Wednesday is supposed to be a bicycle commute day, but I need some extra sleep and I reset the alarm a number of times. I get home after a non-productive day at work, lift weights, take a shower, buy dogfood (and other things) at the store, and head up to Person M_USC's apartment. Person M_USC lives at 30th and Vermont, surprisingly, near the USC campus. When Person M_USC comes out we walk up and down his street and look at some very nice, old houses from the 1920's (estimated). I want one!
Person M_USC and I head over to a small theatre near the Farmer's Market in order to see the movie, "Lan Yu". The movie is about a businessman and his on again/off again lover with the Tianenman Square uprising as a backdrop. The movie is in Mandarin with English subtitles. I am surprised by the ending. It is a sad ending.
Afterwards we walk around the Farmer's Market for a while before we head back to Person M_USC's apartment. We continue the conversation about work, family, friends, DSL, and life. I'm heading out the door of Person M_USC's apartment at 1:55 am on Thursday morning and my head hits the pillow of my bed at 2:25am on Thursday morning.
Thursday and Friday are not very productive days at work or at home. Sometimes these things happen.
Saturday I get out for the Aquarium ride, wash and wax the bathroom and kitchen floors, wash and wax the motorcycle, go browsing for new doors for the house, do some reading, and get out for an hour of rollerblading. Brandon, who went to pharmacy school in New York, finally calls me. He had lost his cell phone and didn't have my number. But he's doing well.
Saturday night is a Club Asia night. Person M_C calls and agrees to meet me there. There is a reasonable crowd of friends and acquaintances and strangers at the club. Person D, who should precisely be referred to as Person HI, is there. I have a very brief conversation with him in spoken and sign language (with what little sign language I know). I am turning out the lights to go to sleep just as the two old clocks chime for 2am on Sunday morning.
When I wake up on Sunday morning I have a sore throat and a slightly elevated body temperature. With the warnings of overdoing it present I can think of only one thing to do right now - get out and ride the bicycle. I do the Aquarium ride again and feel better.
There are two fun motorcycle races from Portugal in the rain. In one race one of the riders falls off his bike, gets back up and remounts, and eventually wins! Another rider falls off three times and breaks his left foot peg off, but is still running around at the end in 16th place with his left leg dangling off the bike. But the fun part is to see the bikes sideways on every lap as the riders search for the limits of adhesion in the rain and occasionally exceed it. This tape is a keeper for those long, lonely winter nights when there is no motorcycle roadracing.
By Sunday afternoon I'm bored. I'm also in a depressed emotional state. Possibly from dealing with various people, possibly from all of the 9/11 discussions, possibly from a bit of boredom, and possibly from a week (or more) delay in the new Akrapovic carbon fibre exhaust pipe. This would be the time, if I was drinking, that I would head off to the liquor store and purchase my favorite "adult beverage". But today, seeing that I am working close to 90 days sober, I head for the beach and some rollerblading. The hour of rollerblading is uneventfull. When I return home I am restless so I take the dog for a short walk and continue on for another 40 minutes when he is tired.
Sunday night I am in bed and asleep by 10pm. The first few hours of sleep are great - I can feel the body pumping out the extra growth hormone that results in deep sleep and body recovery.