I Don’t Belong Here

While not a creep (think “Radiohead”), I definitely didn’t feel as if I belonged inside of Lenox Mall last night. Even with a nice, dry-cleaned shirt and real shoes I looked like Country Mouse inside the mall.

Did you know that Lenox Mall has a Microsoft (Windows) Store? Yeah, neither did I, and it looks like a pretty-nice ripoff of an Apple Store.

I went to Williams-Sonoma last night for Aida Mollenkamp’s cooking demo and book signing. The turnout was low (and contained no one with whom I’d wanted to start a conversation), but I bought a copy of her book and had her sign it.

Today’s Personal Project
Now that I know how to use Siri (but not Passbook yet) I need to set up some shopping lists and then remember to go to the stores from which I need things.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Jump rope with a real or imaginary jump rope for 30 seconds.

Aside from making you feel like a kid again, jumping rope is a great workout for your heart and lungs. Not only does it burn energy and fat and tone your muscles, it’s also good for your brain. By raising the heart rate, jumping rope pumps more blood to the brain, feeding it more oxygen and nutrients for increased alertness and mental focus.

Breaking In #2
Thankfully I’m not referring to another home break in.
Unfortunately, I’m also not talking about making another relationship attempt.

Instead I’m talking about breaking in my second pair of Brooks Ghost 5 running shoes yesterday. As with most modern running shoes the break in was fairly painless and I’m pleased to introduce a second pair of shoes into my daily walking/running routine.

I Feel As If I Am In A Rut
There are many, many restaurants, especially in the Buckhead area at which I want to eat. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of any, especially at which I’d want to eat at around 6pm, so I headed back to my neighborhood. Along the way I decided that I was going to stop at Fox Bros BBQ for dinner instead of heading all the way back into the ‘hood. The food was good, but not up to Fox Bros standards, and in the end dinner cost me $26 (beer, tax, and tip included).

News. News. News.
I read this morning that Atlanta’s King of Pops’ office was robbed last Saturday night. In the article it stated that two safes had been stolen. I guess they weren’t that safe after all.

I read this morning that North Carolina’s Lone Rider Beer is soon to arrive in Georgia. See that ITP-Readers Lisa and Randy, your fair city is coming my way now…

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Steve Jobs’ passing. I still wish that I had not sold some of my Apple stock after this event.

And There Went Most Of My Voicemail
Last night I was forced to reset my voicemail password (because I couldn’t remember what it was). When I did I lost all of the voicemail which arrived before last Friday and that I had saved on my phone. Pisser!

Fighting Off “Something”
I woke up this morning in a funk, not a mental funk but a literal funk. My nose was slightly clogged and while I slept for some ungodly number of hours last night I still felt as if I could roll over and return to sleep immediately.

Needless to say this morning’s run didn’t happen, though I did force myself to go out for a 4.5 mile walk.

I just found out that my plans for tonight have fallen through, so if I’m not feeling better by the end of work I think that I’ll just return home and be a lump all evening.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – I heard about this cool real-time Wind Map. Even if you are not a weather geek you should check this out.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~5.2 miles
Morning Weigh-In – 204.2 pounds 🙁 I really thought that I had started losing some weight.

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~21.6 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 5

Vegetarian Meals – 10
Carnivorous Meals – 2
Pancakes Eaten – 0

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

October Goals
– Wear “nice” clothes to work at least twice a week, if for no other reason than to have people wonder why I am dressing up. New!
– Eat no fewer than forty-five vegetarian meals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Take unused electronics to recycling center
– Post at least ten new photos during the month
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Ride no fewer than 100 miles
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 100 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups
– Read a non-techincal book
– Find someone else to go out on a date with

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

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
3. God, No! — Penn Jillette
4. The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
5. Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
6. How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
7. Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
8. Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
9. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]