Content-type: text/html Ray Manning

Monday, March 3, 2014 8:02 AM

Still No Rain, Part II


It's difficult to get back into the swing of things on Tuesday after four days off. We have some systems problems that caused my models and simulations to die before they finish, so I get some IT people to look into the issues. During an afternoon meeting my boss pulls up a document that I wrote back in September and it takes me a while to figure out what the conclusions were and what the plan forward should be. In the afternoon I have my annual performance appraisal with my boss and it is okay even though he keeps saying "You are the most valued member of our department". I leave work and have a great session with the weights and then start back into some web programming that has been silent for a couple of months. Needless to say it takes a while again to get back up to speed. On a whim after hearing about turmoil in Tunisia, I go searching for a former UCLA co-student and find an email address for him. So I send a re-introduction email and hope that he remembers me and that we an have intelligent discussions.

On Tuesday night I get a few hours of good sleep and then wake up before 2am and cannot sleep. Eventually I put on some clothes and go walking for 40 minutes. When I get back home I lay down in bed and read for a while. And then I finally try for sleep near 4 am.

Needless to say I drag through Wednesday but actually get a few things accomplished - not high-powered tasks, but things on my to-do list that need to get done. We have a going away luncheon for another retiring lady and there are a few old faces to see again. Someday it will be my turn. After work I go walking for 35 minutes, stop in at the grocery store, and then go home to prepare for an 8pm teleconference.

I have reasonable days at work on Thursday and Friday as a number of people ask me for help or ask me to remember back on satellites that we worked on 15 years ago or so. I manage to help people out and this makes me feel good. I also make progress on charts for an upcoming presentation and other little things. I'm procrastinating on all of the documents that I have to prepare. On both Thursday and Friday after work I have heavy sessions with the weights followed by ice on the right shoulder. It feels good to lift these heavy weights and the shoulder doesn't really hurt. I also mow the lawn on Friday after lifting weights and sit back and try to watch at least a few Olympic sports as the games draw to a close. I make some good progress on some web programming that also needs to get done.

The start of Saturday's ride is foggy but its a good mountain bicycle ride nonetheless. After the ride and a shower I take to road bicycle into the dealer for a tuneup since there is a clicking noise that should be attended to. I also order some hybrid tires for the spare mountain bicycle in the garage (on permanent loan from Person C_T) for Person Ti_Ca or visitors to ride. I also get to the lbrary and get Bobby Orr's autobiography to read (along with another book about killers who almost got away with there murders, but didn't). I should do some web programming, but I'm lazy today. I watch an old, silly movie and read almost half of the Orr autobiography before heading for sleep with a nasty headache.

Sunday's ride is eventfull. I take the mountain bicycle down to the old yacht club and then return for home. I see some of the usual riders today. When i see Terry and his brother Les coming I get off the bicycle quickly and try to hide behind some bushes. But it doesn' work as they've already spotted me. But we have a nice little conversation before heading our own ways. As I'm getting close to my exit from the Los Angeles river I see the kid from yesterday on his old Peugeot bicycle walking along. I slow down and ask if he's okay but he says his chain came off and he doesn't know how to fix it. So I stop and help him put his chain back and make conversation as we work. He goes to Long Beach City College and is studying to be a pilot. He has an accent that I can't figure out and his name is Yuriel, but I don't think he's Russian. Regardless we get his chain fixed and as I'm riding off I just say "I hope to see you riding again soon." I relax in the afternoon and start working on deconstructing the radio controlled car that I bought a few weeks ago for $20 to install my own control system. Near 3:30 Person Ti_Ca drive down to St Luke's Episcopal church in Long Beach and listen to a handful of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra play Bach cantatas 82 and 51. I like 51 a lot because it is energetic. Person Ti_Ca falls asleep during the 60 minute performance with his head on my shoulder. As people are looking over at me I can only smile back and show that at least I am enjoying the music.

On Monday at work I am just out of control. I start the day by going to the bathroom and, unshaven, I gel my hair to point at weird angles. I call it my heroin hangover look. And when we have our staff meeting I've saved a couple of jokes that just bring the house down. People ask me afterwards how I think about these things and I just let them know that we have to be "thinking outside the box". When I get home I have a super workout with heavy weights. Today's workout feels good and is not as much of a struggle since the weekend bicycle rides were recovery rides as opposed to hard-core work rides. Later Person Ti_Ca and I do some homework and I keep thinking of the jokes that I used and I can't help from bursting out laughing uncontrollably. Eventually I get down for some more reading of Bobby Orr's autobiography and sleep.

Tuesday is a slow day at work as I wait for simulation to run, start in on writing documentation, and work on charts for a presentation. In the afternoon I realize that I've been looking at data from non-converged simulations so I go over to my co-worker's office, who is also named Ray, and sheepishly admit my error and that the head scratching and hair pulling that we did over the last day was in vain. So I start the simulations to run overnight to get converged data. When I get home I work the abdominals and lower back and walk to the grocery store for supplies. Later I do some web programming and enjoy the solitude.

I have a good day on Wednesday with my work and helping other people out. As I'm sitting in a meeting for some people I have a great idea on how to script the simulation to make it run overnight and automatically. So this is some of the work that I take home and work as well as some web programming where I finally get the piece that I've been working on since Saturday working properly. But when I first get home I go get the road bicycle at the shop and the bicycle mechanic says that I broke a bolt on the big chainring. I have a puzzled look on my face because I've never heard of this failure before and he points to my legs and says, "What do you expect with those legs?" He's teasing me, but we'll keep an eye on this. And when I finally get home I hem and haw and finally decide to lift weights with slightly heavier weights again and have an incredible workout. Late on Wednesday I think about pulling the car out of the garage and into the driveway because it is supposed to rain on Thursday and the motorcycle was just waxed. And I can't remember the last time that I actually drove to work was.

On Wednesday night and into Thursday morning there is finally some heavy rain. I take the World Rally Car to work and fill it up with gasoline for the first time this year. I have a productive day on my own and in meetings. Near noon I go to a book store and wander the shelves and then go eat lunch and try to decide whether to EVER go back to work or not. I finally go back and help another co-worker with an upcoming test, have a staff meeting, and then set up a scripted simulation to run over the three day weekend. When I leave work traffic is not bad and I stop at the grocery store and then work the abdominals and lower back again with weights. As I cool down I wash the extra bicycle for guests in preparation for Karl's visit next week.

On Thursday night into Friday morning it finally rains very hard here. When I wake up it is still raining and the wind is blowing severely. There will not be a bicycle ride at all today. I wait until I am warmed up a bit and lift very heavy weights for a great session. After a shower I get a haircut (again from the Cambodian lady), pick up some vitamins, and start a computer backup (that was last done near Thanksgiving). Person Ti_Ca is feeling under the weather today so it is questionable whether we will go get his taxes done for free at CSULB where he can talk with CSULB accounting students and see what they think of the program. The taxes and talk may have to wait until next week. I go get two more books from the library and stop in at a bicycle store to see if they have the tires that I want. They do, but just before I purchase the tires I give my regular shop aa call and see if they have received them in. They do, so I apologize to the saleman and leave to pick up the tires at my regular store.

Saturday is threatening rain again. I go out walking for an hour in the morning. It turns out I probably could have got in a wet pavement ride with no new rain, but I didn't. I run a few errands and then I prepare the third bicycle for Karl's upcoming visit. I put on the two new tires and tubes, adjust the brakes, and lubricate the chain. Throughout the afternoon I do some housecleaning and some reading. In the middle of the afternoon the rain comes down very hard and I think that I'm near the equator (because the rain is so hard). I do a lot of reading and again go to bed early just to possibly head off sickness due to the cold, wet weather and due to Person Ti_Ca being sick.

Sunday morning looks promising for a bicycle ride because there is no forecast of rain and the streets are drying. But an hour later the rain starts coming down fairly lightly but for a sustained period of time. An hour later the pavement is very wet but the sun is trying, not quite succeeding, but trying to come out. Nonetheless I prepare myself and I go lift weights heavy instead of trying to wait for dry pavement for a bicycle ride. I do some reading and some watching of television until there is a break in the clouds. I jump on the mountain bicycle and ride down to the aqaurium and back. It's a windy and somewhat wet ride, but it feels good. I run into Dennis and his wife and they tell me they've had to put their older dog down because she couldn't walk anymore. And they have a new rescue dog in its place that is very scared of people, but will get better eventually.

Monday is a day full of meetings. I try to contribute where I can and I work on other things in between meetings. When I get home I go for a long walk and just relax during the evening. Person Ti_Ca is still sick so I try to help out his recovery as best as I can (even if he doesn't listen to my advice).