Inside The Perimeter

Unfortunately I am not talking about a cash bonus in my pocket. Today, February 29th, is the day we only get once every four years. I hear that there is a hash or three going on tonight…

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

I reject objective thinking.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

It’s A Slow Down Friday
If you noticed that today’s blog is a little late that’s because I just don’t care today. When I woke up this morning I decided to make this a “slow down” Friday; by which I mean that I am not going to rush around today, race to get home, or do anything that is not going to bring me peace. I find myself worrying and scurrying too much. I want to see what a day without those is like.

However…

One Battle Ends, One Begins
Does this shit just happen to me, or is it merely coincidence? Wonder why I struggle with happiness? Here is one reason…

Yesterday I received a bill for $88 from my former primary-care physician Dr Wadsworth in Virginia-Highlands. The $88 is the remainder of a $113(!) charge for an office visit that I made in August 2006. Let me repeat that…. AUGUST 2006!!!! What the fuck is going on here? Are there no statute of limitations on this shit? I paid a $25 co-payment for an office visit back when the visit occurred and I will assume that they will tell me that since this charge was made in 2008, and my insurance policy has changed, I now owe the rest. It looks like I will be paying this doctor’s office one final visit so that I can clear this matter up and be done with them forever.

Seriously folks, if you don’t think that our health care system is broken then you just haven’t run into the problems I have had over the last year and a half. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones.

You Got “Car Talk” In My RSS Feed
I was more than a little surprised to see a Car Talk podcast on my iPod yesterday. I like Car Talk, but since I did not subscribe to their podcast feed I was a little taken aback that the podcast was delivered.

The Plan Is To See De Novo Dahl At The Drunken Unicorn
Last night I went to a hockey game for the first time in a long time. Tonight I will repeat the “in a long time” experience by going to see a concert. Tonight I will be at the Drunken Unicorn to see De Novo Dahl.

Looking For A Little New Media?
I’ve started adding a few more video podcasts to my collection.

Because I am such a tech-nerd I can’t get enough of daily tech podcasts such as MoBuzz TV. It doesn’t hurt that I find the show’s host, Olivia, to be incredibly good looking and I think that she also possesses an alluring accent.

While the host of the Alaska Podshow Podcast does little for me, the Alaskan scenery he shows off is stunning. The podcast also can be quite humorous when Alaska’s weather doesn’t cooperate and they are forced to be creative in other ways. Now that I think about it, I know somebody who is from Alaska.

Oh Yeah, One More Thing
There is no Survivor spoiler today because I got home too late from the hockey game. Feel free to discuss last night’s episode in the comments as I am sure that I will watch the episode regardless.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - sad and frustrated — I’ve got my reasons and they are not exactly what you are thinking; all I’ll say is that it’s a physical problem that completely fucks with my mental state.
Current Music - listening to a CBC Radio 3 podcast
Website Of The Day - All of the cool “leap year” domains are wasted on domain squatters. Fuckers! So, I’ll go another route… One Page Magazine is a rather bizarre concept. I’m not sure that I’ve had enough coffee to appreciate it yet.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 60.4 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 1

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I (think that I) am over the flu but I am really talking about being over this cold weather. I know that some of you out there actually like cold weather, but as for me, notsomuch. I’m okay with the cold in December, January, and perhaps the first part of February but when the windchill hits the low twenties at the end of February I say enough’s enough. I’m sad to announce that I failed to muster the chutzpah to go out running last night and that there is no hope to hitting my seventy-five mile goal for February.

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

Anyone who inhabits himself cannot believe in objective thinking.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Macon The Best Of A Bad Situation
Yesterday’s career fair was less than productive. Mercer is a nice university, but for my business purposes is a big miss.

My initial goal was to spend the entire day in Macon. I’ve never spent any time down there so I thought that it might be fun to explore. By the time that the career fair was over I had eaten breakfast and lunch and it was too early to get dinner. I really didn’t know what to do or where to go, so I returned to Atlanta.

The War May Be Over!
I appears that my epic struggle with Florida Atlantic University and Budget Rental Car (re: my parking ticket) may be over at last. Yesterday I received notification from Budget that they will be reversing the charges that they made to my American Express card. Of course I will not claim victory until I see all of the charges reversed.

ITP Flickr Pic Creative Block Day #????
I had plenty of time to take photos yesterday. I had sunny, albeit very chilly, skies yesterday once I was done down in Macon but no desire to get out and walk around. I returned home to work on my computer and then spent an hour or so cleaning my basement and then watching Not A Photograph: The Mission Of Burma Story before retiring for the evening.

I May Have Finally Backed Up My Data
I’ve felt a little sheepish reminding everyone to back up their data knowing that my situation was a mess. Last night I finally made a schedule for my nightly backups and have secured an off-site copy of my data.

Now it’s time for me to work on my workflow for my digital photography, that is once I start taking photos again…

Hockey Night In Atlanta
It seems like an eternity since I last went to a Thrashers game. Since then Atlanta has traded away one of the best players in Marion Hossa. Tonight my childhood favorite hockey team, the New York Islanders, are coming to town and I’ll be at the game. Since it’s now been thirty years since I lived in New York my allegiance to the Islanders is waning. I’ll be the guy silently rooting for each side.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - good, but cold and don’t know if I’ll find the time to run today
Current Music - listening to the “Net @ Nite” podcast
Website Of The Day - Good-bye FlexCar! Hello merger with Zip Car!
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 60.4 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 1

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Today I am on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Another day, another career fair. Just as I have finally gotten over the flu, I return to an environment that loves to pass it around. I’ll be the guy with the hand sanitizer…

I will probably not be seen at George’s tonight (so Steve, no Yuengling tonight again).

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

Dishonest people believe in words rather than reality.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

All I Am Saying, Is Give Knees A Chance
The other night as I struggled through four miles I realized something — my knees were hurting for the first time since I started training. While I am not too concerned with this revelation, I decided to give myself an unscheduled night of rest last night. And you know what? I am really glad that I did.

There’s A Lot Of Nothing Going On In My Bed
I don’t understand how my body reacts to getting under covers. Last night I “goofed off” on the internet while I took care of some data redundancy issues on my iMac. As soon as that was done (around 9:30pm) I dragged my old Winders laptop into the bedroom in order to watch some video. I think my eyes were open for about ten minutes before I fell asleep, only to awaken around 1:00am.

ITP Flickr Pic
None today. I stink.

A Dog Day Afternoon
What are you doing from 5pm - 7pm this Saturday? Why not go to a happy hour for the hounds being held at the Graveyard Tavern in East Atlanta? The fifteen dollar registration (go here to register) gets you admission and two beverages. During the event there will also be three raffles for which you can purchase tickets at the event.

psst- For the single types there will also be a singles’ meetup after the happy hour. Since I’ve sworn off meeting people for a while I might bail directly after the happy hour, but I will let my mood on Saturday dictate my actions.

Apple Introduces My Next Laptop
One of the reasons that I decided to make my next laptop a reward for the successful completion of the ING Half Marathon was that I had a gut feeling that Apple would upgrade the Macbook in Q1 of this year. I was right! Yesterday Apple introduced new revisions of their Macbook and Macbook Pros. Now I just need to keep training for thirty-one more days…

I’ve Got Fifteen Miles To Cover And Three Days To Do It
Oh no, I’ve got but three days to run fifteen more miles! Damn, I’d have surpassed the seventy-five mile goal already if not for the damn travel and flu.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - fair
Current Music - the “Mac Geek Gab” podcast
Website Of The Day - I’ve yet to figure out how to describe Ffffound.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 60.4 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car, just not to the office
Monthly Marta Rides - 1

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Because it’s depressing me.

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

Eloquence is sometimes lyrical, sometimes powerful, but always an overstatement and always a projection.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Marta Was Definitely Not Smarta
I dropped the Jackmobile off at Curry Honda for an oil change yesterday morning (spare me the “Why am I taking it to the dealer?” question) One of the biggest benefits of taking it to Curry is that they shuttle me to my office. They offer a shuttle back later in the day, but I usually hop on Marta because this way I can leave the office when I want.

Yesterday’s trek to get my car seemed to be no different than before. I saw a Marta train go by on my walk to the station so I knew that it would be a “few” minutes for the next one to arrive. I didn’t expect a “few” to turn in to about ten, and I subsequently didn’t expect to wait about fifteen more minutes for a Doraville train to roll through Lindbergh station when I arrived there. Over all it took me nearly an hour to get from my office to Curry Honda, and then of course it took me nearly an hour to drive from Curry Honda to my house.

Ugh.

I’d Buy That For A Dollar
Last night I met up with the newly-formed Monday night EAV Running group. It was funny (in a good way) to see a handful of non-EAV hashers arrive for the run. I struggled over the chosen four-mile loop (might have something to do with the four and nine mile runs that I did the previous two days).

Afterwards the hashers in the group walked up to Blue Frog Cantina where we (amazingly) met up with another five or so hashers and consumed $1 tacos and $2 PBRs. In the future I will consume the tacos along with a “better” beer.

ITP Flickr Pic
I promise that this will be the last from my University of South Carolina trip (mostly because I have no more). I keep posting shots from that trip because I have not take a photo since (where is the time?!)

Technically speaking this shot isn’t that great, mostly because I was shooting into the light. However, this shot pleases me nonetheless.

More On My Doppelganger / Nemesis
This morning while driving into work I saw the Jeep with the Jersey tag, NY Giants bumper sticker, and FSU spare tire cover parked on the street. I have a feeling that I’ll be seeing this person often because now I know that the person lives along my commute and apparently works somewhere along my commute as well (I’ll guess Turner because sooooo many work there).

I Don’t Want To Buy The Car, I Just Want To Rent It
My August Colorado travel plans are taking shape. It looks like I might be out for as much as two weeks. I have been searching for car rental information and have been floored by how expensive this can get. Currently the cheapest rates that I have found, for a compact car mind you, is $300 per week before taxes. That means that my car rental could cost me upwards of $750! Holy fucking hell!

CD Pick Of The Week
While the Rocket From The Crypt and Goldfrapp releases intrigue me, I know so little about these bands that I can’t blindly (deafly?) recommend them.

Instead today I am going to dare you to do something different. Today you should go to Jonathan Coulton’s website and check out his music. If you like what you hear you can also go to the Variety Playhouse and purchase a ticket for his March 22nd show; you know that I’ll be there.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - tired
Current Music - listening to Adam Curry’s “Daily Source Code” podcast
Website Of The Day - looking for another avenue for buying music online? Try Amie Street. Get it? Avenue… Street… C’mon, this is quality material here folks!
Exercise (b)Log - running, 4 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 60.4 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 1

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I have sent in my application to attend a photo workshop in August in Fort Collins, Colorado. I have to wait for confirmation before I know whether or not I am in, and then I must put down a $50 non-refundable deposit (which for some reason I lose if they cancel the workshop which seems like a load of crap to me). The inclusion of this workshop with my trip to Colorado for the Colorado Invihashional means that this will be my one “big” vacation of the year. I will use my remaining (and far too few for my seniority) vacation days for long weekends such as the annual Black Sheep Black Rock Mountain camp out, a trip that I will be taking to Nashville to see The New Pornographers and Okkervil River, and my annual camping weekend in Summerville, Georgia to run the Twisted Ankle Half Marathon.

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

I constrict my vision and disregard my opportunities when I strive. I cannot receive from the unknown when I grasp. Nothing exists for me until I see it. There is little I can do about my feelings, but awareness removes the edge of myopia from my wants.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Giving It 125%
This weekend saw me actually complete both scheduled runs. On Saturday I lumbered around the neighborhood for four miles. The lasting effects of the flu hampered my ability to breathe, and therefore run. I was none-to-optimistic when I thought that I’d have to give a 125% effort the next day in order to complete the nine-mile run that my schedule was telling me that I had to do.

One of the “nice” things about planning my day around my training run is that I get to choose when and where it occurs. Since I had planned on doing nine miles I tried to find the flattest route available to me, following the railroad tracks along Dekalb Avenue. As I prepared for my afternoon departure I found out that yesterday’s Wheelhopper hash was starting in Decatur. I had a sick sense that at some point I’d be running over their trail, and I was more correct than even I could imagine. Four about three miles I followed their trail, all the way into the On-In where I added water to my far-too-concentrated Gatorade, chatted for a second, and then headed back toward my car. Running into the hash broke up the monotony of the run nicely. My run was slow, I’ll blame the last remnants of the flu with the fact that it was the first time that I covered nine miles since last May.

ITP Flickr Pic
File under: Random Crap

This scooter was carefully parked on the campus of the University of South Carolina. I just assumed that this was the way it was parked after coming home drunk — perhaps I am projecting myself onto the situation.

The Scale Was Nice, I Hope The Waist Follows
I hopped onto my scale this morning to see that I am down to 194.5 pounds. While this pleases me, I only wish that the fat distribution would change so that it’s not all concentrated around my waistline. Just call me pear-shaped Paulie.

I Want To Play A More Pure Scrabble
With my constant losing in Scrabulous I think that I have figured out why the game frustrates me; it’s the double / triple - letter / word scores. There is no reward for building longer words (unless you use all seven of your tiles) and the luck of having the letter ‘X’ when you have an available ‘I’ and are near a triple letter or word score skews the outcome of the game. Meh. I’m sure that it’s just sour grapes.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - fair
Current Music - listening to the “Sound Opinions” podcast
Website Of The Day - If you are looking for shoes or handbags online you should check out Endless.
Exercise (b)Log - Saturday: running, 4 miles; Sunday: running, 9 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 54.4 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In - 194.5 pounds
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car / service van (took the Jackmobile in for an oil change)
Monthly Marta Rides - 0

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

It feels that had I slept for the past two weeks that my quality of life would be no worse, in fact maybe better, than it is today. I am thankful that the weekend is a mere eight hours away and I am even more thankful that I currently have few plans which involve others during it. I am at an emotional tipping point right now and no matter how much I want to be with someone right now I think that the best thing in the world for me is to be alone.

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

I keep thinking I have to do something to sure up reality. Bill and Leah are over here — just let the conversation take place. Don’t push. Don’t hang on. Lean back and let reality happen.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I’ll Blame It On The Rain
Rain is an easy scapegoat when you don’t feel like running. Last night I took the opportunity to use my scapegoat and go eat $0.40 wings and drink a beer at The Graveyard in East Atlanta before heading home to crash. I certainly could have used the three miles of running that was scheduled for last night, but I am glad that I didn’t run them.

fwiw - The Graveyard’s wings were pretty damn awesome, their celery — notsomuch.

ITP Flickr Pic
On the campus of the University of South Carolina taken exactly one week ago. I have not taken a single photo since last Friday.

I bet you that there is some good kissing going on inside.

I’ll Be Tied Up All Day
Today is the first of two in-office interview days created by all of that traveling my company has been doing recently. Thirteen candidates will be in the office (at least it’s not an outdoor event) interviewing for programming positions. These days are usually grueling, but at least the tend to go by quickly.

Yau, That Had To Suck
Survivor Spoiler Alert
I thought that last night’s episode was pretty good although for some strange reason I find myself rooting against the Faves.

Cerie must really have a good agent because she has been getting some major airtime the past two weeks. While I am finding her entertaining I have a feeling that she will annoy me soon as it becomes evident that she will make it far in the show (again) without having any real contribution to the tribe’s success.

I am sorry to see Yau-Man get the ax so soon, but as strategic moves go it seems like a smart decision. There is a good possibility that he would have once again found the Immunity Idol and possess more power than he probably should in this situation. It’s interesting to me to see how divided the Faves tribe is; I wonder if they will ever join forces prior to a merge or if they are going to hold their party lines until then.

From next week’s teaser I get the impression that someone finds the immunity idol. Anyone else feel the same?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - tired, ready for the weekend
Current Music - silence today
Website Of The Day - Tired of Google? Give Clueray a shot.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 41.4 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Last night’s dinner and beer didn’t seem to last as long as I thought that it would, as I woke up hungry this morning. A bottle of milk with a sausage biscuit has knocked back my hunger sufficiently.

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

A theory is a theory, not a reality. All a theory can do is remind me of certain thoughts that were a part of my reality then. A statement or a “fact” is an emphasis — one way of looking at something. At worst it is a kind of myopia. A name is also just one way of seeing something. I can’t make a statement about a reality without omitting many other things which are also true about it. Even if it were possible to say everything that is true about a reality, I still would not have the reality; I would only have the words. In fact, the reality changes even as I talk about it.

When I outgrow my names and facts and theories, or when reality leaves them behind, I become dead if I don’t go on to new ways of seeing things.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Rough Roads
I struck out with the group last night and realized rather quickly that I didn’t have “it.” I did my best to complete the 4.7 mile scheduled run although my best last night wasn’t very good. Regardless I rewarded myself at the end with a bowl of chili and a couple of Sierra Nevada’s which apparently wasn’t enough to fend off this morning’s hunger.

Is My Doppelganger A Girl?
This morning I pulled up to a traffic light to get onto the connector and when I looked up I realized that my evil doppelganger (see a few days ago) was ahead of me. While it was dark and very hard to see through the Jeep’s rear window I think that I identified my doppelganger as a female. How strange.

ITP Flickr Pic
I have nothing today. I really need to find more time for photography.

It’s Decision Time
Yesterday I received an email specifying the dates for the upcoming four-day photography seminars being put on by Tips From The Top Floor. The seminars will be held in four cities during the end of July through August. I am interested in either taking the seminar in Nashville, TN or Fort Collins, CO. The Fort Collins seminar interests me more because it’s going to focus on landscape photography whereas the one in Nashville will focus on event photography. The Fort Collins event is further intriguing because the trip could also be done in conjunction with my trip to Colorado for the Colorado Invihashional over Labor Day weekend. Decisions. Decisions.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - full
Current Music - listening to the Net @ Nite podcast
Website Of The Day - I guess I could use Couch Surfing to keep my costs of travel down, but I probably won’t. It’s a cool idea regardless of my participation.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 4.7 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 41.4 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’ve mentioned the Blu-Ray v. HD-DVD war before and the fact that I made a dumb move and purchased a player for the now-dead format (HD-DVD). Congratulations to Blu-Ray; it will be a long time before you see a dime of my money. I will hold on to my soon-to-be HD-DVD paperweight and use it until renting HD-DVDs is no longer an option.

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

My trouble is I analyze life instead of live it.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Coughing And Rough Breathing — What A Joy!
2008 flu, day ten. This stopped being funny days ago. My sleep has barely provided me with enough rest to get through each day. Today I woke up to inflamed nostrils and a cough that has lingered for at least four days. While I did manage to cover five miles last night, it was extremely difficult. Having a hard time breathing might have had something to do with that…

This has been the type of illness that you’d only wish on your greatest of enemies.

If I Woke Up That Must Mean There Is A New Problem In My Life
In the mail yesterday I received a check from the Federal Government. Normally this would be a good thing, but this time it is not because it is for the amount that I sent them in January as part of my estimated tax payment for 2007. Why? Why don’t they just keep the money? I know that come April 15 they will want it all back and will probably attempt to assess me a penalty for not paying is sooner. But I did! Why did they send it back? Why do I have to have yet another thing on my plate to deal with today? I really need to catch a break soon before I go off the deep end (if I haven’t already).

ITP Flickr Pic
Along with the rest of my life my photography is suffering. I have had little time to shoot, and my Master Plan for digital workflow and backups has been slow to implement.

I wish finding help was as easy as pushing a button.

Book Or Abridged Audio Book: That Is The Question
Recently I found out about the book “Michael Palin Diaries, 1969-1979: The Python Years.” It’s available as a book and an abridged audio book read by Palin. Although the audio book is abridged there is a much better chance that I will find the time to hear the book before I will to read the book.

From what I understand Palin kept a detailed diary of his life (a pre-blogging blogger) and has put ten year’s worth of his writings into this book. You may know about my joy with all of the things that Palin has done post-Python so I’m interested to find out about his professional formative years.

Brother Can You Spare A Yuengling?
Dammit! I should have known that if I didn’t put the Yuengling I am to deliver tonight into my car immediately when I thought about it I’d forget. And I did. Steve, I will make all attempts to leave work early enough to swing home before going to George’s tonight. If I cannot make it home first then the Yuengling’s will be free.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - frazzled
Current Music - listening to the “News From Lake Wobegon” podcast
Website Of The Day - WikiHow is the how-to manual that you can edit. I wonder if there is an entry for getting one’s life back on track.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 5 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 36.7 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

To the best of my knowledge tonight I will be experiencing two of the three things mentioned in today’s title. Having a guest in house all weekend I was unable to spend the time to take care of these.

A few updates of past issues:
- I am still fighting that FAU parking ticket and the fees that have been subsequently leveed. Budget’s customer service has moved at glacial speed and I will be refusing to use their services unless absolutely necessary. Today I am going to contact American Express to pay my bill and dispute Budget’s charges.
- The last remnants of the flu refuses to leave my body. I still cough and am quite congested. This is incredibly frustrating.
- My training schedule will resume today with a five mile run. I figure that if it kills me at least I won’t have to worry about the laundry and taxes.

If I thought that I could have effectively managed to get all of my tasks done today by using a day off I would not be in the office today.

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

For me, thinking seems to act at times as a defense mechanism, a way of avoiding some feeling, or a way of not looking at the situation I am in. I believe this is especially true in social situations, where I lead with my head.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Have I Seen My Evil Doppelganger?
Driving up the connector in a Jeep Wrangler…

Me: from New York
Doppelganger: New Jersey license plate

Me: New York Jets fan
Doppelganger: New York Giants bumper sticker

Me: University of Florida Gator
Doppelganger: Florida State Seminole cover on the spare tire

This is the person who is probably getting all of the female attention I crave as well… Asshat!

ITP Flickr Pic
Do you remember The Point in Little Five Points?

Sadly I can’t take credit for this photo. It was given to me by (then) Atlanta artist Jason Johnson when I purchased one of his paintings some time ago. He was responsible for painting this mural on The Point as well as the one that used to be on the side of Harry’s in a Hurry in Poncey-Highlands.

The Point was the only venue from which I left a show early because I was so bored by the band that I went to see. This story might shock you, so you better sit down. When I first moved to Atlanta in the mid-1990’s I used to get the Creative Loafing each week and pick a show to see (hehe, I guess the only thing that has changed is that I now use the internet). One night I went to The Point to see Soul Coughing. After a few songs I just couldn’t deal with the music and left. To this day I kick myself because I still really like Soul Coughing’s (r.i.p.) music and can’t believe that I would have walked out of their show!

D’Oh!
When I got home from work (8pm! because I had to work late so I grabbed dinner on my way home) there was a message from my buddy Whiner. He was the one who was in town this weekend. On Sunday he and I carpooled down to Fayetteville for the Black Sheep hash. It seems that in my rush to get out of his car because I was cold and wet, I accidentally left my “camel back” (it’s not a CamelBak) in his car. He found it as he cleaned out his car in North Carolina. D’Oh! Luckily he said that he’d mail it back to me, which is great since I will need it as my training runs get longer over the next five weeks. Looks like I owe someone a few beers next time I head up Greensboro way.

CD Pick Of The Week
There is a bounty from which to choose today, fifteen new discs drop today (I guess that CDs must make shitty Valentine’s Day gifts).

Of those fifteen, three really intrigue me.

American Music Club has reformed and has a new release called “The Golden Age”. You have to be a long-time indie-head to remember American Music Club, but I do so I am interested to hear what they’ve delivered.

Mountain Goats have a new album “Heretic Pride” hitting the streets today. I’ve been digging the Mountain Goats sound over the last year or two so I just may be picking this up today.

And finally, there is a new release from Mike Doughty, former lead singer of Soul Coughing. Doughty releases an album called “Golden Delicious” (and thankfully not “Crazy Delicious”). It was fortunate timing that I had the mural from The Point, that I had never told my Soul Coughing story, and that Doughty had a new release today. Kismet!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - sad in a “where did I go wrong?” way
Current Music - listening to the KEXP “Music That Matters” podcast
Website Of The Day - I am slowly getting my data organized. One possible solution I might use for offsite storage is Jungle Disk which uses Amazon’s S3 service to back things up.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 31.7 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Of course I am at work. Why should I expect to get this Federal Holiday off?

While I am at work today I will attempt to catch up on the mound of paperwork and emails which have evolved in my absence.

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

There are no absolutes for something so relative as human life.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I Didn’t Need A Training Run, I Had The Hash
For my first exercise in a week I chose to do the Black Sheep Hash yesterday. My schedule called for an eight-mile run yesterday and while for a brief second I considered doing the eight miles and then doing the hash, a wiser head prevailed (and since I am no Boner Rooter, Bone Hole, or Bitch With An Attitude who can do a Spinning class and Pilates prior to hashing) and I chose only to do the hash.

While differing opinions about the length of the trail were being expressed at the end of the hash one thing is certain for me — the hash was too long for the imminent thunderstorms which began to hit as soon as I got in. I didn’t even have time for a beer before I got into Whiner’s car and we headed back to Atlanta.

Now What!!!
I want my life to stop presenting one difficulty after the next. I am more than a little past my wit’s end, and with each new inconvenience I get pushed further.

As I sat down at my desk this morning I noticed that the top of my hands now have some small red dots as if I am having an allergic reaction to something. Considering that I didn’t eat or drink anything new this weekend I fail to understand how this could be happening today — unless of course I encountered some plant form to which I am allergic during yesterday’s hash.

The Flu Will Keep Me Off Marta
After battling the flu for the entire week last week I came to one conclusion — I do not want to have to battle it again!

Because of this I have decided to avoid the germ factory that public transportation supports and will be staying off Marta for a while. Am I being over-cautious? Yes. Am I being unreasonable? Perhaps. But let me repeat I do not want to have to battle the flu again anytime soon.

ITP Flickr Pic
Your author, one year ago. This was taken at the Studio Lighting seminar I attended at Showcase last year.

I didn’t have the opportunity to shoot this weekend, nor did I have time to process the couple of shots that I took on Friday.

How Can You Turn A Reasonable Ticket Charge Into A Semi-Unreasonable Amount?
Buy your tickets through Ticketmaster of course. And when you are the only outlet for buying tickets to shows at venues like The Tabernacle, why not screw the hell out of your customers!

On Saturday I decided to buy a ticket to the April 28th Elvis Costello show at The Tabernacle. I’ve never seen Costello in concert so I figured that it might be a fun thing to do.

The first trouble I ran in to were speed issues with Ticketmaster’s site. I assumed that things were slow because some other band’s tickets went on sale at exactly the same time.

In this day and age of extremely over-priced concert tickets (see also Bruce Springsteen, The Police) I was pleased to see that the tickets were $36 for general admission (I think that there were better, $40 tickets which were part of a pre-sale that I knew nothing about). However, when I finally submitted my purchase my total was $50; there’s nothing like a $14 (28%!) upcharge just to make my purchase. Fuckers.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - bummed by this apparent rash which has hit me
Current Music - listening to the Sound Opinions podcast
Website Of The Day - CookThink has been billed as the “Pandora for cooking.” I haven’t had a chance to play with it extensively, but it looks good on the surface.
Exercise (b)Log - hashing, ~8 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 31.7 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0

February Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
3) Read at least one book

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]