myself, and changed course. It was on our way to get back on track that we stumbled upon a new section of Beltline which took us back toward downtown via Vine City. We stopped at Elliott Street Pub for a couple of beers as we waited out the unpredicted rainstorm, before making another pit stop at Grindhouse burgers for a late lunch.

Yesterday I opted to ignore my yard work to hang out with the Black Sheepers. After trail Bonnie and I stopped at Orpheus Brewery where we had one more beer and a dinner from Grass VBQ, a vegan barbecue pop up restaurant inside the brewery. The food was good, but admittedly pricey for what we were served.

Today I’m watching the weather and gauging my leg’s health before I decide what my fate will be tonight.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend hogging someone else’s time.