Dis Ain’t New York, Pa(u)l

You know when Atlanta’s roads are not fully jam-packed with poor drivers? 3:00am. And how do I know this? Because I was on them around that time this morning.

When I awoke at 3:00am this morning, yes I did, I decided to get my computer and look at something. It was that time that I understood why my bag felt “lighter than normal” when I was putting it down upon my arrival home yesterday. Yes, even a MacBook “Air” adds noticeable weight to a bag.

And then I panicked.

“Surely I left my new MacBook Air at work — for all to steal!” I thought. Keep in mind that the only thing I’ve ever had stolen since we’ve moved into this office building was a pre-packaged piece of cornbread, but that didn’t stop me from realizing that I’d not sleep again until I was in possession of my laptop. So I did what every other insane person does, I got dressed and drove in to work.

Hi!

And I wonder why women think I’m strange.

At least I am strange with the knowledge that my MacBook Air is safe, in fact I am typing on it currently — at 4:19am.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Do away with two “maybe someday” items, such as a piece of old clothing or an odd kitchen gadget.

Clutter in our homes isn’t just unpleasant to look at – it can also leave us feeling stressed-out and overwhelmed. When we hang onto things that we don’t use anymore (or can’t imagine ever using), it also means we don’t have room for the things that are important to us, physically or emotionally. Bonus: If your items are suitable for donation, your “maybe someday” pieces can help someone today.

I have a lot of “maybe someday” items that will be leaving the house next week, including the idea that “maybe someday some woman will fall in love with me again.”

Apparently I Missed The Toll-lessocalypse
When I cruised toll-free through the soon-to-be demolished toll booths yesterday around 7:30am I let out an audible “Whoop!” and thought little of it. About an hour or so later I read a tweet saying that GA 400 North was backed up all the way to I-85.

“No way!” I thought, but a glance at Google Maps showed the tweet to be true.

Even constricting traffic to three lanes how is it possible to have a traffic jam once the toll has been lifted? Were there that many more people thinking “Well, now that I can save fifty cents I’ll be cruising up GA 400 this morning!”?

Regardless I was glad that I missed it, and I’m here to say that there was no traffic jam around 3:15am this morning either.

Work Late, Go Home, Sleep
I have been trying to push myself to become a better developer again, so I stayed at work to do some reading and coding (the glances I made at the traffic shown by Google Maps didn’t convince me to leave work either). By the time I left the office I considered trying to use the Scoutmob “Dinner for Two” deal that I have for Noni’s that expires tomorrow, but I wasn’t all that hungry and I wanted to get home to continue my reading.

Upon arriving home I ate some leftover pasta and had a beer while snuggling under a comforter in the living room while watching some lousy football. By 9:30pm I was bushed and went to bed, so much for being “productive.”

Hey, if I was asleep by 10pm that means that I got five whole hours of sleep before waking at 3am. NICE!

ITP Flickr Pic
I should take a photo of the dark circles that are inevitably under my eyes at the moment.

I’ll spare you. 😉

It’s 4:45am, Do You Know Where Your Luggage Is?
I vaguely remember some Public Service announcement from my childhood proclaiming “It’s 11pm. Do you know where your children are?” and a potential spoof of that regarding luggage.

It’s now 4:45am which means that I’ve been plugging away at today’s blog post for about twenty minutes (“So that’s how long it takes him to come up with this drivel!”) and am struggling to:

1. Think of things to say.
2. Stay awake.

I think that it’s going to be a long, hard day at work today.

Perhaps I’ll see if I can get an hour’s nap in before people start showing up for work.

Today’s Personal Project
Get some sleep.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – tired
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Anyone else remember “Insomniac” with Dave Attell?
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car doing the speed limit (plus) the entire time! It’s not often that you can say this in Atlanta.
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 216 pounds (November 25)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~18.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – on hold until December
Carnivorous Meals – on hold until December

Marta Rides To Work – 5
Bike Rides To Work – 0

November Goals
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber, an animal ridder, and a tree person to work on the ITP Estate
– dissolve Sharpened Stone, LLC
– follow up on some critical life details
– 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
9. Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? — by Billy Crystal
10. Unstuff Your Life!: Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good — Andrew J. Mellen

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]