On “Vacation”

I’m taking the better part of the next eight days off from office work. In these next eight days I will attempt not to undo the good gym work I’ve been doing the past three weeks.

During this “vacation” period I’m looking to relax, put some things in the past, get some personal chores accomplished, and start thinking about something I found out yesterday.

Today’s Personal Project
Learn moderation. This is not about how I feel today, but rather about the thing I heard yesterday regarding the physical I had last week. No details, sorry. Let’s just say that I’ll be making some changes that I do not want to make, but in the end will benefit me greatly.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Make your bed today.

Making your bed creates a more restful, welcoming environment and makes your bedroom feel neater. This can help lower your stress level and create more calm when you turn in for the night. You may even sleep better, which can leave you more refreshed and happy the next day.

I am sitting atop a made bed this morning.

Unbelievable!
Once again I downloaded the Atlanta episode “The Layover” and once again it was the Philadelphia episode. Via the iTunes store I have found out that I am not the only one experience this failure of Apple’s, nearly every comment left in the previous week mention this gaff.

What’s ironic about this is that I purchased the entire Season Pass for Season 2 so that I could download and watch the Atlanta episode. Seriously, if any other episode were fucked like this I’d simply shrug my shoulders and move one, but this is the only episode that I really wanted to watch and Apple isn’t delivering it, Amazon Instant Video doesn’t have a listing for it, and the Travel Channel is only providing full episodes for New York and Singapore. FAIL!

The Proof Is In The Photos
While I understand the photographers at the Hot Chocolate 15k are trying to make a living, none of the photos that they sent me thumbnails of should every be seen in public, never mind never purchased by anyone.

I thought I was having a decent day (admittedly tired and in pain toward the end), but I look like complete (fat) shit in each photo.

ITP Flickr Pic
Snack time.
Snack Food
I’m guilty of eating the one far right.

No wait, that’s not what I meant. I like and eat Twizzlers, mostly when watching Top Chef with ITP-Reader Betsy. I do not purchase items from vending machines (much).

I Wish I Lived In The Pre-911 World Again
In a couple of hours I’ll be down at Hartsfield Airport to pick up my friend Tamara. I remember the good old days (I also remember the former Atlanta restaurant/bar chain Good Old Days) of going to the airport when you could meet your party at their arrival gate, and one could wander the entire airport taking photographs without being labeled a “Person of Interest.” I know that we’ll never return to those days, but I do miss them.

So today I’ll be down there getting as close as I can, the top of the escalator near baggage claim, waiting with the rest of the masses. Tamara suggest taking MARTA to a station and meeting her there, but then I have to rely on MARTA’s reliability and I’d rather not have to do that.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – bothered by the near-daily challenges that have been occurring lately
Current Music – silence as I wait for iTunes to load my library so that I can access it.
Website Of The Day – Remember the good old days by reading Good Old Days magazine (or surf their website using that link).
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – checking again soon?

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~14.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 8

Days Of Bed-Making – 1

Vegetarian Meals – 35
Carnivorous Meals – 35

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

January Goals
– lose five pounds
– walk/run no fewer that 100 miles
– read at least one book
– dissolve Sharpened Stone, LLC
– take at least one box of things to Goodwill
– post at least ten photos in the blog

2013 Goals: Measurable
– Get my weight down to 190 pounds so that I can wear a 36″ waist pants comfortably
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Dissolve Sharpened Stone
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Completely run at least one 10k
– Fix all (or at least most) of the things which are wrong with the ITP Estate

2013 Goals: Unmeasurable
– Simplify, simplify, simplify
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– 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)
– Take two real vacations, perhaps one abroad
– Take a more proactive approach to meeting women (read “stop being such a pussy”)

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2013

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

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20 Responses to On “Vacation”

  1. Stacy says:

    Hope you have a fantastic “vacation”, Paulie. Sounds like you’ve earned it. Thank you for not calling it a staycation or I would have thrown up. (HATE that word!)

    I’ve been meaning to ask you: has your friend been to Atlanta before? Do you have any special plans on where you want to take her?

  2. Barb says:

    We still have the episode of The Layover in the DVR, if you want to come by sometime – I wouldn’t mind watching it again.

    $1.50 for that candy? Wow, I haven’t bought anything out of a vending machine in forever. I’ll buy the much bigger bag at the grocery store or wherever for $2-$3 – I love Twizzlers.

    I was just thinking the other day about Good Old Days – the bar. If you drive past the spot on Roswell road it is just a bunch of broken up pavement. Many, many, many good times were had there back when I was young & foolish.
    We played trivia there most weeks, and we had enough in house speniding money winnings that we rarely had to buy beers for about a year or two.

  3. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    Funny, I thought about using “staycation” but then thought better of that.

    Tamara used to live here in the 1990s; her then-husband Bill and I worked together in Huntsville, AL and he got me the job interview which brought me to Atlanta.

    She’s in town to see old friends and drink — though I will be consuming less after yesterday’s information.

    Tamara, Bill, and I were Friday-night regulars at the Taco Mac across the street from that Good Old Days. In the years following I’d also frequent God Old Days for sand volleyball, and occasionally go to American Pie.

  4. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    Oh, and I will take you up on that tv watching Barb. If only I had access to unlimited television…

  5. Barb says:

    good deal on The Layover – bring Tamara (or wait until after she is gone….)
    Let me know when you want to venture OTP – only time not available & already booked up is this Saturday night & next week Saturday night.

  6. Steve says:

    So the physical brought out something that means a change in lifestyle… maybe you should engage your friends in support?? Just sayin’

    Debbie arrived back from Florida last night or really early this morning, I don’t know which. I was glad not to have to wake all the animals and feed them a very early breakfast…

    Anyone betting on an ice storm tonight? Maybe like the blizzard last week?

    -FP

  7. Laura says:

    Doing nothing vacations are the best. I have a lot of PTO at work so every couple of months I take a week off, send the kid to school and relax. I love it. Being a lady of leisure is my dream.

    Final call for the Gwinnett Gladiators game on Sunday. So far, it’s:
    Paul
    Barb & Allan
    Steve & Debbie
    Me, Bob & T

    I’ll buy the tickets this afternoon after checking back here to see if anyone else is interested.

    Thanks, L

  8. Barb says:

    Allan said he wants to tailgate – but I’m thinking we should find a restuarant near by………
    let me ask Felicia again about the game – she was thinking about it & then I forgot to ask her again.

  9. Stacy says:

    Laura – I read your comment at first thinking you were Martha-Laura. The kid comment threw me for a loop! 😀 I thought: daaaang I know I haven’t seen Martha in a while, but a KID?!

  10. Steve says:

    She got me too!! Sneaky..

  11. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    I’m in!

    Steve, I’m being a bit over-cautious with the result. Nothing “bad” (perhaps) just something noted that didn’t occur last year. My lifestyle “change” is in my best interest.

  12. Debbie says:

    So glad to be home! I got in at 11:30 so not too terrible of a drive back. I’ve always wanted to go to Cape Canaveral, but I guess I should have made more of an effort when the shuttle program was alive. The area is pretty much a ghost town now. I did get to see some manatees, that was neat!

    I’ve spent the morning with one animal or another sitting on me. I think they are glad I’m home.

    Paulie, I hope you enjoy your time off; you’ve earned some serious down time.

    Looking forward to Sunday!

  13. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    So far, so good. Tamara and I have had two beers at Moe’ s & Joe’s.

  14. Steve says:

    So much for doctors orders!!

  15. Barb says:

    Laura – Felicia is in – add 1 more to the list.

  16. Laura says:

    Barb – cool

  17. Kidless Martha - now and forever says:

    It does not look like I will make it tonight, I was hoping I could but another night of working late…for whatever reason all the work is currently being dumped on me…by co-lead has been assigned nothing. I realize she does not have my technical skills…but what the hell is she doing???

    *Sigh* Rant over 🙂

    So me with a kid? Really?? Did hell freeze over? Is the sky on fire? And an entire week off, with nothing to do?? I wish (see rant above)!!

    An ice storm tonight? That would be nice, I’m tempted to leave my computer at the office, so if I do get iced in I can’t do any work!

    Have a fun, in-town vacation!

  18. Barb says:

    Martha has Jerry -she has a kid.

    and Paulie- way to take heroot the really nice places in town.

  19. Martha says:

    So very true Barb, so very true! For those keeping score at home, Jerry and I are one week away from being together four years, he has not matured during that time!

    And I have Nibbles, not sure if she is a kid or a dog? Both? Neither?? She’s a piece of work that’s for sure!

  20. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    Four years? You crazy kids! For the record my longest relationship lasted 18 months.

    Moe’s& Joe’s was fantastic — more on that tomorrow. Lunch was had at The Vortex in L5P.

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