A Very Meaty Weekend

As I tallied my meals for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I realized that most, not all, contained meat. Oh well, the exact opposite will occur next weekend.

Today’s Personal Project

Today’s Daily Challenge
Name a friend or family member who can help you achieve one of your goals.

Reaching goals is always easier when we have the help of those around us! A friend or family member can be a valuable resource, by providing either hands-on help or motivation to keep us working toward the goal. By thinking of even one person who can lend a hand, it provides us with reassurance that we’re not alone and can be the first step toward reaching the goal.

I’m not about to publicly choose one. You all can help me achieve my goals.

Timeliness Is Everything
I arose early on Saturday morning and, even though gas is ridiculously expensive again I drove up to Chamblee to my regular lavanderia.

In order to justify the trip I decided to try a new restaurant for brunch; I went to The General Muir. The General Muir is in the new mixed-used development on Clifton either on, or very near, Emory’s campus. Upon turning into the new development I was dismayed to see metered parking, however I found out that the parking garage allows two hours of free parking, and apparently all-day free parking on Saturdays (and maybe Sundays). [update: I just noticed that the parking situation is clearly addressed on The General Muir’s website.] The General Muir is a delicatessen-style establishment, so naturally I ordered a Reuben sandwich with which I consumed copious amounts of coffee. The sandwich was served with half of a large Kosher pickle but no other side, and since they charge $12 for this I was a bit disappointed. Overall the meal was good, if not a bit pricey. On my way out I picked up two bagels for later consumption.

After eating I decided to go home and kick back for awhile until it was time to head to the Goat Farm for the Southern Food Tour event. I had paid the extra $10 for “VIP” early entrance, which it appeared started at 6:00pm according to my printed ticket. About 5:15pm I picked up my phone to find an email (sent at 3:20pm) stating that VIP early entrance started at 5:00pm and that general admission started at 6:00pm. WTF?!?! I purchased this ticket months ago and they are just not clarifying this! So I hustled into the car and may my way over to the westside to make use of at least a little of the hour I paid $10 for. At the event there was a special whiskey drink (I passed), Monday Night Brewing beers (I had many), as well as non-alcoholic selections. As far as food was concerned there were six tables set up

1. Kevin Gillespie’s soon-to-be “Gun Show” served pork on a pancake; this was good.
2. Buttermilk Kitchen served fried chicken on a biscuit with pickle sliders; this was very good.
3. The Optimist (seriously, Apple I was one letter off and you could not off a spelling?) served seafood gumbo; this was good.
4. JCT Kitchen served tamales with ground beef; this was so spicy it nearly took my head off.
5. Ford Fry (also from JCT Kitchen?) served pork three ways; this was very good.
6. Some woman who was not listed on the website served apple fried pies with a shot of rye; this was good, though the shot was not for me.

I have become a fat lightweight, as I consumed my beer and was feeling a bit buzzed early. As the crowds grew I felt less and less like being among them (because I was solo) so I decided to head home early. There was a stage set up for a band, but I didn’t stay late enough to hear them perform. I really need to get into a group of people who like to do these sort of things (or reach out to you all more) because they would be so much more fun if I weren’t solo.

I knew traffic on the connector was horrible, but I was miffed to find that it also sucked on Marietta and Northside — at least until I got past the dome. I wound up taking the not-so-nice streets of Mechanicsville home, something I don’t subscribe to doing often.

ITP Flickr Pic
Here’s a panorama of the Southern Food Tour event I attended on Saturday night.

As you know, I sort of enjoyed it.

Sunday: Baby It’s Too Cold Outside!
I decided to stay home on Sunday, mostly because my house was calling me and well, partially because it was so fucking cold yesterday.

Initially I was going to head to Home Grown for an early breakfast, but I decided to roll my own and made a egg, sausage, potato fry up which wound up serving as breakfast, and later lunch.

Around 11:00am I decided that it was time to “man up” so I entered my attic in search of squirrel entry holes. It was a nearly impossible task, though I did manage to find one spot which may provide entry. However, I quickly realized that plugging these holes will be an outside job. I bundled up and took the ladder outside. After expiring my cache of steel wool in one of the easier spots to fill I quickly retreated back indoors, vowing to let this task wait for another day. Having seeing nor hearing squirrels when I was in the attic I hoped that I plugged the one and only means of entry for the squirrels. Alas the noises I heard during the afternoon have proven this to be incorrect. DANGEN! I’ll need more steel wool, a much taller ladder, and some warmer weather in order to complete this task.

RealiTV Update: TAR Is Back, And I Might Be Too
I found out that The Amazing Race started again last night. I set up a recording that I intended to watch around 9:30pm so I could skip through the commercials, but wound up falling asleep on the couch before I could. I’ve heard that the show started five minutes late (thanks to golf) so I might be screwed out of seeing the ending of the first leg.

I’m playing this season by ear (re-read my jettison from watching last season to see why). Who knows, perhaps you’ll be getting a Monday (or Tuesday) morning update in this space again.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay
Current Music – silence as I rush to get this done since I am late
Website Of The Day – Think you know your presidents? (I sure don’t) Then try your hand at The Washington Post’s Presidents’ Day Quiz.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – Friday’s weigh-in was 211.6 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~2.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 6

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 11
Carnivorous Meals – 28

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

February 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
– drink a lot less alcohol

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]