It’s said that our sense of smell is the most efficient at taking us back to distant places and times, but the scent of moisture in the air must be combined with the constant winds we’ve had recently in order to transport me to my days wandering Florida beaches before thunderstorms arrived back in my younger days.
Today’s Daily Challenge
I’m jumping ahead to tomorrow so that I can read your answers in the comments. I had a really bad day yesterday.
List three ways you can cheer yourself up the next time you have a bad day.
Everyone has a bad day from time to time, the kind when nothing goes right. It’s how we react that can make all the difference. If you have some methods for improving your mood at the ready, you can use them next time a no-good day comes your way.
Angry Man, Part 1
The “Three W’s of Anger” — Women, Weight, and Work. The first two of these you have heard me whine about constantly, the third, with the exception of having to put in too many hours, has been a safe haven.
Until this week.
Because I don’t wish to be out of work anytime soon I will limit my complaining to say that decisions have been made this week with which I did not approve. On a positive note I am refusing to work any more weekends…
Winds of change?
Not Angry Man
I made it down to Terminal West in time to score a parking space and catch the act that I was really there to see — My Jerusalem; yes, that’s right, I was there for the opener.
While walking about I ran into ITP-Reader Terri and her friend Betty and chatted for awhile before moving close in to hear the band better.
My Jerusalem put on a great set after which I walked over to the merch table and shook the lead singer’s hand (Yes ITP-Reader Lisa, you read that right; he was no frail man…) and told him that I enjoyed their set and had seen them at The EARL back in November (where I was one of fifteen as my blog detailed the following day). Even though I don’t need any more t-shirts I ponied up $20 for a white My Jerusalem shirt to support the band.
Peter Murphy, the night’s headliner, took the stage and performed really well. At 11:15pm I decided that I had had enough and returned home to pass out.
ITP Flickr Pic
“Coolest. Coozie. Ever.”
Angry Man, Part 2
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that culminate in anger — like being in the “50¢ Only” line, realizing you don’t have 50¢ getting out of your car to get change while holding everyone else up; or not paying attention while all of the cars ahead of you move forward, jeopardizing the chances of those behind you to make the light.
Or sometimes it’s the little things you do to yourself — like leaving the house late, forcing yourself to go to the only ATM between you and word, only to find the Loomis guys have it blocked off so that they can work on it.
It’s been a frustrating week.
I Need Full Release
This weekend is going to be fun, even if it proves to completely crush my hopes and dreams. Tonight I’m going to midtown to do a little post-work drinking, tomorrow night I’ll be going to The Midway Pub for ITP-Reader Terri’s birthday bash, and Sunday may find me at the Mets, or as you would call it “Braves,” game.
I also hope to make at least one trip to LA Fitness since I’ve not been back since hurting my foot (which still isn’t right) last Sunday.
Today’s Personal Project
Get out of the office as early as possible.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – angry, but you knew that
Current Music – silence though I really could use a dosage of hard core to exorcise this anger from my soul.
Website Of The Day – I’m sure that I’ve pointed you to the documentary Winnebago Man before, but this man’s anger trumped my tenfold.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 210.4 pounds
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~3.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)
Days Of Bed-Making – 0
Vegetarian Meals – 2
Carnivorous Meals – 4
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
May Goals
– return ITP-Reader Martha’s coffee percolator to her
- return ITP-Terri’s crutches to her
- not get sick
- lose three pounds
- exercise at least twenty-five of May’s thirty-one days
- 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
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
- Pages 1.7 for iPad (Timestompers Guide) — by Sean Wells
- 60 Mountain Lion Tips — by David Sparks and Brett Terpstra
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — by Charles Duhigg
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
I often have bad days, the joys of working in IT.
A long bike ride followed by a cold beer usually gives my attitude a 180. Getting pissed off and drunk in a bar used to be my go to activity but it doesn’t really help, you don’t solve anything and end up with nothing but a hangover.
A long bike ride (without headphones) gives you time to think and work through problems.
Another helpful activity is fixing something (bike, computer, car, whatever), it takes your mind off being angry for a while. When you revisit your bad day in your head you can now take a different approach.
I think your walks after work or your visits to LA Fitness can help. Maybe not doing that with your boss would be better, I’m sure you talk shop on your walks and happy hour outings.
Ways to improve your mood-
1. Talk to someone about it – another person’s perspective can help.
2. Spend time with friends – talking to others about other things takes your mind off the bad stuff.
3. go outside & do something, Allan says bike riding will always help.
My job isn’t making me mad, I’m just so bored with it.
I really need to look for a new job, but the fact that it is not even 2 miles from home, I really can leave if I need to for appts, etc., well, its hard to think about going to the unknown.
Man, now I’m angry because it looks like I am going to be shut out of both Neutral Milk Hotel shows in Athens in October.
okay- that is NOT something to be angry about, slightly annoyed maybe, but not angry.
Ditto Bob and Barb- get on your bike and ride! Of course it’s supposed to rain all weekend, so that’s a slim chance.
Cleaned the house last night, waiting on Terri (Sleazy Rider) to arrive from B’ham. She’s doing an 8 hour run around the corner at Bear Creek Farm. There will be pizza in our future tonight and helping her up the stairs tomorrow!
Debbie is doing some pro bono work for our canine vet. She has needed some stationery and envelopes which she found at Staples, but not enough for the job. How can a business carry a product and not be able to reorder it when they are out? The manager told us yesterday they are unable to order it, it just shows up. Huh?
Stay dry this weekend. Racing in Sandy Springs on Sunday.
-FP
Barb, I am very much with you on the job front. After 13 years, it really gets difficult to leave. However, the job is boring and no room for advancement. On the other hand, 6 weeks of vacation dulls a little bit of the pain…not enough though. Good luck to us both, sista.
I’ve been here 16 years, the vacation sucks, the salary is what keeps me interested (for now).
I have started working on my resume – I figure that’s a start. Maybe I’ll start poking around LinkedIn, probably just enough for my HR department to notice….. LOL.
Salary isn’t keeping me, that’s for sure. The company decided to anounce that they are capping our salaries for each job discription (some survey says we are paid higher than average) but they didn’t come out with any sort of incentive program. So, since I’m capped, I won’t get any sort of raise as far as I can tell, probabaly forever?
Steve, can Debbie order the stuff online? Might be a much faster/easier option.
The nature of my work has me changing jobs every few years. It’s really the only way to get a significant pay increase and any sort of advancement (plus most of the contracts are only 2-4 years) if you don’t move around you will get stuck.
Talking it out with others helps but only if you are open to hearing what they have to say. Throw a big old wrench into the mix, pull a Costanza resolve to start doing the complete opposite of what you would do normally. What’s the worst that can happen?
Remember
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Albert Einstein
Oh, and if you think you’re having a bad day, I get to fire someone at 2:30…the real sucky part, I’ve known for two months this is going to happen and I haven’t been able to tell him. Oh and I actually like him, but the client wants him gone so it’s out of my hands.
18 years next week and 2 years or so before that as a contractor! Unless somebody hurries up and wins the lottery, I don’t plan on going anywhere. Barb, we do the same thing- compare job functions and pay to comparably sized businesses in the area. Now that I have less responsibility and more to do (!!!) I don’t know how I’ll be affected (or effected? Jenka?).
Affected.
As for Staples, they don’t offer the stationery online either. So strange since it’s a house brand. It’s making me crazy because this simple little project has taken more than a month to complete for various reasons.
Martha, I’ll be thinking of you at 2:30, firing people really stinks. Not quite as much as getting fired, but really up there on the stink-o-meter.
Hope everyone has a good rainy weekend. I think Ironman III is in our future. I’m such a teenage boy when it comes to action movies and potty humor.
Ironman # is in our future too – but probably not this weekend – I hate the crowds. PLus, I’m cheap, I’ll use a pass form the Coke Rewards points – can’t use them until the movie is out a few weeks.
Ha, me too Debbie. Jerry loves the RomComs, give me the action/fantsy/sci fi, we both like the bathroom humor.
I was going to take our lovey Jenka out on her first SCT ride but I think the rain/cold will make us postpone for a better day. I don’t have enough wet/cold weather gear to make us both comfortable. I did not think this would be an issue in May.
I think the SCT is the only place I’d consider riding on a weekend like this (is supposed to be). Getting caught in weather is one thing, starting out in it is a whole lot different. I think there will be suffering this weekend.
And whether or not I go to the Braves game on Sunday it will be Cinco de Mayo, so you can expect to find me drinking at an Irish bar — Limerick Junction, perhaps, or that one up in the new(ish) shopping center in Brookhaven.
I was trying to convince our friends we needed to go to The Harp in Roswell before the REO concert Sunday night, but they just didn’t get it.
I’m with you Steve – starting riding in the rain is HARD, but riding in it after starting, you just deal with it. I feel bad for the crit riders – 2 weeks in a row for crappy weather. I never heard, were there more crashes last Sunday in Roswell because of the weather?
I’m with everyone else on getting in some exercise (followed by a cold beer!) but I would probably do some really hardcore heavy weight-lifting, just to have the satisfaction of lifting something REALLY heavy and then DROPPING it really hard on the ground. Works the muscles, gets out the aggression.
I’m super disappointed about not riding tomorrow! And next weekend is out because I’ll be in Florida. But I could do a weeknight, too, Martha, if that works for you.
The thing about working for a university is the salary is pretty low, but I get killer benefits (heh, pun intended) that I wouldn’t get anywhere else plus 4 weeks vacation (5 in two years when I reach 10 years), and total job security. They don’t even fire the people who don’t do their jobs.
Speaking of which: Martha, hope the firing went as smoothly as it could!