Martes Is Smarta

It seems that few people from the barrio do laundry on Tuesday night; I was one of four groups of people doing laundry in this usually-crowded lavanderia. I just have to make Tuesday my official day for laundry, at least while I am in a situation that causes me to do laundry elsewhere.

After packing up my clean clothes I wandered into Las Tortas Locas (huh, no website?) where I had a burrito al pastor, and an order of chips and queso.

I was home by 9:30pm, early enough to pass out on the couch thus ruining any chance of sleeping through the night.

Traffic was pretty good as I drove into work at 5:30am this morning.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Find out where to recycle outdated or unused electronics in your community.

Old cell phones, printers, and computers that end up in landfills can pollute our communities with toxic materials, making oceans and streams less safe for drinking, swimming, and supporting wildlife. To keep electronics out of the trash, many cities and towns have recycling centers for e-waste. Others schedule drop-off days throughout the year. Bonus: recycling e-waste can help you clear clutter from your desk or closets.

In the City of Atlanta there is a website called Keep Atlanta Beautiful (assuming you believe that it’s beautiful currently, which I do not) for this information.

Speaking of this I will have a small haul for them next month when this event is hosted.

Harry’s Not In A Hurry
Last night I became a Harry’s customer. I hemmed and hawed all day about using the service which I dutifully recommended yesterday, and then when I heard that I could save $5 on my first order using the offer code “quit” (it’s the name of a podcast on 5by5) I was compelled to buy.

My first order consists of a $20 kit called “The Truman Kit SS14” and an order of blade refills. I chose the free 5-10 business day ground shipping since I am in no immediate need of shaving paraphernalia.

The $150 Gamble
My fixed-rate natural gas plan renewal is imminent. In the next few weeks I must decide how long I want to lock in my gas rate, with a whopping $150 “exit fee” if I leave Scana Energy before the duration of the plan I have chosen expires.

Currently Scana Energy offers three lock-in period lengths — 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months. Realistically, even if I were to put my house on the market today I wouldn’t be able to sell and move in the next six months, so that plan is right out; this leaves the twelve and eighteen month plans. While I could see being out of the house by next April it’s unlikely given the speed at which I am repairing (or more accurately not repairing) the things that need be fixed in order to list the house. Truthfully, I’m not sure I want to think of being in the house a year and a half from now (I need to live more as I’m getting no younger, you know.) so perhaps the twelve-month plan selects itself. I suppose that if I am not out in the house by next April I could always choose the six-month plan then, assuming that I am not in the exact position in which I find myself today.

Decisions.
Decisions.

Thinking Of Getting Away
It hasn’t been a month since my Austin trip and I am due to head to Black Mountain, North Carolina in a few weeks, but I am having serious wanderlust issues at the moment. The website that I will be featuring as the Website of the Day hasn’t helped matters either.

Today’s Personal Project
Getting a haircut tonight, may wander into George’s to see who is there.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – ambivalent
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Because of the needs of my job I have been looking into stock photography and illustrations. Recently I discovered Pond5.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – Arg, I keep failing to jump on the scale

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 3 (3 cardio)

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

April Goals
– have European trip plans in place, if not carved in stone
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber to fix all of the sinks at the ITP Estate
– walk no fewer than 75 miles

2014 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
– 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
– Sell the ITP Estate (tentative)

2014 Goals: Unmeasurable
– Continue to 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)

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2014

  1. “Johnny Carson” by Henry Bushkin
  2. “Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative” by Austin Kleon
  3. “Chaos: Making a New Science” by James Gleick
  4. “What’s So Funny?: My Hilarious Life” by Tim Conway

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

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13 Responses to Martes Is Smarta

  1. martha says:

    I was just looking at my gas bill yesterday, my bill has seemed high the past two months. I was wondering what the going rate per therm is these days.

    Why don’t you look at it this way, April is your goal to be out of the house. That really is *plenty* of time to get things sorted out. I mean we had almost a whole new house build in four months. Or you could just not do a fixed rate plan…

    Meredith (aka Mudd) is selling her condo/loft…that might be perfect for you. 🙂

  2. Barb says:

    I always do the 12 month fixed rate – even though we are never moving.
    I have GNG – I didn’t like Scana for some reason, no idea why now.

    The market is hot right now, not enough inventory – I think you should sell as is, not put a bunch of money into it & get out while the getting is good. I keep hearing stories about people getting 3 or more offers on the first day it is listed, most of the time for their selling price or higher.

    I have potato salad at my house if anyone wants some, made it to take to bike night & forgot it. Lovely atlanta traffic made it impossible to turn around & go back for it. So, I guess we will have some folks over for dinner Friday night & one of the sides will be potato salad.

  3. martha says:

    Yep, Barb is right. Unless you plan on a major/proper remodel, don’t waste your money. A new buyer is just going to rip it out and start over anyway. Stuff around here is selling as fast as it goes up. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Talk to someone in real estate…I have a great person if you need it, I think Jenka also has someone.

  4. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    I need to contact the person Jenka recommended a few weeks ago and set up a consultation. My biggest hurdle will be dealing with all of the shot that I own.

    Unrelated: I need to see if I can book my flight to Brussels using SkyMiles, and if not, commit to paying the $1600 to get there and back.

  5. Barb says:

    yep- $1600 is to going rate – you might be able to use some skymiles to knock it down a bit, but not sure how much.

  6. I have 118k SkyMiles, I hope that I can use some/all to make this venture a little more reasonably priced.

  7. Steve says:

    You can use miles IF they still have those seats available!! Don’t delay.

    I hope y’all are right about the market- sadly, I believe that is more limited to “the city” and not in the country. I have a great fear of not even being able to get what we owe on the farm. We are getting closer and closer to being ready.

    Stopped and got what I needed at the pool store last night to get built-in Igor running again. Stopped by the pharmacy to get one new script and one refill and then past the lab at the hospital to leave them a little something. The labs are already back and no infection, but the nurse chided me for not drinking enough water, which might be part of the cirrent issue… I’ll drink to that!

    No George’s tonight, especially without being able to have a beer! Ugh.

    -FP

  8. Well, if the King of George’s isn’t going to be there I am far less likely to pop in. Besides, I have a ton of chores to work on tonight…

  9. Looks as if it’s going to take all my SkyMiles (and then some) in order to book my flights — which I plan to do this evening. Brussels here I come!

  10. bob says:

    So tired! Got a phone call when I was leaving maintenance night and was on the call till 1AM. Sometimes working in IT is NOT fun.

    Let me know how you like the Harry’s razors. I am apparently stuck in the dark ages and still use a 2 blade razor, not a fan of the 5, 6, 8 blade razors. A buddy at work has even gone further back and uses a single “safety” razor. Safety razor replacements are like 5 bucks for a hundred or something crazy like that. I may give it a try but the initial cost is pricey, the safety razors start at $30.

  11. martha says:

    One if not the first times I shaved my legs was with my dad’s safety razor, no shaving cream, just soap. If you ask nicely I show you the scar. There are just some moments in a young girl’s life that she really needs the advice of an older, more experienced woman. That would have been one of those times. Let’s not forget how mad my dad was that I messed up his blade (and got blood everywhere).

  12. Barb says:

    all this razor talk, I guess I need to shave my legs tomorrow. I’ve got a Venus something that I bought at Kroger or someplace like that. Allan has a Gillette something. We are boring I guess.

  13. Steve says:

    I am “blessed” without the need to shave on a daily basis. On those occasions I have let my “beard” grow for more than a week, I still resemble a teenager.

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