Inside The Perimeter

Not only did I not exit Marta early and walk back to my car, upon getting to my car I went directly to a Chinese buffet last night. It was what I wanted to do and that made me happier.

However My Shitty Health Care Is Making Me Ill
First I heard the lab lost my blood sample for the physical I took on 10/23 so I had to provide another, which I did on 10/29.

Then I received a bill for $72.15 to cover lab tests run on 10/29.

Yesterday I received a bill for $123.89 to cover lab tests run on 10/23.

I’ll have to wait until I get detailed line-item descriptions for the lab tests run, but some of the costs are identical. Does this sound like a double-billing to anyone else?

This procedure is completely fucked up and will most likely keep me away from doctors except for emergency situations such as, well I think you know to what I refer.

ITP Flickr Pic Scan
Admittedly I’ve not been much of a shutterbug this week, mostly because I am trying to plow my way through the 421-page manual that came with my new Nikon D300. Call me nuts, but I want to understand how to use this camera before I start using this camera. However I won’t leave you high and dry on a Friday.

What you see above is a scan from the September 1999 issue of Atlanta Magazine. It was sent to me by my realtor after I moved into my house. If you go to Flickr and look at the larger image you might be surprised to see how much has changed in the past eight years.

Insert Ambiguous Survivor-Related Headline Here
Because a spoiler follows!!!
Have I mentioned that I do not care for Phei Gee (or however one spells her name)? Have I mentioned how much I do not care for most of the people left on Survivor?

Oh James, you held TWO immunity idols. I hope that they make nice bookends when you return home! Jeeebus H Christmas! Why did you not play one? You were living amongst snakes and rats, and by that I mean the people around you. At some point you should have realized that not all Immunity Challenges would involve wrestling and therefore you’d be vulnerable.

Do you think that the people in the Shaolin Temple had ever seen a woman as large as Denise? For some reason I do not.

Looks Like I’ve Made It
Today brings November to a close. While I have managed to miss the majority of the goals that I have put in place I am happy to announce that I finally did more road mileage than budgeted.

With December on the horizon I plan to re-introduce bike riding into my life along with starting my training for the ING Georgia Half Marathon. In addition I plan to start doing some local day-trips for photography and fun; destination suggestions are welcome.

Nothing Earth-Shattering On My Weekend Agenda
Tonight there is an slim chance that I’ll be headed to Variety Playhouse to see the Stomp & Stammer anniversary show. The show’s lineup is chock-full of Atlanta talent (The Selmanaires, Deerhunter, Snowden, The Black Lips) I’m just not sure if I’m in the mood to go out.

For the majority of tomorrow I will be Captain Yard Work and Senor Squirrel Hunter.

Sunday I will be headed to the southern-most vertex of the Atlanta Beermuda Triangle and no one knows what will happen then…

What are you up to this weekend?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - nervous
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Silversun Pickups — “Well Thought Out Twinkles”
Website Of The Day - I realize that Scan DeKalb, a website which allows you to listen to DeKalb County Georgia’s emergency radio, has very limited appeal, however perhaps you should see if your local authority has something similar.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 43.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’m a bad boy. I sat in a meeting until 6pm. I drove toward home, fighting traffic. I couldn’t help myself — instead of going home and running, I went to La Cantina Casita and ate dinner instead. Shame on me. In my defense I did manage to do some sit-ups and use my dumbbells while watching the season finale of Kitchen Nightmares. So I guess that I was lifting dumbbells while watching dumbbells. Being able to lift again pleased me, it was the first time since damaging my thumb that I’ve done so.

Look Who’s Selling Out
I really don’t like advertising so you can call me a hypocrite. I’ve started playing around with updating this site and I’ve placed an Amazon.com widget on it. I figure that if you are going to buy something from Amazon anyway why shouldn’t you go through my Associate account and make a few pennies for me. You don’t have to buy the item shown for me to get credit. Anything you purchase after clicking through my link to Amazon will work.

I’ll understand if you don’t.

Hey look! A knife set. I wonder if it is sharp enough to slice off the tip of a thumb?

ITP Someone Else’s Flickr Pic
I took no photos in the past two days. However, if you over to Flickr and look at this photo you will see the image I was planning on capturing, that is until I saw Big Dave Deluxe out there beating me to it.

I wish that I was pimping one of my own photos today.

Look Who’s Ripped!
I wish I was referring to my body, instead I am referring to my collection of Christmas videos. My videos are all ripped and ready for my Holiday playback. So if you happen to see a really cool looking guy watching Christmas videos like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” or “A Year Without A Santa Claus” on an iPod that has a short line’s worth of dead pixels, you’ll know that it’s me.

btw- Did you know you can buy these sorts of videos at Amazon? Just follow my link. Okay, I’ll stop.

Oh, and if you plan on watching your movies on your iPod do as I say and not as I did. While searching for a Christmas video to watch while waiting for the train this morning I realized that I ripped all of my Christmas movies for AppleTV, which does not play on an iPod. D’Oh!

Look Who’s Pimping Something Cool That Has Nothing To Do With Amazon
Want a picture with Santa? Want to avoid “the mall?” Would you like to come to the coolest transitional neighborhood east of Grant Park and west of Kirkwood? Check out this email I received yesterday

Saturday, December 8th from 10 AM to 2:30 PM . . . come by to the East Atlanta Santa at Joe’s East Atlanta Coffee Shop in East Atlanta Village and have Holiday pictures taken with our very own East Atlanta Santa, with elves, reindeer and all. Children, small adults and dogs are welcome!

Prices are as follows:

Photo w/ Santa: $8 Includes BEST photo e-mailed.
Additional Prints: 4×6 — $1 each
5×7 or 8×10 — $4
11×14 or 13×19 — $7

Christmas Cards: Full color of your choice on the whole card, 12pt C1S paper, scored.
10 cards - $9
25 cards - $18
50 cards - $26

Children can also come in for a short visit with Santa for free if they do not want photos taken.

Feel free to walk in, or make a reservation for 10-minute time periods starting at 10 a.m. A reservation moves you to the front of the line.

E-mail 4chisos@comcast. net to make a reservation or if you have any questions.

Payment is by cash only, and we ask that you please bring a an unwrapped toy for Joe’s Holiday Toy Drive to spread the holiday lovin’!

This event is sponsored by Joe’s and Eavbuzz.net.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The East Atlanta Santa Committee, North Pole.

There is a really good chance you will see me there.

Another Birthday? Inconceivable!
A resident of the western most point of the Beermuda Triangle (I tried to register that domain name yesterday and was not that surprised that it was already taken), and good buddy BWanA (Harold to his non-hashing friends) gets older today. I wonder if he’ll have a beer tonight?

And lest I stray to far from today’s theme, mark your calendars for July 22, 2008 which is my next birthday.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - Disappointed because my Marta commute was slow and that I am not losing weight. Other than that I’m alright.
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Buzzcocks — “Ever Fallen In Love?” (yeah, once or twice)
Website Of The Day - Even though I don’t own this website, the owner lives on my corner. Therefore by the non-existent Algebraic Rule of “Proximity” I all allowed to choose it for Shameless Self-Promotion Thursday. The site? EAV Buzz - The information portal for all things East Atlanta, and then some.
Exercise (b)Log - weight lifting and situps
Monthly Foot Mileage - 43.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

This morning I got confirmation that Hotel ITP for wintering critters is once again open. Last night I thought I heard noises when I got home from work so I went out with the chainsaw and started cutting back the branches which could be used at a roadway for rats and squirrels. Today I found out that I am too late. Anyone want to guess what will occupy most of my weekend? Sometimes I wonder about being a homeowner.

Return To Hashing
After doing my best lumberjack impersonation, at least as much as the dark would permit, I knew that I was in no mood to run. However, as luck would have it there was a Full Moon hash last night and not only did I know the start, I knew the end. I was more than a little surprised at the amount of pavement we traversed, but at least I did get a fairly-decent, I’ll say 3.5-mile run in.

Unlike previous nights I was so tired that I immediately went to sleep when I got home from the hash.

ITP Flickr Pic
I was goofing around with some lighting the other night.

I’ve had this bottle of Coke since the weekend of the Big Pig Jig. I couldn’t bring myself to drink it until I photographed it.

The DOT Wants My Opinion
This morning as I pulled through the toll booth on GA400 I was handed a survey (two actually) to fill out. The cynic in me says that this is the DOT’s way of raising the toll. I can hear them now… “Well, our survey clearly indicated that drivers want better roads, therefore we’ll have to raise the toll to $0.75 in order to satisfy their desires.”

We’ll have to see what this brings.

Gone But Not Forgotten
Yesterday I heard of two deaths, completely unrelated, but both part of my life.

Eighty year-old Dr Robert Cade passed away yesterday. While you may not recognize his name, you will most certainly recognize the name of his invention. In 1965 while working at the University of Florida Cade invented Gatorade.

Fifty-two year-old Kevin DuBrow was found dead in his house Las Vegas on Sunday. While you may not recognize his name, you will most certainly recognize the name of the band he led (at least if you are an old man like me). DuBrow was the lead singer for Quiet Riot, who in the mid-1980’s were all over the radio with their version of the song “Cum On Feel The Noize.”

No George’s For Me Tonight
Sad but true. Even if I do get out of work early enough to run, I’ll have to go home and continue working on the plan to eradicate my new residents.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - angry, frustrated
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Wolf Runner — “You’re A Runner” (why yes I am!)
Website Of The Day - You’ve heard of YouTube so naturally someone would create FoodTube — a website for food preparation videos.
Exercise (b)Log - running/walking, 3.5 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 43.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am not sure what is happening in my life right now. I find myself staying up way too late. Last night I saw the clock pass 1am, and this without having taken a nap. This never bodes well for getting up early and beating traffic into work.

Homebody Paulie
It’s not exactly like spending a night at the Playboy Mansion. I spent the majority of last night eating leftovers, unboxing my Christmas gift, watching the Pittsburgh Steelers shit the bed, and cleaning (organizing really).

ITP Blog Box
There’s a new sheriff in town…

Now all I need to do is learn how to use it.

And On The Heels Of Joy, Disappointment
There is a saying in football “That’s why they play the game on the field.” Going into last night’s game I was three points behind my opponent with Pittsburgh’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger going for my team and Pittsburgh’s running back Willie Parker going for my opponent. I felt confident. Pittsburgh beat Miami 3-0. I lost.

Not only did I miss an opportunity to lock up a playoff position, I lost a lunch bet as well. I am bordering on a collapse only exceeded by this year’s NY Mets. To add insult to (virtual) injury I had Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer sitting on the bench and if I had played him instead of Roethlisberger I would have won. I should fire myself as head coach.

Anyone else believe that my beloved NY Jets will allow Miami their first victory of the year next weekend?

Competitive Much? Or The Amazing Race — “Let’s Get Out Of Africa”
Oh The Amazing Race… It is going to be interesting to watch the little former LA Clippers dance squad member get frustrated as she and her boy-toy attempt to beat Team Ethiopian Scrabble. As an aside does anyone else find it odd that Team Ethiopian Scrabble, who are siblings, were holding hands as they ran?

Of the remaining teams here is my current “Annoyance Ranking” from most annoying to least

1. Shana / Jennifer : Get over yourselves already! You are not that attractive.
2. Ronald / Christina : Moronald, how about keeping that mouth shut for once?
3. Nicolas / Donald : Why is the old man doing all of the hard work? The kid won’t even get his shoes dirty.
4. Nathan / Jennifer : God help us if they procreate.
5. Azarea / Hendekea : They are good, but there is something about them I don’t like — and I think it’s Azarea.
6. Kynt / Vixsyn : They are growing on me, but the whole “Goth Thing”, which includes the spelling of their names, still irks me. btw- I have been putting the male’s name first but I had a hard time with this here because Kynt is definitely the girl in this pair.
7. TK / Rachel : I just wonder if they smell.

This episode was rather lackluster for me. They remained in Africa and the challenges weren’t really, um, challenging. Catching a chicken in a pen? (saw this in Rocky thirty years ago!) Riding a bike packed with crap? Dancing? Mining for gold out of puddles of muddy water? (btw - I soooo would have pocketed a few nuggets for later in the race).

I really thought that we were going to lose TK and Rachel when the BottleBlondes decided to U-Turn a team. (I don’t remember U-Turns from past seasons. Anyone?) Instead they dropped the hammer on Jason and Lorena– who after last week’s Lorena meltdowns I was not saddened to see leave. The heartbreaking thing was their individual exit speeches:

Lorena: I’ve learned to slow down. I can wait to marry Jason.
Jason: Why do people get married? Marriage is so limiting.

Yeah, best of luck you two.

CD Pick Of The Week
Heads it’s Mudvayne.
Tails it’s Pitbull.

According to my source those are the two new releases today. As for me I’ll be listening to Bruce Springsteen’s latest release “Magic” which also arrived in the post yesterday.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - miffed
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing REM — “Wolves, Lower” (It’s been 25 years since I first heard this song and I still love it!)
Website Of The Day - Instead of buying music today go watch some on the internets at Concert TV. Consider it your little contribution to fighting consumerism.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 40 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The phrase “moving on” keeps popping into my mind these days. I know that it’s rather vague for me to say that it has meaning on many different levels, but it really does.

• Thanksgiving has passed, I am ready to be inundated by Christmas advertising. Bring it!
• Change (for the better) in my life my life is welcome.
• I am ready to move on from those who cannot see what I have to offer.
• I desire to run, including running in new circles. (I plan on signing up for the ING Half Marathon today and am committing myself to train properly for it.)
• I am over my thumb’s limitations and can’t wait until I return to a lifestyle that doesn’t include bandages and wrapping my thumb, and awkward bodily contortions in order to accomplish daily tasks such as tying shoe laces or putting on pants and shirts.

Amazon.com — Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Really?
When I started buying books from Amazon.com about ten years ago I never would have guessed the variety of items I would purchase from them. This weekend I added new category to the list, Health and Beauty Aids, by purchasing shampoo. In my defense the shampoo I use is not abundantly available locally, and since I am an Amazon Prime member I get free shipping in addition to the lack of deferral of sales tax.

Cold + Rain + Fear About Thumb = Lazy Semi-Productive Indoor Sunday
I just couldn’t help myself. With the temperatures dropping, the rain starting to come down, and the thought of trying to take care of my thumb throughout the hash I just couldn’t get myself to go to the annual St Andrew’s Day hash. I felt guilty because I waited so long to make the decision not to go that it was too late to deliver the Black Sheep stats to someone who was going out to brave the weather. My bad!

ITP Flickr Pic
Of the shots I took at the Thrashers game on Friday night this is my artistic favorite. I am please with the way Martin Brodeur is in focus while the face-off about to occur is slightly out of focus; this was the way I imagined the shot.

The only thing wrong with the photo is that Bombastic company logo in the background.

I Created A Casserole Last Night
You know that whole “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” philosophy? Well it hit me last night as I scrounged around for dinner ingredients yesterday. I had some chicken breasts that I was planning on baking (yum!) and wanted something else to pop into the oven with them. Potatoes seemed like a good side dish, and my freezer contained a bag of frozen home fries. It was at that time the thought of casseroles danced like sugarplums through my head.

Here’s what I had
32 oz bag of frozen hash brown diced potatoes
16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower
medium/large onion diced, sans finger
12 oz tub of Queso cheese dip with salsa (I used America’s Kitchen brand purchase at Kroger)
14 oz can of Thai coconut milk
non-stick spray

Preheat the oven to 375F. Mix the potatoes, cauliflower, and onion and then place them into a 9.5 x 13.5″ casserole dish which is sprayed with non-stick spray. In a bowl whisk together the queso cheese dip and coconut milk; spread this mixture evenly over the vegetables. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and place it on the lower rack of the oven. Bake the casserole for about forty minutes, then turn it one-half turn. Bake the casserole for another forty minutes then remove the aluminum foil so that top can brown. The casserole is done when the center of the casserole dish is bubbling. Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to sit on a cooling rack for ten minutes before serving.

Whenever I make this again I will add salt and pepper to the mix. The final result was good, but also a little bland and needed extra seasoning.

Why no photos? Good question. I guess that I was so hungry that I just wanted to dig in.

Christmas Is Coming Early
Just like Thanksgiving I was surprised to hear of Christmas’ early arrival this year. A few months ago I pre-ordered my Christmas gift which was due to be in my grubby little 9.9-fingered hands in mid-December. Last week I received an email from Amazon alerting me that the camera body would be shipped out to me this week. Oh the insanity that will soon occur! I can hardly wait.

My Calendar Is Lacking
Being a digital lifestyle person it amazes me how much data I have lost over the past few years. In doing to blog back-reading (to see why I missed last year’s St Andrew’s Day hash) I read about two birthdays that I mentioned last year that were no longer on my calendar. To my friends Tamara and Andy, neither of whom read this space often if ever, I apologize for missing your birthdays. Happy Belated Birthday!

Speaking of backing up data, all I want is a fairly simple work flow for backing up my data. I spent at least half of yesterday copying data from one drive to another. On at least one occasion I was confronted with an error message and had to start over. Seriously, there must be a better way.

On The Agenda For Tomorrow
Here’s a couple of things you can expect tomorrow.

• Discussion of last night’s Amazing Race
• A CD Pick of the Week

And as always I am open for suggestions. See you tomorrow.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - frustrated, and ready to move on
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Crooked Fingers — “Call To Love”
Website Of The Day - Given today’s title and content you had to know that I was going to choose MoveOn.org today.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 40 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

(In case you hadn’t noticed, I posted another entry this morning. Be forewarned, it’s not a “happy” entry.)

Many people get today off from work as a paid holiday. Unfortunately I am not one of them. I have a valid excuse this year, I did a lot of traveling (Arizona, Seattle, Edmonton, numerous day trips).

If You Make Digital Download Difficult And CDs Cheap, What Am I To Do?
To finish the week of talk about thumb-chopping and references to Betsy’s birthday I did the only thing I could think of, buy Bruce Springsteen’s newest release “Magic” (because removing my thumb was “magical” and Betsy is from New Jersey).

The last two CDs I have purchased have been virtual, that is they were digitally downloaded — one from iTunes and one from Amazon. Seeing how iTunes didn’t offer “Magic” without DRM and Amazon didn’t offer it digitally at all, I was about to give up on getting it. Then I noticed that Amazon was selling the physical disc for $8.99, and since I still have Amazon Prime I get free two-day delivery. I’ll let you know what I think of the disc once it arrives.

Now if I was only able to get quality seats last Saturday for the April ‘08 date that The Boss is playing Philips Arena. I passed on the “best” $95 seats available because I didn’t think that they were worth it.

ITP Flickr Pic
Many photo opportunities yesterday, no photos taken.

Sometimes A Half Is Enough
I managed to make it to the Falcons game last night. However, my friend and I decided that the game was decided by half time so we took off. It was kinda a shame because the seats we had were really good, but since I had to be at work today I wasn’t too disappointed.

The New “Book Rule”
I have a bad habit of buying books. This would be a good habit if I also read all of the books that I have purchased. So, as of today there is a new rule at the InsideThePerimeter household.

Before I may buy another book, I must complete reading one of the books that I have already purchased.

Do The Electronics Really Know?
This morning I turned on my 60GB iPod (what would be considered a “Classic” now) to discover that the screen looks like it is starting to give out. This sucks because I have finally started to rip videos and watch them on this iPod.

What’s curious to note is that this happened two days after the delivery of my “new” refurbished Second Generation iPod Nano. Keep in mind that this Nano is not a replacement for the Classic, but rather to be its companion.

However, much like when you bring a new pet into a house, or have that second child, I can see how my trusty iPod “Classic” might think that it is being put out to pasture and will not receive the love that it is used to getting.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay, celebrating one week without slicing off my thumb
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Pinback — “From Nothing To Nowhere”
Website Of The Day - Admit it, you are not going to get anything done at the office today so you might as well check out Albine Black Sheep.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 40 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car (traffic, or the lack thereof, was wonderful)

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The time has come.

Getting My $25 Worth In Retribution Venting
On September 27th I was in Boca Raton, Florida to do some college recruiting at Florida Atlantic University. My companions and I were given a parking pass for the day and I proceeded to drive to the Visitors’ Lot. After circling the small lot and not finding any open spaces I parked along a curb behind a few other vehicles who had done the same.

When my companions and I emerged from the building to drive to lunch I found a parking ticket under the windshield wiper of the rental car. Miffed, I took the ticket to the Coordinator of Employer Relations to see about getting the ticket “taken care of.” I was quickly blown off by this man who told me that there was nothing he could do and that I would have to appeal the ticket at the police department on campus.

Going back to the parking lot I surveyed the area for indications that parking along the curb was illegal, none were found, and then checked out the parking pass to see if it indicated that parking was not allowed along a curb, it did not.

Here are two pictures of my parking.

Where is the “No Parking” signage?

Why isn’t the curb painted yellow?

I went to the police department where I was fed a line about how parking along a curb is not allowed anywhere on campus. When I asked how I, a visitor, was supposed to know this and that there was no signage in the Visitors’ Lot alerting me of this rule I received a blank stare and a form to fill out.

Yesterday I received a decision to my appeal, not surprisingly it was denied. In my mind this is bullshit.

Here is the email that I sent to FAU following the declination of my appeal

During my last recruiting trip to your university I was issued a $25 parking that I felt was in error. I was parked in the Guest parking lot on your campus along a curb. There was absolutely no indication that parking was not allowed along the curb, nor was this restriction mentioned on your campus’ hanging parking tag. I have included pictures of my parking “violation” for you to reference.

On the day of the citation I asked for Mr. Watson’s help in correcting this matter, but he stated that he could do nothing. I then headed to the police department and entered an appeal. Today I received notification that my appeal has been denied.

Tonight I will pay my $25 and, as a result, will NEVER return to your campus because I think this citation was complete CRAP. I cannot bring myself to support an organization that abuses its guests, especially guests who are attempting to improve their university’s employment efforts. My company may choose to return to your university but I guarantee that I will not be among the representatives.

In the future you may wish to advise your guests of the parking restrictions so that they may avoid the hassle and financial punishment that I have undergone.

I feel that I have no other recourse. I’d go argue with them in person, but since FAU is a good 625+ miles away from Atlanta that just isn’t financially feasible.

Even after writing this I’m still not happy, but I do feel that I finally got to sufficiently air my grievances.

Blog delay today was not my fault. My office building had a partial power outage and no internet connectivity.

It will come as no surprise that I am not the happiest camper in the world. I completely understand that I have a lot of good things going for me, but I am greedy and want more.

If It’s Not One Thing It’s Something Else
Last night I decided to take advantage of the facts that I rode Marta to work and that the weather was perfect, so I walked from Arts Center to my car. I guess that I either wore the wrong socks or I was unable to tighten my shoe as well I as I do without a gimpy thumb, but I managed to get a blister on one of my feet. Seriously, can I catch a fucking break already?

More Medical Bills Are In My Immediate Future
Yesterday I received my reminder card for my optometrist appointment in December. Damn, how much is this visit going to cost?

ITP Flickr Pic
This space reserved for the picture of the refurbished 4GB Second Generation iPod Nano which is supposed to delivered today. It will look a lot like this

I have ordered the blue one. I hate my Second Generation iPod Shuffle and this was only $100 so I couldn’t pass it up. Even better, I was able to find Apple’s iPod Nano (2nd Gen) armband on the clearance rack at Target for $7.50 (it originally sold for $29).

Marta’s Breeze Card Doesn’t Give Me Comfort
Because I have been riding Marta more often (has anyone noticed?), I was getting close to running out of ride credits on my Breeze Card. Before hopping the train home yesterday I loaded my Breeze Card with another $30 worth of rides. Because of the way the Breeze Cards work, my heart skipped a beat this morning when the card reader said that I had no more rides remaining on my card. At first I was furious because I felt that Marta had ripped me off, then I probably realized that the Breeze Card system was just stupid; the latter was correct. When I went to the Breeze Card vending machine after this morning’s commute the screen showed that I had no more rides left on the previous twenty-ride pack, and that I had one twenty-ride pack pending. Couldn’t they just sum all of these rides together? It seems bizarre to me. Maybe they should have called it the Bizarre Card.

I Hope You All Have A Wonderful Thanksgiving!
And if you read this in a country that’s not celebrating America’s Thanksgiving tomorrow why don’t you let us know what you are doing.

If you are running either Atlanta’s Half or Full Marathon and you want a free beer at the end just come up to me and mention InsideThePerimeter.com. This offer is null and void if it is raining so hard that I don’t make it out to the ending (never thought rain would be an issue this year), or when I run out of beer.

And if you are around Friday either at work (like I will be) or near an internet connection swing by ITP. I will have a regularly-scheduled blog post waiting for you.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - festive
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Magnetic Fields — “I Don’t Want To Get Over You”
Website Of The Day - I think that this is awesome! Strictly No Photography posts pictures of places where photography is not allowed. I cannot wait until I have something that I can submit.
Exercise (b)Log - walking, 4.5 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 40 miles (look at me go!)
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

And it has nothing to do with the fact that yesterday was Betsy’s birthday. No, instead it’s because even though I will be in the office on Friday _morning the Thanksgiving week is always a fucked-up one with people leaving the office early on Wednesday an not returning until Monday. Today is Tuesday, but it feels so much more like a Thursday.

My Knife Is Obviously Sharper Than My Mind
I realized this morning that I forgot to credit myself with the four mile walk that I too last Friday.

And from the Department for Furthering Irony: Yesterday I received an email from Cook’s Warehouse pleading for volunteers for a private event. I wonder if my wound would have never occurred if I had taken their knife skills class.

ITP Flickr Pic
Meet my new friends

I am getting to know them well (again).

The Bills Keep Pouring In
Health care in this country without a decent insurance plan really sucks.

Last week I received a bill for $73 to cover what I owe for the lab work done after my physical. Yesterday I received a bill for $189 to cover the office visit (which included a $30 charge for an “eye exam” which consisted of me reading two lines off an eye chart. WTF?). What’s staggering is that these were the “negotiated prices” done by my insurance company, without which the two bills would have been over $900.

Yesterday’s dental checkup cost me about $160.

I have yet to receive information about the cost of Friday night’s trip to NextCare.

Staying healthy, getting sick, and having accidents is too fucking expensive!

I Didn’t Expect Them To Leave The Amazing Race So Soon
When handicapping The Amazing Race you naturally pick the teams with apparent handicaps to go out first, see also “aging lesbian ministers.” Naturally next on my list was either Gramps and grandson or Who’s Your Hernia? and daughter.

Wasn’t I the surprised one when it was down to the “young hot Latina sisters” (Marianna and Julia) and “girl whose desperate to get married and guy who can’t commit” (Lorena and Jason). Seriously, is it that hard to milk a camel? I dunno because I’ve never tried.

I still do not like the “California Couple” (Jennifer and Nathan) and the “California Blondes” (Shana and Jennifer). Hmm, I’m sensing a theme here… and normally I like the women whose names start with ‘J’.

Who do you think will go next?

CD Pick Of the Week
I am not a fan of the Amy Winehouse so I cannot bring myself to recommend her disc. Sebastian Bach (think hard, you’ll remember who this is….. think “hair metal” think “Skid Row”) has a new release today as well, but I also cannot recommend it, mostly because I have heard nothing from it.

Instead I will pick a band that I have heard about through Cable And Tweed — Six Organs Of Admittance. Cable And Tweed has a couple of tracks that you can sample to see if Six Organs Of Admittance pleases you. Go now, it will do you good.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - my hips hurt, very strange…
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Interpol — “Slow Hands”
Website Of The Day - Every week I listen to a great Public Radio podcast called The Splendid Table. With Thanksgiving right around the corner I think that you should listen to it as well.
Exercise (b)Log - (last Friday!) walking, 4 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 35.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

After Friday’s fiasco it was almost inevitable. On Saturday I decided to go to the hash even though I knew that I couldn’t run it. While hanging out in the parking lot for the hash to take off I decided that I really wanted to drink, and drink I did.

Much like my left thumb this blog entry will be shorter than normal.

On my agenda today is going back to NextCare for a follow up visit, and then to the dentist for a six month checkup. I am getting to know the ins-and-outs of my health insurance a little too much lately.

1, 2, 3
It was the first time I saw The 1990’s in concert.
It was the second time I saw Art Brut in concert.
It was the third time I saw The Hold Steady in concert.

Of the three bands that I saw last night I’d have to say that I enjoyed Art Brut the most. Had you asked me prior to the show, there is no doubt that I would have predicted that I would have given The Hold Steady that honor.

The two previous times that I’ve seen The Hold Steady they were at The EARL (apparently they’ve played there three times) and both show kicked ass. Last night there seemed to be something missing. Even some of the band members were confused when their set ended. I read the lips of the lead guitarist saying “I guess that’s it.” when lead singer Craig Finn walked off the stage. The band came out and played a short encore set and that was it.

Okay, So What You Are Saying Is That I Only Need 104 Points Tonight?
A 3-7 team cut the East Atlanta Deadbeat Dads like a knife in my fantasy football league yesterday. While it was bad enough that my opponent’s team had Terrell Owens, who scored all four of the Cowboys’ touchdowns, his roster also had Chester Taylor who scored three of Minnesota’s! If the name Chester Taylor doesn’t sound familiar, it’s because he had spent most of his time watching my running back Adrian Peterson until those devious Packers put Peterson out of commission last week.

A Very Special Birthday Greetings
My friend Betsy is celebrating a birthday today. Betsy, I am thrilled that it is your birthday and I give it 1.9 thumbs up!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - blah
Current Music - nothing but quiet in my house right now
Website Of The Day - See how long it takes you to lop off a piece of a finger using this really simple, yet really useful Online Stopwatch.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 31.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Beers Consumed Since 11/03 - More than zero, but I didn’t count on Saturday

November Goals
1) Run no fewer than 25 miles
2) Not worry about running the Atlanta Half-Marathon
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]