Inside The Perimeter

All three times I typed that it came out “Let It Snot”, seriously there must be something wrong with me.

Yesterday I was clever enough to get out for a four-mile run around the Perimeter Mall area before the “heavy stuff” started coming down, although I did run through some light snow flurries. Now I know that there must be something wrong with me.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Confession is often an avoidance of change. If I confess it, I don’t have to accept the responsibility of changing it: “I confess. It is beyond my control.” And it shifts the burden: “You have heard it, now what are you going to do about it?”

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

For The Record, I’m Not Here
And so begins… college recruiting season. Today finds me on the campus of Georgia Tech attending a career fair put on by the National Society of Black Engineers means to retaliate today. This is the first time that I’ve attended this career fair and with today’s lousy weather I will be interested to see the turn out.

ITP Flickr Pic
A few weeks ago I went to Slope’s BBQ for lunch. As is the case in many restaurants there was a wall of autographed photos inside the restaurant.

Much to my surprise there was a grouping for the members of “Space Ghost,” including my friend Andy here seen as his alter-ego Brak.

Still No New Ride For My Feet
Although I had planned to go and buy new running shoes instead of fighting traffic my heart just wasn’t in it. After my run, stretch, and shower the last thing I wanted to think about was more running equipment. Further, since I knew that it was going to be a long ride home no matter what time I embarked, I decided that I might as well get into the mix as soon as I could.

You Win Some, You Lose Some
Where my Andouille Pudding came out really well, my Shrimp Boulettes were nearly a complete failure. The boulettes are balls the size of walnuts (think hush puppies) which can either be baked (which I chose in order to be healthier) or deep fried (which I should have done). The consistency in my boulettes was revolting and the flavor was alright but nothing that I’d ever want to consume again. I’m not sure that deep frying them would have helped. I probably could tweak the recipe, but it’s really not worth the effort to me.

And this would be why I try recipes before making them for others.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - cold and feel like I am currently living a boring life
Current Music - My iTunes collection on Shuffle playing The Olivia Tremor Control — “Holiday Surprise 1, 2, 3″
Website Of The Day - Instead of Emeril’s cookbooks perhaps I should be using the revamped Gourmet Magazine site.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 4 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car (to the career fair)
Monthly Marta Rides - 6

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles [on pace to meet]
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips) [future schedule will not permit]
3) Read at least one book [on pace to meet]

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

My forty-eight hour window for feeling sorry for myself has passed, so I am naturally feeling better about myself. Getting in the best three-mile run that I have performed in ages yesterday probably hasn’t hurt my ego either. Now if I could only shake the last vestiges of this cold.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Time is change, therefore when I do something unfamiliar I literally consume more time per clock-hour. Familiar means less time because less change. Therefore I can lengthen my life by staying out of doctrines and ruts.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Meet The “Sub 2:00:00″ Laptop
Funny, I always thought that it would be women who would inspire me to do things. Clearly I was wrong, so I’ve moved on to technology. During yesterday’s three-mile training run I decided that if I can accomplish my goal of running the ING Half Marathon in under two hours that I will buy myself one of these.

Isn’t she beautiful!?!?

I will love her; I will take her everywhere I travel; She will get the treatment that those who have passed on me could only hope to get.

Oh The Things I Could Have Purchased
Remember how I used to slam Edgewood Retail District before it opened? Well, I’ll shut up now. Not that all of my efforts were fruitful yesterday, but with one park of the car I went to Wachovia (make a deposit), Lowe’s (parts for an upcoming desk-decluttering project), Ross Dress for Less (looking for cheap tights — not found), Target (because I could), and Kroger (pick up things I didn’t buy at YDFM). I also briefly considered going in to Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and Bed Bath & Beyond, but since I knew that I didn’t need anything from those stores I didn’t. Hell, if there was a “local’s” bar stuffed into one of those ERD storefronts I probably would have sat down for a beer too!

While tooling around Kroger I saw two things which piqued my interest; one I decided not to bite on (no pun intended) and one I placed into my cart. The one on which I passed was a case of long-neck Lone Star beers. I swear that this must have been mis-delivered because there was only one case sitting on the floor and no other Lone Star beer was to be found. I passed on it because there was no indication of its price, and I didn’t want to deal with a price check (foreshadowing). The item I placed in my cart was a four-pack of Brother Thelonious Belgian-style Abbey Ale. Sadly when I went to check out the item was not yet in Kroger’s database, and since I still didn’t want to wait for someone to perform a price check I decided that I’d let it get returned to stock. It’s not like this Kroger is the only place in town selling Brother Thelonious, so I am sure that I’ll get some soon.

ITP Flickr Pic
Have I mentioned that I can cook?

While this “Andouille pudding” looked a bit of a mess (it could have used another minute or two in the oven but I feared burning the top) it was, and will be for another day or two, quite delicious.

And get this, I am also pleased with the photograph!

No George’s For Paulie
Sorry kids, my face will not be seen in George’s this evening. It’s not that I am avoiding you; have you seen tonight’s weather prediction? Instead this being “Wildcard Wednesday” on my running calendar I am going to try and get a run in at lunch before the precipitation arrives.

My only wish for today is that I had taken Marta to work so that I wouldn’t have to deal what will undoubtedly be a horrendous afternoon commute. Hey, I can use that time to go shopping for some running shoes. Brilliant! I love it when a plan comes together!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - on the warpath which I guess means that I am enraged and focused?
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Pavement — “Summer Babe (Winter Version)”
Website Of The Day - While reading about decluttering at Decluttered is not as rewarding as actual decluttering, but it’s a good start.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 3 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 21.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 6

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles [on pace to meet]
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips) [future schedule will not permit]
3) Read at least one book [on pace to meet]

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

(It was to be read in the same cadence as “Reading, Writing, and ‘rithmetic”)

Because of a cough that has trailed the illness I fought over the weekend I got another crappy night of sleep last evening. Because I need time to catch up on all of the tasks that the temporary paralysis that has occurred the last couple of days I’m staying home from work. Today I’ll be reading and spending a lot of time planning the next few months of my life (contradictory to what I’ve been reading lately, but necessary for work’s sake).

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

The way for me to live is to have no way. My only habit should be to have none. Because I did it this way before is sufficient reason not to do it this way today.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

On Cooking, On Cleaning, On Being A Dick
Why do so many people love Your Dekalb Farmers Market?
Last night I ventured into our local Third-World market (it’s not not the people who shop there as much as it is YDFM’s policies) in order to pick up ingredients for some Cajun dishes that I am planning on making for a party Saturday night. Given that these are new concoctions for my repertoire I’ve decided to give them a test run before unleashing them on the masses on Saturday (fwiw- the dishes in question are an Andouille Pudding (think “casserole”), and Shrimp Boulettes). Fans of my Jambalaya will be saddened to know that I shan’t be making it for the party this year.

Not only did I not think that the selection of products at YDFM was that great (only organic milk at $5.49/gallon?) I struggled to pay with a check because I was no longer in their database and they still do not accept credit cards. Frustrating! When the cashier told me that I had to go to the Information Desk and get my check approved I nearly told them that they could keep their shit and walked out the door (it was the desire to try their andouille sausage that talked me off the ledge).

ITP Flickr Pic
You shouldn’t be to surprised to find out that I’ve not take a photo in the past few days, so I’ve dug up another one from last week’s Thrashers game.

It’s Keynote Tuesday!
Macworld Expo ‘08 has arrived! Will Steve Jobs announce an Apple product that I must buy this year? Will this year be the year that I move to a MacBook or MacBook Pro? Will this be the year that I update to OS X v10.5, aka “Leopard?” Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Did Somebody Say “Amazing Race?”
We are down to three. Who is going to tell me that these were the three teams that they predicted would be here now? I never expected Ronald/Christina nor Nicolas/Donald (hell, I had to look up his real name) to make it this far. In fact, I would have expected those teams along with the Minnesotan lesbian ministers to be gone by week five.

So far I’ve been most impressed with Christina; not has she had to deal with her asshat of a father, but she speaks just about every language. It must be her high fallutin’ college lifestyle. I do sometimes wonder if Ronald and Christina have had a bit of and advantage traveling through Asia, much in the same way that Hendekea and Azaria did when the race went through Africa. I know that I’d kick some ass on “The Amazing Race: United States.”

It appears that Jennifer/Nate’s run has come to an end — and by this I refer to their relationship as much as I do their Amazing Race adventures. I have no remorse for them, for unlike myself they will be back in the dating game before they know it.

The Amazing Race 12 comes to and end on Sunday (and thankfully we don’t have to endure a passport burning ceremony like they do on Survivor). Until then I am going to be practicing holding my breath underwater because you never know when a skill like that will come in handy. If there are no more blog entries this week then I’ve done a little too well at this task.

CD Pick Of The Week
Admittedly The Magnetic Fields are not for everyone. That being said, if you are a fan of concept releases then you should run, not walk, run to your favorite music distributor and pick up “Distortion” from The Magnetic Fields. In the past The Magnetic Fields have put out releases such as “69 Love Songs” (containing, wait for it, sixty-nine love songs) and “I” (in which every song title began with the letter ‘I’). Each song on “Distortion” contains similar instrumentation and take their inspiration from Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Psychocandy” (familiar ground for you old schoolers). The Magnetic Fields are streaming the album for a limited time on their MySpace page if you need a listen before deciding on whether or not to buy.

Not a fan of the concept album? Then do as I did yesterday and pick up a copy (digital in my case) of “Township” from The Wheat Pool. I told you that I’d probably wind up buying it.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - It’s not a word but it sums me up perfectly today — crapulous; Who am I kidding, I am pissed off
Current Music - nothing, I am listening to podcasts
Website Of The Day - Skull-A-Day is a blog which presents an interesting collection of art projects in the shape of skulls. Don’t worry it’s not morbid, it’s actually kind of cool.
Exercise (b)Log - strengthening and stretching (although my heart really wasn’t in it)
Monthly Foot Mileage - 18.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car (when I go in later to attend a meeting)
Monthly Marta Rides - 6

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I don’t have much love for the world today. I’m not going to discuss details but here were some alternative titles for today

• If I Was The Last Man On Earth I’d Be Marooned On An Island Of Lesbians
• So This Is What It’s Like To Be Nocturnal
• Holding Onto Happiness Is Harder Than Holding Onto Jello

I am pre-writing today’s blog because I gave up on returning to sleep after an hour and a half of lying in bed (as well as lying to myself that I was tired) and figured that by the time 8:00am rolls around I will be more than half asleep, that is if I get any sleep between now and then.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

“What do I want to do in life?” “What is my purpose?” My assumption is that I have a reason for living, that my life has a direction. But maybe we are not moving in one direction any more than history is. The assumption that I am headed toward something makes me want to justify my past actions and plan out (eliminate) the future. The reason I don’t want to drive, wait in line, run errands, etc., is that in the back of my mind I believe I have a destiny and that therefore this mundane task is a wast of my time because it does not contribute to the “important work” I have to do before I die.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I Got A Lot Of Sleep, Just At The Wrong Times
I can blame a portion of this weekend’s abnormal sleep pattern on whatever illness I was fighting, a portion on the illness I fight constantly known as depression, and a good portion on beer.

The prose that you are currently reading was typed at 2:05am EST as I listen to an Edmonton Canada band The Wheat Pool play an amazingly sad, yet hauntingly beautiful country song called “Neil Young” through my speakers

You are just a dreamer and I am just a dream’,
Neil Young still remembers what it’s like to be 18.
And sometimes I remember,
all the reasons that we made each other scream.

I’ll probably listen to this another ten times as I write this blog only to decide that I should buy their music when I awake tomorrow.

ITP Flickr Pic
In case of fire…

…save yourself. I’ve given up trying.

This One Went To Eleven
As scheduled I ran a whopping eleven miles this weekend — not all at once of course. I enter the second week of training having run three miles on Friday to make up for Thursday’s miss, and three and five milers as scheduled Saturday and Sunday. Today I return to “strengthening and stretching” two things I should probably do a little more often regardless.

So far I think that the training is going well. Yesterday’s five-mile affair was a little unsuccessful because it contained a few too many walking breaks and I accidentally stepped in a whopping pile of dog shit — not that a whopping pile of cat shit would have been much better mind you.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - trying to remember what it’s like not to be able to crank up music at 2:00am because I have to worry about someone else
Current Music - The Wheat Pool — “Neil Young”
Website Of The Day - I forgot one this morning so I’ll blame it on Sleep Deprivation.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 3 miles; running, 3 miles; running/walking, 5 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 18.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In - 202.5 pounds
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 6

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Not even one week into my half-marathon training I had to miss my workout due to a combination of work commitments and illness. This time of year my schedule goes completely bonkers and not only did I not get the opportunity to run, I also missed out on last night’s Thrashers game. I would have run upon returning home (around 7:45pm) except that I was extremely worn out (I left the house at 6:15am) and feared that I was coming down with something (and I think that I was right). Shit happens.

Today was a scheduled rest day, instead I will run the three miles that were supposed to be run yesterday.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

I cannot “make my mark” for all time — those concepts are mutually exclusive. “Lasting effect” is a self-contradictory term. Meaning does not exist in the future and neither do I. Nothing will have meaning “ultimately.” Nothing will even mean tomorrow what it did today. Meaning changes with the context. My meaningfulness is here. It is enough that I am of value to someone today. It is enough that I make a difference now.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Sleep, It’s What’s For Dinner
Well, actually leftover pasta was what was for dinner; sleep followed soon thereafter. Not that anyone really likes being sick, but I find that my life comes to a screeching halt when I am. By 9:30pm last night I was in bed with the laptop and sound asleep by 10:00pm.

I Dedicate This One To The Runners
Do you buy running shoes online? If so, from where?

It shames me to say this but it’s been a while since I’ve purchased new shoes. With the thought of running in the rain (I will make the assumptions that we’ve exited “drought season” and that I will remain healthy enough to not miss my scheduled runs in the future) I’ve decided that I need an alternate pair of shoes.

I know that could always pop into Big Peach Running Co. or Phidippides but I thought that I should explore all options.

ITP Flickr Pic
The King never left the building that night.

But the Thrashers’ offense and defense certainly did.

What’s On Tap For The Weekend?
Health permitting, things look promising for this weekend.

Tonight is the re-re-scheduled PBR drinkfest that my buddy Harold is hosting. I am trying to figure out if I am going to be the beer snob that I normally am and bring my own or if I plan to hang with the theme and slum it.

I hear that there is some big ole Monster Truck event tomorrow night. I will not be in attendance. Instead I will keep my options wide open. Considering I have a three mile run and hours worth of yard work ahead of me I don’t want to commit myself to anything that I cannot make good on.

Sunday will be the first of my “long running” days. I am scheduled to run five miles and then I will reward myself with bacon, Tweety Bird Waffles, and beer until our gracious host boots us from her domicile so that she can go to the Hog Mountain Hash. Perhaps I will also begin my “Declutter ‘08″ campaign and start earmarking possessions for removal from my house. “Declutter ‘07″ was a good start, but I never made the impact I was seeking.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - “off” physically, bummed, but hoping that I will feel well enough to run this afternoon.
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Animal Collective — “Peacebone”
Website Of The Day - One item on my “to do” list before my big Super Bowl party is to buy a new bar-sized refrigerator. To help with my research I’ll be viewing the Ultimate Refrigerator Buyers’ Guide a lot over the next few days.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 7.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 6

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I expect to hear this phrase often over the next twelve weeks. As I entered George’s after last night’s better-late-than-never run I received cheers as if I had finished high in the New Hampshire primary. It was at that time that I realized that most of you don’t know the Paulie who used to work out six days a week and had discipline when it came to eating and drinking. He’s back. I’m back.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

I am convinced that this anxiety running through my life is the tension between what I “should be” and what I am. My anxiety does not come from thinking but from wanting to control it. It seems to begin whenever I smuggle an “I want to become” into my mind. It is the tension between my desire to control what I will be and the recognition that I can’t. “I will be what I will be” — where is the anxiety in that? Anxiety is the realization that I might not reach the rung on the opinion-ladder which I have just set for myself. I fear death most when I am about to exceed what others expect of me; then death threatens to cut me off from myself, because “myself” is not yet.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Life At 163 Beats Per Minute
The situation was out of my control — I was required to be in the meeting which kept me past the time that I could catch Marta and make it to George’s by 6pm. Undaunted I made it there by 6:30pm and headed out for what was supposed to be a four-mile run. My music of choice was the Podrunner podcast titled “Thrive” which was an hour’s worth (I didn’t hear all of it, I was not out that long) of house and trance music regulated to a rate of 163 bpm. I found that my gape matched the tempo perfectly and as I ran, what turned out to be a 4.8 mile loop, effectively.

I broke no speed records last night but that’s fine because I did it it, and I did it the best that I could.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another from Sunday’s photostroll. I started processing the shots I took Tuesday night but didn’t get through them so nothing has been uploaded yet.

This was just one of those odd city-scenes that caught my eye.

Time To Give In To “The Man”?
A lot of news of concerts happening in Atlanta pleases me, and sometimes there are announcements made which really please me. The news last week that Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks are coming to play a show at the Variety Playhouse has had me going to the Variety’s website daily in an attempt to purchase a ticket for the March 26th show using their online ticket process. I prefer to use the Variety’s service because it’s cheaper than going through Ticketmaster. However, there is still no mention of the show on their site.

Yesterday I decided to try Ticketmaster to see if they have the show listed, and lo and behold tickets are already available trough them.

My dilemma is do I spend the extra few bucks to line Ticketmaster’s pockets, or do I wait and hope that Variety puts tickets up for sale soon?

And…. I wrote this portion last night. Of course when I check back this morning I see that the show is now listed on Variety’s website and that tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am. Want to guess what I will be doing then?

Better Luck When I Am Where I Belong?
I am making a return to Philips Arena tonight to watch the Thrashers take on the Florida Panthers. Tonight I will be sans camera and have my buttocks planted in the section of the arena to which I am accustomed (section 303) instead of living the high-life in some of the more expensive seats (section 112). Here’s to hoping that the game is entertaining and that the Thrashers prevail.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - whooped and that’s a good thing, at least I hope that it’s a good thing
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Josh Ritter — “Right Moves” (I am a late entrant to the Josh Ritter Fan Bandwagon)
Website Of The Day - I promise that this is not another of my “Oh, I’ve cut my thumb jokes”. Rules Of Thumb is an interesting collection observations and statistics. Think of it as a “Urban Dictionary for Natural Law.”
Exercise (b)Log - running, 4.8 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 7.8 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 5

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Huffing and puffing were the order of the day on my three-mile jaunt yesterday afternoon. I am sure that more of the same can be expected tonight during the four-mile run that I will be putting in at George’s. Hey look at me! I’m training!

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

My prayer is: I will be what I will be and I will do what I will do.

All I want to do, need to do, is stay in rhythm with myself. All I want is to do what I do and not try to do what I don’t do. Just do what I do. Just keep pace with myself. Just be what I will be.

“I will be what I will be” — but I am now what I am, and here is where I will spend my energy. I need all my energy to be what I am today. Today I will work in rhythm with myself and not with what I “should be.” And to work in rhythm with myself I must keep turned in to myself.

God revealed his name to Moses, and it was: I AM WHAT I AM.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

At The Good Old Hockey Game
Other than the awesome seat in which I sat last night the fact that I heard the “Good Old Hockey Game” song for the first time this season was the highlight of the hockey game. The Thrashers took a 4-1 thumping at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers, whose fans were out in force and incredibly polite (who are these Flyer fans?)

I took a bunch of photos (mostly of things occurring not during play) but I’ve yet to have the time to process them.

ITP Flickr Pic
There was just something about the juxtaposition of these building tops that intrigued me.

In other news, I am starting to scratch the surface on how to use my new camera.

CD Pick Of The Week
I just realized that I missed yesterday’s CD releases. I just looked at the list; I didn’t miss much.

I Wish I Had Some Thrilling News Here
Truth be told things are really slow in my life right now. Oh well, I guess I will enjoy it while I can.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - good with a twinge of soreness
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Stars — “Take Me To The Riot”
Website Of The Day - You pays your money, you takes your chances. I did today buy buying the Mac software bundle at Macheist.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 3 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 3 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 3

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

When I blogged about Ohio State’s loss in the BCS Championship Game on the Tuesday following the game last year I seemed a little more stoked. Perhaps it had something to do with the Florida Gators victory, instead of LSU’s? I am a little saddened that I can no longer call my alma mater “Defending National Champs”, but I have been preparing myself all season so I’ll be alright.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Today I want to do things to be doing them, not to be doing something else. I do not want to do things to sell myself on myself. I don’t want to do nice things to be “nice.”

I don’t want to work to make money, I want to work to work.

Today I don’t want to live for, I want to live.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

A Special Night At Home, With Michael Palin?
For those of you old enough to have enjoyed the work of Monty Python the name Michael Palin might ring a bell. For those of you who have scoured the PBS airwaves over the past fifteen or so years the name Michael Palin might also ring a bell. Since the imminent demise of Monty Python Michael Palin has been traveling the world and having the BBC record it. His travels have been nothing short of astonishing.

In yesterday’s mail I received Disc 1 of Sahara from Netflix (the disc traveled from Louisville Kentucky!), which chronicles Palin’s journey across the legendary desert. Last night I watched the first episode in the series. If you are in to intriguing travel documentaries featuring amazing scenery and a smattering of humor then I suggest you check this series out.

ITP Flickr Pic
As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog I took a stroll around Downtown Atlanta prior to going to the Thrashers game on Sunday afternoon.

I am still contemplating Photoshopping out the light post from this. Since I am not doing photo-journalism here I don’t mind cleaning things up. What says you?

This Is Where Training Gets Tricky
I once again needed a little more beauty sleep than originally planned this morning which is going to make squeezing a three-mile run in a little more difficult. Luckily for me most of today’s meetings have been canceled because the Big Wigs are in Las Vegas for CES, so I should be able to get things done at lunch.

Tonight I’ll be headed back to Philips Arena to watch the Thrashers play the Philadelphia Flyers. Thanks to my good friend Stacy, who is in possession of her company’s seats tonight, I will be upgraded to a great view of the game. I’ll of course be packing the camera, as I cannot pass up the opportunity to play around when in the quality seats.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - good, ready to start running
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Primal Scream — “Loaded”
Website Of The Day - CES is awesome, but as for me I am waiting to hear what transpires in San Francisco at Macworld Expo next week.
Exercise (b)Log - strength & stretching
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 2

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I spent much of this weekend exploring new places and revisiting many that I’ve been to in the past. It was a weekend filled with great conversation and equally rewarding alone time.

On Saturday night I walked up to East Atlanta Village to meet up with some friends for dinner at East Atlanta Thai and Sushi (note to self: return soon). Being the early bird that I am I decided to drop into Bound To Be Read Books to have a look around and kill a few minutes. I landed in the Self Help section and walked away with an incredibly insightful book called Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather. The book, written in 1970, could not be more applicable to my current situation if it tried. Each day for a while I will be highlighting a short portion of Notes to Myself in the first section of this daily blog. It’s more for me than for you, so it’s your prerogative on whether or not to read along with me. If you’re not into this sort of prose, jump ahead to the next section. If after time you find yourself enjoying the passages, go purchase the book (of course I have an Amazon link in the daily section) because it’s still in print and pretty damn inexpensive.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

If I had only…
forgotten future greatness
and looked at the green things and the buildings
and reached out to those around me
and smelled the air
and ignored the forms and the self-styled obligations
and heard the rain on the roof
and put my arms around my wife
… and it’s not too late

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Game On!
Today starts my twelve-week training schedule for the ING Half Marathon. I will mostly be following the Intermediate Level Half Marathon Training Schedule from Hal Higdon which oddly starts out with a day of strength training and stretching. My modifications will occur on Wednesdays because I cannot stand to do track work, and Wednesday is a George’s day. Further, I will run 5k, 10k, and 15k races on the scheduled days only if I can find something local in which to participate — otherwise I will simply run those distances. You are hereby given complete permission to unload a ton of shit onto me if I fail to perform my scheduled training.

I have created a Google Calendar here with my target training assignments, some of which will have routes designated within them, and all will be updated with the exercise I performed as time progresses.

fwiw- My starting weight is 206 pounds. I will weigh myself on race day to see what has transpired over the twelve weeks of training.

ITP Flickr Pic
On Saturday morning I cruised around the current section for the Atlanta Grid Project.

I have a fascination with free-standing hearths. Some day I hope to have a collection that I can show under the title “Home Was Where The Hearth Is.”

Speaking Of Starting Over…
I’ve backed up all of my photos from 2007 and am starting a brand new Lightroom catalog for 2008. While I have yet to see the outcome of the shots that I took yesterday while strolling around downtown and Centennial Park (reshooting a lot of subjects that I have explored in the past) I had a wonderful time being out shooting. Of course no trip downtown is without its encounters with panhandlers and sketchy characters; in addition to them there was also one guy who was insistent on telling me where to go and finished his diatribe with “This is Atlanta, it’s not New York” for some reason. Perhaps he assumed that my geography skills were insufficient for Atlanta? For some reason it amused me as the New Yorker that few people do.

Hurray For Hippiewood
Warning: Amazing Race Spoilers

I find myself watching very little television these days and because of this I nearly dropped off of the Amazing Race bandwagon. I never did get around to watching The Goths get booted last weekend and it was only because I was doing laundry last night that found me in front of the telly.

For those in the know, I still wish to see TK and Rachel win and find myself continually enamored with Jen (it’s a male “thing”, I’m sure).

Hopes were nearly dashed as TK and Rachel made a rookie gaff of booking a flight with two connections instead of one, and finished three hours after the third-place team of Gramps and Nicolas. Luckily for those of us pulling for Team Hemp this was the final non-elimination leg — although the outlook for them to regain three hours in addition to completing the Speed Bump looks grim.

One of the funnier things last night was the astonishment of Nathan and Jennifer that none of the signs in Japan were in English, or that few of the people in Osaka spoke English. Those damn Japanese, we kick their ass in WWII you’d think they respect us by conforming to our language! Which leads me to another point. How hard is it to learn “Hello” and “Thank You” in other languages? I realize that the teams don’t know exactly where they are going for each leg, but carry a damn phrase book already!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - good
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The White Stripes — “Rag & Bone” (I really like The White Stripes; I really do not like this song)
Website Of The Day - Fancy yourself a geek? Go see what type of geek you are on the 56 Geeks poster.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing because I did not hash this weekend
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In - 206 pounds
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 1

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Today you may call me “Scoop” because yesterday I found out (through public information) that Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks will be playing at Variety Playhouse on March 26th. I scooped this story over at Cable & Tweed (Rich’s ultra-cool Atlanta music blog for which I occasionally write) yesterday. Sadly tickets have yet to go on sale, so if I go missing for a while between now and the 26th of March you know that I am out seeking a ticket for this show. Will it sell out? Perhaps? Will I be in attendance? You bet your sweet ass I will!

Winning At Trivia: Not So “Last Year”
Another night of trivia, another victory. I was even able to contribute three, count’em three, sports answers last night.

I should probably give props to those of you who forced my to watch Madonna videos during this past holiday season because the final question was “Which artist has the most MTV Video Awards having won twenty-three?” My first guess may have been Madonna anyway, but there was little doubt in my mind after seeing so many of her videos over the past few weeks.

The team formerly known as “Meet The Hashers” was a mere one question away from perfection last evening. The question we missed had to do with who sang the vocals on the Santana song “Smooth” (which irks me because Santana used to be a running (as in constant, not exercise) joke between me and my friend Stacey). Not being able to remember the tune I guessed Everlast (he did sing with Carlos on one his latter hits? Right?) and of course the correct answer was Rob Thomas (of Matchbox Twenty infamy).

ITP Flickr Pic
I don’t have any new material to post (it’s a good think that I didn’t pledge to take a photo a day). So, I will again dig into the archives — this one even comes with a story….

I moved to Atlanta in 1995. I was 29 and full of hope. From all I heard the ratio of women to men was skewed in my favor and that Atlanta was a great place for young singles to meet. Having just successfully lost about forty pounds and working out daily I was in fantastic shape and ready to cash in all of those lonely nights for a better life.

I have never fooled myself into thinking that I was in the top ten percent of good-looking men, however, I also didn’t believe that I was in the bottom ten percent either. I tried virtually everything to meet women — co-ed sports, book clubs, volunteering, running groups, dinner/theater groups, tennis, dating websites, hashing — you name it, I tried it and was mostly unsuccessful.

On this day in 1999-2000 I was the group leader for a mulching project in Piedmont Park while volunteering for an organization known as “Single Atlantans Volunteering” (in hindsight I should have looked for a group called “Horny Atlantans Volunteering” — but I digress). Soon after this day the person running the organization announced that she had gotten engaged. I never returned because I felt that there was something fraudulent about a “singles group” being run by somebody planning her wedding.

In The Year 1985
Last night as I waited for my team to arrive at Raging Burrito I heard music from The Cars (there was an outside chance that it was Rik Ocasek solo material, but I really think that it was The Cars. This stream of conscience is important, so stay with me here.) playing in the room.

This music reminded me of the time that I tried to locate “Change No Change” the solo effort from former Cars guitarist Elliot Easton. I have/had “Change No Change” on cassette and wanted to update it to CD. At that time the CD was long-since out-of-print and hopes were dashed.

However last night I found out that “Change No Change” had been re-released and the music was also available for download from both Amazon and iTunes. While I am a pseudo-Apple-Fanboy I couldn’t determine if the iTunes downloads were 256kbps DRM-free tracks, so I purchased from Amazon (for the same price). Sweet!

Want to guess what I listened to on my drive in to work today?

What’s the morale of this story? Don’t give up. I’ll admit that finding “Change No Change” on CD (or mp3) is not a monumental, life-changing event, but it has proven to me that things can change, and sometimes change for the better.

btw- “Change No Change” is not quite as good as I remember it being, but I am still thrilled to once again have the chance to listen to it whenever the hell I want.

Hey, It Looks Great On You
Tonight I will be at Stacy & Phil’s Annual “Wine and Re-Gift Party.” Every January we all bring a bottle wine and some gift that we’d rather someone else have and do a “white elephant” exchange. Two years ago I ended up with makeup for little girls (huh?), last year my gift was a beer stein (at least this was useful to me), tonight no one knows.

What is the gift that I am bringing? You’ll have to wait until Monday to find out. I am sure that I’ll have at least one story to tell about the evening’s events.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - thawing out, hopeful
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Sex Pistols — “Anarchy In The UK”
Website Of The Day - I love the internet! It’s so fucking bizarre! Check out the short story available at storytime.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing (this evil trend ends soon)
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0

January Goals
1) Run no fewer than 50 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than sixteen times (eight round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]