On Tuesday I hear that one of my co-workers, one of the first people that I met at TRW (when it was TRW) and who had a PhD from UCLA and could be exteremely smart and extremely funny, is retiring. It turns out his retirement benefits are actually decreasing as his age catches up to the actuarial tables and life expectancy. I'm saddened by this because even though we have had our differences over the past 28 years or so, he is extremely smart and can be funny/silly. I realize that it is getting close to when I should call it quits.
On Wednesday after a semi-productive day I have a super session with the weights. I've kept the same level of weights but added an extra set to each exercise. Afterwards I trim the roses a bit and then work on Cal State Los Angeles problems as well as Northrop Grumman problems at home.
On Thursday after work I drop the World Rally Car off at the Subaru dealer for an oil change. AGain, as usual, one of the service managers is laughing at how few miles I have on the car and how few miles I put on it since the last time that they saw it. But I'm the one who is laughing when the service manager tells me how many people know about my car and want to buy it from me. After the paperwork is done I walk on home and stop in at the grocery store for a couple of supplies. (The Subaru delaer is about 2.5 miles from home, so it is a decent walk.) Late on Thursday night, after I've found two spots on the kitchen floor and cleaned them, I decide that he whole floor needs cleaning. So I'm down on my hands and knees (with kneepads on) to clean the kitchen floor. How long will it stay clean?
Friday is a blah day at work. I am ready for a couple of days off. As I walk out the door from work I realize that this was not my most enthused and robust week of work and I vow to do better next week. I get in a great session with the weights and contemplate whether to increase the weights a bit next week or stay here for a while. There is a First Fridays event near my house tonight, but I just relax and get to bed for reading and sleep early.
Saturday starts with a ride past detours for construction to the old yacht club and back with a few extra miles tossed in. It is very foggy and wet and cold, but at least it is not raining. After a shower I gather up my needed supplies and walk over to the Subaru dealer and pick up the World Rally Car. As I get in it to drive off there is a Subary mechanic from a Santa Monica Subaru dealership who is oggling my car and we have a little discussion. It seems that everyone wants my car because it looks brand new and has very few miles on it and it is fast and fun. I then go try on running shoes and find a pair that feels good and fits my orthotics but they are $190. I tell the sales lady, who was very helpfull and who we shared a common interest in raving and electronic dance music (EDM), that I might wait and hope for a sale. Running shoes have gotten expensive over the last few years. I run other errands including dropping a book off at the library and then have a slow day at home relaxing. I do a bit of yardwork and help Person Ti_Ca with homework, but I mainly relax nd watch some of the Kings' game.
On Sunday I lay in bed for a few minutes and decide whether to ride today at all. I get out of bed and get out the door 10 minutes after 7. The more I ride the better I feel as I go over the Whittier Narrows dam and back over to the San Gabriel trail. I note that there are three asian riders just starting down the Los Angeles river trail as I crest the dam. I will see them later. I have a good run down the San Gabriel river trail and continue down to the ocean. I'm going at a good clip despite swirling winds and only one rider passes me with 4 miles to go to the ocean. Since the ocean trail is closed for work I take Ocean boulevard over to the aquarium and stop for a drink. And see the three asian riders stopped also. I mention to them that I saw them earlier and say I'm heading back up the Los Angele sriver trail as they are also, but they don't grab my wheel. So I head for home north against a very strong headwind (that was not as well-directed as before) and am relieved to be back home after 55 good miles.
On Monday I have a good day at work as I make a fair amount of progress on some work. Just as I am ready to leave my boss catches me and we sit down and I tell him how disappointed that I am that my review was different than my expectations. I know that his hands are tied to a certain extent because higher management dictates the distribution of reviews. Which is pretty stupid and can only lead to cynical and frsutrated workers. When I get home I have a great session with the wehere I've increased the weigts and try to lift slow and with the strictest form possible. Afterwards I put some ice on the shoulder as a precaution though it does not hurt at all.
I have a very productive day at work on Tuesday. I work on model and simulation work that I've been putting off, I attend and contribute to a test readiness review, and I work on making sense of the test data results that we obtained in January. I've again worn a tie to work just to keep people guessing. When I get home I lubricate the chain of the Yamaha YZF-R1 and then go for a long walk. I stop off at the liquor store to buy lottery tickets (because the jackpot is $400 million or so and I haven't bought lottery tickets in a year) and I stop off at the grocery store for supplies. When I get home I help Person Ti_Ca with some homework. When he goes to his evening class I pick up my work where I left off trying to make sense of the January test data and to match the test data with my simulations.
I have a good productive day at work on Wednesday. After 1 pm I don't feel l ike eating my healthy lunch of steamed veegtables and potatoes in a tomato-base, so I walk over and have a grilled cheese sandwich and french fries at a nearby restaurant. This would not be newsworthy except that just as I am getting ready to leave work I start having the shakes. And on the ride home I am having trouble judging distances and just feel in a "suspended animation" state. When I get home I lift weights though the first few lifts feel strange because I am still shaking. By the end of the workout I am feeling okay and wondering if it was the greasy food that caused the weird episode. Near 6:30pm I jump on the bicycle and ride a mile to the Expo event space and listen to proposals for the new downtown Long Beach civic center, public library, and park. After 90 minutes the meeting is still going but I ride on home.
On Wednesday and night and into Thursday morning I sleep well but have weird strange dreams and wake up each time and it takes a while to fall back asleep. But the periods of sleep are very deep and good. I get to work on Thursday with a mission to finish up a new tool that I am working on. In between working on the tool I do my usual work. Finally I ride on home and go for a walk afterwards to relieve stress.
Friday starts with a mountain bicycle ride to the old yacht club and back home (with a few extra miles thrown in). After a shower and some quick food I ride the motorcycle up to Cal State University Los Angeles to continue helping senior design teams. I meet a new team working on an electric supercharger and they are using the same processor that I've played with (as a hobby). So I tell them I will pull my chip out of the garage and get back up to speed on it. I get over to the garage/lab later and we drop the Baja vehicle from all different orientations and measure as many acceleration responses as we can. It is a long day and I am just arriving home to relax a bit after 6 pm.
On Saturday morning I stay in bed for a while because I'm physically hungover from the previous day and not sleeping well. But I get out and ride on the mountain bicycle for two hours. I run into a guy I rode with before and today he has his brother and son with him and we ride north on the Los Angeles river trail from ocean (where we hooked up today) until each of our respective exits. I mow and edge the lawn, run a few errands, Person Ti_Ca and I exchange Valentine's day presents, and then we go see "Fifty Shades of Grey". When we get to the 1:30 pm showing of the film we have to stand in line. We are let into the theatre early and it turns out that the theatre is not too crowded. The crowd is 90% women. I find the film interesting from a number of perspectives and Person Ti_Ca and I discuss it's content on the way home. Later I talk with Person T_U about the film. (He was supposed to come with us but is fighting a head cold.) Person Ti_Ca do some homework and then I watch the King's game and just relax after a couple of long days and one night of bad sleep.
I'm unmotivated on Sunday morning but get out for 40 miles of road bike riding over the Whittier Narrows dam and back down the San Gabriel river trail. It's a decent ride though I'm a bit unmotivated still. On Sunday afternoon I mix some relaxation and telvision viewing with cleaning the house - the bathrooms, the bathroom floors, the stove, and some miscellaneous cleaning.
On Monday I start working away and make some good progress as the day ends. I'm only interrupted by two meetings today, so I move ahead and manage to confuse myself by the end of the as to "what the heck am I doing". When I get home I repeate last week's weight levels with an extra set for a very good workout. Afterwards I pull out the marble polish and polish out a few small etches or spots on the kitchen countertops that have been bothering me for a while. After the news I find email from all three of the CSULA teams that I am helpign so I spend most of Monday evening responding to help requests.