Trying To Change My Tune
The crud is slowly declining and I’m hoping that this will be the last mention of my health, save complaining about post-workout sore muscles, for a long time. I’m also hoping that the other problems that I have been suffering recently subside, otherwise I will be forced to see a doctor about them.
Today’s Personal Project
I need to call my mother tonight.
Today’s Daily Challenge
Take ten deep breaths.
Breathing deeply from your abdomen and exhaling slowly not only helps relieve stress, it also calms and relaxes you. When you feel stressed, your heart rate goes up, your muscles tense, and your breathing becomes more rapid and shallow. Deep breathing counteracts this.
I might need to take fifty deep breaths each day…
My Weight Is Up, My Stocks Are Down
And I really wish that it was the other way around.
I can’t complain too much about my weight being up about a pound given that I have not had the opportunity to work out for a week.
My stocks on the other hand are bothering me because I should have dumped many of them (read: AAPL) before their decline. Hell, if I had a crystal ball I would have swapped my AAPL for Google (GOOG) 1:1 when Apple’s price/share eclipsed Google’s. Had I done so I’d be in possession of shares of GOOG which are now $400/share more than AAPL.
’tis why I will be working the rest of my life…
Something Old, Something New
After listening to a podcast yesterday which mentioned Led Zeppelin III I realized that I did not have that album in my possession. That is no longer the case as I made a digital purchase of it yesterday. I must say, it shows its age slightly, but I enjoyed the heck out of listening to it again.
This morning I listened to an EP from a band called Team Spirit’s (Bandcamp Page). I had never heard of this band before receiving an email from the PR person pushing them, and I am really glad that I gave their EP a virtual spin. I’m not certain if the EP has hit the street yet (as the kids say) but you may want to look out for it when it does.
ITP Flickr Pic
um, yeah.
Abstain From Anniversary Beer; Abstain From Eating Out; Cook At Home
I’m trying to be more responsible about my drinking and spending habits, so I made a conscious effort to head straight home after making a brief stop at Target.
I had purchased some ground beef at Kroger on Sunday and I figured, with some spices and the rice and beans I prepared on Saturday night, I could whip up a faux chili. In fact, it turned out more like a rice-laden Sloppy Joe, but it was decent enough to consume and I will be doing so again for lunch today.
Unfortunately I also abstained from gathering all of my tax paperwork, so I’ll be doing that tonight.
Two New Gadgets: One I Will Probably Lose, The Other I Will Probably Lose To TSA
Last week I took possession of two new gadgets that I think are neat.
SanDisk Cruzer Fit CZ33 32GB USB Flash Drive is about the size of one of my fingernails and can hold a whopping 32GB of information. Think about that for a second. Holy shit. The only downside of this neat gadget is that I think that it is so small that I will eventually lose it — which is why all of the data I put onto it is encrypted.
On the nearly complete opposite side of the technology world the Swiss+Tech UKCSB-1 Utili-Key 6-in-1 Keychain Multi-Tool contains six tools — flat-head screwdriver, phillips-head screwdriver, micro-sized “eyeglass” screwdriver, bottle opener, straight blade knife, serrated blade knife — all in the size of a standard house key. The only downside of this neat gadget is that I will probably forget that I have this in my bag the next time I fly and it will be confiscated by the fucking TSA.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh
Current Music – listening to a recent “This American Life” podcast
Website Of The Day – Unless you are in the web design/development game then Smashing Magazine probably isn’t for you. However, if you are, you might be really interested in it.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 212 pounds
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)
Days Of Bed-Making – 0
Vegetarian Meals – 6
Carnivorous Meals – 5
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
March Goals
- not get sick
- lose two pounds
- walk/run no fewer that 50 miles
- lift weights at the gym no fewer than eight times
- finish at least two of the books I am reading
- take at least one box of things to Goodwill
- post at least ten photos in the blog
- drink a lot less alcohol
- prepare a house repair plan and budget
- return ITP-Reader Martha’s coffee percolator to her
- return ITP-Terri’s crutches to her
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]
Almost all packed up and ready to head to ColoSprings later today. I think the TSA has a minimum length on knoves, but I could be wrong. There is a Commissaire who regularly gets stopped when boarding in Seattle with his starters pistol- so much so he’s on a first name basis with the supervisor. Or at least that’s how he tells it.
Day 2 of the door. Currently waiting on the B-I-L and his handy tools to make quick work of it. The only exercise yesterday was the upper body workout of the post hole digger. Not aerobic, but still made me sore in odd places.
It sounds like Barb and Allan are having a grand time on the left coast. Martinis at Top of the Mark yesterday… a very nice place.
-FP
I’m scared if I ever unplug the micro USB for my mouse I will never find it again. So I will never unplug it…heck I keep losing my iPod Shuffle and it’s 10x bigger.
I missed my second day of bootcamp. I didn’t sleep much again last night, ugh. And man am I sore. Who would have thought a few push-up and tri-dips would do this much damage. Ah, I’m not really damaged, just good workout sore. I’m sure 100 minutes on the trainer tonight will make me forget the soreness in my arms.
I’ve seen some slight movement on the scale in the past week, I hope it is a sign of more to come.
Glad you’re feeling better, keep taking care of yourself and you’ll be 100% in no time.
PS I’m riding loops at Stone Mountain on Sunday if anyone is interested in joining in the ‘fun’.
Good on ya Martha, keep up the great work!
I still have repeated short coughs and having chest issues (and producing some nasty congestion snot), hoping everything clears up by tomorrow. If so, I may join you for some Stone Mountain loops on Sunday.
Hehe, I just remembered two titles I had for today’s blog — “Snoteriffic” and “Phlegmtastic”
Here you go Paulie, just in time too:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-05/tsa-will-permit-knives-golf-clubs-on-u-s-planes.html
Now that’s hilarious! I was in the “office” earlier thinking “Geez, when will we have the freedom to carry things like pocket knives on airplanes again?”
As to the pocket knife thing – I still don’t trust the TSA, put it in your checked bag.