Inside The Perimeter

When all is “Right” with the world (read “I am hooked up”), St. Patrick’s Day is third on my list of favorite days (following only my birthday and Christmas). When all is not “Right” with the world it leap frogs those two all the way to Number One! Today is so far my favorite Day O’ The Year.

If It Was A Weekend
I might have started today off with a not-so-traditional bowl of Lucky Charms swimming in Harp (because Smithwicks and Guinness are just too dark for cereal) perhaps followed with a nice cup of Irish coffee. But seeing how today is a work day, breakfast, if I choose to eat it at all, will be a bagel.

The South, With The Exception Of Savannah, Doesn’t Know Shit About This Holiday
When I was a wee lad in New York St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated. Maybe it was because I am half Irish, maybe not. Cities in the North (my North) had parades, houses were decorated with tacky four-leafed clovers, people wore green and were pinched if they didn’t, and they had sex without condoms (ok, those were just the Irish Catholics). Why don’t people in the South understand? Why not celebrate? Are you worried about being penalized for excessive celebration? And yes we’d also celebrate Columbus Day. You Gotta A Problem Wit Dat?

Give Me Corned Beef Or Give Me Death
Welcome To Vicklanta had a great entry on the misery of finding a decent corned beef sammie in Atlanta. Go ahead, follow that link I posted, I know you’ll be back to finish the rest of this entry.

So now that you have read about the “The New York Corned Beef Society of Atlanta” expect to see me a Twain’s on a Sunday sometime in the near future. Sure I’ll have to skip a Sunday morning run or two, but the sammie and beer will be worth it! Or maybe I convince them to do a Decatur run ending at Twain’s? Who’s with me on this one?

In My Glory Days Of Buckhead
When I was old enough to know better my buddies and I would leave work early, head to Buckhead, and wait in line to get into Fado. Maybe I thought I’d get lucky? Play Hide The Shillelagh with a hottie? Who knows. All I got was drunk, and luckily never a DUI. Good Times, Dumb Times…

Where I Won’t Be Seen Today
I can’t take the crowds of amateur drinkers anymore. Here is a short-list of places that you will not see my Ugly Mug today

• Fado
• Limerick Junction
• Padriack’s
• Meehan’s
• James Joyce Pub
• Ri O’Bravo (are they still in business?)

Don’t get me wrong, I like these places (except for the last one which was tossed in as a joke), I will just avoid them today. Look for me to be at one of them on Cinco de Mayo.

Erin Go Braless
I tried to give this as a hash name a girl named Erin a few years ago. This has little to do with anything, I really just wanted to type Erin Go Braless. It’s humor people.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - ankle @ 80%; waiting for tomorrow
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Moldy Peaches — “Lucky Charms”
Website Of The Day - St. Patrick’s Day Dot Com

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Sometimes I wonder about my common sense. (Hmmm, I also said that yesterday. There must be an echo in here.) I pre-ordered “The Incredibles” from an online retailer and now I have to wait for it to arrive. Why didn’t I just wait until yesterday when the dvd hit every freaking store in the city? Hell, I could have watched the damn movie last night if I had!

Simply Amazing!
It has taken six previous iterations of Amazing Race for me to finally jump on the bandwagon. I think the final straw was this season’s inclusion of Rob and Amber from Survivor. Being an on-and-off Survivor viewer since its inception the sight familiar faces, combined with the enjoyment of watch Rob scheme his way through Amazing Race has drawn me in. So far I am loving ths show and am wondering why it has taken me this long to get with the program.

Open Says Me
Trying to “keep it local” on Sunday night I thought that I would eat at one of the new establishments at the corner of Moreland Av and Ormewood Av. In the mood for a cuisine that I haven’t eaten recently I chose Salsa: Havana Bistro. Apparently, “Salsa: Havana Bistro” is Spanish for “closed on Sunday.” Dammit, dammit all to Hell! Not being in the mood for counter-order Italian I skipped trying the new Lil Azio and drove down to take-out Chinese at China King. I could have made a return the curious hut known as Buffalo China, but apparently “Buffalo China” is Chinese for “closed on Sunday.” That doesn’t bother me much however, since I think that China King’s food is far superior to Buffalo China’s. Now if only Super Fried Rice was still open…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - recovering sore ankle; blah; waiting for Friday
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Thermals — “How We Know”

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

A funny thing happened on the way to perfection last night, we missed it. Tired of the hatin’ that was being displayed to Meet The Hashers at Taco Mac, we decided to make a pizza trip to Johnny’s last night. Actually, we decided to try a different venue, Oakhurst Grille, but we could not find any information about this place on Team Trivia’s web site. Glenn finally did the leg work of calling them only to find out that they were no longer a Team Trivia venue, so Johnny’s it was.

Like Shooting Fish In A Barrel
My team is really smart, so smart they were able to fend of my bonehead suggestions for answers, including those I provided for sports questions — my specialty. We’ve played and crushed others at Johnny’s before and last night seemed to be more of the same. With the exception of a “one hit wonder” impromptu bonus question the host threw out there, we answered every question corrrectly — and then came the final question. The category was geography, which meant that I would be no help, and the question was “Put the following four countries in order of population from highest to lowest”

• France
• Brazil
• Egypt
• Mexico

Feeling cocky, we bet all our points — and lost. We transposed the final two countries. Oops! (btw, I think the order is Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, France)

To Boycott Or Not To Boycott, That Is The Question
I was and still am to some degree, an opponent to the Edgewood Retail District on Moreland Avenue. Mark my words, once all the stores in that center are open I think traffic in and around that area will be heinous for years to come. Having said that, I admit to shopping at the Target there the other night.

Being a fan of Target (”Target Beats K-Mart”, “K-Mart Beats Wal-Mart”, “Wal-Mart Beats NOTHING”) I wanted to see the Target while it was still clean. My neighborhood, East Atlanta, and the surrounding neighborhoods do not have a great history of keeping things tidy, so I think that it is only a matter of time before the stores and parking lot in that center will become dirty. My opinion, your mileage may vary.

What humors me is that when the subject of Target arose at trivia last night four out of the six of us had already visited it. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised since last night’s team consisted of two East Atlanta residents, two Old Fourth Ward residents, one Midtown resident, and one Capital View resident.

Survey Says!
Fess up, which Family Feud host did you think of first?

• Richard Dawson
• Ray Combs
• Louie Anderson
• Richard Karn

It happened again today. The best looking woman that I saw on my drive in was driving a VW. In a completely unscientific study I find about three-fourths of the women I see driving VWs (Jettas, Passats, Beetles) to be very attractive. This is not to say that I cannot find women in other types of cars attractive. In recent history I have been attracted to drivers of Jeeps, Chevys, Subarus and others as well.

If you are keeping score at home, since I started noticing the “cute girl car trend” the cars of choice have been Saturns, Hondas (mostly Civics) and now VWs. Yes, I know that I am a sad, pathetic male…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - continuing sore ankle; empty, darkening heart; looking forward to day off on Friday
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Primal Scream — “Swastika Eyes”

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Boring details of a misspent weekend…

Hmm, this was certainly not the way to start the new week. After successfully dropping my car off for maintenance and then making it into work early, I accidently pulled the power cord on my pc, corrupting my browser, therefore losing all of my profile information (bookmarks, extensions, etc). Must think positive thoughts. Must think positive thoughts…

From The “I Should Have Known Better” File
Last Friday night I did something I hadn’t done in six years — go hashing on a Friday night. Eventhough I knew I was having a shitty week it was March 11th, also known as Founder’s Day for the Black Sheep Hash. How could I pass that up?

Mid-way through the hash Speedy McSpeed-A-Lot, decided to kick his running up a notch in order to catch up to the people ahead of him. Failing to see the rut in the mud created by a truck, I proceeded to roll the shit out my right ankle. After a minute or two of cursing every Power in the Universe at the top of my lungs, I managed to hobble in to the end. There wasn’t enough beer in the Zuma (no, not Zima) brewery to heal my hurting.

From The “Fool Me Once - Shame On Me, Fool Me Twice - Won’t Get Fooled Again” File
So what does one do when one can’t run a hash and the weather is perfect? Bimbo the hash, of course! What little common sense I possess convinced me not to further damage my swollen ankle by running on Saturday. But, having no ‘Plan B’ (’Plan A’ was to go hashing) and no “SO” to spend the day with, I decided to spend the beautiful day at the hash. Green (Budweiser) beer, yuck.

Did Someone Mention Common Sense?
Sunday’s weather was even better than Saturday’s! Our Sunday Morning Running (and eating) group was meeting a mere mile-and-a-half from my house. How convenient! Oh yeah, the ankle still hurt. Well, again having no ‘Plan B’ I decided to ride my bike to the group so that my fat ass would get a little bit of exercise. I guess also packing my running shoes was a bad idea. That competitive streak which caused the injury in the first place reared its ugly head and convinced me that five miles around the neighborhood could do not harm. Did I ever say that I was smart? I think not!

*** SOAPBOX WARNING! SOAPBOX WARNING! ***
The ATL made World News last Friday when some asshole decided to take the law into his own hands. He killed four people, ruined the lives of their families, and interrupted the lives of thousands more. This ‘man’ was captured when he surrendered to authorities. I believe in the concepts which founded this country “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” and “A Fair Trial By One’s Peers”, however even this bleeding heart Democrat/Liberal thinks that this man deserves no time in jail. If we know he is responsible for what transpired, then he should he should be held responsible for his actions. Capital Punishment may not irradicate violent crime, but if it can stop more incidents such as this, then it needs to be used.

*** stepping down from soapbox ***

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - sore ankle, empty heart, looking forward to camping this weekend
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing LCD Soundsystem — “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House”

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Home Boy
I did exactly what I said I would last night — stayed at home. It was me, a bottle of Sweetwater 420, and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on my PS2.

The only downside of my keeping my indoor voice all night was that I knew that I had two tickets to a concert that could have been kind of fun — VHS or Beta, and Ambulance Ltd. at The EARL. However, given the events that transpired this week, Captain Optimist (did you read that I had two tickets?) decided it best to stay home. At least I saved some money, right?

Return Of The Inner Nerd
Having once again sworn off women (second only to swearing off beer), I have decided to unlease my inner nerd again. Today I am going to start scouring the Internet for ideas on building a small pc (think Mac Mini size) to use in my Grand Unification of Media Distribution Theory in my house. *slides glasses back up nose* It might confuse many of you, especially the non-techies, but this shit makes me happy and has been a good way to pay the bills over the last fourteen years.

That’s Incredible
Yippee! The Incredibles dvd comes out next week! Any of you who have been here since November know that I always wanted to see it in the theaters, but never did. Assuming my pre-ordered copy comes with the swift delivery promised back in January, I should have the dvd in hand next week. Warm up the projector baby, this one needs to be seen on the big screen!!!

Websites Of Distinction
When you’ve got time and a wireless internet connection, why not surf to your heart’s content for content?

• Escher For Real - Make some models to blow your mind
• Takeshi’s Castle Online - Read about the show that inspired “Most Extreme Elimination Challenge”
• Heavy.com’s “Office Friends” Spoof - “Office Space” Meets “Super Friends”, nuff said!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - [this space for rent]
Current Music - Chris Isaak’s “Forever Blue” (read nothing into this, it’s a great cd!)
Current Read - should I remove this?

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Gonna have to crank out another short one kids. I have but fifteen minutes until a training class.

Thanks!
To all of you who took time out to drop me an email yesterday. I’ve determined that this is one of those rollercoaster weeks. Hopefully the crummy part is over and all that remains is the exciting ride to the finish.

Nice Guys Finish Last
Apparently, yesterday’s blog reference wasn’t enough stress for one week.

I’m catsitting for friends this week. I like cats, I’ve done this for them before, no big deal. Right? That was until I couldn’t get their alarm system to shut off last night; standing in their house, alarm blaring, trying to work with a security company who doesn’t know me from Adam.

• Password? - Don’t know it, like I said, I’ve done this before so I didn’t think I needed it.
• Contact them? - I tried, but they are out of the country; don’t know if their phones work there.
• People on their contacts list with their complete phone number? - I gave all the names I knew, none worked, and who knows people’s phone number these days?
• Friends? - Called the only two I have in my *cough* “new” cellphone. The one I was able to get a hold of gave me the same security code I punched in.

WHAT TO DO? After getting irate with the security company, I sat and waited for the police. Nice guy, gave him the story, showed him the key which he proceeded to use to verify its correctness. He tried the number, didn’t work for him either (made me feel a little better). My cell phone rang — it was the homeowner! Yippee!!! Apparently their number pad is a little finicky in colder weather. The number I punched in was correct all along! Oh bother…..

Some might think that an ideal night ends in handcuffs. I certainly don’t and am rather glad that mine didn’t last night.

Tonight I will sit at home, all alone. If the phone rings, I shan’t answer it. If someone knocks on the door, I shall ignore it. Solitary confinement; it sounds good to me tonight. I’ll put the rollercoaster’s shoulder harness on tomorrow and prepare for the rest of the ride that this weekend ushers in.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - harried
Current Music - nuttin’
Current Read - more nuttin’

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

btw - Comments are back on, comment away…

Howdy!
Talk?
Sure.
Huh?
I see.
Bye.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - confused, empty, biting lip
Current Music - Anything except Vanilla Sky soundtrack, searching for Foreigner’s “Head Games”
Current Read - looking at the Magic 8-ball smashed into a million pieces, lying on the floor

Fuck it all,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

ps - Yes, I have turned commenting off for this entry. Drop me a direct email if you have something to say.

The recent ChoicePoint (”Smarter Decisions. Safer World.”, my ass!) fiasco started me wondering about identity theft again. The first time I thought about this was when my wallet was stolen last year, and my driver’s license had my social security number on it (now that was brilliant!)

Don’t Leave The Restaurant Without It
My chances of identity theft may be lessened if I would stop doing things like leaving my credit card at restaurants. Luckily for me I called the restaurant and they had my card. In a heartwarming ceremony card holder and card were reunited last night.

I’m Sorry, But What Year Is This?
Last week I had to write out checks and mail them. Let’s assume that the Internet is, let’s say “commonplace”, these days. Why must I still write checks? Why can’t I pay everything via the Internet using a credit card or bank draft? Come on people, let’s get with it! (now before you tell me that I could easily take my business to other vendors, Itell you that one of these dinosaurs is my mortgage company).

Now This Sounds Fishy
Let me give you a scenario to ponder. I’ll give you a piece of paper worth $15 in exchange for your signature and bank account number. Would you do it? Sound like one of those Nigerian “get rich quick” scams?

We used to do this all of the time (and probably still do) when cancelled checks were returned to their originator. Scary, huh? I certainly think so. Sometimes it’s fun to be old enough to remember “The Good Old Days.”

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - cold and tingly
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Snow Patrol - “Spitting Games”
Current Read - shaking that Magic 8-ball like a Polaroid picture

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Mondays are far more palatable when the weekend was enjoyable. When I can spend a weekend with great friends, beer and exercise, all during great weather, I certainly have nothing to complain about.

Ok, Maybe One Thing
I hate it when “Maraoke” (karaoke at Mary’s in East Atlanta) turns into “Atlanta Idol”. The singers at Saturday night’s karaoke at Mary’s were good. That’s not the way karaoke was intended to be played out. Karaoke, which I think means “couldn’t carry a tune even if it had a handle on it” in Japanese, was invented so that drunk people could laugh at other drunk people who should only be singing in their cars. Once you add talent to this equation it all goes to hell in a handbasket.

Ok, Maybe More One Thing
I spent one day out of the office and holy crap do I have a lot of email to read! I am somewhat overwhelmed by this right now.

Spring Can’t Spring Upon Me Soon Enough
Bring on the pollen. Bring on the rain. Bring it all on, as long as it is accompanied by warm weather. I am sure that March has at least one more nutbuster of a cold snap planned for us, but the sooner that is over, the better.

Really do have to run…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - warm and tingly
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Radiohead - “There There”
Current Read - a Magic 8-ball to determine my future

Monday Morning Weigh-In
Starting weight - (approx since I didn’t have a scale) 198 lbs
Target weight - 178 lbs
Current weight - 197 lbs (maybe I should add 20 pounds by 40?)

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Last night a coworker and I jumped into the Jackmobile and headed down I85 to Auburn, Alabama. We are here today doing on-campus interviewing at Auburn University.

Sweet Home Alabama
My ass! I spent three years in Huntsville, Alabama. When I moved to Atlanta ten years ago I was so ready to leave. I come back to this state for work and recreation only.

However, I do find the college town life somewhat agreeable. That $5 pint of beer at McCray’s cost me $3.75, and the second one cost $2.75 at this crazy thing called Happy Hour. And, I didn’t have to pay for parking. Maybe we can learn something from these people…

Ahh Crap, I Forgot Everything Is On An Hour Earlier
For some reason, maybe it was because I travelled across the Great Central Time Zone marker, I was tired early (an hour earlier than normally?). All of those grand plans to drink all night whooping it up like I was twenty-one again fell apart. I returned to the hotel to settle in, check some email (love free wireless), and watch a little television. Oops, I forgot that whole Central Time Zone thing and by the time I turned on the television, I had missed everything I wanted to see. Thankfully I own one of the new-fangled DVR devices, and if all is right in the world, my “stories” have been recorded.

I Left My Toothpaste, In Boston Mass
(did you sing that like Tony Bennett?) Last night I realized that this is the first trip that I have taken since my trip to Boston for New Year’s. When it was time for me to go to sleep I realized that I had no toothbrush or toothpaste. Either I managed to leave it in Boston, or it is in my other suitcase. Huh? Of course I got replacements! Luckily for me the Holiday Inn Express provides such conveniences at the front desk, so I put on my pants and went down bare-footed dressed in jeans and a white undershirt. I looked like Alabama Royalty!

This Thing You Call A ‘Bed’, How Do You Manage To Sleep In It?
If this room had a couch, I swear I would have been in it. I tossed and turned all night long! I woke up no fewer than four times! I can think of a lot of good uses for beds, but right now ’sleeping in it’ is not one of them.

(Virtual) Happy Birthday
Today would have been my father’s 82nd birthday. He passed away eight years ago, and for some reason I missed noting the date of his passing back in January. Today’s entry was to be about him, but I don’t feel like writing much about it today. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the man and hold him partially responsible for molding me into what I am today. I miss you dad.

And on a side note, last Monday would have been my parent’s 57th (I think) wedding anniversary. To this day I have yet to figure out how to cheer my mother up on these two days…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - wide awake because my body thinks it is 7am
Current Music - nothing
Current Read - resumes

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]