On Monday I sleep in late and don't do the planned bicycle commute to work. Instead I jump on the mountain bicycle after work and crank away. As I'm heading East on Del Amo towards the San Gabriel river trail I look down at the street and see the shadow of a cyclist behind me. The cyclist has wide shoulders, big arms, huge thighs (like the thighs of an Olympic speedskater), and a waist a bit bigger than it should be. When I look over my shoulder there is no cyclist there. And I realize that it is my own shadow. And I start to wonder, "Are my shoulders really that wide?" and "Are my thighs that muscular?" Well, it's a good ride as I put in surges (rather than shorter intervals) and I end up very very tired.
On Tuesday morning I'm taking a shower and I hear fire engines roaring down a nearby street and stopping close by. But I don't smell smoke so I don't worry about it. As I'm pulling the motorcycle out of the garage to go to work, a neighbor across the street is out in her front yard, on the telephone, and motioning for me to come out to the street and look down the street. But I go get my helmet and lock the door to go to work. When I roll the motorcycle down the driveway to the street I see a large crowd gathered around as the house 6 doors down from me is on fire. Actually it looks like the fire is out by now because the smoke coming out of the house is white. But I stay and watch for a few minutes before I head off to work.
On Wednesday I have a late work meeting so I run 5.5 miles before work. After work I head down to approve business cards for printing and then I hang out at a coffeehouse for a couple hours. I get some reading done and just space out. A song from The Kills comes over the stereo system, but it isn't my favorite song on the latest CD. But it does get me in the mood to overthrow governments, overturn police cars, and throw large trash receptacles through the windows of corporate offices. I take notice that other than a couple and myself, everyone else seems to know each other tonight. And everyone else is very young. There is a group of...um...adults who appear to be no more than 15 hanging out. But they are talking about going to a club so they must be at least 18. Everyone, including the guys, are putting makeup on. I'm enjoying watching this episode. One of the kids...er...guys keeps looking over at me, but I just stick to my reading. He's probably thinking, "Why is grandpa out so late reading the newspaper and Scientific American?" I'm in bed by 11 pm.
Person C_T comes over on Friday and we greet each other as one would expect after not having seen each other for a couple weeks now. Afterwards I get out for a 5 mile run, grab a shower, and grab Person C_T to go find dinner. We end up on 2nd Street in Long Beach and have dinner at a palce that I've been to before (and prefer not to go to because it has bad memories). But dinner is nice and we get out for a brief walk near the pier afterwards until the cold wind pushes us home for warmth.
On Saturday I'm lazy and stay in bed late. When I finally get up I watch qualifying for the French Grand Prix and then wax the motorcycle. Person C_T and I go shopping and end up buying shelves for the garage as well as other things. Thus, after lifting weights I start moving things around in the garage to gain access to the wall where the shelves will fit. After a quick shower Person C_T and I have a nice dinner of vegetable soup that Person C_T has prepared. As always, the food that Person C_T has prepared is delicious and is prepared with minimal bad stuff (fat, oil, and salt). After dinner we try to decide what to do and finally go rent a French DVD with English subtitles about lifetime friends and growing old. It's a pretty good movie and better than some of the recent movie and DVD choices that either or both of us have made.
On Sunday I watch the French Grand Prix and mill about the garage with the shelves. Person C_T comes out and pretty soon we are drilling holes and screwing bolts into studs and soon thereafter the shelves are hung. Person C_T organizes everything that goes on the shelves and now the garage looks a lot bigger. I get out for the aquarium ride as Person C_T works on his syllabus. AFterwards we head down to the beach where Person C_T sunbathes and walks around as I go inline skating. After we stop off and have dinner, Person C_T gathers his things and leaves for the weekend. I am very very tired, so I take some Kava root extract and fall asleep by 8:30 pm.
It's been two years since my last physical and I should make an appointment for another one. I've been especially tired lately as witnessed by extra sleep and being a bit lazy. Um...and maybe some blood in places that it shouldn't be even though I haven't had the extra tough workouts. Hmmm.
On Monday I get out for the aquarium ride, do the laundry, and go grocery shopping. After having bread and cheese for breakfast, I hop on the bicycle for a casual ride to a nearby park for a 4th of July parade and festival. I hang out with Person T_U (who's invited me to the event) for a while and just enjoy seeing all of the red, white, and blue outfits, the kids screaming and laughing, and the fun activities. By the time that I get home I am dragging, so I pop open a RedBull and 7-Up and later have some diet Coke for the caffeine to keep me going. I water the roses, spray debug spray on the roses, read the newspaper, watch 5 minutes (or less) of Jerry Springer (that happens to be on as I flip through the channels), and watch the news. With the three day weekend winding down I get in a great session with the weights.