Rollercoastering

Though I’ve not Googled for medical term called “Rollercoastering,” that is the best description I have for the way my body has been feeling all of this week; for a while I feel good, then I start to feel shitty, at times I feel really shitty, and then eventually I start feeling better. Predictably I am tired of feeling this way and cannot wait until I feel well enough to attempt to return to exercising.

Today’s Personal Project
Do anything necessary to get my body out of the state it is in currently.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Picture yourself three months from today and write down three words that describe the future you.

We often have a general sense of things we would like to change, but you can only reach a destination if you know where you’re headed and where you currently are. By writing down a few words that describe you in three months’ time, it more concretely shapes what you’d like to change. The list may also motivate you to take steps to make those changes.

1. thinner
2. poorer
3. future-focused

My First We Suki Suki
I returned to the ‘hood at about lunch time yesterday. Though my first thought was to attempt to starve this funk, I decided to try my first Banh Mi sandwich from We Suki Suki.

The only two negatives I’ve heard about We Suki Suki are that the sandwiches cost $5 (about $2 more than a Banh Mi along Buford Highway), and the time you need to wait in order to get your sandwich. Given that I was in East Atlanta and not Buford Highway I was more than okay with paying the extra money (and the sandwich itself was as good as any as I’ve gotten along Buford Highway). I happened to luck out on the time front as immediately after I ordered my grilled-pork sandwich, one of the two guys waiting for their second sandwich decided that he didn’t need another, so I got the one that Q was making for him.

I returned home and devoured the sandwich, drinking a Gatorade with it.

I then proceeded to take a two-hour nap.

Want To See A Good Concert Tonight?
Even if I were in tip-top shape today I’d have to skip a concert that I really wanted to attend — The Mountain Goats at Terminal West.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing The Mountain Goats in the recent past and have enjoyed their music. From what I understand the band will be flanked with a full horns section tonight. It should be an awesome show.

Happy Birthday Greetings
Today is the sixtieth birthday of my friend Harold (aka “BWanA”, aka “Bitch With An Attitude”). Tonight there will be a party in his honor. I was really hoping that I’d feel at the top of my game by now so that I could consume copious amounts of fine beer. Instead, health willing, I’ll be headed to the party for a brief time before heading home to make continued strides at getting rid of this shit that has plagued me all week.

I Want To Eat At The Spence
Although I have been working too much I have been able to catch up on some Life After Top Chef, the pseudo-reality-show which has been following form Top Chef cheftestants Fabio, Jen, Richard, and Spike; the “Richard” of the show is Atlanta’s Richard Blais.

When the show was being recorded Blais was in the process of opening up his newest restaurant, The Spence. While the reviews of The Spence have been mixed, and the price of the food is higher than I’d probably eat on a daily basis, I am considering giving The Spence a shot. Perhaps I can treat myself to a “Christmastime Dinner” at The Spence?

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – still on the fence
Current Music – listening to a “Mac Power Users” podcast
Website Of The Day – In the market for some new device? Not sure what the best in show for that device is? Check out The Wirecutter.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing, I’m too ill
Morning Weigh-In – checking again in December

November Goals
– none

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
– 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]