Good-Bye July

And so ends another month in 2010, and for the first time this year I believe that I can honestly say that I did not get sick during the entire month. So, I’ve got that going for me…

It’s Been One Year
On Friday I failed to mention that it’s been one year since my house was robbed. Sadly I still live with the constant reminders and memories of the event, and even more sadly I feel no safer in the neighborhood one year later.

Pffffft!
Friday’s bike ride home was a hot one. However, I left the office late enough on Friday afternoon so traffic wasn’t as bad as it normally is. Combined with lighter-than-normal traffic the fact that I think I made every traffic light for the first third of my ride meant that I was tearing up the street. I must have had a decent pace because I made it home in about an hour and seven minutes, which for me is about five minutes faster than I’d normally ride that route.

All wasn’t great however. After showering and cooling down a bit I went to put my bike away and was flummoxed when I discovered that the front tire had gone flat. Since I never felt any air leakage during the ride I made the quick, and perhaps incorrect, assumption that I’d rolled over a shard of glass which remained from the broken Bud Light bottle someone blessed my driveway with a few weeks ago. I finally got around to replacing the tube last night (I was going to patch the tube, but discovered that the glue in my patch kit had dried out) and found that it appeared as if the tube bursted at one of the spots where the tube had a number imprinted on it. There were no signs of penetration in the tire either. Could it be possible that the imprinting in the tube created a weak spot which was finally rubbed “raw”? Regardless, the Red Rocket should be ready to roll if I can find a time during which it is not going to rain (unlikely), and I have nothing scheduled for the evening (less likely).

fwiw- My estimated mileage for July was 280 miles. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Saturday Was OTP Day
Early Saturday morning I joined some of my Flickr/RPS friends for a journey north. The original destination was a camera swap meet held in Dalton. I don’t know why, but I expected this to large event (it wasn’t) and I didn’t expect to buy anything (I did. I scored some grids for my studio light and some clamps.)

That was the first planned stop for the day. We had three unplanned stops in the form of battery problems. At first Jason’s truck needed a jump start, which we accomplished with Jim’s van. Then later Jim’s van needed a jump start, which we accomplished with Jason’s truck. This last jump led to a trip to Dalton’s Wal*Mart where battery-cleaning supplies and a new battery-post clamp were purchased for some Wal*Mart parking lot auto repair.

With all vehicles having the ability to start themselves again we made a quick Wendy’s stop for lunch, and then headed northward to the Ocoee River.

In Tennessee it started to rain and it appeared as if the day’s shooting efforts would be washed away. Thankfully things cleared and we were able to make the best of a bad situation by shooting liberally.

Due to time constraints we didn’t make any stop for dinner. When I got home I was hungry, but the idea of driving any further than East Atlanta Village after being in a car all day didn’t appeal to me. I chose to eat at one of the closest bars/restaurants to my house, The Midway Pub, where I consumed one beer and an order of vegetarian corn dogs before returning home and crashing for the evening.

ITP Flickr Pic
You should probably get used to seeing shots from last Saturday’s trip to the Ocoee.

I really like this photo because of the facial expression on the pretty young girl on the righthand side of the shot.

One Meal To Rule Them All
Yesterday was a strange day for me. I mowed the lawns, which I’m sure my neighbors appreciate. I bought clothes at Target, and was surprisingly dismayed that I still needed the same waist size even though I know that I’ve not lost a single pound. I skipped the Black Sheep Hash (dude, the start was in Cartersville and I’d already gone that way on Saturday.) And, I ate exactly one (huge) meal yesterday.

I had no intention of eating only once yesterday. A slow start, malfunctioning plumbing, and a lack of raw ingredients in the house led me to skip breakfast. Around 10:00am I decided that I could “hold out” until lunch, though I had no idea where lunch would be eaten at that time. Because we did not stop for barbecue on Saturday I kinda had a hankering for it on Sunday, so I conjured a plan to hit Target (with no intention of buying clothes mind you) and then heading over to Fox Bros BBQ for an early lunch.

I ordered the two-meat combo plate, which also comes with two “sides.” One of the specials for the day was fried ribs, so naturally I had to order those as one of the meats, and I chose the smoked chicken wings as the other. (Have you figured out I had no intention of eating only vegetarian food during August?) For the sides I ordered french fries, and surprise, surprise, cole slaw. The amount of food served to me was obscene. I really should have taken a photo of it using my iPhone, but felt that I didn’t need to draw any more attention to myself than this humongous plate of food already had. I managed to eat all of the meat, and about 80% of the sides before waiving a white flag in defeat.

I arrived home around 12:30pm-1:00pm and promptly took a nap. Upon waking I forced myself to go out in the brutal heat and work off some of the food by mowing the lawn. At 9:00pm I realized that I’d never been hungry since lunch and that the only thing I’d consumed since lunch were two glasses of iced tea.

One day, one meal. Not exactly the best dietary plan kids…

A Return To RPS
It’s the first Monday of the month which (normally) means that it’s Roswell Photographic Society night. Tonight will be a lecture night, with tonight’s speaker being one of the former presidents of the club.

Barb, has your friend ever returned since the night that I had allergies and didn’t get to meet her?

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, though I don’t see a good bike riding window for me this week
Current Music – silence at the momet
Website Of The Day – I had never heard the term “Photobombing” before this morning. What is it? Apparently it’s the act of ruining someone else’s photo. Check out This Is Photobomb to see some examples.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 203 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 2 (2)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 1
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

August Goals
– Not to get sick for the entire month (I did it once, I can do it again!)
– Not get fired from my job
– Ride my bicycle no fewer than 200 miles
– Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving further
– Complete at least one iPhone application (seriously, this needs to happen)
– Completely plan out my August/September Colorado trip

2010 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 pounds) [update: On July 1 I’ve sadly gained weight; I’m at 203 pounds]
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
– Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Sharpened Stone.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
– Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]