The entire week at work is just a disaster. There are fires to put out every direction one turns. There are models that are to be reviewed, simulations that need checking, tests to be abandoned because they are not being done right, and other arguments. I struggle through the week between the disasters and between rainy days which require driving the car.
On the other hand, the workouts that I get in are just awesome. Everyday I lift I add a few more pounds and make the lifts. On Thursday I rush home from work to beat the rain on the motorbike and get in a killer push group workout where my bench press is 16 pounds more than before I went to Thailand and Cambodia (and I get in multiple repetitions with this weight). And after the workout and after protein loading I have the most incredible pump! On Thursday night I call Person Ti_Ca and he puts me on conference call with a mutual friend in Buffalo, Person V_Ca. How do we have a mutal friend in Buffalo? It's complicated. But the three of us have a fun and lively conversation until it is time for me to go to bed and read and then sleep.
On Friday there is a prediction of rain so I drive to work again. There are fires to put out including people who kept saying they would need my help for the last two weeks and promising to send me information right away (so they can meet their deadline). I finally receive the information followed by a "We're trying to meet a deadline of today" and a meeting notice for 4 pm called by one of the vice presidents about the topic. I politely decline the invitation to the 4 pm meeting called by the vice president with "I have a prior obligation that requires me to leave today at 3pm". But I work on their problem and send them information before the day ends. After my meetings are done I leave at 3:20 pm. When I get home I lift weights (very heavy for the pull muscle group) and then quickly mow the lawn. By the time I get back inside the house my "prior obligation" has been pushed to later in the day with a phone call from Person Ti_Ca. So after we clear things up I'm stepping into the shower near 5 pm thinking "If I had known this I could just be leaving vice president's meeting right about now". I do the laundry and have dinner and relax until Person Ti_Ca calls near 9 pm. I pick him up and we just come home and watch some television before heading for sleep.
Saturday starts with qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix where my favorite storms to a dominating pole position. After the qualifying I go out for the aquarium ride and find a number of gates closed along the Los Angeles river - so it's a shorter ride than usual and wet. But it feels good to ride again after all of the rain. Person Ti_Ca and I get cleaned up and we go to the Long Beach Arena for the FIRST Robotics regional competition. We go into "the pits" and look at some of the robots and then grab random seats (that Person Ti_Ca has selected) to watch the competition. As the competition is starting I hear an "Is that Ray Manning?" query from behind me and it's a co-worker (who I haven't really worked with). He can see that I'm having trouble remembering his name so he reminds me and introduces me around and pretty soon I'm being drafted as a possible mentor/contributor/volunteer for next year's competition. Person Ti_Ca keeps asking me questions about how I know these people and why they are so excited to see me. I can answer the first questions but not the second. After we've seen some of the competition we leave and stop in for some grocery shopping before cooking dinner, watching television, and relaxing. Person Ti_Ca has fallen asleep so I just let him sleep while I do little errands around the house. Finally, near 10 pm, I wake Person Ti_Ca so that he can gather his things and I can drop him off at his house.
Sunday starts with the recorded Australian Grand Prix Formula One season opener. I enjoy the start of the season as my favorite wins the race in a dominating manner and other favorites do well (and some of my not-so-favorites don't do well). A bit past mid-morning I start out on the mountain bicycle for a wet ride. I run into Dennis and George - both cyclists in the surrounding neighborhood where we recognize each other. (Dennis stops me and tells me where I can pick up the CO2 cartridges that he "owes" me for helping him and his wife out a few weeks ago. I don't know why he's making a big deal out of a single CO2 cartridge. He's placed a couple CO2 cartridges near his fence and says that I should come and pick them up.) There is rain and wet pavement down at the mouth of the Los Angeles river but it isn't wet enough to make it cold or dangerous. After the ride I run some errands and than watch the Indy car race from Florida (where there are many crashes and incidents). Late on Sunday afternoon I'm feeling restless so I get in a good workout for the abdominals and lower back and cure the restlessness.
On Tuesday I leave work a bit early, pick up Person Ti_Ca on the motorbike at his home, and then take him back to my house. I get in another great workout with the weights while Person Ti_Ca listens to music. After we get cleaned up we head over and met up with Person T_U and Person Ta_T. We go to eat at a new Japanese/Spanish fusion restaurant and then we go to SHoreline Village and wander around. After places are closing we go back to Person T_U's house for one quick game of pool. By now it is after 11 pm and I need to drop Person Ti_Ca off at home and get back home for sleep. It is after midnight when the lights go out for sleep.
I expect to be dragging through Wednesday, but I don't. Through a number of meetings (including one with the vice president that I snubbed last week) manage to keep me awake. When I get home I have another great, but short, workout with the weights for the push muscle group and then relax. I am tired. I go to sleep at the usual time and wake up at 3:15 am and cannot fall back asleep. I look at my phone and see that I missed a phone call from Person Ch_C an hour ago. Since it is a strange hour I call back and see if it is an emergency. I get voice mail. I leave a message indicating that if it is an emergency I would help. I try to go back to sleep but cannot. But I'm finally jolted awake from the alarm at 5:15 am on Thursday morning.
I try to be productive at work on Thursday. As the day wears on I start to feel very strange as if I'm disconnected from my mind and body. I seem to be talking to people and making sense and not doing anything weird, but I feel weird. I take my time getting home on the motorbike and have a great session with heavy weights for the pull muscle group. I miss a phone call from Person M_Fl and I return the call and get voice mail. What's going on here? I don't hear from these people for a long time and then they both call on the same day. After a quick shower I try to relax. I still feel a bit disconencted from myself, but I watch a PBS Nov program on the recent Japanese tsunami and do laundry and take it very easy.
I get some okay sleep on THursday night and get rolling on Friday. I drop books off at the library, get the car washed, get out for the extended aqaurium ride, and mow the lawn. The recent rains have interrupted the pattern of cycling so it feels good to get out and stretch the legs again. After a shower I take the motorbike to the dealer to get a new front tire. I leave the bike at the dealer and walk over to a place to have lunch. When I have finished lunch and hung out at the restaurant for a while, I walk back to the dealer and pick up the motorbike with a brand new Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier front tire. I pick up Person Ti_Ca on the motorbike and we go on home. I try to lay down for a nap but can't quite sleep, so I get up and cook dinner for us. After dinner we go to Big 5 to buy new sports shoes and then we go grocery shopping. I am dropping off for sleep early but after the first few hours of sleep I toss and turn for the rest of the night.
On Saturday I am feeling lazy so I do not get out cycling in the morning. Person Ti_Ca and I get ready to ride the train and watch the Los Angeles Kings beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1. The game is tied for most of the time at 0-0 and 1-1 until the Kings get a goal n the third period and close it out with an empty net goal. It's exciting to see a one goal game where every play could turn the game. We ride the train back home and grab dinner. Later in the evening I drop Person Ti_Ca off at his house and then try to call Tree in Thailand. But there is a problem of some sort with his phone or the network and I don't get through.
I wake up on Sunday morning just after 5 am and cannot fall back asleep, so I start Sunday with trying to call Tree again (unssuccessfully) and with a wet and wild MotoGP race from Spain. My favorite rider starts 12th, gets up to challenge for second place - sliding off into the gravel with the second place rider, and remounts and charges through the field to get 5th place. After the race I get out for the extended aquarium ride. On the way back I run into another group of riders and I start the conversation off with "Did you get a good picture?" (since one of the riders had stopped to take a picture of the Queen Mary). We have a nice conversation as we ride until I get to my exit off the Los Angeles river trail. It's a nice rider's group and I hope that I run into them again. (I think I've seen this group riding before.)
After riding and the lunch I ride the blue line and red line trains to Hollywood for the Songkran festival (i.e., Thai new year celebration). I wander around aimlessly and listen to Thai music, watch Thai dancers, and mingle with the people. I take pictures of interesting sights. After I have been wandering around for more than two hours I get tired so I take the two trains back home. On the train back home there is a guy who keeps putting his head between his legs and I wonder what he is doing. After a few times doing this I watch him and see that he is spitting on the floor of the train. I want to say something like "Do you spit on the floor of your car or on your floor at home?" but I notice that he has two teardrop tattoos coming from his eye, so I just let it go. (The teardrops by the eye tatto is supposedly an indication of how many people one has killed.) When I arrive at home I do the laundry, make some lunches for the start of the new week, and relax. Late on Sunday night Person Ti_Ca calls and we have a long discussion and I try to calm him down. We agree to meet on Monday after work.
I have a decent day at work and then pick up Person Ti_Ca on the motorbike and we ride home. I get in a great session with the weights and take a quick shower. Person Ti_Ca and I then walk over to the grocery store to buy some supplies for dinner. We have a relaxing evening and then I drive Person Ti_Ca back home so that I can get to sleep early.