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 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?
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 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 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.
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.
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.