I don’t lead an incredibly busy life, yet somehow I feel constantly rushed. Take this morning for example. I rose soon after my 5:00am alarm. Somehow in no time it was 6:00am. By then I made the decision that I wasn’t going to walk this morning (it was already 76° F by then and very humid outside, making for a unpleasant walk). I checked the weather forecast (50%-60% chance of thunderstorms) and decided that I wasn’t going to bring my bike to work in an attempt to ride the Silver Lake group ride tonight as I hoped. The kicker is that even though I see a flabby spare tire on my body still I think that my daily exercise is starting to help, so my inability to get any today is bugging me greatly. I left the house thinking about stopping at Kroger to pick up a birthday card for my uncle John (with whom I share a birthday) so that I could mail it today. However, in the interim I decided that I would be going to the Apple Developer Meetup tonight and because of this I should stop at QT and get gas this morning.
All of this happened before 7:00am and yet I still feel as if I’m falling behind.
Today’s Personal Project
Go to IKEA to see about purchasing a frame for the poster that I mention below.
Today’s Daily Challenge
Draw ten imaginary circles with your right leg, then switch and draw ten with your left leg.
Our hip muscles are connected to the muscles of the back, abdomen, legs, and backside. They’re also susceptible to wear and tear, so it’s important to work those hips. Drawing imaginary circles with your leg strengthens your hips and knees, and your thighs feel the burn, too!
I should be doing this. Really I should.
USPS = United States Package Smashers
Thankfully the signed poster I bought for myself (start the Self-Purchased Birthday Gift Counter here) wasn’t ruined by the goddamn post office, but they did manage to crush the end of the very thick tube in which it was shipped, putting a slight crease into one of the poster’s corners. The poster was purchased solely for my enjoyment and will most likely never be of any value to anyone else, but still, it would be nice to get unmolested packages delivered to me at some point in time.
fwiw, this was something that I could not buy locally so having it shipped was my only option.
I Almost Escaped
As I was wrapping up my day I found out that we needed deliver a document for my app last night. The document was delivered shortly before 9:00pm. Blech!
I did manage to order another of my Self-Purchased Birthday Gifts (that makes two) — a new AppleTV — while working late. I’m holding off on the Mountain Lion capable MacBook Air (okay grammar nerds, if I were to hyphenate “Mountain Lion capable MacBook Air” how would I do so?) for a little while.
On my drive home I considered skipping eating, but my stomach was growling so I decided skipping food was a bad idea. I don’t eat “late” that often any more, so I wasn’t sure what was going to be open at 9:00pm (as an aside, last Sunday I found out that Fox Bros is opening a rib joint in the old Maddie’s location on Scott Boulevard near North Decatur — old skoolers can think “near where Adam’s Garden of Eating once stood.”) so I defaulted to Taco Mac in Decatur; it wasn’t exactly health food, but it did the trick.
Free Financial Advice
If your plan for financial freedom is “Have a car pull in front of you while you are riding a bicycle.” — STOP! I’m here to tell you that it’s a bad plan.
I’ll let the reader determine the not-so-hidden meaning behind my advice.
A Birthday?
Today is the birthday of ITP-Reader Barb. Rumor has it that there will be a girls night out that will start out at Jelly Rolls in Buckhead and migrate to Three Dollar Cafe at some time. (shhh, you and I know that these places no longer exist, but let the old lady remember her good old days.)
I have but four days to give Barb shit for being older than me.
btw- You’ll find me hanging out at the ESPNZone and then going to BAR, World Bar, the Raccoon Lounge, ending my night in style at Rose & Crown on Sunday. 😉
Happy Birthday Barb!
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – rushed, of course
Current Music – listening to the end of the latest Mac Power Users podcast, because I fell asleep listening to it last night.
Website Of The Day – It’s tough being a Mets fan, especially living in Atlanta, the week after the Braves swept the Mets in a three-game series. One sight on which I can commiserate with like-minded Mets fans is Brooklyn Met Fan, who once published some of my photos (with my permission of course) a few years ago.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~5.3 miles
Morning Weigh-In – decided that I’m not checking until my birthday
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~39.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – ~81.8 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Days Of Bed-Making – 0
Vegetarian Days – 2
Carnivorous Days – 14
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
- Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
- How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
- Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
- Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
- Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury
July Goals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Post at least ten new photos during the month (let’s try this again)
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– 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
– Ride no fewer than 150 miles
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]
I’ve been seriously considering a gym membership for the summer, especially since my plan of buying a treadmill is on hold until we have room. I got up to run this morning, when I went to let the dogs outs, I saw the windows were all fogged over. I figured that was not a good sign. I had no desire to run in soup today…so I’ll save it for this evening, when I’m sure it will be much better.
Yesterday was a bad day at the office, I don’t have much hope today will be any better. Let’s just say, I tell people things for a reason, I’m not just making stuff up or talking just to hear my voice…it’s almost like being at home with Jerry 🙂
I bought some ‘art’ a few weeks ago with a Groupon (or some such thing). Super cute, retro faux ad wall hangings, one is for “Head Houncho Coffee” with a Chihuahua (aka Nibbles), the other for “Obsession Tennis Balls” with a yellow lab (aka Logan). Sadly Bode was left out since they had no pictures of crazy ass cats.
And if you have a bunch of money burning holes in your pockets feel free to buy me a birthday gift from my Amazon Wish List. 🙂
Good luck at the office Martha. I feel your pain in that realm all too often.
Hahaha, I’m sure if you looked for art with “crazy ass cats” you’ll be able to find something somewhere.
So, you forgot my favorite Buckhead hangout – which I can’t remember the name for the life of me, it was the one with the big tree in the middle of the front deck, had reggae music inside. Started withe a C…. “Dated” a cute bouncer from there for a short time. Oh the memories of my 20s……….
And – for the record – I would NEVER got to Jelly Rolls on my actual birthday, too much attention would come from the piano players.
😉
thanks for the memories………
And speaking of dogs, http://textfromdog.tumblr.com/ should hit home for many of us.
Word from JEFDSDR is Farley is lame this morning. More news later. I met the new kitten in the barn last night.. very cute (ever met a kitten that wasn’t?). Tony shall be his name- a. because he’s striped like a tiger- Tony the tiger, and b. Tony Bennett- ’nuff said.
Glad to be back at the office to get some rest…
Again, a very happy birthday Barb!!
-FP
CJs Landing – damn, it took me too long to remember that place’s name……
CJ’s Landing is correct. At first I though you were thinking of the Steamhouse Lounge (now located in midtown), until you mentioned reggae.
Funny story about CJ’s…. I used to hang out there a lot, my friend Jason (who would always pick up the girl that I was interested in dating) was “friends” with a Budweiser rep who gave us free beer (I had a discerning palate then, but liked “free”). We got into CJ’s and I drank Red Stripe for free while watching the Mike Tyson v. Evander Holyfield fight (not the ear-biting fight) on the “big screen” in the back room.
What’s really funny is that I spent all day Sunday trying to remember the name of Jelly Rolls, but in the end was forced to use Google to look it up.
Can anyone remind me of the name of the “New Orleans” bar which was next to Jelly Rolls?
I would have mentioned the name of the place where you’d drink “Fish Bowls” but I could’t think of that either. [Update: It was LuLu’s Bait Shack, and yes, I was forced to use Google again.]
I’m not sure which I miss most:
– Buckhead and going out partying there
– Being as young as I was then (my late twenties, early thirties) when I did
Have a great time tonight at [REDACTED]. 😉
Steamhouse had an awesome deck as well. As did Raccon Lounge.
I saw the infamous OJ Simpson white blazer slow motion chase on the deck at CJs, the band finally quit playing since no one was paying attention to them.
I never went to BAR & those dance club places, & what was the fishbowl place’s name?
I just updated my last comment, it was “LuLu’s Bait Shack.”
I/We always went to the dance places, because that’s where the women were. Had you been there you would have seen me on the dance floor, failing to pick up women. All that has changed in fifteen+ years is that I no longer go out onto dance floors. lol
still haven’t thought of the New Orleans place……. I thnk we could still have fun down there, if it still existed. We could go to the other side of the street (Peachtree) – Allan says the bars over near Five Paces have a great business. We should do a pub crawl some early evening, to reminise (even if they aren’t the same bars)
New Orleans bar = “Dixie Tavern”? I’m pulling this one from my own gray matter.
Almost makes me glad I missed those “good ol’ days”. My only regular experiences at a Buckhead bar was at Churchill Arms. Regular sing alongs with the piano on Friday and Saturday nights… learned a lot of music, met a lot of people. Had a mug behind the bar which was filled by the time I got to the bartender… I guess that makes me a regular.
I was borderline “too old” for Buckhead when I arrived in Atlanta in 1995. I had good times, but could never relive them today. However, an early pub crawl wouldn’t be out of the question if it were to occur.
I guess that is my story as well (too old) when I got her in 98. I went a few times with some of the ‘kids’ from school but I didn’t really like it much. I spent most of my drinking time in Decatur and VaHi, until I found EAV.
Now I just sit at home wondering how I ever survived??
I guess I was in Buckhead before it was cool… literally 30 years ago. Ugh.
Steve – Churchill Arms is still there, though I doubt the old lady playing the piano for the sing a alongs is still alive. We’d go there and the Irish bar across the street. Let’s plan a Saturday pub crawl…..
I never liked the bars in Decatur, and VaHi was okay, but I wasn’t hipster enough, so Buckhead was the place for me & my crazy apartment complex friends. and – there were always good bars that you could go to once you were a little “older”, trust me, I knew them all.
Mountain Lion-capable
Sincerely,
Grammar Nerd
Many thanks!
Barb – Happy, happy birthday! Steve and I got you a dog!!! His name is Brownie Ain’t Stayin’ and we’ll deliver. When are you in Iowa?
I never really did the Buckhead thing. I do recall one fun night on the deck at CJ’s, and an evening or two at Churchill Arms (we were ships in the night Steve) and okay I’ll fess to quite a few nights at Ruperts. I hired the Rupert’s Orchestra for a few meetings and they were still the bomb in the 00s.
I’m going to figure I was long past my Churchill Arms stage by the time you started going… previous administration and all.
Wasn’t Ruperts the same location as Limelight?
Debbie – thanks – but no thanks to Brownie – I think he is a farm dog at heart.
I’d just have to give the dog to TJ, then you’d REALLY not get any more Skyline….
Ruperts was AFTER the Limelight – the reason the Disco Kroger is still the Disco Kroger even if it is a Cost Plus World Market now. Kroger really does have a disco ball over the cash registers.
It will always be the disco Kroger…