Content-type: text/html Ray Manning

Monday, January 11, 2010 10:00 PM

Is this how the entire year is going to be?


On Saturday I get out for a bicycle ride and do laundry. It's a slow day. Later in the afternoon Person B_AIA calls and I pick him up at the train station. We hang out, grab dinner at Subway (because Person B_AIA likes Subway), and then we watch some television movies until late in the evening.

On Sunday I get up a bit late and get out fort he aquarium bicycle ride. During the ride I run into Karl (who I helped repair a flat tire a while ago) and we ride together until we go off on our separate ways. Back up the Los Angeles river there is a strong headwind so I get in a great strength workout. After a shower Person B_AIA grab a train for downtown Los Angeles. We walk around for a long time until we are both tired and head for home. (Other than getting to the King Eddy, we do not go down where the junkies, hookers, and homeless people congregate.) The rest of Sunday is slow as I'm worn out and Person B_AIA takes care of many text messages, emails, and sudoku games.

On Monday I have a productive day at work for the first day to start the new year. When I get home I have a great session with the weights where I sneak in a set at even higher weights. I expect to sleep well tonight. And I do for the first 5 hours. But then I wake up at 3:30 and cannot fall back asleep. At 4:30 I get up and mill around the house before getting out for a 46 minute run. And then I head for work and have another productive day.

Late on Tuesday Person B_AIA texts me and appears on my doorstep. Person B_AIA is getting around Los Angeles quite nicely using the trains and buses. And spending time in libraries and with other friends. When Person B_AIA goes to take a shower he comes into my rooma bit later and says, "You have no hot water". The tankless water heater is 6 months old but it has decided to take an exception. I reboot the controller and everything is okay again.

On Wednesday morning Person B_AIA heads for the buses and rails again as I ride off to work on the motorbike. It's a semi-productive day but I'm told that I should go to Boulder, Colorado next week for some testing. After the day at work I get in a very heavy session with the weights and figure I'll get in two more heavy workouts before taking next week off from lifting while I'm in Colorado.

On Thursday I don't get out and run before work. Instead I just get to work early, have a productive day, get told to go to Boulder for work on Monday, and then leave early. At hoe I have a great workout for abdominals and lower back and then relax. When Person B_AIA calls from the train station I go pick him up and we watch the end of the college football game. (It was, as usual for college football games, boring.)

On Friday I wake up and do some financial work and then get out cycling around the aquarium late in the morning when the sunshine is out. I'm a bit unmotivated today and just add a little bit to the typical ride. I do some web programming, sweep the floors, work on little errands around the house, and relax. I'm a bit tired today but I don't get down for a nap. Person B_AIA texts me and says that we should go out tonight. Thus later in the evening I get in a great session with the weights, pick up Person B_AIA on the way to a club, and arrive just after 11 pm. There are a lot of people at the club that I know so I'm able to occupy myself the entire night chatting with acquaintances. This is Person B_AIA's first visit to this club and he's having some fun but is tired. But we stay until closing time and then rush on home for sleep after 3 am.

On Saturday I'm up before 7 am and let the day warm up before starting activities. Before the morning's bicycle ride I prune all of the rose plants back to winter bareroot status. At mid-morning I get in a good bicycle ride and later watch football playoff games. Person B_AIA is a bit under the weather and sleeps most of the day. Later we get ice cream and this helps his throat feel better.

On Sunday morning I ride up the Los Angeles river trail and turn around when the legs say I need to. I drop Person B_AIA off at the train station, watch football playoff games, do some cleaning around the house, and get in a workout for the abdominals and lower back early in the evening. And then I pack for the work trip to Boulder, Colorado.

On Monday I'm awake at 4 am in order to give myself plenty of time in today's security environment to make a 7:30 flight from LAX to Denver.