New Years Resolutions: The Twelve Month Model (Cont.)

Well, I successfully fulfilled my January resolution of maintaining a rigorous oral hygiene regiment. That is, I would brush, floss, scrape my tongue, and use mouthwash (at least) twice a day; typically it was when I woke up and before I went to bed. Lucky for me, my dentist appointment was scheduled right after the end of the month. I received very high marks for my tooth and gum care, and it's always a nice thing not to have one's gums swollen and inflamed after visiting the dentist.

So, January Resolution: Success!

Now, onward to my February Resolution: no coffee (or caffeine of any kind). Out of nowhere I developed an addiction to coffee, specifically (Vivace or Vita) tall non-fat lattes. I couldn't help it! This is Seattle, after all. Unfortunately, this ensured that my money disappeared more quickly (than usual). I might as well have just set up my direct deposit to go directly to either of those coffeehouses. Thus, I decided to curb the addiction and the costs thereof. I must have exceptional discipline (on some things) because I've hardly had any urges to go buy/drink coffee.

February is also my "No Grindr" month. This is a relatively easy challenge, as it was hardly serving any of its intended purposes anymore. I may have to bring it back for my San Francisco trip in May. No promises. As of right now it looks like March will be my "Fiscal Responsibility" month. I'll keep a strict budget and record every financial transaction to see where all of my money goes. This will include the $0.50 I may spend at the vending machine at work.

How I've Spent My Evenings for the Last Three Weeks

Drinking lattes, writing, and reading news.

Long Wednesday -And- Lazy Thursday

Well, Tuesday night ended on a rough note for me, but I was determined to fix that early on Wednesday morning. I got up at 7:30, after getting a mere 4-5 hours of sleep. Surprisingly, I was well rested and energetic throughout the rest of the day. I went out and got a New York Times, some facial cleanser (I've had none for quite some time now), and the "remedy". After I took care of my one and only determinate course of action for the day, I returned home to shower and get dressed.

I was in the mood for eggs benedict at Broadway Grill, so I decided that I would walk over there. I checked my phone for friends that might be able to share breakfast with me, but alas, they were all working or far from my location. I did call my friend Mike, being that he lives a few blocks from Broadway Grill, but he was en route to Burien to take his dad to the airport.

So I headed over to BG, but they were not yet open. It was 10:34am by my watch, and they, I had just come to find out, opened at 11am. So I decided to switch my plans around a bit. I walked over to the new Vivace location at the end of Broadway, get a coffee, and read my New York Times. I'm trying to be more proactive about keeping up with what's going on in the world, hence why I devoted much of my day to reading the paper. So, I got a 12oz nonfat cappuccino, sat and read for about 45 minutes, then went back to BG. It was just me and an elderly couple in the entire restaurant. I guess it was Wednesday morning afterall. I ordered my eggs benedict and a glass of orange juice. The meal was delicious, but I ended up paying $21.00 (including tip) at the end of it all. BG, your prices disappoint me.

Then I decided that I wanted to go visit a former colleague, Michael Coy, at the Ravenna Third Place Books location on 65th and 20th. I walked down to the bus tunnel off of Pine Street, all the while having a phone conversation with my sister, Kristin. I took the bus over to 65th and 15th, and walked the five blocks east to the bookstore. I caught Michael as he was walking out the door. We talked for a few moments; I told him I quit Pagliacci, and he (essentially) congratulated me for finally doing so. He went his way, and I decided to just hang out for a little bit longer. I finally decided to purchase "American Lion" by Jon Meacham. I've read about 50 pages or so thus far, and it is quite good.

Whence leaving the bookstore, I walked over to Greenlake, near my friend Jessica's apartment, and stopped in at Revolutions (Coffee). The cappuccino I ordered there was not great by most standards, but I wasn't in a caring mood at that point. It is a very relaxing and quiet place to just sit and read and get caffeinated. I enjoyed the artwork on the walls as well. Here is a piece that I really would like to have, but I don't have a spare $1,800.

Then my friend Mike, from earlier in the day, contacted me to see if I would like to get dinner (specifically a burrito and a beer) and then work on fixing my iBook. I went out and caught the next bus, but not before noticing the new parking meters at (or near) Greenlake, such as the one pictured below:

Kind of trendy, eh? Anyways, I got downtown soon enough, then walked home to use the bathroom (I had been holding it in for a while, and the cold weather was not helping). I met up with Mike at the Cha Cha lounge on Pike Street. We had a burrito and beer, as promised. (Although, he had a quesadilla, but...semantics). Then he unfortunately had something come up and had to take off after our meal. We parted ways for the evening, and I phoned a friend of mine, El, who then met up with me, and we hung out for a while, before I went home and fell fast asleep.

Thursday was uneventful. I slept in until around 2pm, and then read a little, and then slept some more. It was not a good use of my time (in the morning/afternoon).