On Tuesday I'm supposed to meet up with Person A_G after work, but it doesn't happen. Instead I get in a great sesion ith the weights as I'm recovering from the pyramid workouts and starting to approach the "heaviest ever" level again. This is on top of me not feeling great right now with a slight cough and a slight fever. Late on Tuesday night I'm flipping through the television channels and see an interesting program on Deep Purple. It's kinda interesting to re-live the metal years. And then, I can't f______ believe this, on comes "Rock and Roll High School". Every single person can look back on their lives and pinpoint the turning points in their lives which dictate subsequent events. For me, it was seeing "Rock and Roll High School" for the first time and being exposed to The Ramones. I watch a few minutes of the movie and get the tingles up my spine of a life-changing event.
The week is dominated by multibody dynamic system simulation training at work and some great sessions with the weights after work. Though the weights are going up again there is very little joint pain.
On Friday night I head for clubs in West Hollywood to play. I wander around to two clubs before meeting Person T_U after midnight at the herd/clone club. I enjoy myself listening to the music and running into a few acquaintances. Person D_X and I continue to flirt from afar - both of us probably realizing that the time is not right for more. We'll both know when it is. After the club closes I don't want to go home (again) so I hang out with Person T_U on the sidewalk until 2:30 am on Saturday morning when we both decide to head for home. When I'm approaching my car in the parking structure I note that a guy (I think) is leaning over one of the railings and throwing up - assisted by his friend. I read in bed for a few minutes before turning out the lights at 3:27 am.
I'm awake a bit after 6:30 am and out the door for the aquarium bicycle ride just after 7 am. I just spin along and enjoy the cool weather and the cleansing effect of the ride. After watching Spanish world champion Fernando Alonso get beaten to the pole at the Spanish Grand Prix by 0.030 seconds, I do the laundry and do some grocery shopping. Sunday's race in Barcelone, by the way, is sold out with 140,000 spectators expected to cheer their national hero on. I get in a mid afternoon nap and then deal with phone calls from Person C_T (who ran out of gasoline on the freeway), Joe (Who's visiting sisters in Northern California), Person J_VKPI (looking for places to go play in Chicago), and Person T_U (deciding whether to go ut or not). I manage to geocode 180 foster family agencies and grab their GPS coordinates for a ResourceScout program. Otherwise it is a fairly lazy day.
Thus a bit after 8 pm I'm pumping iron again and then taking a shower to head for another club and more fun. There are quite a few acquaintances present and the music is very good tonight. Even Person J_VKPI's friend, Tommy, who is also a DJ, admits that the music is good tonight. About a half hour before 2 am Sabrina, the HVAC, comes into the club and we have a brief chat. Sabrina looks good and it is good to see her after a few months of absence. I hang around through the first half hour of after-hours and enjoy myself. I avoid an offer or two by ignoring attention from others. On the way home both the southbound 110 and the southbound 710 are closed. Thus I have to take the 5 southbound way out to the 605 and come back west on the 91 to get home. Every few minutes during the drive home I'll open or close a window to change the car's temperature to help me stay awake and alert for the drive home. There's no reading tonight but it still isn't until 3:35 am on Sunday that the lights go out for sleep.
On Sunday I watch the Spanish Grand Prix (along with 140,000 live spectators in Spain) but I'm disappointed that the national hero can only finish third (after a wheel banging incident in the very first corner). I get out for the aquarium ride and I feel stronger than I should for two consecutive nights of only three hours of sleep. In the afternoon I get out to a nursery and buy some carnations. Thus I get to play with a shovel, an ax (or really a maul), and get my hands dirty as I attempt to grow my favorite flower.
On Monday I head for very heavy weights and on Tuesday I only work on abdominals
and lower back (and get in a 30 minute walk). Our customer is in town on these days and is
giving us a good grilling over performance. On Tuesday night I start feeling overwhelmed by the
troubles that my friends have. Namely
Person D_SF's cancer surgery and impending chemotherapy and/or radiation
Ruby's relationship difficulties and house difficulties
Person C_T's sinking into a mini-depression
Person J_VKPI's stint in the Navy and whether he will be sent towards Iraq
Person T*'s new house and whether she can afford it or not
I try to find upbeat music to take my mind off my friend's troubles.
On Wednesday I just drill all of the muscle groups. And I'm starting to feel soreness a few hours later. But I put together the things that I need to cycle to work on Thursday's National Bike to Work Day.
The bicycle commute goes well even if I don't run into a vice president in the parking lot like I did last time. Our customer is present again today and they give us a thumbs up for the work and the plan forward. Ruby has called and cancelled the ResourceScout meeting but fills us in on how well her meeting went. Are we getting close to a contract? I enjoy relaxing tonight headed into the three day weekend.
Friday starts a bit slow as I update finances and have breakfast of vegetables, salsa, crackers, cheese, and diet Coke. I take a bit over an hour to mow, edge, and trim the lawn before heading out for the aquarium bicycle ride. There are not many riders out this morning but I enjoy the overcast and cool weather. I relax for a bit and catch up on the news before visitng the acupuncturist. I have a great session with the acupuncturist and do the grocery shopping and laundry afterwards. Throughout the day I handle or miss phone calls with Person T*, Person M_Fl, Person J_T, Person J_V, Person C_T, and Person T_U. Just after 8 pm I have a good session with the weights. I was supposed to increase the weights a shade and make it the absolute heaviest ever, but after all of the activities on Thursday and Friday, it isn't going to happen. But I equal the heaviest weight ever and that will have to do for now.
Just after 9 pm I'm headed for West Hollywood. I get the wristband from the herd/clone club. As I walk in I'm accosted by an unknown gentlemen who seems to know me. He asks about Person N_V and I still don't know who this is. After he whispers to me, "I'm embarassed that I've forgotten your name. I never forget a face, but I've forgotten your name.", I don't feel so bad except that I don't even remember his face. We have a brief chat and I introduce myself to Person X_X, hereafter referred to as Person D_X. Person D_X is a designer - what is it that leads so many designers to be around now (Person C_T, Person A_G, and now Person D_X)? I head to another club for an hour or so. I head back to the herd/clone club before midnight and run into Person C_T, Person L_M, and Person T_U. We hang out for the remainder of the evening until closing time. Person D_X and I manage to flirt from afar again but we both seem to know that now is not the right time. I again don't want to go home so I hang out on the sidewalk with a good crowd until 2:30 am. Tonight there is very little traffic and no construction, so I make it home quickly.
On Saturday I'm up before the alarm goes off at 6:30 am. I do errands around the house including cleaning up the roses. When I'm ready to jump on the mountain bicycle for a ride I note a substantial bare spot in the rear tire. Thus I put the bicycle away, change clothes, and head to the bicycle store for a new tire and automotive stores for claybars. In the time that it takes for chocolate chip cookies to bake in the oven, I've removed the old tire and tube, replaced the new tire, and pumped up the tire for inspection. Thus I'll be ready for an afternoon ride. The new tire feels good during the ride and my legs feel okay also (even though it is my fourth ride in three days). After the ride I trim a bush on the side of the house, run more errands, and then relax. And stay at home during the evening.
I get up late on Sunday because I'm tired - I shut the alarm off before going to sleep to let my body tell me when it wants to get up. I work on roses and carnations and paperwork before getting out for a reasonable bicycle ride. The French MotoGP race starts slightly damp and turns into a full wet race. The riders coming in about third distance to change bikes and continue on. It's a fun race! Leter I join Person T_U at a festival in downtown Long Beach. I run into quite a few acquaintances and friends and former ice hockey teammates. It's a relatively fun but uneventfull time. I give my phone number to a new Person X_X after I've asked if he skates, "Let's go skating by the ocean sometime". The evening passes by with some reading and a phone call to Compton to find that I am not required to report for jury duty on Monday morning.
Monday has bursts of productivity followed by inert time. I'm pretty tired throughout the day and my left ankle hurts and is swollen. How did that happen? Thus I leave work a bit early, do some grocery shopping, and get in a killer workout with the weights - a bit less weight than maximum but extra repetitions. I watch the recorded "Desperate Housewives" and it gives me a lot to think about when they talk about people who are sick but have no family to help them out. Another phone call to Compton provides another "no report" day for Tuesday.