I Was A Bit Of A Sloth This Weekend

While I did manage to get some of my numerous chores done — laundry, a smattering of yardwork, some de-cluttering — I was far-and-away mostly a sloth this weekend. I wanted to attend Saturday night’s party at the High Museum of Art to cleanse my palate of my recent visit, have fun, and potentially meet new people, but instead I stayed in.

S-l–o—t—-h.

Today’s Personal Project
I have an extremely busy (shortened-work) week ahead of me. I need to execute with swiftness and waste no time. Tonight I will be getting my virtual ducks-in-a-row so that I know exactly what I will be doing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Let go of one small thing that always bothers you.

Sometimes we get so used to feeling annoyed about something that it becomes habit. Deliberately deciding to let it roll off your back puts you back in control and helps you prevent a moment of aggravation and frustration. Being a little more relaxed can also help you power through the day with more positive energy. And who knows, you may even decide to try it again tomorrow.

I suppose that I could try…

425 And Counting…
On Friday night I visited my “local” Taco Mac franchise and pushed my Brewniversity count up to 425. Woo Hoo! While this milestone didn’t get me a change of title or move me onto a special board, it did earn me a $50 credit on my Taco Mac account — which I will be using in the upcoming weeks as I attempt to make my way to 500.

I Read A Book
You read that right, I read a book on Saturday. I started reading White Jacket Required by Jenna Weber at the lavanderia (why I didn’t go to hipster laundromat across from Manuel’s in an attempt to see and be seen I do not know). “White Jacket Required” is far less of a cookbook than I expected it to be, instead it’s an accounting of Miss Weber’s life after college, time at Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando, dealing with her brother’s accidental death while playing with a gun at the age of nineteen, and then meeting a guy while at a job interview in California, breaking up with her long-time boyfriend, and moving to California where she got another job and is with the guy she met while interviewing, all the time becoming a well-known food blogger. Oh, and then she wrote a book. It’s the type of story that I normally cannot stand, especially when it’s being told by a beautiful young woman who seems to have it all, even though she earned it all. Regardless, I couldn’t put the book down and stayed in on Saturday night to finish it. I may try the recipes included within, but none of them seemed outstanding, perhaps because they lacked the wonderful food photos she includes on her blog.

Let’s Play The BCS Championship Game Today!
Admittedly Alabama would probably kick Florida’s ass all over the field, but at least Florida would be in the game. 😀

RealiTV Update — TAR: Get Out Of Indonesia Already!
The Amazing Race is stuck in Indonesia and can’t get out! All teams started their day (crap, I should have taken notes) on foot and looking for a restaurant. Team Shriek Lanka worked with Teams Don’t Mess With Lexus, Team Chip’n’Chyp, and Team Competitive (I’ve not thought of a good name for them). Some how Team Shriek Lanka misses the memo that this restaurant is not near and quickly falls behind.

At the “Who Wants A Balanced Meal” one team member had to balance twenty plates of food and deliver it to a table without dropping any. From the looks of the racers shirts I think that they should have also stipulated that they were not allowed to spill any on themselves in the process either.

Because of their missed memo Team Shriek Lanka just misses the first train out of some Indonesian city headed to some other Indonesian city. What sucks for them is that the trains in Indonesia run on time — over three hours apart.

On the first train to Somethingsomethingville the A-listers agree not to U-Turn one another. I think this is a wise strategy given that you know you have a three-hour head start over four of the other teams.

Because The Amazing Race is tired of having its contestants bitch about cab drivers when each team exits the train they are instructed to jump onto a bicycle and have one of these men pedal the contestants to their next destination. Sill TAR, you know these guys are just as clueless as cabbies!

Off the bike teams hit their Daily Detour — “Egg Head or Lion Head.” Given the table tennis challenge from the previous week I was hoping the “Egg Head” challenge involved playing “Who’s Smarter Than An Indonesian Fifth Grader” but instead it involved having someone cook an egg on your head. Booooooooo-ring! Most teams chose lion head, which amazingly doesn’t involve sticking your head into a lion’s mouth. C’mon, where’s the sense of adventure?!?!

At the Double U-Turn (dun dun duuuuuun!) all teams honor their train-ride pact and choose not to U-Turn one another. Team Competitive finishes first again (ooops, SPOILER!) with Teams Don’t Mess With Lexus, Goat F’ers, and Long Hair Don’t Care following up.

And now for the also-rans. Team Shriek Lanka is stuck with the left-behinds, Teams Blonde-on-Blonde, Monster Fucker, and Substitute Racers. Poor Team Substitute Racers, I sure want to like them, but I have to think that the casting agents who passed on them seven (?) times previously were right. On their train ride Team Blonde-on-Blonde can’t figure out why they are not with the Cool Kids (I mean look at them, they are gorgeous blonde women after all!!!) and that they are certainly better than the Misfits which surround them.

Because Team Shriek Lanka are clearly better than the B-Team they get to the Double U-Turn first and decide not to use their U-Turn, and then promptly U-Turn into the cameraman. KAPOW! Team Monster Fuckers get their next and with a sinister look U-Turn Team Substitute Racers. OWIE! Team Substitute Racers get there next only to find out that some meanie team (unknown to them since it’s a Blind Double U-Turn) has U-Turned them, so they use their 50/50 and pick the wrong 50 by U-Turning Team Monster Fuckers (who, clever CBS editors then show celebrating at the Pit Stop).

Miraculously Team Blonde-on-Blonde had yet to make it to the Double U-Turn because of their inept “cabbies” and even though they manage to catch up to, and then promptly pass Team Substitute Racers their new inept “cabbie” zigged when he should have zagged, thus costing the beauties their rightful One Million Dollar prize! _{(as if they had any real chance of winning)}

There’s no crying in baseball, but then again there’s no baseball in Indonesia.

In an odd twist Phil says that he’s going to miss having to blonde babes jump on his mat. I’m not overly surprised by this, though I can’t recall Phil making such statements to other eliminated racers.

Next week we see Team Monster Fuckers berate some Bangladeshi man for costing them One Million Dollars! _{(as if they have any real chance of winning)}

Tonight, The EARL
Another amazingly busy week for me starts tonight at The EARL as I’ll be there to attend the My Jerusalem show. My Jerusalem is a band I discovered recently (thanks to their PR firm) and I really like their sound. I may treat myself to a nice dinner at The Shed, or perhaps at Elder Tree before the show. I’m just crazy enough to do it!

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – a little off, something’s not quite right
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – Even though I read an entire book on Saturday I cannot identify myself as much of a reader. However, I heard about this Humble eBook Bundle which contains up to eight Sci-Fi / Fantasy titles, and you get to tell them how much you will pay for the bundle. You also dictate how much of your payment goes to the authors, the charity of their choice, and to the people who organized and are hosting the offer. Pretty neat concept, I wish it would happen more often with other genres. You have about eight more days to take advantage of this offer if this sort of thing appeals to you.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing of note this weekend, because I was a sloth
Morning Weigh-In – I’m amazed how often I forget to do this…

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~40.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 11

Vegetarian Meals – 24
Carnivorous Meals – 13
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
10. White Jacket Required — Jenna Weber

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]