Finishing The Week

I have many things to wrap up for this week, including consuming the rest of the loaf of bread that I baked on Monday. I daresay that I really enjoyed this loaf of bread, so if time permits tomorrow morning I’ll start another lump of dough with designs of baking on Sunday when it’s cool and raining again.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Strengthen your legs and core with a kneeling plank pose.

This pose calls on the large muscles of your legs as well as the power of your core! A strong core helps you maintain balance and stability, aids with posture and maintaining a healthy back, and makes everyday activities easier.

Paulie The Ticket Purchaser
Yesterday I bought tickets for two upcoming concerts — one for each show, I’ve learned my lesson!

Look who has New Year’s Eve plans… That’s right, me! The first ticket I purchased yesterday was for Gringo Star, with openers Turf War at The EARL on New Year’s Eve. I really like both of these bands and will be certainly be having more fun doing this than hanging around watching Ryan Seacrest on the telly.

Later in the day yesterday I heard that Francine Reed will be singing at Eddie’s Attic on Sunday, February 23rd. As an added bonus this is an unusually early show, 6pm, so I can either dine at Eddie’s or more likely hit somewhere in the Decatur Square.

And when tickets for the Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks show at Terminal West on March 4th go on sale later today I’ll be buying one of those as well.

If any of these concerts interest you please feel free to purchase tickets and join me.

There are a lot of great (imho) shows coming to town in the next three/four months, don’t be surprised to hear that I purchased tickets to even more shows by Monday.

Impromptu Pint Night
The traffic in this town has been abysmal. So last night a trio of us decided to wait it out at Taco Mac. If it hadn’t been raining and threatening more rain I would have walked the three blocks from the office to Taco Mac instead of taking more than ten minutes to drive there. Oh Atlanta…

It was “pint night” (anyone need another pint glass?) so the place was naturally crowded. Because of this we chose to sit “outside” on the covered patio rather than waiting for an indoors table. Sadly the patio is not completely enclosed so there were parts of the evening during which I was misted by the rain.

ITP Flickr Pic
Nothing.

Big Saturday Ahead
No, I have no interest in the SEC Championship game. Instead I have a full slate of activities planned. What’s that? Oh, I thought you’d never ask…

Tomorrow morning I am going to try and meet up with my photography buddies — a group of friends I haven’t seen in far too long — at the Majestic Diner. Post-breakfast there is discussion of heading to the High Museum of Art to do a little shooting.

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be attending a party thrown by a good friend. It’s a get-together at a photography studio and we’ve been instructed either all-white or all-black shirts so I sense that there will also be some sort photography project. I’ll go with the latter for I need all of the slimming effects I can get.

After the party I’ll hustle into downtown to see Theatrical Outfit‘s performance of “The Gifts of the Magi” which I believe is a musical based on the O Henry short story.

After the play I have one of three options:

1. Hustle to Variety Playhouse to hear Atlanta’s The Whiskey Gentry perform. I was first introduced to them in the spring when they performed at that barbecue / bluegrass festival I attended.
2. Head over to The EARL for the annual “The Happenstance” performance where bands get up and perform short sets all night long.
3. Go home.

Suffice to say I’ll be playing it by ear.

Today’s Personal Project
Get better.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – tired, still fighting the cold, and hoping some other pains in my body are tied to it.
Current Music – silence, though I really could go for some Christmas music today
Website Of The Day – Here’s what Stumble Upon! presented first — Trunk Club, a men’s clothing outfitter. Apparently Stumble Upon! knows me very well because I need all sorts of clothing help, well, once I get in much better shape I will.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – ??? pounds (December 6) // I forgot, though admittedly I really don’t want to know at the moment

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

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 8
Carnivorous Meals – 7

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

December Goals
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber, and a painter 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]