On Tuesday and Wednesday I sleep horribly, yet have productive days at work. On both nights I start off sleepig okay but then wake up and cannot fall back asleep. I toss and turn and think about things and rest. But I don't have much sleep. Nonetheless I have good days at work and do not feel drowsy at all. I work on some models and simulations and on Wednesday afternoon I get to a convenient stopping point to start a 4 day weekend. On both Tuesday and Wednesday after work I go walking and then try to catch up on paperwork and things at home.
Though many people are absent from work on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Myanmar money that I bring to work is a big hit (because most people don't even know where Myanmar is let alone know somebody who has been there before). The Thai money is a smaller hit because I have brought that to work before from previous trips.
July 4th starts with a long road bicycle ride. It feels good to be back on my own bicyle that fits me well. I meet up with Derrick and we ride to the Long Beach pier. We also run into another rider, Terry, and he turns and joins us for part of the ride also. After the ride I get cleaned up a run some errands - calling cards to asian countries purchased in CambodiaTown, food for the afternoon, and grocery supplies. When I get home I relax for a bit and then start some laundry and some light cleaning of the house.
On Friday I get out for a mountain bicycle ride down to the pier and back. Today there are very few cyclists or runners to clog up the bicycle path. After a shower and some relaxing, Person Ti_Ca and I wash the outside of the windows of the house and spray down the stucco which was somewhat dirty from the commotion of the re-roof. Later we go out to the First Friday celebration and run into Andrew and his wife (a former neighbor and cyclist) and Frank and Jeanine. I invite Frank and Jeanine to a birthday dinner in August.
Saturday starts with a long road bicycle ride where I meet up with Derrick again on the Los Angeles river trail. We've started a bit earlier today since it will be hot. Just as I make the observation that there are not many cyclists out yet today, we run into three separate but large groups of riders. After a shower I watch qualifying for the German Grand Prix and then I wash the inside of all of the windows. Throughout the afternoon and evening Person Ti_Ca and I do some homework and I watch the first mountain stage of this year's Tour de France. Otherwise it is a slow day.
Sunday starts with a solor ride sicne Derrick said he was tired and I don't run into any other cycling partners. Towards the end of the ride I am tired since this makes 160 miles in four days of riding. After a shower I run some errands and then watch my favorite driver barely win his home Grand Prix. And then I turn my attention to the Tour de France and watch a good mountain stage unfold - lots of attacks and strategy and only one rider near the top of the standings eventually losing a lot of time. Since I am tired Sunday is also a lazy day and I just relax in the evening to be ready for the coming work week.
I have a good day on Monday at work. I chase down some problems that I had at work last week with the models and simulations and keep making progress on my workload. A number of people want to hear about my vacation and after I tell them about the trials of traveling with a laundered and almost full passport, I don't get the chance to tell them all of the other good things that I did. After work I go home and do a fair amount of yardwork before going back inside to relax.
Through the rest of the week I make progress at work where I can, have all day meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, and get extra work assigned to me because "you're the only one who can do it". I'm not sure I agree with the rationale, but the extra work seems interesting and I am finishing up some of the other work that I've been incrementally making progress on. Each night after work I get in some exercise - on Tuesday I lift weights for the first time in 30 days, on Wednesday I go walking, on Thursday I get out for a mountain bicycle ride to the pier, and on Friday I lift weights again and mow the lawn. Since I haven't lifted weights for 30 days I start in with very light weights and high repetitions and yet I am still sore.
It turns out that Thursday, 7/11 day where 7-11 stores are giving away free slurpees, is a great day for me! I solve a difficult problem at work that I've been working on for a bit. When I get home I work on websites and solve another niggling problem that has halted progress. I get in a good bicycle ride also, but to top this great day off the stock market has a big run-up.
At Person Ti_Ca's insistence, Saturday starts with a hike in Griffith park. We hike to Bee rock and then to the old Los Angeles zoo. It's a three hour hike and it turns out that we finish before it gets too hot. On the way home we stop in Thaitown for Thai food and then make our way back home. I run a few errands in the afternoon and then relax for a big Sunday. I take some cough medicine on Saturday afternoon and for most of Saturday evening I have a fog hanging over my head. I can do some web programming, but I feel a fog. I hope that it goes away with sleep.
When I wake up the fog is diminished but still present. I hope that a long road bicycle ride will clear it up. I meet up with Derrick for the ride. We run into a mutal cyclist friend Terry and just as I am finishing up the ride I run into a co-worker and an ex co-worker. So I stop and talk with them for a bit and give them my phone number so that we can try and ride together. It's about a 45 mile ride for me but I can't remember much about it because the fog is still a bit present. After a shower I get on the motorcycle to ride up to La Canada to meet an expert on child abuse and infant mortality. Randy and Ruby are present and we have discussions among the group and decide where to go. And then I ride the motorbike home. It was good to ride the motorbike because one of the freeways is closed and it would have been a total mess in a car. When I get home I grab some food and watch the MotoGP race, the Mt Ventoux stage of the Tour de France, help Person Ti_Ca with homework, and then watch the Moto2 race. The fog is pretty much gone ad I throw out the cough medicine since my cough is pretty much gone (after one dosage) but it leaves my head in a fog.
On Monday I still have the fog around me. In the morning at work I doze off at my desk for 20 minutes or so, but I;'m still somewhat productive despite the fog. When I get home I lift weights, clean the roses, water the lawn, and try to get rid of some ants who have just got into the kitchen. As the evening wears on and Person Ti_Ca and I do homework, the fog continues to lift. It seems like it is completey gone after 48 hours...I hope.