I start Wednesday with the laundry and some food. Afterwards I head out for the aquarium bicycle ride and find my legs and lungs strong - maybe the altitude training in Boulder and the running has helped. Afterwards I edge and mow the lawn, water the plants that are thirsting for water during these hot days, and rebuild a small section of a fence that is falling down. Now I'm tired! In the afternoon I get some reading done and start to feel worse and worse as the day goes by. I manage to get out and rinse down the patio and driveway, but that is allthat I am capable of. Sensing urgency, I take my temperature and note a 2 degree fever. Is it the heat or am I sick?
In the afternoon I have a long conversation with Person T_U. We catch up on things going on since I left. He tells me about a guy that he got a phone number from on Saturday but their were only 9 digits (instead of 10). As Person T_U describes him the wheels start turning and I tell Person T_U that it sounds like my acquaintance Person C_V. Later in the day I call Person C_V. He is surprised to hear from me but it turns out that it IS Person C_V. I get mad at Person C_V for not letting me know ahead of time that he would be in Los Angeles, but then I let him off the hook by telling him that I was away in Boulder anyway.
On Thursday morning I have a 2 degree fever. I run some morning errands including stopping at the ATM, cashing in $12 worth of winning lottery tickets, getting gasoline for the World Rally Car, and getting the World Rally Car washed. When I get home I jump on the bicycle for a ride and I feel strong. I have to keep reminding myself that I am a bit sick and should slow down a bit. After a shower I visit the acupuncturist and tell her that I need a bit of help with some sciatica. Pretty soon she is sticking needles in my upper back and lower back and...um...lower than my lower back. During the session I almost feel weightless and when the session is over it takes me a while to be able to get up. The acupuncturist and I simultaneously say, "I'm going to be sore for the next few days". In the afternoon I finally finish the shelves in a walk-in closet before I lift for abdominals and lower back and go walking for 35 minutes. To finish off the day I enter a new commentary about World Peace.
By Friday morning the fever is gone and I get out for the (almost) 30 mile loop bicycle ride and then try to stay cool for the remainder of the day. Late in the day I get in a high repetition, low weight session with the weights as I try to get back into a weightlifting rythym after all of the business travel.
I'm up at the herd/clone club in West Hollywood after 10 pm to get a wristband and I wander over to a different club for a while. The music is good at this second club, but I only stay for an hour before heading abck to the herd/clone club. Today I enjoy myself quite a bit and have conversations with Person T_U and his friend who has returned from a few months in Thailand. Late in the evening Person J_J texts me and I find him. We sit outside on the patio where it is cooler and catch up on recent activities. I usually don't go out on the patio because that's where people smoke, but there doesn't seem to be much smoke out here tonight. Person J_J introduces me to his friend, Person H_J, and the three of us chat until it is almost closing time. A guy comes up to me and says, "My friend wants to meet you", and before I know it he is leading me to another part of the club by the hand to meet Person To_V. Person To_V and I have a nice conversation that is somewhat squeezed by the club closing at 2 am. We wander out onto the sidewalk and Person To_V's friends give us space to continue our conversation. Before I know it Person To_V has invited me to join him and his friends at room 342 of the Ramada down the street. I have every intention of joining them except that I have to move my car (where overnight parking is not allowed). But I can't find a parking spot that doesn't have all sorts of restrictions and permits required to park there. Thus I am heading for home at 2:50 am with the consolation that Person To_V, who is visiting from Phoenix, has my phone number. I'm turning out the lights for sleep at 3:41 am on Saturday morning.
On Saturday I sleep until 6:45 am and wander around the house working on algorithms and stuff. Near 11:30 am I head out for a timed bicycle ride up the Los Angeles river. The mid-day heat is brutal as I hit waves and walls of heat the further inland I go. Just before it is time to turn around and head back for home I am stopped by construction on the bicycle trail. Thus the ride is just a few minutes shorter than anticipated. A cold shower helps me cool down afterwards but the heat was just intense.
Near 10:30 pm Person T_U stops by my house and I drive up to a club in West Hollywood with Person T_U - I'm the designated driver. (Not that it matters anymore because I don't drink at all.) We get to a club near 11:40 pm and get in a short line. A man in a wheelchair and his friend want to get into the club but this club is located on the second floor and there is a steep stairway up. The doorman gets on his walkie-talkie to someone and pretty soon the man in the wheelchair and his friend and diverted around the corner. When I get to the head of the line I thank the doorman of the club for accommodating the man in the wheelchair to get into the club (as they've been diverted around the back where there is some sort of access). There's a reasonable crowd tonight and a few acquaintances. I just enjoy the music and make comments to strangers that I like the music here because there is no hip hop played. Person Ki_K is present and we hang out for a while as he mentions that he is moving from Santa Barbara to San Francisco. Eventually the place closes after 2 am and I drive back home - the lights going off for sleep at 3:20 am on Sunday morning.
On Sunday I'm up before 7 am to watch the recorded CART race from Assen, Holland. I get out for the aquarium bicycle ride and I'm tired. Do you think it has anything to do with five bicycle rides in five days and only 3.5 hours of sleep each of the last two nights? I'm disappointed with the San Marino MotoGP race in the afternoon and I get some reading and travel planning done.
I'm flipping through television channels on Sunday afternoon when I see something that I recognize. The film is called "The Million Dollar Hotel" and is summarized with "Strange people reside at a hotel where an FBI agent invetsigates a murder". I recognize the roof of the Rosslyn Hotel in the midst of skid row in downtown Los Angeles. (Please do not ask how or why I recognize what the rooftop of the Rosslyn looks like. That was a prior life.) I only watch 5 minutes of the film because it is ending.
On Monday morning I do the laundry and get out for the loop ride. I'm feeling strong today and I crank away quite nicely to finish up six bicycle rides in six days. Near noon I order a new stereo and speakers online and pick them up at a nearby store. I get through the installation of everything except new speaker cable. It is 100 degrees F outside today and there is no way that I am going into the attic (aka, oven) to run the new speaker cables. I'll get to it early on Sunday morning when the weather is cooler and the attic is cool. But the new stereo and speakers sound good even with the old speaker cables. Late on Monday I work the abdominals and lower back with the weights. I also note that I have not felt a thing - not soreness, no twinges, no anything - in the sciatic region since the acupuncturist worked that area (at my request).