I have a productive Tuesday and leave a bit early. I stop in at the motorcycle dealer and get a brand new rear tire installed. Since they know I am coming they fit me in very quickly. The guys at the shop know me now because I have so many miles on this motorbike and I always visit them. When I take off from the first light with the new rear tire I apply a bit too much gas and get completely sideways (since the new tires have a slippery film on them). I didn't think I took off THAT quickly. When I get home I have a heavy workout with the weights and watch the 125cc race from Malaysia. The race is going well until one lap from home when my favorite rider runs out of tires and has to limp home in 5th - his world championship bid still not clinched with one race to go.
Wednesday and Thursday are productive days at work and away from work. On Wednesday I pick up Person Ti_Ca on the motorbike and we go home. I get out for a run while Person Ti_Ca slowly rides along on a mountain bicycle. This is the first time I've run in many months and will certainly have sore legs over the next few days. After the run and ride I help Person Ti_Ca with his calculus homework and then I drop him off at home. On Thursday after work I get in a reasonable, heavy session with the weights. I call Tree in Thailand to see how he is doing with the flooding, but he is not doing well. His house has one meter of water in it with no signs of it receding. His family has gone to other provinces to escape the flooding but he has stayed in his Bangkok suburb. I do not know why he stayed. But I try to cheer him up and give him hope.
Though not sleeping well on Thursday night and waking up with a 0.8 degree fever, my off-Friday starts with the extended aquarium ride. I again run into my former neighbors, Hope and Shora, during the ride. I have not seen them in almost three years and now I've run into them twice in one week! The ride is good and I feel strong throughout despite the lack of sleep and the fever. I pick up Person Ti_Ca and we drive over to COmpton for him to take his driving test. Except that this DMV will not let him take the test because his car is missing the console and there are exposed wires and metal pieces. It turns out this is a big disappointment to Person Ti_Ca though he doesn't make it known yet. We end up doing some grocerhy shopping and eating dinner and watch the 7th game of the World Series. This is the most of a baseball game that I've watched in almost 30 years.
On Friday night I wake up at 1:30 and cannot sleep so I get up and surf the Internet for a while. Eventually I get back to sleep and sleep late. The day starts with the extended aquarium ride which feels good. After a shower I start discovering how sad and disappointed Person Ti_Ca is from not being able to take the test and we try to talk about the issue. But it is difficult to get information and feelins out of Person Ti_Ca for now. He goes for a run and I run errands and try to step gingerly around the house to avoid upsetting Person Ti_Ca. We both struggle through Saturday as we are both in the house yet doing our own separate things and not speaking toe ach other. Finally late in the afternoon we have a nice open discussion about the things that have been bothering Person Ti_Ca and fortunately most of them are not of my doing. At least we each smile and get the ball rolling to fix the situation. We go Halloween shopping for costumes and Person Ti_Ca settles on a pirate outfit and I just put on an ice hockey jersey and go as an ice hockey player. We pick up Person T_U, who has an elebaorate skeleton and mask outfit, and go to a Halloween party at a house which has completely changed the house to look like a pirate ship. It turns out they have spent two months decorating and reconfiguring their house. Early during the band playing (Yes - they have a band playing) a lady is staring at me so I try to be polite and smile back. Twenty five minutes later was we are eating snaks this same lady comes up to me and asks me where the vodka is. So I take her to the kitchen and we look around but we can't find any vodka. Later as we are listening to the band play the lady finally starts hitting on. Unfortunately my ice hockey jersey has my last name on it, so she can call me Mr Manning and I still try to keep the conversation distant. Finally Person T_U comes back over near me after working the crowd and I introduce him to the lady. But she persists. Then as she is bringing another friend over I manage to make eye cotnact with Person Ti_Ca in the crowd and get him to come over. The lady says "This is my friend Nathan". So I ntroduce myself, "Hi, I'm Ray. And this is my boyfriend Ti". After a minute or two of listening to the band the lady starts questioning me about Person Ti_Ca and asking me about "playing both ways" and "coming over to the other side". But I just insist that I am happy now and maybe someday Person Ti_Ca will have my same last name. Finally the lady gives up. Person T_U and Person Ti_Ca are just rolling along because this lady was hitting on me. Eventually it is time to go so we drop Person T_U off at his home and then I drop Person Ti_Ca off at his house (still dressed as a pirate). And I'm turning out the lights for sleep near midnight.
Sunday starts with the inaugural Grand Prix of India and my favorite just dominates the proceedings to win again. After the race finished I receive a phone call from Tree in Thailand and though his situation is bad, he manages to make a good joke about "The water in my house is 2.2 meters high and I am only 1.65 meters tall". I try to encourage him the best that I can because there is nothing else that I can do. I get out for the semi-extended aquarium ride and I feel strong again. By the time that I return home I've missed a phone call with Ruby and had my house volunteered for an interview and video shoot with Ruby and a lawyer and her crew. I run some errands and get the run-around regarding plan discount from my mobile phone carrier and I'm left wondering, "I've spoken with three different people - two in person and one on the phone - and they all have offered me different plans and different costs and different discounts. How can this be?" The majority of the day is spent tidying up the house, relaxing, removing a DVD recorder which decides to die, and other little errands around the house.
Monday is semi-productive at work. I work on some analysis tools and then lose steam. I'm expecting to leave work early today to deal with adoptions people. but at the last minute the meeting with the lawyers and other personnel is postponed. I head for home and lift weights and then start working in the yard to plant grass where there are some bare spots. Despite my lower back being sore for two days and my legs being a bit numb, the workout is good so I assume the yardwork will be okay. I'm wrong! After digging and raking up the soil to plant the grass seed, I find myself doubled-over and laying on the grass with lower back pain. And I have a hrd time getting up so I just lay there for a while. After a short time I am able to stand up and the back does not hurt. So I finish watering the bare spots with newly-planted grass and then take a warm shower. After the warm shower I start icing ym lower back and it starts to feel reasonable. I have phone calls with Ruby and Person T_U and text messages with Person Ti_Ca but I am not in a position to be able to do anything tonight but relax and try to stretch my lower back.
Tuesday and Wednesday are slow days at work. I try to make up for the slow days by walking long on Tuesday night and watering the planted grass. And then on Wednesday I pick up Person Ti_Ca after work. I am about to workout when he says, "Let's go for a bike ride". So we strap on the helmets and get all the way down to the aquarium. I'm surprised that Person Ti_Ca could make it. And then I say that we have to head for home because the sun is going down. Person Ti_Ca struggles on the way home but we make it just as it is getting too dark to ride. After a shower we go eat at the Viet_Thai place again. As I'm pulling out onto Orange avenue to go to the restaurant I see a sudden flash of yellow and I slam on the brakes of the World Rally Car. I stop one inch from the left front quarter panel of a car making a left turn from where I am leaving. It is entirely my fault! As I look up at the driver of the other car I see that it is Jorge (of Jorge and Sim) who live just around the corner from me. We each roll our windows down and say something - I don't even remember what - but I must have apologized because I know the near-miss is entirely my fault. The rest of the evening proceeds without incident.
On Thursday I work on algirthms and solve some problems that I've been thinking about for a while. And I take some work home to work on afterwards. I walk to the grocery store to buy supplies and then I work the abdominals, trim the roses, and water the new patches of grass that I recently planted. I have a quiet evening at home because I know the next few days are about to become very hectic.
Friday turns wet but I'm on the motorbike anyway. I just get a little wet on the way to work but at noon the rain is coming down very hard. But a short time later the bright sun pokes through and starts drying everything out very quickly. When I get un-motivated and bored at work I tell my boss that I'm going to escape while it is dry and that I owe him an hour. Person Ti_Ca is waiting at home and we talk about plans for the weekend before I get in a good workout with the weights. Person Ti_Ca and i go to Staples to try to update the operating system on his caluclator and then we walk around the First Friday a bit. But its cold, so we gt Japanese food and go home to catch up on some recorded programs that we both like to watch.
Saturday starts with qualifying for the MotoGP of Valencia and then ane arly and very cold bicycle ride. It is a very cold ride for the extended aquarium ride and I can barely feel my fingers when I finish the ride. After a warm shower I bake cookies and take them over to Jorge and Sim's house to apologize for causing the scare on the street the other day. Person Ti_Ca and I go to eat lunch at one of his favorite restaurants, we go surprise shopping, and then we watch the film "Margin Call". The film is interesting and okay, but I can tell that Person Ti_Ca is bored and doesn't understand all of the financial terms and maneuvering. As we drive I home I can tell that Person Ti_Ca is thinking about something and doesn't want to talk so we drive home in silence. And then I go on home. After a phone call with Person T_U to catch up I have an hour long phone call with Person Ti_Ca during which we talk about some recent mistakes that we've made and their effects on our feelings. Eventually I head for sleep and have a deep sleep.
Sunday starts with an early morning run. Since it is supposed to rain for much of the day, I just get out for a 50 minute run instead. After a shower the final MotoGP race of the season is held from Valenica, Spain. There are tributes to the recently-deceased rider Marco Simoncelli, there are crashes, and there are changing conditions between dry and rain. It has been a long and disppointing season and now it is time to start work towards the 2012 season.
On Monday the motorbike doesn't want to start. It has recently been having a problem that seems to be tied to the lock and tumbler - that's why I cover it in a plastic bag if I think it might get rained on. Today the engine cranks over but it doesn't want to fire. And the dashboard is giving strange readouts. Finally, as I'm almost ready to give up, I crank in plenty of throttle (which is what you are not supposed to do with fuel-injected engines) and it starts. Throughout the day I'm worried that it won't start in the afternoon but it starts right up as if brand new. The day is semi-productive at work until the afternoon when I start to lose motivation. When I get home I take a walk to the grocery store for supplies and then I have a very heavy workout for just the push muscle group - deciding to separate the workouts again as I will push for two more weeks before taking Thanksgiving week off from lifting weights.