Content-type: text/html Ray Manning

Monday, August 2, 2004 8:58 PM

August Start


On Monday I leave work early to ride home, get picked up by Ruby and Joseph, and grab an airplane for Oakland. We arrive at the hotel and go walking for about 45 minutes as we search for a suitable place for dinner. Eventually I fall asleep before midnight.

Our contact picks us up and drives us to San Rafael for a VERY productive all-day meeting. We get out for lunch at a nice and expensive Italian restaurant and continue our productive and funny discussions about work, adoptive children, technology, and life. At the end of the day we believe that we are VERY close to getting at least one of four (and possibly all four) subcontracts. We have a muted enthusiasm as we get back to the airport and fly home. Ruby and Joseph continually tell me that the flight attendant is "hitting on you, Ray", but I just don't quite see it.

I arrive home and after giving Karl, my college tennis partner, driving directions to get him to my house from his lost position, Karl arrives. We walk over and have a simple dinner and great conversation. It was one year ago that I last saw Karl (and his wife Kikumi and son Ike) in Osaka, Japan as they left me. I introduce Karl to a few of my friends who enthusiastically want to know him better. Eventually we both crash for the night because Karl has been up for about 35 straight hours (he just flew in from Tokyo) and because I am worn out from San Rafael.

On Wednesday morning, when Karl eventually wakes up, we have a nice liesurely breakfast before he has to leave and pick up his family at LAX. I get to work near 11:30 am and have a reasonably productive day.

Friday is a productive test day at Northrop Grumman. But there is another test that is not going well and so an appointment is made for me to go El Monte on Saturday morning to help out on the test setup. Friday night sees a good session with the weights, the laundry washed, and an early sleep time (with some Kava root extract helping me along).

On Saturday I get out for a good bicycle ride and drive up the 710 and across the 60 to El Monte. We have a good three hour meeting and the team thanks me for some great suggestions. Monday will be a telecon to see where we go. Early in the afternoon I get my haircut and lift weights. As I'm drifting off towards a nap, Person C_T calls. We have a good conversation and, after a shower and refueling with gasoline, I'm headed back up the 710 and across the 60 to Monterey Park and a vegetarian Chinese restaurant. After dinner Person C_T and I drive to old town Pasadena and wander around the stores. We have good conversation and tease each other about all sorts of things. We both pick out furniture and other things for my house. Even later we try to see a movie but it would be an hour wait, so we decide to go back home and hang out. After we finish hanging out, Person C_T decides that he has to go home because he has to wake up early. So at 2:30 am on Sunday morning Person C_T is leaving for home.

On Sunday I read the newspaper, cook vegetables for the week, and get out for a good acquarium bicycle ride. After replenishing the blood sugar level, I relax for a while and tehn get out skating. It's a nice day and I enjoy the skate. Later I relax and handle phone calls with Person C_T. I also ignore phone calls from Person T* who recently said, "I'm mad at you". Person T* got even madder when I said, "Well, take a number. Because everyone is mad at me now".

I am not ready for this weekend to end. But it does just after 8 pm on Sunday night when I've collapsed into bed for sleep.