Content-type: text/html Ray Manning

Monday, August 9, 2010 10:00 PM

Happy Birthday Ray!


Tuesday isn't very productive at work. Though I've been gone for a week I've stayed up to date with email and phone calls via the laptop computer - so catching up isn't an issue. After work I get in a great workout with the weights and then cut the roses back by one third. Cutting the roses back by one third has been suggested by the Los Angeles County Rose Society and I tried it last year with good results. We'll see how the roses do this year.

Wednesday's workout for the abdominals and lower back and Thursday's workout leave me sore. Thursday was just a killer workout and it feels good.

Friday is as productive as can be. We receive promising word from various government agencies that they like our products. We hope this translates into hard business. I leave work, stop in at the grocery store for supplies, then jump on the mountain bicycle for a good hard ride down around the aquarium. The wind is blowing good today but it doesn't seem to bother me as I crank along strongly. When I get home I mow the front and back yards, take a cooling shower, and then start the laundry before dinner. Later in the evening I called United Airlines and get my free roundtrip ticket dates for my winter vacation (from miles).

Saturday starts with qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix where my favorite driver decimates the field to capture the pole. Today I switch things around by having a great session with the weights in the morning and cleaning the kitchen floor. After some time of errands around the house I get out for a late afternoon extended aquarium ride. On today's ride I see a couple wanting to try and take their own picture with a timer so I stop and take their picture for them. They are from Japan and so we share stories of my trip to Japan and their three months (so far) living in Pasadena. And then I head for home - the legs are a bit tired from yesterday afternoon's cranking ride. (That's one other reason why I didn't ride in the morning.) After the ride I enjoy a cool shower and take an Actifed - I'm trying to head something off. Whereas last year I was sick three times in the first 8 months of the year, this year I have not been sick at all. The last illness being the sinus infection yhat I picked up back in Thailand or Cambodia last year.

Sunday starts with the disasrous Hungarian Grand Prix as my favorite driver gets penalized back to third. Why can't he convert pole positions to race wins? Afterwards I go out for the extended loop ride. I battle the wind for the first half but keep up a good pace. And then I just fly! Where did this come from after the two previous rides? Needless to say I am wiped out afterwards and spend the rest of the day reading and relaxing and recovering.

On Tuesday I rush on hme, get in a very good workout with the weights (with slightly increased weights but a decreased rep per set), take a shower, and cycle over to a coffeehouse to meet up with Person Ch_C. Person Ch_C is really nice and very friendly, so eventually he suggests we go to the Japanese restaurant a few blocks away for dinner. We end up staying until closing time and part ways - hopefully to hang out again soon. On Tuesday night I fall asleep easily enough but then keep waking up and not being able to fall asleep. I remember seeing 4am pass by the bedside clock and the alarm comes way too early.

On Wednesday I go to work and then redirect myself to a vendor over in Carson who is having some problems. The group of people gathered at the meeting go through a lot of probing but we cannot find a smoking gun for what is causing the problems. I head back to my regular office and work on scenarios of failure for this vendor. When I get home I work the abdominals and lwer back again and then climb up on a ladder to try to remove more tree branches from near the electrical and other utility lines running along the backyard.

After work on Thursday Person M_Fl comes over in crisis and I spend a few hours with him. Afterwards I get in a good workout with the weights and get ready for a fun three day weekend with calls with Person T_U and Person Ch_C.

Friday starts with the annual birthday bicycle ride - one mile on the bicycle for every year old that I am (or will be on Monday). I go up and over the Whittier narrows dam and head north for the Santa Fe dam (Or Irwindale dam) and turn around at an appropriate point. When I return to the Whittier Narrows dam I stop for a half muffin break and have a little chat with another cyclist before heading for home. A great ride! After a shower and another blueberry muffin I take the World Rally Car for a smog check and do some grocery shopping. When I'm waiting for the smog check to be completed two people drive up to me and ask directions - one for the aquarium and one for another address 30 blocks down Long Beach boulevards. And then I relax. In the afternoon I work on some geocoding algorithms and a Microsoft Outlook script and then I mow the lawn. As I finish mowing the lawn I suddenly realize the solution to my geocoding problem - so I rush into the house and give it a shot. Later I jump on the mountain bicycle and meet up with Person T_U to wander the nearby streets as many people stroll and patronize businesses.

I wake up on Saturday at 4am and have trouble falling asleep. I certainly rode enough on Friday, why can't I sleep? I get up at 6 am to have a conversation with Tree in Thailand, to water the front yard, and go cycling. Today I do the extended aquarium ride and I don't mind if, at times, I am a bit slow and/or my legs are a bit tired. When I finish I chop up the downed branches from the other day of tree trimming and then I relax. I do some reading, some more geocoding, and some cleaning - but nothing extraordinary.

In the middle of the afternoon I get a call from Person Ch_C and soon I'm driving over to pick him up and meet up with his friends. We caravan down (because there are 6 people and we need two cars) to the Orange County fair. We arrive quickly and then parking is such a mess that it takes us more than an hour to get parked. I have never been to the Orange County fair and it's entertaining - more than anything else just to sit back and watch people. Person Ch_C's friends are nice and we spend many hours at the fair. When leaving the crowd has dissipated such that it is easy to get out and get home. I drop Person Ch_C off at his house but we sit in the car and talk. Before we know it three more hours have passed and it is 1 am on Sunday morning. We say our final goodbyes and I head for reading and sleep.

Sunday mrning starts before 5 am because there is commotion on my street. It turns out a water pipeline has broken and the city is moving heavy equipment in before 5 am on a Sunday morning to dig up the street and make a repair. But I manage to sleep a bit more until before 7 am. At mid morning I get out for the extended aquarium bicycle ride and today my legs and entire organism are tired. So I ride along and enjoy it as well as I can. On Sunday afternoon the water pipeline crew are concluding and I enjoy the peaace and quiet for some relaxation. After 8 pm I get a text message from Person Ch_C so I walk over to Starbucks to hang out with him.

My birthday starts with a fun (as always) motorbike ride to work. I have a semi-productive day working on fun things a bit out of the ordinary. When I get home I get in a great session with the weights. And have a quiet evening at home.