Atomic Fiberglass Pork Chops

No, really.

After listing my library of self-discipline books yesterday, I went back and sampled a couple whose content I couldn't recall. Hidden there was a real gem, Atomic Habits. It turns out that the tips contained therein perfectly describe my own recent successes. It's a very simple recipe.

Pick a specific trigger, a specific, small action to take and describe it in terms of the reward you will obtain. I learn by writing. Wishing to strengthen my self-discipline, I decided to start my recent Stonewall Jacksonian effort by journaling with my morning coffee before doing anything else. It worked. I am now in the habit of doing that and it feels weird to even think about doing something else. Writing has also revealed all kinds of connections I hadn't seen before.

Yesterday, I decided to add a new habit. I'd knock off at 4 PM and then lay around, consuming moral nutrition. If 4 PM sounds a bit early, know that my day usually starts around 4:30 AM. Anyway, it worked well on the first day. Wife Kitteh and I, missing churching thanks to the Wuhan Flu, watched Bishop Robert Barron say daily Mass on YouTube.

Just as when I started the morning journaling, I was cranky and uncomfortable at first, but by the end, I was enjoying it. Subsequent days will be easier, I'm sure.

I also didn't fall back on the brewskis. Very nice.

Atomic Habits goes on to say that you can stack little habits into bigger ones, so long as the triggers and behaviors are simple and specific. For example, I could pray for five minutes after journaling. Journaling is the simple trigger and five minutes of prayer is the simple habit.

Instead, I think I'm going to let the 4 PM quitting time get settled in for a bit and then see if I can start a noontime prayer habit. If I can get those three habits going, I will remain focused on my real goal of serving God all day.

It might even cut down on my nasty snarking.

Aside: I am so grateful for those who wrote books, trying to share what they knew with the rest of us. Without them, I'd have to figure all of this out on my own. What an act of kindness it was, even from the authors whose books didn't click with me! God bless them all.

So other than learning the theory behind the habit practice, I applied the first coat of fiberglass to my center console. Fiberglass is tricky to work. It's sticky! First your hands get sticky. Then the things that stick to your hands get sticky. Then the things stuck to those. And so on until you're dragging around half the garage.

My first fiberglass thingy was always going to be crude.

I'll do a better job with the second coat today, I think.

Finally, last night, exploring the French roots of Cajun cooking, I made Julia's Sauteed Pork Chops from Jacques and Julia. They were awesome. Julia's rub is a surprising mix of spices you'd expect to see in a pumpkin pie, not on meat. Mace, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and so forth. Even wife kitteh, who dislikes anything gravyish, loved them.

Good gravy! These were delish!

Wuhan Flu Panic Antidote

Check out the treatment news here. You're unlikely to get it from the mouth-breathers on networks like NBC who are doing their best to induce panic. We watched NBC News for the first time in forever the other night and I swear I knew less when it was over.