On Tuesday morning I wake up a little late as I've turned the alarm clock off to try and get extra sleep and head off the sore throat getting worse. The throat does not feel good in the morning though it feels much better in the afternoon. I typically get a cold in July each summer and if this sore throat is it for this year, then I will be happy. Nonetheless after work I walk over to the store and buy some actifed to help me sleep. When I return home I get in a heavy session with the weights for the push muscle group - no serious signs of illness based on these lifts! And then I trim the roses and relax for the evening.
The throat is even worse on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and I can barely speak on the Thursday morning. Wednesday is a horrible day at work because I make some mistakes and then start getting depressed and just wishing to crawl underneath my house and never come out. Nonetheless I get in a heavy workout with the weights for the pull muscle group on Wednesday night but I still feel bad (mentally). I take an actifed to try and sleep and kill off the sore throat. On Thursday at work I realize that some of my "mistakes" were not actually my doing and a result of inconsistent software. So I feel a bit better mentally but still am dragging physically. I rush home after work and lift heavy again for the push muscle group, grab a shower, and drive the neighbor's 16 year old son to driver's training. (Mom and Dad went to Santa Barbara for the weekend and I have driving duties tonight and on Saturday morning.) After a couple of hours I go pick the new driver up and I try to get him to tell me what he learned in the class. I'm feeling better now and hope for an un-aided night of deep sleep.
On Friday I feel a bit better both physically and mentally. I try to be productive and when the time comes home I rush on home. I get in a heavy session with the pull muscle group and then mow and trim the lawn. By the time that I finish a shower Person Ti_Ca comes over and we relax for the evening.
Saturday starts with qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix and my favorite snatches the pole on his last lap. I drive the neighbor's sn to driver's training and do a few errands including getting another library book to read and returning four others. And then I pick up the neighbor's son from driver's training. He's learned lane changing and backing up today. Person Ti_Ca and I drive to his house, pick up his car, and then drive around Long Beach for errands with Person Ti_Ca driving. He's getting better and learning well. We stop in CambodiaTown to get a calling card (for me) and then we go home to wash and wax his car. By the time that we are finished his 13 year old car looks very nice! And then we both get down for a nap. I only sleep an hour or so before getting up and reading and surfing the Internet and watching some financial television programs. And then Person Ti_Ca drives me back to his house so that he can go to sleep and I can get my car and go home.
On Sunday morning I wake up about 3:30 and cannot fall back asleep. As I lay there the phone rings near 4 am and it is Tree from Thailand. We have a short conversation and then the phone goes dead. His calls typically are very short because he underestimates how much money (or time) he needs on his phone to call me. I try to fall back asleep and the phone rings again at 5 am. This time Tree and I have a longer conversation. When it is over I get up and watch a wild and semi wet and semi-dry Hungarian F1 race where my favorite driver starts from pole and drives a sensible race amid changing conditions and changing strategies to capture second place. Afterwards I get out for the extended aquarium mountain bicycle ride and with the wacky July weather I have a headwind coming home. This gives me a chance to crank along strongly and make up for missing a ride on Saturday. I do a few small errands on Sunday and then relax for a major part of the day.
Monday is a good day! Though I stay in bed a few minutes longer than normal, when I get to work I'm productive and patient. After reading an inspiring book suited for younger people, one sentence has stuck in my mind: The world will change when we change ourselves . Thus today is my first day to be more patient with people, to be more encouraging with people, to only eat healthy foods, and to improve myself. The attitude works as I have a good day at work, then a heavy session with the weights for the push muscle group, then a 30 minute walk, and some grocery shopping where I do not give in to temptation and buy any chocolate.
Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday are also good days at work and eating healthy. I find that if I keep reminding myself that The world will change when we change ourselves that it is easy to eat healthy foods. Tuesday sees a heavy pull session with the weights. On Wednesday after work I go out cycling on the partially extended aquarium ride and then pick up Person Ti_Ca for his birthday. We can only squeeze in dinner and a gift, but we enjoy our time together. And on Thursday night after work I get in a heavy total body workout that leaves me wanting to die when I am finished.
Saturday starts with a good extended aquarium bicycle ride. Afterwards I grab food and head for the doctor's follow-up appointmnet. I just see a nurse practictioner today, but she seems knowledgable. The bloodwork has finally come back into the normal range but she wants another set of bloodwork done in a month to make sure. We also discuss anti-inflammatory medication that would not be harmful to the kidneys. I drive to Person Ti_Ca's house and he drives us around as we run errands. His driving is a bit less than smooth today and so we talk about that. After an afternoon nap we go out walking to a First Fridays event and meet up with Person T_U. We also run into Person S_SM and I just say "all me" to him as he seems occupied. Eventually we walk back home and arrive just after 10 pm. Shortly thereafter I'm headed for reading and sleep.
Saturday is a slow and relaxing day. I get up and trim the roses and adjust the carburetor on the lawn mower. I mow the lawn and do some small trimming before taking a shower and relaxing. Person Ti_Ca is doing his own thing and so I just mill around the house with small little things. Late in the afternoon I drop Person Ti_Ca off at a restaurant where he will have his family and friends birthday dinner. I get home and water the lawn, eats lots of pasta, and pack up the bicycle for a long Sunday ride.
Sunday is the (almost) birthday ride - one mile on the bicycle for every year old that I am. I start up the Los Angeles river, pass across the Whittier Narrws dam, and continue north. I can see the Santa Fe dam a few miles away when it is time to turn around and head for home via the San Gabriel river trail. For parts of the ride I struggle a bit, but otherwise it is a smooth ride. I spend most of Sunday afternoon just relaxing and recovering from the ride.
The Monday leading up to my birthday and my actual birthday on Tuesday are very productive days at work. I only share with one co-worker that it is my birthday and she agrees to keep the secret. After work each day I have heavy sessions with the weights for the push and pull muscle groups. I was thinking that after Sunday's ride my lifts would be difficult, but they are no harder than before. Though the summer has been cooler than normal I still take the evenings easy and just enjoy the nights.
The 24 hour period starting on Wednesday at 8 pm is just weird. I've finished off a good extended aquarium ride after a very productive day at work. And I get a note to call my friend, Person Y_C, in China. I use one of my new calling cards and we have a long discussion about his boyfriend disrespecting him and he is unhappy but he doesn't know how to break up with him. So we spend some time on the phone talking about a plan to get his desire done. I get to sleep early and sleep very deeply. Until about 4am when I happen to be awake and the phone rings. I reach over to open the flip phone and my fingers just don't seem to work and I can't get the phone open. There's a voice mail left from Tree in Thailand but shortly thereafter the phone rings again and this time I can get the phone open. Tree from Thailand is in tears because he just came from the bank and lost all of the money that he took out of the bank along with his identification card. I don't quite get the full circumstances, but I try to calm him down and walk him through getting a new identification card and dealing with other things later. Well, I'm awake so I go to work and re-arrange charts to present. I hit every key and point in the presentation and, after some discussion, the other agency agrees with our position. Though I am excited to have made a great and compelling presentation, I am tired and so I accept people's congratulations rather solemnly. I'm still productive for the rest of the day and get called on to make another compelling and convincing argument just before I leave. When I get home I walk to the store for groceries and then lift weights. Its another heavy session with the push muscle group but I'm starting to struggle more since I've been at this cycle for a long time and I've been trying to eat less. Maybe it is finally time for a week off from lifting after more than 12 weels at it.
Friday is another productive day at work! It's been a while since I've had so many good productive days. I leave work at an appropriate time and find Person Ti_Ca napping at my house. I start the laundry, get in a heavy session with the pull muscle group, mow/trim the lawn, and trim the roses. Now I'm tired so I get a nice warm shower, put the laundry away, and relax with Person Ti_Ca until his friend comes to pick him up to go hang out.
Saturday starts with the extended aquarium ride. After the ride Person Ti_Ca and I grab his car and he does the (practice) driving as we run a number of errands. We end up at a library so that I can get some more reading material. At mid afternoon we both get down for a nap and then we have a relaxing day at home for the rest of the evening.
Sunday starts with another disappointing MotoGP race from the Czech Republic. My favorite can only get 6th place. I get out for the semi-extended aquarium ride today because my legs feel good but I'm tired. After a shower I go driving with Person Ti_Ca so that he can practice driving and then I go on home. I do some reading, watch another race on television, trim the roses, and do a short tree branch trim to finish the Sunday.
Monday is a good day at work until, at the very end of the day, I'm told that people have given me the wrong information and I've built a complete model and prepared it for delivery....and it's wrong. The original information is wrong! Three complete days of work wasted because the original information provided to me was wrong! I go home and work the abdominals and that is the best that I can do today.