Year Nine Begins NOW!

Yep, I was busy all day yesterday. I’ll be busy again today but I’ll drop in this quick update.

Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Try gazing meditation by focusing on an object, such as a stone, tree, or candle flame.

This fixed-gaze type of meditation, also known as trāṭaka, helps you look inward while focusing your attention outward. Channeling all of your energies toward watching the object is said to help quiet the mind. Meditation is also proven to help lessen stress and relieve anxiety over time.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Pick a perimeter – a building, your house or apartment building, or a shopping area – and walk it.

Whether it’s around the perimeter of a building, city block, or park, walking can provide health benefits such as lower blood pressure, an improved mood, and a smaller waistline. Picking a perimeter adds variety, too – the promise of seeing something new along the way may increase your motivation to stroll!

You know that there is only one ‘perimeter’ that you should pick, but that’d be a really far walk.

Celebration Supper #1
After much debate I settled on eating at Mezcalito’s near Grant Park on Tuesday night for the Inside The Perimeter anniversary dinner. I don’t have the time to explain the painful process that led me there but suffice to say that I had difficulty figuring out what I wanted to eat, what alcohol I wanted to consume, as well as finding parking.

For dinner I had some chips and queso, and an order or red mole pork. Shockingly after all of my hemming and hawing about the quality of the beer I wanted with dinner I drank nothing but water with dinner.

ITP Flickr Pic
“167,000 Miles”

On my way home from dinner on Tuesday night I noticed that the Jackmobile had reached 167,000 miles.

Celebration Supper #2
Last night I gifted a free meal at The Lawrence to one of my coworkers. I’d purchased a Scoutmob “Hand Picked Deal” of dinner for two at the restaurant and discovered on Sunday that the deal expires next week (oh, speaking of next week there will be a lot of things happening in my life regarding travel and friends). I chose to treat my coworker because she has had to deal with working closely with me recently and she would provide me with a partner for conversation on the train ride in to and out of Midtown.

Even though we missed the first southbound train MARTA was incredibly efficient and we got into midtown an hour before my reservation time — so we stopped into Taco Mac for a pre-meal beer.

The deal I had purchased was “Dinner for Two” including one appetizer, two entrees, one dessert, and two cocktails. I chose PEI Mussels for the appetizer, I had pan seared Wahoo for me entree, she had salmon, she chose the panna cotta for the dessert, we each had a beer. The meal was really good, even if I thought that my fish was overcooked. The prices at The Lawrence are “up there” so I doubt that I will be making many returns.

Today’s Personal Project
Attend tonight’s Cocoaheads Atlanta meetup.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Apparently while I was having a nice dinner someone was getting carjacked at their house. This bullshit must comet to an end. Hopefully some one will recognize the security-camera photo the perp and call Crime Stoppers Atlanta.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – MARTA
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~4.5 miles
Morning Weigh-In – 213 pounds (October 1)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~10.1 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 8
Carnivorous Meals – 13

Marta Rides To Work – 3
Bike Rides To Work – 0

October Goals
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber to replace my malfunctioning faucets
– submit to important documents, neither of which I can talk about at this time
– walk no fewer than 75 miles

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
7. Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life — by Steve Martin
8. Who Am I: A Memoir — by Pete Townshend

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]