I was going to take Wednesday and Thursday off from work, but it is so hot that I go to work. Let Northrop Grumman pay the air conditioning bill during the day rather than me. I have two productive days at work since quite a few people are missing and there aren't many interruptions. Unfortunately, since the motorcycle is in for a tuneup, I have to drive the car both days and put with traffic. I don't know how people do this everyday. And I get word that there are a few things wrong with the motorcycle since it is more than 13 years old and will need about $1100 worth of work. Hopefully we'll fix the weak spots and it will be set for a few more years.
I have not been feeling well or sleeping well lately. But I start out on the road bicycle north to meet up with Derrick on Friday morning - a day that is again supposed to be very hot. I get to the dam and see Derrick riding up and see Ted, the older Polish rider, getting ready to shove off. So I stop Ted and we wait a minute for Derrick and then we ride together back towards Long Beach. I've told both Derrick and Ted that it is hot and we will be going slower than usual and they are both happy. Ted rides with us until he turns for home and Derrick and I continue for a typical ride in the heat. I end up with just short of 50 miles. When I get home I don't feel well so I gulp down as much cold water as I can and grab a cool shower and turn on the air conditioning. I sure hope today is not a "save power day". I grab some bread and cheese for lunch and continue rehydrating and start feeling better throughout the day. In the afternoon time period I uninstall a number of programs from an old desktop computer and clean up the system (and the dust-covered housing) to prepare it for the eWaste recycling center. I also work on getting the news out for the domestic violence and human trafficking non-profit work though I'm disappointed at the lack of response thus far after the press release went out.
Sunday starts with a 40 mile ride up to the Whiiter Narrows dam and down the San gabriel reiver trail. Today there is a ton of glass on the San Gabriel river trail so I'm glad that I have brand new tires. After the ride I trim the front yard and cool down with a shower. The MotoGP race from San marino, Italy is wild with a dry start, rain in the middle, and dry again at the end. It involves all of the riders making two switches of bikes and new podium attendees. Shortly after the race Ralph calls and is in Long Beach so he comes to visit and we have a long conversation. During te conversation I turn on the Detroit Lions football game without sound so that we can continue our conversation but also track the Lions. (Though Ralph is a Steelers fan because he grew up in Pittsburgh.) Later Ralph leaves and I grab some lunch and do some minor cleaning around the house as the Lions blow a 21-3 lead and eventually lose.
I sleep in until 7 am on Tuesday again. It has been raining throughout the night and each time I wake up and hear the rain I enjoy the sound and the smell. (We never get rain in September.) I drop off paperwork for the non-profit atthe post office and drive up to Cal State University Los Angeles for the senior design project kcikoff meeting. I run into a couple of people that I knew from work. And when running through the projects I recognize a name of a beekeeper friend of Frank and Jeanine's who wants to build a bee hive monitoring system. Small world! Eventually I drive back home, watch the Moto2 race from last Sunday, get in a good workout with the weights though the right shoulder still hurts from the accident, and take a shower before relaxing for the evening. I end up working on some bookkeeping for the non-profit and my volunteer duties at CSULA just for record keeping and possibly future reference.
Traffic is horrible on Thursday and Friday. I can't believe that people do this everyday. (Remember that I usually ride the motorcycle to/from work where I can legally use the car pool lanes and legally split in between lanes in the state of California.) Both days are productive - to a point - and then I start daydreaming and thinking about the weekend and thinking about other things. On Thursday I have a good session with the weights where the shoulder that I fell on doesn't hurt as much as last time liftign weights. And on Friday I go visit a chiropractor/acutherapy doctor on the way home that was suggested by my dentist. The doctor is a nice man and he gives me some self-massage exercises of the face, jaw, and shoulder to do and see how I am doing in ten days. When I get home I work the abdominals and lower back and then relax.
On SUnday I get out with the mountain bicycle before 7 am. I ride down to the old yacht club and toss in a few extra miles and get finished before the day gets too hot. After a shower I watch the F1 race from Singapore. I can't even imagine how hot the drivers are in the their suits for two hours. Later in the afternoon I do some minor cleaning around the house and some paperwork.