Content-type: text/html Ray Manning

Monday, May 2, 2011 10:00 PM

Washington, DC


On Tuesday I try to be productive but it doesn't really work out. Afterwards I go home and meet up with Person Ti_Ca who has taken the bus to my house. I see him walking down the street to my house and try to run out the door and hide in the bushes to jump out and scare him. But he sees me and starts laughing so hard because he caught me. But we enjoy a nice dinner together. I watch the Los Angeles Kings playoff game and watch them blow 4-0 and 5-3 leads before losing in overtime.

On Wednesday I am walking all over our campus at work because I have meetings in various buildings. When I get home I start in on the weights very cautiously. I've made progress before I hurt my lower back so the starting point is heavier than typical starting points but I maintain good form and avoid stressing the lower back. Afterwards I walk to the ATM, the grocery store, and the MoneyGram place. And then I relax with ice hockey games.

I hear the phone ring at 5 am on Thursday but I don't answer it because I've had difficulty sleeping throughout the night and even got up to surf the Internet for a while. It was Tree from Thailand and now I'm disappointed that I missed his phone call. On Thursday I'm pulled every which way at work and do my best to keep up. I receive phone calls in the middle of the day from the bicycle shop indicating that my bottom bearings are worn out and it will take another week to fix the problem...but "I'll never have to replace the bottom bracket or bearings again". When I get home I just relax with more ice hockey playoff games. I have a hard time watching regular season games but the playoff games are so intense that they are must watch television.

Friday is a very slow day at work. And many people have left early to get a head start on the weekend. When I have my hours in and I've lost motiviation, I head for home. Person Ti_Ca meets me at home and I get in a good workout with the weights before Person Ti_Ca and I mow the lawn. He's never mowed a lawn before so I get him started and then attend to other things. Afterwards we get cleaned up and go shopping and have a nice dinner at home - switching between watching movies and the ice hockey playoffs. Later I drop Person Ti_Ca off at home.

Saturday starts with giving blood to the doctor for the follow-up on the physical. As I'm driving to the clinic to draw the blood the street on the opposite side is blocked off because a car (an american car, by the way) is completely engulfed in flames and the police are letting it burn and re-directing traffic. I also drop off two books at the library and pick up a couple items at the grocery store. The morning is overcast so I trim a bush before starting out on the extended aquarium bicycle ride before 11 am. When I finish I get a nice shower and then try to fix the wooden gate that has been taken over by termites. I do the best that I can for now and hope that it will last for another couple of years or so. I relax for a while and then deal with phone calls from Person T_U (to help him send out a mass emailing for Easter), Person Ti_Ca (who will be going to Magic Mountain on Sunday), and Person A_H (who wants to leave the midwest). I head for sleep early - it's been a good day.

Sunday is a weird day because it is drizzling when the time has come to ride the bicycle. Thus I work out with the weights instead and run errands needed before Monday's work trip to Washington, DC. In the afternoon the sun starts shining but I'm watching ice hockey playoffs and working (on things that have a Tuesday deadline), so I don't get out cycling today. As the afternoon proceeds I feel guilty about not cycling.

The Monday through Thursday time period is consumed with a trip to Washington, DC for work. We have discussions with four different agencies (including Northrop Grumman) and, at the end, it appears there is no solid agreement as to who is doing the right things and who is falling short. The Captain in charge says the words "very productive and helpfull meeting" but I'm a bit skeptical. Over the three days I have dinner with my boss twice and another co-workers once. I say "I don't care where we have dinner" and we end up having asian food a number of times. And my boss and co-worker are surprised and impressed when I converse with the waiters/waitresses in Thai. Though I am rusty and should practice more.

The Thursday afternoon flight from Washington, DC to Los Angeles just seems to keep dragging on. It seems like it goes on forever. After the flight I walk all the way across the airport to where I am parked and fight traffic home. On the way home I buy a few groceries and then I dump some laundry in to get it out of the way.

Friday starts with some paying of bills (on the Internet), trimming the roses, and buying more gasoline for the lawn mower. I then get out for the extended aquarium bicycle ride. On the way back home I run into some older cyclists and we ride together and talk about long distance riding, retirement, volunteer work, Vietnam, and other things. (These cyclists are on road bikes and I'm on the mountain bicycle so the pace evens out.) One of the guys is a very old guy who has done the Race Across America (RAAM) twice. After the ride I buy lunch and stop in at the library to get some reading material. And then I retreat to home to take drugs for the back. My back is feeling better and better and I'm almost wondering when I can work back up to lifting heavy again. Near 9 pm when the drugs have worn off I pick up Person Ti_Ca from his workplace and we come and go straight to sleep.

Saturday starts with qualifying for the MotoGP and Moto2 races from Portugal (via the Internet). When the morning has warmed up I get out for the extended aquarium ride. My legs and lungs feel strong again today and I have a great ride. After a shower Person Ti_Ca go to close out one of his bank accounts, deposit money into another account, have lunch, and then buy a blender. Afterwards Person Ti_Ca takes a nap and I just hang out and relax. And finally I drive Person Ti_Ca back home so that I can sleep early.

I have deep sleep on Saturday night and Sunday morning but I wake up at 4:30 am and cannot sleep anymore. Am I still on east coast time? I do a few errands around the house and then watch the MotoGP race from Portugal. Though my favorite rider gets pipped at the line for 4th place, the battle between the two leaders is fun. They each egg each other on to faster and faster lap times as the fuel burns off but the tires wear out. Another fun battle! After the race I get out for the extended aquarium ride and I feel very strong. I crank along up one gear and turn around and crank along back home. After a shower I get my haircut, grab a sandwich from Subway for later in the day, and duplicate some house keys (in case my primary keys are lost I can get back into the house). I relax in the afternoon during the heat of the day by washing the kitchen floor, watching the Moto2 race from Portugal, reading, watching a bit of ice hockey. I've set a goal along with Person Ti_Ca to read one book every week until the end of summer. We'll see how that goes.

I stay away from work on Monday. As the morning warms up I get out cycling for the extended aquarium ride. I again feel strong and have a great ride. As I'm about to have lunch some people from work call. They are wondering where I am. I explain that I've left an "out message" on my email that says I will return on 3 May 2011. It turns out they called because they were worried about me. Late in the afternoon I go visit the doctor for the follow-up from my recent physical. Here's another case where I've taken a book to read because I think there will be a logn wait and yet there isn't. I get called in and the doctor sees me almsot immediately. Because my regular doctor is very busy I see an alternate doctor and we have a long discussion about each of the blood tests and the EKG tests. ("You have the heart of an athlete!") The doctor wants extra blood because there are some elevated kindey enzymes and so I go back down to the lab to give more blood. The same Brasilian/Phllipino lab technican is present and again takes my blood. We are becoming good friends! And then I go pick up a prescription, go back home, and relax with a wet Brasilian Indy car race and ice hockey playoffs. It is now time to go back to work.