On Tuesday we continue testing "the mis-behaving unit" and it proceeds slowly as every step of the way is a struggle to understand what is going on. We finish this axis of testing but there are many questions to be answered to customers. And the results of the test are unsatisfying. I get home a bit late so I put on the running shoes and have a good 40 minute run. And then relax with a meager dinner.
On Thursday at work we get into a good rythym and get the test finished by mid afternoon. I grab enough data to work from home and ride on home in the rain. The roads are wet and it has rained heavily, but the sun is starting to break through and there is very little rain coming down. Nonetheless when I get home I wipe the motorcycle down so that it is reasonably clean. I get in a heavy session with the weights and feel good about the effort. Person Ti_Ca comes home nad breaks the news to me that his grandmother is very ill, has moved to living in the Buddhist temple, and cannot eat anything. Person Ti_Ca's grandmother, who I met two years ago along with his grandfather, went throught the Khmer Rouge period and probably only survived because they were farmers from the beginning. Thus it looks Like Person Ti_Ca, his sister, and two brothers are going to make an emergency trip to Cambodia in two days and see grandma for the last time. Later in the evening I share some of my family death experiences with Person Ti_Ca including my Mom and Dad, my grandparents (which happened early in my life), and even the doggie's last days. I keep playing through my mind the notion of walking/moving to the temple during your last days to die.
I wake up on Saturday morning and go about my business and let Person Ti_Ca decide when he needs some help. I get out for a good mountain bicycle ride to the old yacht club and back with some extra miles. There is nothing better than a bicycle ride after five days without riding. After a shower I go to the bank and get some money for Person Ti_Ca's trip and do the grocery shopping. When I return home I wax the Yamaha YZF-R1 and do little errands around the house. Person Ti_Ca goes out with his Cambodian friends for lunch and I continue along with a "regular" Saturday until there is a need to deviate. After relaxing a bit I edge and mow the lawn and then decide that I need to trim some tree branches. So I bring these down and put them in the trash receptacle. When i go inside there is a phone call indicating that my road bicycle is ready to be picked up. So I walk over to the store and pick up the bicycle and start to ride home. But I still hear a noise and turn around and go back. It takes the owner some time but he find some small cracks in the rear wheel where two of the spokes enter. This is possibly the cause of the sound and the wheel going out of true. The owner knows I have a set of older wheels at home so he offers to swap the rear wheels out on Tuesday (when they open back up). I'm riding more now, but why are the new Mavic wheels worse than the older Mavic wheels (of the same model)? Near 8 pm Person Ti_Ca and I go pick up one of his friends and we drive to the airport.
Monday and Tuesday are decent days at work as I continue to make progress on items on my "to do" list. On Tuesday we have a meeting with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory about last week's weird test. I try to stick to the facts and the measurements and the observations and let other people speculate. jPL is asking for more information so I'll get the test measurements to them on Wednesday morning. On Monday after work I ride the motorcycle directly to Cal State Los Angeles to help with senior design projects. I don't leave until almost 9 pm and rush on home to get some wind-down time before sleep. And on Tuesday I ride the road bicycle with cracked rim over to the bicycle store while carrying my old rim only to find that the bicycle shop has closed at 4pm to support race later in the evening. I ride on home with the extra wheel in my hand and put on my running clothes and shoes for a 35 minute run. After a shower I watch the Moto2 race where my favorite rider, who looked so primising in his first four races in the intermediate class, has now crashed out of the last two races. Later I speak with Person Ti_Ca in Cambida via Skype and Person Ti_Ca's grandfather and sister-in-law remember me over the Skype camera from two years ago when I visited.
On Thursday I'm awake at 4:30 am to get a start on the day. I get to work by about 5:30 and try to wrap up things before the long weekend and to prepare for an 8 am meeting (for which I'm going to be armed for bear). The meeting comes and after the meeting I get the technically correct result. There are are still a few people to deal with until I finally say, "I'm leaving now. This can wait until Tuesday." So I grab the train and shuttle bus to the airport and by the time I arrive I've received an email saying that my flight is delayed. The ticket agent asks if I want to rush to another gate and go standby on an earlier flight so I do and make the flight. When I get to Oakland I help some visitors from Chicago navigate the BART system and I make it to my hotel before 1 pm. I make phone calls and start walking to the FedEx and art gallery to arrange the party and photos. I then walk over to Polk street and grab a simple lunch and relax for a bit. And then I walk back to the hotel and relax there. Later I walk over to Union Square and watch people and tourists and, except for the tourists and homeless people who are smoking, I have a huge smile on my face. During my wandering I see a Mrs Fields cookie shop - which I haven't seen for 10 years. So I grab some cookies and eventually get back to my hotel to call it a day.
On Saturday I get out walking south of Market and find a cool 24 hour restaurant called the DNA Lounge. They have a mess of punk rock posters and flyers on the wall. It's late morning and I've missed the vampires who are heading home for sleep and it isn't time for lnch yet, so I'm the only one in the place. The waiters "aren't really all there", but the food is very fresh and just seems to hit every taste bud today. I walk back to the hotel and get cleaned up for the real event.
On Sunday I get out walking and get some muffins and caffeine and go back to the room. I realzie that the Indy 500 is on television so I watch the race until I have to check out and meet up with a foemr cycling partner, Person P_C. We have Korean bibimbap and catch up on Person P_C's job in Palo Alto and other things in my life. EVentually he heads for home and I head to the airport. When I'm in the BART station looking confused, a guy comes over and says, "Remember me from the hotel?". It is one of the concierge/attnedants/bellhops and he shows me where to go. This is typical of this visit to the hotel where the staff was friendly and always smiling. My flight is delayed a bit but I eventually make it home near 10 pm and unpack and go to sleep.