Packed / Not Packed

This weekend was packed full of activity, some of it entertaining, some notsomuch. What I failed to do this weekend is pack for the getaway to Raleigh that will be happening at week’s end.

When I arrived at the office this morning I also discovered that I failed to pack the shoes I planned to wear today; I wore flip-flops on my drive in because I didn’t want to boot myself up until I arrived at the office. I suppose one of the perks of being a software developer is that I can wear flip flops in the office and no one will look at me weirdly.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Stand, shift your weight to the right and lift your left leg for thirty seconds, then switch sides.

As we age, our sense of balance becomes weaker, which can lead to a feeling of unsteadiness and increase the risk of falls. By taking a moment for this challenge, you can help to rebuild and enhance your sense of balance.

Considering I am standing at work these days this shouldn’t be too hard.

Not Quite What I Hoped
I made it down to Piedmont Park very early on Friday afternoon (traffic was inexplicably not completely shitty). Had I a lawn chair and a desire to sit in line for ninety minutes I could have sat with the thirty-or-so folks already queued for the Lyle Lovett concert and had an awesome seat when we were admitted, instead I chose to roam.

My intent was to sell / give away my extra ticket to the sold out show (I did eventually give it away but not the way I desired). I tried posting a photo of my t-shirt on Twitter and hoping someone would recognize me as I walked around Piedmont Park. That didn’t happen.

As I wandered around the park I decided to get a beer and dinner. With limited walking choices (I didn’t want to wander too far afield) I headed over to The Nook, a bar which used to be The Prince of Whales, and a location I hadn’t visited since the change of hands.

The Nook hasn’t changed much of what I remember The Prince of Whales having (bar configuration perhaps?). I had a Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale, and appetizer portions of their “Redneck” Totchosâ„¢ (Trade Marked? Really?) and smoked wings. The food was good, unhealthy as could be, but good nonetheless. Now that I think about it, I must have been overcharged unless The Nook is charging $7+ for a pint of Bell’s Two-Hearted. Oh well.

From The Nook I wandered about the park before conceding being a loser and handing over my extra ticket to the Ticket Alternative Will Call desk with the instruction to give the first person asking about tickets a freebie.

Lovett and his band were the only act, scheduled to play a two-plus hour set. I stayed, wandering about since I had no lawn chair, for about ninety minutes before deciding to head out. It’s not that I wasn’t having a decent time, but I just couldn’t relax and wanted to get away from the crowd.

ITP Flickr Pic
“Faces In The Fountain”
Faces In The Fountain
One of the benefits of flying solo at a Botanical Garden concert is that you can roam around and take photos (with your cameraphone as “real” photographic equipment is verboten for concerts).

This is one of the fountains inside the botanical garden.

Clean Up Weekend
Did you miss it? This weekend was the annual weekend in which I get the wild hair up my ass to do enough yard work to make my front lawn look nice(r).

On Saturday morning, dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt and now-tight ripped jeans, I took out the lawnmower and pushed it around for awhile, resurrected my string trimmer and cleaned up the edges of the yard, took a shovel and shoveled the grass/dirt from the curbside street, and did a little cleanup of the “flower” bed that sits in the front yard. When I was done two-and-a-half hours had passed.

WHAAAAAT?

Yes, I did. This certainly won’t last long so if you want to see it you’ll need to drive by soon. And before you ask, I’ve yet to tackle the holly bushes…

After a long, cleansing shower and an unintentional nap I spent the rest of Saturday making tough choices about some of the things I own, but probably shouldn’t any longer. I have another box ready for Goodwill. At the rate I am going I should have pared my possessions down to my desired amount by 2016.

Look Read Who’s Cooking
If you consider opening a can of beans and heating that on a stove then I cooked both nights this weekend. You’ll have to be satisfied with reading about this however as I took no photos of my efforts.

After visiting the local Publix (and seeing the cutest nerd-girl, who paid me absolutely no attention) I returned home with the fixings for Emeril Lagasse’s Andouille and Chicken Jambalaya, a recipe I’ve made many times in the past. When I used to cook frequently this was a meal I could make to perfection (imho) on auto-pilot. Last night’s rendition was a little harder to recreate and a little more burned than the old concoctions, but satisfying nonetheless. Even better, this meal keeps on giving as I still have enough for lunch today and tomorrow.

Just Call Me “The Music Man”
In addition to cooking I did something else yesterday that I haven’t done in far too long — listen to music. While doing some weekly computer backups I realized that I have nearly 10,000 songs in my iTunes library (almost all legally obtained, I might add) so I decided to have a musical revival. I cranked up the volume and let iTunes randomly play songs from my library for nearly six hours before I finally decided to change the day’s audio track to podcasts. I have to admit, it was great fun revisiting music I had long forgotten about, and in those six hours I don’t believe that I heard a single song that made me cringe or think about skipping.

Today’s Personal Project
Lavanderia y estudiar noche (badly translated “laundry and study night”)

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fat, foot still hurts, trying to improve my mental state
Current Music – listening to the Mountain Goats concert from this year’s Newport Folk Festival as recorded by NPR
Website Of The DayFootCare MD explains my Peroneal Tendonitis.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing except yard work
Morning Weigh-In – 219 pounds, will check next time I am in LA Fitness

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 6 (0 cardio)

Days Of Bed-Making – 3

Vegetarian Meals – 26
Carnivorous Meals – 46

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

July Goals
– get my foot to stop hurting
– return ITP-Reader Martha’s coffee percolator to her

- return ITP-Terri’s crutches to her

- not get sick

- 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

  1. Pages 1.7 for iPad (Timestompers Guide) — by Sean Wells
  2. 60 Mountain Lion Tips — by David Sparks and Brett Terpstra
  3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — by Charles Duhigg
  4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy — by Douglas Adams
  5. Amazing Things Will Happen: A Real-World Guide on Achieving Success and Happiness — by CC Chapman
  6. So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love — by Cal Newport

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

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19 Responses to Packed / Not Packed

  1. Of course after rereading my WotD I am considering not standing at work until the tendonitis has healed. 🙁

  2. Steve says:

    With Debbie off with the girls on a horse weekend, I was left to my own devices- Saturday, a ride while listening to Car Talk and WWDTM makes the miles pass by. A quick shower and lunch at the Cafe in Luthersville. Since I arrived near closing time, I thought I’d have the place to myself, however, 40 or so Girl Scouts and the camp management decended on the cafe just before closing- it was all planned however, so I didn’t feel bad for the owners.

    Sunday was pool chores and another ride. For some reason, there was nothing in the tank, but I slogged through 25 miles anyway.

    Debbie’s return( !! ), unhitching the trailer and waiting on her riding buddy to arrive for an overnight, and my weekend was done.

    For everyone BUT Paulie ;-), SSS #2 will be Saturday! 10:00 departure for 30 miles or so- we may “end” at Matts Pizza, or the Cafe, depending on the direction we ride. Poolage begins at 2. As soon as we figure out a menu, we’ll let you know what to bring! Who’s coming?

    -FP

  3. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    Booo Hissss! Of course I still can’t ride (though I will be taking the mountain bike to Raleigh for a little easy family riding) so I’d have to sit out the riding for SSS#2 anyway.

  4. Barb says:

    I had an interesting weekend –
    Saturday I finally went to Treat Your Feet on Buford Hwy for the hour long foot massage for $30. While it was really closer to 50 minutes, for $30 it was a pretty good deal. Not something I’d do all the time, but for a girls day outing, it was perfect. We also went to a Korean BBQ restaurant, had the place to ourselves, that was pretty tasty. A little pricy, but that was okay. Then we went to the Buford Hwy Farmers Market – what a zoo on the weekend, but they really do have every kind of food in the world I think. I’ll definitely go back, but probably not on a Saturday afternoon.

    Sunday morning was a little hike at Kennesaw Mtn, got Michelle out for the first real bit of exercise since her surgery. We then went to the Marietta Square for some lunch, we had dogs with us, we knew there are places to sit outside on the sidewalk.
    Allan attempted the Wheelhopper, but I think lack of sleep & probably some dehydration kicked his ass, so I went & got him. We haven’t ridden in forever, damn rain! (which is why I skipped it).

    And – I’m thinking a nice slow ride for me will be in order for SSS #2, hopefully Michelle & Drew can make it, she wants to get on the bike now that the doctor has cleared her for exercise.

  5. Barb says:

    And – Allan & I are in, but no overnight, he is working for someone Sunday at the firehouse.

  6. Oh, and I started listening to Steve Martin’s autobiography “Born Standing Up” this weekend.

  7. bob says:

    I don’t doubt you were charged $7 for that beer. Some places treat craft beer like is is fine wine or something, crazy.

    I had a good weekend, TON of riding. I had a lunch meeting with my boss on Friday in West cobb so we headed out to Allatoona creek afterwards, Saturday morning went to Rope mill and ran the single speed again then Travis and I did a ride down the riverside drive path to a playground, food trucks, and spray ground. That was a good day. Sunday did Wheelhopper long trail and ended up with over 18 miles, very hot but great ride.
    Today I rode in to work, if I keep this up I will not be able to race in clydesdale class for Snake Creek next year 🙂

    SSS#2 I am in! Laura is running a race in the morning so will meet down there later. Looking forward to it!

  8. At the rate I am healing look for me to declare 2014 as the year I return to serious exercising. What the hell, it’ll only be a three year hiatus thanks to the bike wreck and this tendonitis.

    Perhaps I should train for a 50k to be run when I am fifty?

  9. Barb says:

    Bob – I thought Allatoona Creek trails were still muddy & weren’t supposd to be ridden? Or did I misunderstand the FB post they put out?

  10. Martha says:

    I felt pretty productive this weekend.

    I rode at Silk Sheets on Saturday. The plan was for 36, when we finished my Garmin said 43. It’s been acting up, my bike milage was been very inaccurate (last week I recorded 72, for a 65 mile ride)….so I didn’t think much of it. I was pleasatly surprised by how easy 36 felt…well, I’m an idiot. It wasn’t 43 miles, it was 43 Kilometers, so I really only rode about 27 miles…must have made a turn to early…

    Oh well, at least I was home early. Manged a little yard work and meal planning for the rest of the day. I ran about 9 yesterday, then appraiser came out…so things are moving forward with the reno…then it was grocery shopping, dinner and meal prep for the beginning of the week.

    Sorry to miss the party on Saturday, it sounds like way more fun than what I have planned.

  11. bob says:

    Barb, I saw that Allatoona post too and didn’t really understand it. The trails are in really good shape, I like the extension they just completed too.

  12. Jenka says:

    It was the Prince of Wales (not Whales). And they trademarked the Totchos because another restaurant put them on their menu and the Nook owners got mad and fought them for it and won. So the other restaurant changed their menu item to Nookchos just to be difficult. They only did that for a little while, though.

    Boo, I’ll be in Macon this coming Saturday, guess I will miss SSS #2!

  13. Steve says:

    Sounds more like “Prince of Wails!!” (I crack myself up).

    Jenka, you’re giving us a complex, or else your social calendar needs to be booked too far ahead.

    Martha, I bet the pool at JEFDSDR would be just the ticket for a post century recovery.

  14. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    You know, as I was typing that I wondered if I was typing the right whales. I figured I wasn’t but I let it go nonetheless. And look at you with the inside scoop on the great tachos battle!

  15. Martha says:

    You may be right Steve but Atlanta > Covington > Moreland > Atlanta is probably more driving than I want/need to do that day.

    I like the Prince of Whales better, I had a nice cartoon image of a big blue whale wearing a shiny crown.

    FYI tachos sounds disgusting…

  16. Steve says:

    Totchos very bad- Georges will do them if you ask and they are so tasty and very bad for you!!!

    I figured once you got close to the barn, you’d head there- don’t blame you. But if you need folks to regale with you triumphs over the century, we’re available and you’re certainly welcome to just show up.

  17. Totchos are amazing, especially with bbq pork and cheese sauce. Why can’t I lose weight?

  18. Steve says:

    Stop puting that stuff in your pie-hole? Just a guess.

  19. Shut up! I’ll blame the lack of exercise… 😉

    I’ll lose weight this weekend, I’ll be eating vegetarian. 😉

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