Losing Track Of The Days

In December I lost track of the days because I was in the office every day. Since I’ve not been in the office since last Wednesday I’ve already lost track of the days again. I’ve had to look at the date twice already to confirm that today is Monday.

Today’s Personal Project
Use my day alone affectively effectively wisely.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Stand with your hands on your chest, jump up, open your arms and legs, and repeat seven times.

This challenge brings all sorts of star power! It’s a nice way to stretch arms and legs if you’ve been sitting or standing for a while. It opens up the chest and shoulders. Best of all, it injects a moment of heart-healthy activity into your day and can give you an energy boost.

On Friday I Drank (Eschewing What I Heard Thursday)
After a stressful afternoon during which I settled with the chiropractor (don’t ask) I spent some time in the Buckhead Library (I’m trying to read “Oliver Twist” in addition to “The Design Of Everyday Things”) and then made my way over to the Buckhead LA Fitness to do a workout in order to reduce my stress level.

When I was through with my workout I drove my way back into midtown to join Tamara and some of her former coworkers for happy hour at The Highlander (where I saw Dean better known by his hash name “Jackass”). We spent some time there having a drink or two and then made our way into Little Five Points to go to the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club for one more and dinner.

Upon leaving the Yacht Club the group dispersed and Tamara and I went to The Midway Pub for a nightcap (where I saw ITP-Readers Tony and Pat).

On Saturday I Drank (Eschewing What I Heard Thursday)
Unsurprisingly Saturday morning was a slow starter. Tamara wanted some grease to fight back the night’s alcohol consumption so I took her to The Silver Skillet where I had a sausage biscuit and cheesy grits along with some coffee.

Tamara and I spent the rest of Saturday driving around as I showed her the things which have changed since her departure (see also: Buckhead) and stopping at IKEA (where I purchased a cheap desk lamp for work) and Your Dekalb Farmers Market (where I bought nothing because the place was an absolute zoo) among other places. Tamara and I popped into The Marlay House for a pint before heading over to RuSan’s in midtown for dinner.

On Saturday night our friend Mike picked up Tamara and me at the ITP Estate and we three went to The EARL for the Camper van Beethoven show. I knew that I would run into my coworker Mitch at the show, but I was not expecting to see ITP-Reader Betsy (aka “Boner Rooter”) and Lenette (aka “Psychedelic Pussy”), nor an old friend (and hasher) Mindy (aka “Stroke Me”) with her husband Scott at the show.

ITP Flickr Pic
I took a snapshot from the Buckhead Library to document what Buckhead is now in 2013.

Oh what a far cry from the days I loved back in the mid-1990s.

On Sunday I Didn’t Drink (And I Slept More)
Tamara and I kicked around East Atlanta yesterday morning spending time at Joe’s Coffee Shop as we recuperated from Saturday night. Around 11:30am our friends Sandy and Stacy came by to collect Tamara so they could all head to the JeJu Sauna for a day of pampering.

Tamara’s departure for a few days allowed me to join ITP-Readers Laura, Bob, Barb, Steve, and Debbie (as well as a few others) for a Gwinnett Gladiators game. Truth be told, had Tamara not had the sauna date she, a Canadian, would have loved to go to the hockey game.

Since hearing the news about my potential health concern I took the day as a challenge not to drink alcohol, though I did manage to find sausages made with real beer for my hockey tailgating meal. Even though the Gladiators lost the game in overtime the afternoon was much fun. My excitement peeked when one of my Chuck-a-Puck pucks came very close to winning me a prize, and about a foot away from winning me $800 for landing inside the red circle on the Kroger mat. Many thanks to Laura for doing the virtual legwork of organizing and buying the tickets, as well as the actual legwork of leaving the tailgating to pick up the tickets.

I guess the weekend caught up with me, because when I arrived home to relax for a few minutes while watching Storage Wars before starting my nights tasks, I fell asleep. I woke up three hours later, and rather than starting my chores I headed into bed.

Productive Today?
It’s “already” 9:00am on Monday and I am trying to figure out how to best use my day alone. I’d like to continue my Mon/Wed/Fri weight workouts, but to do so I’d have get ready and drive to a nearby LA Fitness. I should also spend the day doing things around the house, like wrangling up the ton of leaves which litter my yards, or learn how to use that new chain saw in order to start cleaning up the debris which clutters my back yard.

While I still have unpaid residents in the attic I have decided to put off starting that project until Saturday (which I now understand is five days from today).

And all I feel like doing right now is being lazy…

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – somewhat worried because of the changes I need to make in all facets of my life.
Current Music – listening to “The Photo Show” podcast
Website Of The Day – Yesterday Tamara and I watched an episode of Elbow Room on HGTV while waiting for the gals to come collect her. True to my words the house redo was done for a couple (who, live near East Atlanta, at least according to one of the interstitial shots of the old Rock Star shop shown during the show). Also true to my words the woman was beautiful, in fact, it turns out that she is a model/actress/spokesperson.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – Friday: workout at LA Fitness
Morning Weigh-In – I should have checked before eating a huge chunk of bread for breakfast.

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~14.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 9

Days Of Bed-Making – 3

Vegetarian Meals – 38
Carnivorous Meals – 42

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]