On Tuesday and Wednesday I am a bit silly at work because I know I am taking Thursday off, I know that I'm being productive, and some details of my trip are coming together. After work each night I just drill the muscles with heavy weight workout - some one repetition sets with maximal weight. I'm going to hurt afterwards, but absolutely needed right now.
On Wednesday night I receive word that the 94 year old neighbor across the street and down a few doors has died. So here's another viewing and/or funeral that will have to be attended.
Thursday is a productive day used to clean the slate for the weekend. It starts with a 42 walk/run to get the blood pumping. Afterwards I start reserving hotels for the upocming trip. (I didn't want to book hotels until I saw that the air tickets hit my credit card.) Because the day is warming up nicely I get out for the aquarium ride and throw in two intervals as I've been doing on these rides lately. When I get home I scrape, prime, and paint some wood around a garage window and mow the yard. After a shower I call the acupuncturist and ask to come in today instead of tomorrow because I have a funeral tomorrow. I can and soon I am at the acupuncturist's office getting poked with needles and jumping around with the electro-stim that she has decided to use today. And finally I do sme grocery shopping. Near 4 pm Ruby and Joseph pick me up and we head up to the SEIU building for a meeting with nurse and union representatives. The meeting goes well though we still cannot find the words or products or marketing to push them over the edge and buy. After the meeting one team member is missing her keys, so we wait around for AAA to come and open her car (thinking she had locked them in her car). The AAA guy comes in less than 30 mintes, opens the car, but we find no keys. Eventually we comb every inch of every bag (including notebook computer bags) and find that her keys were never locked in her car in the first place. Just hiding in a bag. Thus all team members get ready to head for home except that now Ruby can't find her mobile phone. This search only takes 5 minutes, and now we do head for home. It's an eventfull end to an eventfull day.
I start Friday by being lazy and not going cycling first thing. Instead I confirm some hotel reservations and do a lot of papework that has been neglected for a while. Near 9:30 am I get out for a ride up the Los Angeles river. On today's ride I get off the river trail in South Gate near the Bell Foundry to explore some old abandoned buildings and concrete pads. I wonder what used to occupy these large concrete pads? And, as has become the norm lately, I throw in a couple good hard intervals towards the end of the ride. After I get cleaned up and relax a bit I head out to the Forest lawn in Cypress for the 93 year old neighbor's funeral.
On Friday afternoon I get down for a short nap. I am just tired. I sleep for a short period of time but then just lay there for more time. After getting up and keep swinging back and forth as to whether to get in a workout with the weights. I finally decide to give it a shot. When I am finished from this intense and heavy workout I have a pump in my chest, shoulders, and triceps (i.e., the push muscles) so big that I can't walk through the doorway without turning sideways. (Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration!) And then I listen to music to finish out the evening.
Saturday starts with the laundry and getting the car washed. Today is warming up quickly and there are wildfires in northern Los Angeles, so I get out for the aquarium ride. As I'm getting on the Los Angeles river trail I see the very old guy just starting his ride so I stay slowly with him for a couple hundred yards. It turns out he rides almost everyday though his left leg is bothering him a bit so he isn't riding very far anymore. He must be at least 70 years old and possibly pushing 80 - but that's what I want to be doing: still riding the bicycle almost everyday at that age. Today almost every bodypart is tired, but the entire organism is just plain worn out. As I approach the aquarium I see that there is a dog/people fundraising walk blocking the bicycle path so I cut off a mile of the ride and turn for home. I'm barely crawling along since the entire organism is tired but I still manage to get the second interval in - now I just crawl along Del Amo for home. I relax quite a bit on Saturday afternoon until I have a very intense and heavy workout for the traps, back and bicepts (i.e., the pull muscles). I hope that this is enough to cause deep sleep.
On Sunday I wake up and feel like an elephant has stepped on me. The entire organism is drained. I eventually get out of bed and walk to the sore to buy the Los Angeles Times newspaper. In Long Beach we are greeted with an orange sunrise and ash spread over everything - both courtesy of the wildfires in Santa Clarita (40 miles away) and Yorba Linda (25 miles away). There are health warnings issued so there is no morning bicycle ride. Instead I work the abdominals to get the blood pumping. Throughout the day it is very dusty and ashy, so I don't get out cycling. I go for a long walk by which time my throat and nose are dried out and clogged with ash. For the rest of the evening I relax and get ready to go back to work.
Monday is chaotic at work as many people want to see me and the program director decides to take a new job. He was one of the few Northrop Grumman vice presidents that I liked and now he is leaving to return to Washington, DC. After the chaos at work I get in a very good and heavy session with the weights. It seems a shade easier than the other day though the weights, repetitions, and sets are the same.
Tuesday is almost as chaotic at work but I plug along and make progress. When I get home I lift heavy. The first two muscles groups are drilled quite well but then I just run out of steam when working the biceps. It is clear the entire organism is tired and needs some rest. But I keep working along and plan on taking time off from lifting at the vacation.
On Wednesday I plan on running beofre work, but it doesn't happen. Instead I go to work extra early and make good progress. After work I go for a long walk and carry a watch with me. I carry the watch only so that I know when to look over the city of Long Beach for a passover by the space shuttle Endeavor and International Space Station. At 5:51 pm the docked vessels appear and take 4 minutes to move across the sky. And then I continue the walk until I get home.
Thursday is a pretty darn good day at work. THough there are a couple of meetings, the rest of the time I put my head down and make a lot of progress. When I get home I have a heavy session with the weights. I definitely see that I need a break, but I'll keep going for a few more sessions. Throughout the night I have phonecalls, text messages, and Internet phone calls from Person M_Fl, Person L_V, and Karl. Karl will be visiting on Friday from Florida after he finishes his work up in Mojave.
On Friday I go home after work, get in a good session with the weights, get cleaned up, and eventaully head towards Los Angeles International airport to pick up Karl and his friend. We have a quick dinner, dop Karl's friend back at the airport for a flight, and then we head up to a club in West Hollywood. The club has the typical music and the crowd is the usual crowd, but we have fun. Karl enjoys watching the people and making astute observations about people's dress, conduct, and looks. I introduce Karl to various members of my entourage including Person T_U, Person C_T, Person L_M, Person J_J, and Person JJ_P. It's an interesting eveing because there are quite a few people who come up to Person C_T and exclaim, "Oh my God! You're the guy that was on the TV show". Of course they are referring to Top Design that Person C_T was on, but most of us are a bit surprised that he has become so recognizable. Karl is able to practice his Japanese with Person J_J and so they both enjoy the time. Person JJ_P is off with his own friends but it is good to see him again. As the club is clsoing we take leave and Karl and I rush on home. My lights are going out at 3:15 am on Saturday morning for sleep.
Saturday starts with a text message from Person JJ_P. Having thought that he was not interested in me, I now find myself confused. And I try to forget about the situation. On Saturday I read in bed for a while until it is reasonable to get the day started (for my guest). We eventually get out cycling for the loop ride (on mountain bicycles). During the ride the weather changes from warm to very cold down by the ocean as a mid-day fog rolls in. In the middle of the ride we stop and hang out near the Belmont Pier (in Long Beach) and people watch and continue all of our intense discussions. And then we finish the ride. For dinner we eat Thai food and I try and practice speaking Thai with the waitress. But even though the restaurant is not busy with clients the waitress is busy with other things and I'm limited to ordering Thai food in Thai. Afterwards Person T_U stops by as we hang out and watch television and finally start a very moving DVD called Kite Runner. And then it is time for sleep.
On Sunday Person M_Fl visits before work. We hang out for a while and then I see him off towards work. I take Karl to the airport to return home and I've actually brought my Northrop Grumman badge along to go do some work (to get a head start on the week). But I just drive on home instead because I'm not mentally prepared for work at all. In the afternoon I get out for the aquarium ride during which I run into a pigeon that decided to run/fly across the path of my front wheel. But the pigeon runs/flies away, so I continue on without stopping. Sunday night is slow as I watch the football game, get some reading done, and eat chocolate chip cookies.
Monday is a quiet day at work, so I put my head down and make a lot of progress on the tasks that I've been putting off or not allowed to get to (due to interruptions). I leave work early to visit the Long Beach Health Department. As I get off the motorcycle and walk towards the entrance I see a former co-worker siting with his son. We're both surprised to see each other and we catch up for fine minutes before my appointment. I get the vaccinations and information that I expected and head on home. Today I drop the weight way down and do high repetition sets - hoping the lighter weight will result in low wear and tear on the joints and ligaments. The right shoulder hurts like anything so I quit the bench presses early. But the other lifts result in a good workout. A quick walk takes me to a nearby liquor store and the ATM. And then I catch up on the monday night football game. Near the end of the game my arm is getting sore from all of the shots so I put an ice pack on it (as I asked the nurse if this was okay to do if my arm starts hurting).