On Monday I leave work early to go visit the neurologist. He is happy with my progress and so am I. Though I explain to him that the last week was hampered with me falling during inline skating the previous Sunday and helping somebody move allday on Saturday. He tells me to keep exercising a lot but be carefull that I don't reinjure the ruptured L4/L5 discs with an accident. And he tells me not to come back unless I have some problems.
Person N_V returns home while I'm lifting weights on Monday. We have a little discussion and I tell him that he can still use my broadband connection for a while but it is only temporary. And that he should leave the house each day at 4 pm. Person N_V complies.
On Tuesday I get out for a run before work and lift weights heavy after work. During the day I jump on the scale at work and see that I've gained 6 pounds in 14 days though my waistline has stayed the same size. This is good - the serious lifting is adding muscle without fat!
On Tuesday after work I lift weights again, wash and wax the bathroom and kitchen floors, and go have dinner with Daniel at a Japanese restaurant. Then we move over to a coffeehouse to "finalize" the itinerary for the trip to the Czech and Slovak Republics. Though I ignore every phone call that comes in, I receive 8 phone calls during the two hours that we are together. I'll return the calls later.
On Wednesday an unnamed Person, who has been in the diary before, comes over afte dinner. We're...um...playing, banging away when the couch breaks! There is a severe break of the metal frame. Well, we move over to the bedroom and continue there. That couch was destined for the scrap pile during/after the remodel anyway, so it is no big loss.
On Thursday Person D_F comes down to Long Beach and we have a nice dinner and conversation. Afterwards we drive back to my house and have continued deep discussions - and no funny stuff. When I go to get water for both of us, Person D_F finds the remnants of a condom wrapper on the mantel piece from the night before. And so I explain to Person D_F my recent substitution of physical activities for emotional involvement. Because Person D_F is also in a slight emotional upheavel he understands perfectly. Person D_F leaves - with no funny stuff happening - and I'm dropping down for sleep at 11:20 pm.
On Friday a kinda funny incident at work happens. A coworker who I've known for a few years and has gone through a divorce starts talking with me about my current shape. He's looking for the exact words to say that I've made good progress in the last few weeks. And I can see he's uncomfortable saying this to another man. So I try to put him on the spot by asking him, "Person T_M, are you hitting on me?" And then we have a bit of a conversation about that.
I leave work early to lift weights, trim a bush, give away a bicycle, walk, wash some windows, take a shower, do the laundry, and go shopping. When I'm in the grocery store, three people say "Hello" to me for no apparent reason. I know that I have a smile on today, but is this the only reason? Friday night is spent relaxing. Person N_V comes over near 11:00 pm to print some information and forms that he needs for Saturday and wants to stay over. But it is inappropriate at this time. Instead we both act stupidly and get into a big half hour argument about mistakes that we made and things that neither of us were willing to compromise on. To his credit, Person N_V calls later near midnight and starts the apology off and we both apologize. We have a nice conversation. Why is it that we always argue when we talk in person and we are cordial and friendly when we talk on the telephone. Person N_V says, "My friends tell me that I can do better than Ray. But I want my Ray." This statement sticks in my mind for the next 48 hours as I wonder why Person N_V never said this before. "I want my Ray".
On Saturday I get up late, but do some killer intervals on the bicycle down and up the Los Angeles river, paint a closet, get in a session with the weights, take a shower, and pick up Person J_VKPI to go party. We meet up with Person T_U in Los Angeles at the festival and wander around until 10 pm when I need to go home and sleep. During the wandering we run into my boss's boss and his wife and I make introductions to my friends. Both the boss's boss and his wife keep looking at my friends and me and wondering what is going on here. As we are wandering around I see the Cute Young Indeterminant Ethnicity Girl (or Boy, I don't know) and so I use the 8x zoom on my camera to capture a picture of the CYIEG's eyes. Do you want to see ? But I'm in bed by midnight for some good sleep.
On Sunday I'm up early to ride again. On the way back home I do some more intervals up the Los Angeles river and as I'm riding back up my driveway - legs tired from two consecutive interval days - I say aloud, "Okay, I'm ready to die now". After trimming the closet for painting and watching the US Grand prix, I get out for an hour of rollerblading.
Person A_P calls and wants to get together after church. So I drive over to a Starbuck's and meet up with him. After a quick dinner we go back to my house and hang out. After playing twice, Person A_P tells me a secret. "Oh shit, why didn't you tell me that before we played?" is what I want to say. But these days I've learned to expect disappoint from others as well as to disappoint others. I don't say anything special about the secret and just carry on a normal conversation. So later we play again and then we head to a Starbuck's where we run into four of Person A_F's friends. His friends are nice and we have some interetsing conversations. It's time to end the weekend so I excuse myself as everyone else goes to see a 10:30 movie and I'm laying down for sleep near 11:30 pm on Sunday night.