MAY DAY! MAY DAY!
Every time I think of the month of May I am transported to the mid-1970s, when as an elementary student at New York’s PS 79 I was forced to participate in a ritual known as decorating the maypole. Do schools still teach Pagan rituals?
Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Dance in a chair by bopping your head and moving your arms, feet, and torso to a high-tempo song.
What better way is there to move than to your own soundtrack? Like fidgeting, dancing while seated is a low-impact activity that can help counteract the effects of sitting for too long. Researchers also believe that fidgeting may help control weight. Bonus: Music is a proven mood-booster and can help lower stress.
“fidgeting may help control weight.” yeah, right.
Walking Again
I finally got out for my first walk in some time. The walk was slow and rather uninspired (heat much?) but two companions and I walked around for 4.2 miles last night.
Of course we ruined it all by following the walk with a few drinks and nachos at Chuy’s afterward, but real change starts on the first of the month, right? 
I’ve packed my clothes for another walk tonight.
Dear News Media, STOP IT!
I unfortunately read a news story on Yahoo! last night which has given me nightmares since doing so. I am not even going to hint at what the story was, but suffice to say that it was one person acting heinously toward another and it was unnerving on many levels.
So why bring this up then? Because I’d like to ask the media to stop publishing this stuff. I have banished Yahoo! from my Safari homepage because I honestly would love to never read an article like this again.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for a Pollyannaplease stop reporting stories about individual cruelty to others.
Looks Like That I Am Not Alone By Living Alone
There is an article in today’s AJC titled “Atlanta tops for people living alone”. I may be a loser in this town, but I share that distinction with many others in Atlanta.
And this introduces the next book that I will “read” (actual, to which I will listen) Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone by Eric Klinenberg, as suggested to me by ITP-Reader Betsy last week.
Sorry For The Shorty
I’ve not much to say, and even less time to say it. This is my “finals week” at least until the time of actual product release grows nearer.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – not bad, overweight, trying to inject some positivity into my life
Current Music – listening to a Damien Jurado session at KEXP
Website Of The Day – I no longer decorate the maypole, but I do have a new May routine these days and last listening to Jonathan Coulton’s song “First of May” (it’s when outdoor fucking starts, you know.)
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – weigh in again tomorrow
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Days Of Bed-Making – 0
Vegetarian Days – 0
Carnivorous Days – 0
Pancakes Eaten – 0
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
- Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
- God, No! — Penn Jillette
- The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
May Goals
- Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
- Completely recover from my sebaceous cyst surgery
- Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
- Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
- Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
- Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course
2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
- Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
- Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
- Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
- Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
- Run in no fewer than one one 10K
- Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
- Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
- Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]
The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
- Eat smaller portions
- Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
- Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
- See more live concerts than I did in 2011
- Eat more pancakes
- Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Here is a decidedly non-serious, non-cruel (unless you’re a big) story
http://blogs.ajc.com/news-to-me/2012/05/01/decatur-bacon-dangler-to-hit-the-streets/?cxntlid=thbz_hm
I’m glad the fear of an early death is all the motivation I need to get to the gym.
As much as I love bacon, and those who’ve seen me devour it at the now-defunct (?) Sunday Morning Running groups know this to be true, I’m not sure that having someone dangle it in front of me would provide sufficient motivation.
Good on you, Martha. I hope to see you at Mango’s tomorrow night for bike maintenance night.
well – I made myself go ride my bike last night, I really wasn’t in the mood – work has made me grouchy. But- I’m glad I did, it was a gorgeous night, I wish I could have gotten started earlier – 15 miles was good, but I really could have ridden further.
Allan has been way too busy at the firehouse the last few shifts, not sure what’s up with everyone calling 911 for ridiculous non-emergency stuff.
After escaping the office yesterday, my exercise was doing the yard at the house in East Point. I also put down “weed and feed” which scares me to no end- That beautiful lawn was my fathers pride and joy. Many was the time of answering a knock on the door to a complete stranger with the question, “What kind of grass is that? (emerald zoysia) How can I get my yard to look like that? (A lot of work and/or money). Needless to say, if I screw it up, I will be haunted by my dad’s ghost for a very long time!!!
Please begin making plans for the first JEFDSDR Summer Slacker Series on May 12th and 13th. We’ll ride Saturday late morning or early afternoon, come back and relax, cook something for dinner, then on to full contact dominoes. Get up Sunday morning for a short ride or run, then send you off to do Mothers Day with the mother of your choice!! Make you reservations now…
-FP
Poop, I’ll have to miss the season opener. I’ll be spending that weekend with ITP-Readers Lisa and Randy (and their boys) at LEAF. I’ll try to keep June as open as possible for my 2012 debut at JEFDSDR.
Dang, we’re out as well, Twisted Ankle is that Saturday…that should be an interesting day. I haven’t ran a trail since Feb…and I haven’t ran more than 10 miles since Albany. Oh and they’ve changed the course this year so there is more climbing than in the past…oh joy!
More climbing? Surprisingly there is still a sliver of sickness in my aching body that wishes I had been able to train for last year’s Twisted Ankle so that I could run it this year (not that I could anyway since I will be in Black Mountain, NC)
They had to change the course because of some sort of Federal court injunction? WTF, over?
Allan has to work Saturday 5/12……..
OK, due to the underwhelming response, we have rescheduled to May 19th. Let’s try this again!
May 19-20 could work……. Allan is off that whole weekend.
I dont’ think there is anything else on the calendar……. except a baby shouwer for Karyn Martini (aka Cooter Scooter) but not like I really wanted to go to that (hahaha) – I can just send a gift.
Now we’re talking! I’m wide open that weekend.
Cooter Scooter is great with child? Huh, I had no idea.
We’ll be in Charleston that weekend, Jerry’s doing the Lowcounty Splash and I will be relaxing on the beach (with plenty of sun screen and a hat).
Hopefully, we can make the next one.
well Paulie – why do you think she bought a house in East Cobb in the best school district? I knew it was just a matter of time………
Steve, you made me look at my calendar and realize with the exception of one weekend I am booked until the weekend of June 23rd. Yikes!
Looking forward to the spa day but won’t be riding as I’m doing tour de cure the 20th. We will come down to hang out and splash around.
and Paulie thanks to the media we are on high alert at work because of the “anonymous” a-holes potentially attacking us. I’m sure Steve is on lock down too.
Barb, I’m a loser who hasn’t had a date in eons; I don’t think of things like buying houses in good school districts.
Anonymous a-holes? Perhaps I need to get my head out of the sand and see what’s going on.
Anonymous is a hacker group of people who probably still live in their parents basement and launch cyber attacks on companies they want to protest. We are not directly named but some companies we do business with are so we have to be on alert.
Oh, that anonymous…