At first Tuesday is a blah day at work until I get into a good rhythym. Then I make good progress and even start in on a task that I had shelved for a while because none of us knew how to deal with it. When I get home I have a good session with the weights as I come back after about a week off. And later I work on web programming for the STS non-profit. I'm committed to getting this done by the middle of June.
When I wake up on Thursday morning my heart rate is 7-10 beats per minute higher than usual - indicating that I have not quite recovered from Wednesday's rigorous intervals. This is good because for all of the time during and after the ride the body has been working hard to repair itself and burn extra calories. I have a good day at work though I get side-tracked on a fun little project that I'd rather work on than my real job. At lunch we take a Cal State Long Beach intern out because he is leaving our group to go work on something else and get more exposure before he graduates in about a year. When I get home I have a good workout with the weights though I can tell I still haven't fully recovered from Wednesday's intervals. Later I do some more web programming as I continue to make progress on the front end for the non-profit.
Saturday starts with a mountain bicycle ride to the old yacht club (because I don't have the confidence in the road bicycle rear wheel). I see a lot of the regular riders and I run into Terry and Khin. So I turn around and ride with them back to the Long Beach lighthouse. We catch up on things including Khin's new bicycle. Finally I head for home with an extra half hour of riding because of the backtracking. AFter a shower I drive to the main library branch and rapidly pick out three books on sports betting, opiate addiction, and a history of steroids in sports. I run a few other errands and than take the road bicycle for service. When I describe the screeching during freewheel, Brian knows exactly what the problem is and fixes it immediately. I leave $20 on his counter and when he says "Let me get you some change" I just say "You and Ryan have always helped me out without charging me so just keep it". I get home and finally get some brown rice and vegetables into my system to get ready for a real road bicycle ride on Sunday morning.
I have decent days at work on Monday and Tuesday. I end up being late on both days due to later afternoon meetings that I have to attend. And on Tuesday I try to chase down a weird problem that almost seems as if some data from the past has been corrupted and has to be re-created. I get in good workouts on both days with the weights on Monday and running/walking on Tuesday. When I go running/walking on Tuesday there is no real pain in the left calf and I tie an ice pack to the calf when I get home and finish a quick shower.
On Thursday I take the mountain bicycle out because I'm lazy, I want to see how the "click noise" fix will work, and I have other errands to run. The "click noise" has changed and I keep debugging on the ride and think that I am on the right track with the seatpost being the prime candidate for the source of the noise. I'll think about what to do next later. It's a great ride and I feel strong! After a shower I run errands including returning a library book, recycling some cans, getting a new ket cut for Person Ti_Ca's car (and dealing with the immobilizer chip on my own), dropping off dry cleaning, banking, and grocery shopping. I'm back at home well before noon and deciding the next things to do for the day. I let Mozart's Symphony No. 35 in D (the Haffner Symphony) play in the background as I plan.
Saturday starts with the mountain bicycle ride to the old yacht club during which the clicking sound is gone. I run into two sets of riders that I know so I stop and talk with both. One, a former neighbor, and I ride together for a while until he slows me down and I run away. After the ride I grab a shower and get to the downtown library for two more books. And then I catch a boring qualifing for the Canadian Grand Prix. After a short rest I get out the mountain bicycle again and go ride around the closed down streets in Long Beach for a ciclavia event. It is fun to ride (or skate) along the streets with the cars not allowed to use the streets. There are bands playing and other activities. Person T_U joins me at 3:15 after promising to join me at 2:00 - about his standard time differential. And after a couple hours of very casual riding I head for home. It is good to see the streets closed down to car traffic and many people on bicycles and skateboards on a main thoroughfare. I amtired from today's events and watch some of the ice hockey game but then I'm down for reading and sleep at 8 pm.
I have good days at work on Monday and Tuesday. I'm leery to start Monday morning because I had four good days off from work, but I jump right back into work and have a good meeting with JPL and NASA on Monday and continue the momentum into Tuesday. After work on Monday I get in a good session with the weights which feels heavier than it is because I haven't lifted since Wednesday. And on Tuesday Im lazy since it is raining and I'm all wet going to work and coming home and I don't have it in me to go run/walk or do anything. Especially after the Tuesday afternoon meeting at work with Human Resources where I completely spill my guts about the work situation. At the end of the meeting, though I have never met her before, I give the HR lady a hug because I can tell that she and I are on the same page. (In retrospect, she might be a Business Conduct representative as opposed to a Human Resources rep, but you get the picture.)
It's drizzling on Saturday morning but I jump on the mountain bicycle and start riding. Just a few miles into the ride I see a coyote standing very close to the bicycle trail and wanting to cross over into the Los Angeles river channel. But the coyote gets a bit spooked as I ride by. When I catch another cyclist I ask "Did you see that coyote?" And he nonchalantly responds that he did and thinks nothing of it. It's a weird ride because the air dries out near the ocean and then gets wet again when I get closer to home. I have a quick shower and get to the Home Dpot, the recycling center (for a tire, e-waste, and some expired medicines), Togos for lunch, and the grocery store. When I get home I dust and clean the hardwood floors by getting down on my hands and knees and cleaning every single inch of them. And I also brighten up the headlights on Person Ti_Ca's car by polishing the plastic headlight covers. And I get a second shower to cool off and finally eat something (from Togos) near 2 pm.
I gt to work on Monday tired from the weekend but I pick up the momentum and get some good results. I blow off a couple of meetings that I've been invited to but just don't want to attend. And finally I go home. I get in a good abdominal/lower back workout, watch an exciting Moto2 race, and then do some web programming.