On Monday I take the motorcycle in for new tires and a tuneup after work. There's a conversation going on between a number of riders about how fast they've ridden. They finally turn to me and ask what kind of bike I ride. I respond in a matter-of-fact monotone, "Just an R1".
Everyone looks at me and three of the group simultaneously echo back, "Just an R1" as if I've denigrated one of the fastest production motorcycles on the planet even though they wish that they had one. The talk continues on and they start asking me about the front end of the R1 because they've heard about wheel shimmy when you set the front end back down at 80-90 mph.
"Oh it has a front end wheel shimmy when you're leaned over in a corner that's greater than 110 mph. But it's disconcerting, not dangerous." The group just stare at me and shut up. At least now I am able to talk with the service manager and get my tire and tuneup order written.
I take two buses to get home from Bellflower. I note that the mta.net website says that it takes 66 minutes to go 6 miles. Hmmm. But I get in a good session with the weights when I get home to end the day.
Tuesday is a good day with a bicycle commute, productive work at Norhtrop Grumman, and a good ResourceScout meeting.
Thursday is another bicycle commute day. Except that on the ride home I make it halfway and have a flat tire. I quickly find the metal shard that punctured the tire and tube and go ahead and replace the inner tube with a new one. And then I try using the compressed carbon dioxide pump (that the neighbor kid convinced me to buy). Except that it works like crap and the carbon dioxide cannisters (I use two of them) don't even come close to getting the tire to a reasonable pressure. So now I start walking around the area asking if anyone knows where a bicycle shop is or a large store where I can buy a real pump. But nobody knows where one is. So I call Mom and Dad and seeing that they owe me a favor and they live close to me, Mom and Scott come nad pick me and the bicycle up in thier van. At least we get a chance to visit on the drive home and I am able to volunteer them a ride to John Wayne airport next Thursday to repay the big favor that they have done me today. I make a note that I'll buy a real pump tomorrow and I'll have another contingency plan - check out mta.net to see buses that could get me close to home if I need to.
On Friday I get up and lift weights as heavy as ever. It is a struggle today. Maybe because I'm a bit tired from before or maybe because I don't usually lift in the mornings. Afterwards I do the laundry and a few other things around the house as I wait for the shutter guy. The shutter guy comes at 1:15 - like he promised - and he explains the shutters to me and gives me a quote for more than I expected. I'll have to get back to him. Afterwards I go to Kinko's to get business cards made and then I spend a couple hours mowing, edging, trimming, and fertilizing the lawn. A quick shower, dinner, and a long conversation with my 91 year old Aunt wind this productive and stress-free day down. But I am so tired by the end of the day that I don't even make the bed after doing laundry and, instead, just wrap enough of the sheets around me to stay warm.
Before nodding off to sleep on Friday night I'm laying on and in a jumble of sheets and I'm thinking of interior and exterior design advice that I've received from anybody and everybody over the last two years. And to most of the advice, such as people telling me which colors would go together or what type of couch would work or about shield-backed Hepplewhite chairs, I verbally say aloud now, "I just don't see it". And I start laughing. And then I start laughing almost hysterically as I repeat, "I just don't see it". But pretty soon the laughter turns to feelings of inadequacy and I'm on the verge of tears as I repeat, "I just don't see it". And I say to myself, "I can compute H-infinity controllers to determine robust performance, I can write genetically evolving algorithms to perform optimal system design, and I can design neural networks to match patterns, but I can't match colors. I just don't see it". Am I pathetic or what?
On Saturday morning I'm lazy and don't get out for a morning bicycle ride. Instead I do errands around the house and in the yard. Just after 11 am I get out for the loop bicycle ride. It is uneventfull except as I'm returning home they have Del Amo shutdown from traffic for a mile stretch. I ignore the closure and proceed along only to find a nasty accident with a red car upside down on its roof. But the ride is good and I have a very good time for the (almost) 30 miles.
Joe comes over near 8:30 pm to work on the Word forms that he never got back to last time. When we finish we head up towards a club in West Hollywood. Person J_VKPI and has his car at his second job so he'll meet us at the club. Tonight there are very few people present as everyone appears to have taken the weekend off from clubbing. Joe and I hang out and mingle until 12:35 am and we decide to leave. There has been no sign of Person J_VKPI again (as was true from a few weeks ago). So I'm dropping off to sleep at 1:30 am on Sunday morning.
Sunday is a lazy day, though I get out walking, read the newspaper, inline skate for about an hour, and watch the MotoGP race from the Netherlands. (In two weeks the MotoGP race will be in Laguna Seca and I'll be there!) I do remember that there is a street festival on Atlantic avenue in my neighborhood today, so I hop on the bicycle and ride over to it. I cruise around the festival on bicycle a couple of times - going very slowly as everyone else is walking and standing around. There isn't much of interest so I'm back home about an hour after I left for this little adventure. I'm surprised that I don't run into any neighbors, friends, or acquaintances this time. Later in the afternoon I lift weights and clean up a few rooms in the house. And head for sleep early.