On Friday I'm just arriving at work and removing my
motorcycle helmet and gloves when two co-workers pull up next to me in one
of the guy's BMW. I've known these guys for a long time and a brief
conversation ensues:
Coworker 1: We tried to follow you after you made the right hand turn
onto Manhattan Beach Blvd. We were wide open and you kept pulling
away. What's your hurry?
Ray: I'm always in a hurry.
Coworker 2: You just opened it up and you were gone.
Ray: That wasn't opened up.
Coworker 2: But we couldn't get anywhere near you. How fast were you
going?
Ray: About 75. There were cars that prevented me from going faster.
Coworker 2: 75 in a 40 mph zone. Have a good day.
And they pull away.
Friday is a pseudo-productive day at Northrop Grumman. In between bouts of tears and near-tears I work on documentation and drawings and models and simulations. I keep moving from subtask to subtask in order to avoid becoming stale and dropping into additional bouts of tears and near-tears. When I can take it no longer I go for a half hour walk around the Space Park campus to get the blood flowing and to relieve stress and stabilize my emotional state. It helps...somewhat.
I arrive at home to lift weights and go for a long walk with and without Nopesterini. My luck again holds as I only get rained on in the last ten minutes of the walk. After doing the laundry I head for a club in West Hollywood. It is pouring rain and so there is little traffic on the road and less in the club. I settle in for a good evening of listening to music, mingling with my fans, and smiling at acquaintances and strangers alike. Times are emotionally troublesome right now, so I do my best to avoid any serious discussions that could lead to something. I leave the club and head for home. There has been a lot of rain and I see a number of cars that have recently aquaplaned (or hyrdoplaned) into guard rails or such that they are facing the wrong way - their headlights shining in my face. I continue south on the Long Beach freeway and I get a huge wake-up call when I hit a deep puddle and start heading sideways. "Okay, I guess I can slow down to 70 mph now".
Saturday is heavy rain, but I manage to get in a 5 mile run before heading to meet Person T*.
Later on Saturday I'm headed to K-Town to pick up Person J_VKPI and to meet coworkers and ex-coworkers at a Los Feliz bar. The bar is a piano bar/lounge and the music is...um...50 year old lounge music being played by a group of...um...musicians(?) who have played this same club for 22 years. We stay for about an hour. I try to hide in the crowd so that if there is anybody that knows me then they wouldn't see me. Occasionally I will hold out my forearm and start tapping on my veins like a heroin addict does just before shooting up. The friends here know that if we stay much longer in this place then I will start shooting heroin again. The group, mercifully, decides to leave for a different club.
In order to set the stage, the group consists of Dr. T (a current Northrop Grumman employee), Dr. D_Chicago (an ex-TRW employee) and her boyfriend Person D_Chicago, Person DB (an ex-TRW employee) and his wife Person CB, Person J_VKPI, and Ray. Person J_VKPI and I have a plan to awaken my friends, so we tell them "Meet us at the corner of San Vicente and Santa Monica. Park in the Pacific Design Center and meet us at the corner." The group gathers and Person J_VKPI and I take them to one of the clubs that we go to regularly. As we approach the club a frazzled-looking guy stops us and asks, "Do you want to buy some Extacy?" We refuse, of course, and after I explain to Person J_VKPI what just happened, I can tell that this is going to be a memorable evening for my friends.
The first thing that the group notices are the gogo dancers
wearing very little clothing. And the lights. And the music. And a
lot of people having fun. And a good crowd. They aren't quite used to
the crowd and don't realize that you have to gently push and shove your
way through the crowd to get somewhere. We find some cushy seats for the
entire group to sit in but I don't tell them what is going to happen on
the platform that is just 10 feet in front of the seats. Person W_C stops
me and we have a brief chat. He seems to be having fun tonight. After
about an hour I tell Person CB, who seems to be enjoying the place the
most, that, "We didn't want to take the group to a wild place because
we didn't think that you were ready for that." To which Person CB's eyes
open very wide and a "There are places wilder than this?" expression
comes over her face. Shortly a gogo dancer jumps onto the platform 10
feet infront of the group and gives them a show. Near midnight, because
Dr. D_Chicago and Person D_Chicago are still on central time, the group
decides to call it an evening. The final scorecard appears to be:
Dr. D_Chicago enjoyed the club and had fun
Person D_Chicago was tired and wasn't quite into it
Dr. T enjoyed the club and actually felt in place enough to give me a hug when he left
Person DB felt out of place, though at least eventually felt like something bad wasn't
going to happen except for losing his security clearances
Person CB enjoyed the club a lot.
In all, it was probably an eye-opening experience for most. Maybe we'll
go to a wilder place next time!
Almost as soon as Dr. D_Chicago leaves, Person W appears. It turns out that Person W and Dr. D_Chicago work for the same company (but different branch offices obviuosly). I have conversations with Person C_P and Person E_C. The real lights and smoke and stuff doesn't happen until after midnight, so the group of friends miss it. I enjoy it but call for Person J_VKPI to leave near 1:40am. After dropping Person J_VKPI off at his apartment I head for home and get stuck near an accident scene. I'm dropping off to sleep well after 3am on Sunday morning.
On Sunday I'm up a bit after 7:30am. It takes me three diet Cokes to regain any sense of consciousness. I watch the Spanish Grand Prix where a Spaniard finishes a strong second (And the crowd goes wild!), read some of the newspaper, pack for my trip, and just relax. The Sunday afternoon ice hockey game is changed from 3pm until 6pm - giving me more time to relax when I need it most. Person M_USC calls and checks in - maybe we'll go rollerblading next weekend.
After four hours of sleep each of the last two nights, the ice hockey game that I play is pretty good. Sure I'm tired and changeout with other players quickly, but I play a good controlling defense at critical moments and make some nice passes and assists as we hold on for a 5-4 win. The game is a clean game but there's lots of running into people and pushing and shoving (which helps relieve stress). A good end to another interesting weekend and a good springboard for another week of chaos.