Happy Birthday to me!

It's been 3 years, today!

Winter's Solstice

Goal Tracking

The Daily Clyde

The Daily Clyde

Becoming a 'Snappy Dresser'

Trying to not look like a bum
Originally uploaded by The Put-Man.

We all know ‘the clothes make the man’ is an outdated and untrue saying.

Or is it?

I won’t debate the true nature of my inner character, but for now we’ll work on the premise that having a snappy, clean-cut appearance is a ‘good thing’, the condition of soul notwithstanding. After all, in this modern economy we all need to strike a delicate balance between looking like a bum wandered into the office, or looking like we dressed up for an outside interview.

So, my goal is to look professional yet casual, nice but not stuffy, and stylish without being trendy.

For this ‘look’ of mine, I’m returning to my prep-school roots. Back in 1981, the look that could get you into the country-club, out of detention (or in-demand at the school dance), was penny loafers with khakis, a button-down dress shirt, a thin vintage tie and a navy-blue blazer.

So, that needed a slight update.

The foundation of my wardrobe (and honestly, I never thought I’d write THAT phrase) are my dress shirts. Having recently lost a lot of weight, I had to significantly thin-out my closet, and determine which items actually fit properly. I ended up with about eight nice long-sleeved button-down shirts. That was enough for a two-week rotation, and I made the commitment that these would all get laundered & pressed professionally, each week. My absolute favorite is the French-blue oxford-cloth, but the two Land’s End white pinpoint button-downs are very nice, too. Mondays are Blue, Fridays are white, and mid-week tends to be a mix of checks & stripes.

Done deal, good-to-go.

A couple of sets of new, correctly fitting khakis were next. I got machine washable, permanent press.

Done.

Shoes were acquired at Nordstrom’s. I needed to update my classic penny loafer, yet I didn’t want a big-buckle pilgrim shoe, nor some long-nose-pointy Kenneth Cole monstrosity. I didn’t want to be so formal as a highly polished cap-toe, nor so casual as a suede slip-on. I settled on a brand called Ecco, which were stylish, but not shouting about it. Simple lace-ups, in brown & black.

Done, and done.

Tomorrow, we talk about Men’s Accessories…

Far Parking

Far Parking
Originally uploaded by The Put-Man.

This is working well!

Helped by my previous habit of ‘almost-far-parking’ at our old building, I parked across the street, but could never bring myself to park at the FAR side of that lot.

This lot is further than that…but I like it, and it’s going well.

The Damn Stairs

These stairs are surprisingly steep, like Battleship-ladderwell-sort-of-steep, and the treads are VERY narrow. Going downwards, my toes hang over each tread, and I fear losing my step, pitching forward, and crashing down into the metal edges of the steps 50 feet below me.

Requiring Band-Aids & an Emergency Broken Tooth Kit.

I feel like I should keep that Broken-Tooth-Kit with me, so that when the inevitable happens, my Dentist will have a fighting chance at reattaching my broken mandibles. In the meantime, I've adopted a downward stair-stepping-stance of my own invention which I call 'sumo-duck-walk'.

Have yourself a quiet moment, and picture THAT...

...but where do we go from here?

Taking this as the pre-concept:

 

http://artofmanliness.com/2009/12/07/forging-habits-of-steel-7-tips-on-making-and-breaking-habits/

 

So…it takes 60 days to make a new habit stick?  That's about two months, and that immediately means to me that I can ("should" being another question) set a goal for 2011 of six new habits.  What would those habits be?  I will track these 'Seinfeld style', and my theme shall be 'Healthy Body / Healthy Mind'.  These are a bit tougher than previous year's goals, though, as these should be DAILY habits…not items done just once a week, or twice a month.

 

1.       Far-Parking & Stairs – as of Day #1 in The New Office, I'd like to take that brilliant opportunity to set a new, and very difficult habit.  First is finding & using the furthest parking spot from the front door, secondarily, always using the stairs.  Up AND down!

2.       Early to bed, Early to rise – 9pm to 5am - a good wintertime habit, I'd like to find an hour of productive 'personal-time' in the morning before work.

3.       Six new books – it's too easy for me to pick up a book off my own bookshelf & spend a week or two 'visiting with old friends', so I'd like to embrace my newly-found Public Library, become active in the book club, and read 6 new books in 2011 that I ordinarily wouldn't.  I will read for 30 minutes each night before bed, and for an hour of Sunday 'relaxation-time'.

4.       Fiscal Fitness – I will contain, manage, and build my fiscal well-being.  I will set & do daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly financial goals & reviews.

5.       Snappy Dresser – I will dress nicely, every day.  Yes, I know it sounds silly, but I believe it adds a good bit of self confidence for me.  Yes, even weekends!  Improving sartorial standards!

6.       Puppy-Walks – good for him, good for me.  A minimum of the half-mile round-the-block, I'd prefer to do the longer-loop of 1.5 miles.  Not sure how to designate this as a 'daily-check-box'…

7.       Daily Atkins – follow the points, eliminate the caffeine, drink the water…

8.       Writing – daily/weekly/monthly postings on all this progress (or lack thereof) & the evolution of the project over the next year – this could be less of a 'goal' and just how I make it all 'accountable' by publishing it on a blog or some-such.

 

I'm thinking that these don't lend themselves easily to staggered starts throughout the year.  They are each things I'd like to do very consistently on a daily basis until they become part of my subconscious routine.  

How do I build-in quarterly benchmarks, or goals?  The Books & Fiscal goals easily lend themselves into 'measurable goals' over time, but what about the others?  Perhaps I should think about how each one could lead towards something?

A good day, indeed

This was Friday, December 3rd, 2010.

Let's not pay too much attention to the disparity between the speedometer & the signpost...

An early winter

> A few days ago I drove my Fiat to work, and That was quite notable in that I'd never gotten an 'official' December Fiat-drive! Of course, The Gods of Fate & Destiny immediately intervened, and we got snow.
>
> THAT NIGHT!
>
> (grumble)
>
> The Fiat now rests comfortably for the winter, even if it's not yet fully 'stored'. Clyde is already whining about his cold paws, I had to dig out the scarf & gloves, and it all seems a month early & unfair, somehow.
>
> But it also seems nice, like maybe we can get a jumpstart on this thing, and maybe (if we're lucky?), get it over with sooner?
>
> No, you're right, maybe not. But maybe we can enjoy it along the way?
>
> Yes. Definitly!
>