Just when I don't think that the panic and chaos aat work can get any worse, it does. Tuesday is a funny day as I watch everyone scramble when they hear that I have been deployed away from work on Wednesday and that I have personal plans on Thursday. I have many many visitors to my office throughout the day as everyone asks for something to get done before I leave and I just decline all of the requests and say that we'll get them next week. And no matter how hard people try and pull rank, it doesn't work. Because I have my orders and I stick with them. When I leave work I pick up the World Rally Car and drop it off for an oil change and then I walk back home. (Today I skip the inline skate home and use the brisk 42 minute walk as today's workout.) When I get home I check the tire pressures on the motorbike and the coolant level so that it is ready for Wednesday's high speed run to and from San Diego.
Wednesday is the high speed mornign run to San Diego, a long and frsutrating day working, and a high speed run back to home. I'm glad they pay me mileage for these trips based upon a car's fuel consumption! The day at work is not as expected and leaves all of us scrathcing our heads and it seems like I will have to go back down to San Diego for the next test again.
On Thursday I want to go out cycling but I'm lazy. So I skate over to the dealer and pick up the World Rally Car, visit the ATM, but some primer and paint, do some grocery shopping, and then paint the trim of the ceiling door. I get a shower and then pick up Person Ti_Ca for his driving exam. When we get to the DMV they do a safety check on his car and show that the left front turn signal is not bright enough. We go to an autoparts dealer and get a new bulb and replace it. Replace it? On this model car you have to remove the front bumper in order to replace the front turn signal bulbs. So we do that together and rush back to the DMV to try and muscle our way into a real driving test. Person Ti_Ca gets the driving test and does not pass. So we have some things to work on with his driving over the next two weeks. I drop Person Ti_Ca off at school and head home for a few other little errands around the house.
Friday starts with the extended aquarium ride and continues with cleaning up the sideyard and the laundry. When the laundry is done Person Ti_Ca calls and I pick him up and I get collect three books for reading from the library. Since I had a 1.3 degree fever this morning, I try to get down for a nap but fail. I cannot sleep. Later in the afternoon I help Person Ti_Ca with his calculus homework and then I drop him back off at home.
Saturday start swith an early morning extended aquarium ride and continues with trimming, edging, and mowing the lawn. And I'm still motivated so I wash down the driveway with water and then get a shower. Just after noon when I've recovered some abmition I go out and trim and hang the garage drywall (where I had to pull out a piece to re-wire the garage). I also tape and fill the joints with joint compound and then go to read in the latter part of the afternoon.
The MotoGP race from San Marino starts my Sunday and my favorite riders gets 7 th place -the best that he can hope for. I get out afterwards for the extended aquarium ride and enjoy another day of cycling near the ocean. After a shower I go and buy headlight polishing compound and find that it works remarkably well - I thought it was just hype. In the afternoon I sand the drywall joints and get a coat of primer on the newly installed peice. Hopefully it will get a good coat of paint on it on Monday. And I finish the day off with a lot of reading.
There is rain on Labor day morning, so I hang out and wit for it to stop. I pick up Person Ti_Ca early and then when we return home I paint the new garage drywall and then go cycling. As I'm riding down towards the ocean there is a slight breeze at my back. I ride along the ocean for a while and mess around before turning back and heading for home. And now the wind has shifted such that I have a slight breeze at my back on the way home. Needless to say I crank along strongly and only near home do I start getting tired from the 4th bicycle ride in four days. I get a cool shower in and Person Ti_Ca and I run some errands and pick up some food for dinner. Later I try to get down for a nap but there is construction nearby, sO I just rest. I am tired.
Wednesday and Thursday are tied up at work with more stupid meetings and I do my best to skip out of them and get some work done. When I leave work on Wednesday I lift weights and then go to trim a bush in the front yard. Though this is the hottest day of the year, it should only be a short effort. As I'm finishing up and reaching with a rake I feel my right lower back "go". I take a few minutes bent over and then realize that this is going to hurt for a while. I do my best to finish cleaning up but I can barely walk. I take some anti-inflammatory (though I should not because it is hard on the kidneys) and try to stretch and keep moving to keep the lower back loose. And then I head for sleep.
On Thursday morning I can barely get out of bed and I take more anti-inflammatory. As I work through the lousy day of meetings I keep trying to move around and hope it is helping my lower back. As I get towards the evening with no workout except a walk to the store for some groceries, the back is feeling better but starting to feel unstable.
On Friday morning I'm packing stuff into the motorcycle and I drop the key. It falls onto the motorcycle, bounces around, and falls into the fairing somewhere. I spend a few minutes looking for it but cannot even see it. I can only assume it is stuck somewhere inside the fairings. I go back in the house and find the spare key - it is still in its protective cover from almost ten years ago and has never been used. I ride on to work and hope that I can find the key later today without having to take off all of the fairings. I have a very productive day at work with only one (informal) meeting the entire day. When I ride home I workout with the weights and have no pain at all from the lower back (though it does feel unstable at times). And then I take the two seats off the motorbike. I can see the key! I get a very long screwdriver and maneuver it around until I can slip it out a seam in the fairing. And I put the two seats back on and have recovered my primary key in just a few minutes. I mow the lawn and then relax.
On Saturday I get a phone call at 5:30 in the morning from Tree in Thailand and we have a nice, but short, conversation. Since I'm awake I water the impatiens, turn on the sprinklers for the grass, and watch qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix from Monza, Italy. My favorite driver gets the pole for Sunday's race and some records may start to fall (with his and his team's qualifying performance for the year). There is rain and loud thunder this morning (Thunder in September?) and so I trim back the roses by a third (to promote late October blooms), tidy some things up, and do some reading. When the threat of rain has subsided I start out on the extended aquarium bicycle ride. During the ride I some a group of 6 younger riders struggling with a flat tire and I stop and offer help. It is their last inner tube and my spare tubes don't fit. And they manage to split the tube with the tire irons. So I tell them there is the Long Beach Bikestation a little ways away and so three of them come with me (with the flat tire and wheel) while three wait and we go find the Bikestation. I drop them off and head for home. After the ride I get a shower, get to the library to return two books and get a new one, drop the lawnmower blade off at the mower shop (And hear that Mr Tanaka's big but friendly dog has died), pick up lunch, get to the ATM, and do some brief grocery shopping. While grocery shopping I see Person C_Ch getting lunch and I just avoid him because I don't want to deal with it right now. Late on Saturday I pick up Person Ti_Ca from his workplace and we hang out for the evening.
Sunday starts with the mystic Italian Grand Prix from Monza. My favorite driver romps away after the first few laps for a dominating win. After helping Person Ti_Ca a bit with homework I get out for aquarium ride and have no "events" during the ride. In the afternoon I help Person Ti_Ca with more homework as I watch the recorded Detorit Lions football game. It is one of only three times that the Lions will be on television this year so I make the most of the opportunity and watch them get a season-starting win. I drop Person Ti_Ca off at home in the early evening and then get some more reading done.
I'm awake at the usual time near 5:15 am on Monday morning and I notice that in the distance somebody's alarm is going off. I cannot tell if it is a car alarm or a burglar alarm, but it is continuing and nobody is hsutting it off. Some people are just not qualified to own alarms. At work I try to make myself scarce and actually go to another building to talk/work with people since I don't want to be told today that I have to go to San Diego on Wednesday for another test. They wouldn't possibly tell me the day before, now would they? After work I do some grocery shopping and water the plants and the yard and watch football. I'm unmotivated for any sort of workout today.