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I start November with very heavy lifting sessions on Wednesday and Friday after work. After each session I feel my muscles getting sore and I have fantastic sleep for those nights. The cycle of heavy lifting stress followed by deep sleep is just what I need now as we face difficult problems at work and head towards a Preliminary Design Audit (PDA) for my current satellite program.
On Saturday I'm out walking before 5:53 am becasue there is supposed to be a satellite launch from Vandenberg Air Force base which might be seeable from Long Beach at that time. Except that we have some moderate morning fog, so there is no possibility to see the launch (if it went on time). After the walk I relax a bit and then head off to a neighborhood alley clean-up. This only takes two hours but is a good effort at improving the look of the nrighborhood. Another short relaxation period is followed by the aquarium ride. I crank along nicely against the wind towards the aquarium and then continue a good pace towards home. A quick shower, the laudnry, and some grocery shopping gets me to 2:30 in the afternoon. It's already been a productive day and it's only mid-afternoon. But I'm tired.
Person C_T comes over and after phone calls with Person T_U, Joe, and Ruby, a number of us head to a club in Long Beach. Ruby ends up not making it as she has plenty of work to do on Sunday and cannot stay late. The music is not very good - a combination of hip hop, top 40, and older music. Later in the evening the music is a bit better, but not much. There are a few acquaintances as well as a few people staring at me, but I ignore them and spend the entire time with Person C_T and Person T_U. We are arriving at home just before 2 am on Sunday.
SUnday starts with the aquarium bicycle ride. On the leg towards home I pass an inline speedskater and he drafts me for a while as we have a bit of a conversation about cycling and skating. Until he has to drop off my pace. After a shower Person C_T and I have a serious discussion about our future before Person C_T heads off for yoga. After yoga we relax for a while before Person C_T heads for home.
Later in the evening I field phone calls from Person T_U, Joe, and Dao. I had not heard from Dao for 2.5 years, so we have a nice little discussion. Somehow we swing around to the topic of the crazy gunman going wild in the Amish community in Pennsylvania from last month. And we both talk about our admiration and respect for the dignity and forgiveness that the Amish community demonstrated during that horrific time. The end of the weekend comes right near 9 pm on Sunday night as I head to bed to read.
I'm up early on Monday morning to go walking before work. It's going to be a bright and sunny day today! But not at work. I'm called into a vice president's office and have to explain a few things to him. And there are actions that I need to get done shortly. Nonetheless I leave at a reasonable hour and get in a great session with the weights as I've dropped the weight just a bit and tried to add repetitions to each set. Afterwards I do some more ResourceScout programming, watch the taped "Desperate Housewives", and alternate between watching football and listening to music. And head off to bed right near 9 pm.
On Monday night I realize that I've had three phone calls from exes just out of the blue. And each one uses words similar to "...it's good to hear your voice". What does this mean?
Tuesday sees me up early for a run/walk before voting and heading off to work. After work I work on abdominals and lower back strengthening before settling in to watch the election returns.
On Wednesday I just drill my body with heavy weights as the weights themselves start going up and I've increased the number of repetitions per set. I am aching after the workout and know that I'll be sore the next day. Later Person C_T calls and we have a serious version of "The Talk". Both of us are in tears as we finish the call about 90 minutes after starting. Because I've pounded the heavy weights, I sleep very well until about 3 am and wake up. But I do fall back asleep shortly even if Person C_T is on my mind.
On Thursday I go for an hour run/walk before work because I know that there will be no time after work for exercise. The Thursday ResourceScout meeting is held and we send off another solicitation letter. And we look at another Internet-based model for adoption's workers. There is another phone call with Person C_T late on Thursday, but we are both tired so it doesn't last long.
I get to work on Friday before 6:30 am. I am not very productive on this day. I leave work a bit early (because I already have enough hours in for the week) and lift heavier again. I don't quite get a couple of lifts because the pain in the left bicep prevents it. But it's a great workout! Afterwards I mow the backyard very short, fertilize, and water very heavily. There are some people who believe that the fall feeding of the lawn is the most important one - I'm in that camp. After a quick shower I get to the grocery store, pay some bills, and split time between updating websites and reading.
Saturday morning is cold and foggy, so I bypass the early morning bicycle ride for the laundry. After the weather clears I start out on the loop ride. I get about a quarter of the way through and I hear a large pop from the bicycle - and there goes another spoke. Though the rear end is wobbly, I continue on for an abbreviated ride and get home to check out the damage. And I just leave the bicycle outside because I'm going to clean it up and get ready to get rid of it. The bicycle is approaching 21 years old and has served me well. But it's time for a new bicycle. After a shower and some food I clean the bicycle, wax it, and even pull out some fine grade steel wool to try to polish out some rust spots. By the time that I am finished the bicycle looks brand new and I start having second thoughts about getting rid of this one in favor of a new one.
I get down for an hour nap in the middle afternoon and when I get up I look through my records. I realize that I haven't had any time off from lifting for quite a few months. No wonder a few bodyparts (especially my left bicep) are starting to hurt. I vow to take Thanksgiving week completely off from lifting to refresh and re-energize. With that I get out for an hour walk.
After a number of phone calls I'm headed up to West Hollywood to meet up with Person T_U and Joe. Over the course of the evening I run into many, many acquaitances that keep me occupied. Present are Person W_V, Dao, Person M_P, Person H_V, Person E_T, and a few others. Sabrina, the HVAC, is present tonight and she spends a fair amount of time with Person T_U and me as we enjoy ourselvs throughout the evening. Just after 2am on Sunday Person T_U and I are standing outside the club talking - watching as all of the people leave the other clubs and come to this one for the afterhours until 4am. Finally I decide to go home. But as I'm driving away I see Person E_Ice and so I stop and talk with him and a couple of other ice hockey teammates with Person E_Ice. They try to get me to play again, but I tell them that I might come out for some practice sessions for fun, but I don't think I want to play competitively again. With that I leave and race home - finally getting down for sleep near 3:20 am on Sunday morning.
Sunday morning is cold, so I practice my PDA Update presentation again before getting out for cycling in the warming sun. Since I have not given any formal presentations for quite a while, I've been practicing this one for Tuesday to get back my presentation skills. When I get out of the house I notice that someone has fingered in "Clean me" on the dirt of the car's hood. Yes, the car is dirty right now. The bicycle ride is a good one - it feels like I've been shot out of a canon. After a quick shower I take the two old road bicycle wheels to the bicycle shop and agree to have two brand new Mavic wheels made by Saturday. And this takes me down about $350.
On Sunday just after 4 pm I am meeting with Person E_T at a coffeehouse on the Sunset Strip. We have a nice long conversation about a lot of things. After cofee (or really apple juice and tea) we walk along the Sunset Strip back to where I've parked so that we can drive to a restaurant for dinner. It's a nice Japanese restaurant and I don't even realize that I've been to this restaurant until the conclusion of dinner when I use the bathroom - realizing that I've been in this bathroom before. Person E_T is nice and now I've made a new friend that I can hang out with when he comes to town or I go visit his town. Person E_T and his boyfriend plan on visiting Los Angeles as soon as Christmas.
I'm glad that Person E_T and I did not stay out late since I'm dozing off on the drive home and find myself having to force my eyes open to stay on the road. By the time that I am home I realize that I have not spoken with Person C_T since Thursday. It was a struggle all day on Saturday and during parts of Sunday not to call. I found myself wanting to call and say, "Let's try again". But I do not. I do not want to subject Person C_T nor myself to that emotional rollercoaster. Thus I follow the advice, "Don't touch the f*&$&^@ phone. Don't say a f*$^@ word."
On Monday I stay in bed a bit longer than usual and do not go walking/running before work. But I have a nice but cold ride to work on the motorcycle. The weather has just turned cold and I find my eyes tearing up on the ride in (as they sometimes do during the colder months) and I cannot see a thing through the tears. But at least I don't hit anything on this ride in.
Monday is a productive day. But at home it is not. I get in a reasonable session with the weights but I can tell that I need time off. This workout was a struggle and the left bicep (and/or connecting tissue) hurts so much that I cannot complete the bicep exercises. This might be the last workout for a week or so even though I was planning on taking next week off from lifting.