I have a very productive Tuesday. I've decided to try and answer some looming questions with a new nonlinear model adn I'm surprised, by the end of the day, how much progress that I've made. The model runs and converges and gives believable results. I hope to tidy the results up on Wednesday and share them with other people and discuss a path forward. Traffic is miserable on Tuesday, but when I get home I jump on the mountain bicycle and ride it over to my bicycle shop and ask for a tuneup. The mountain bicycle is 11 years old but needs some tighteningup. I walk back home with a stop off at the grocery store and then water the impateiens and spot water some bare spots and then do some web programming.
Wednesday is another super productive day at work as I get Monte Carlo simulations to run and other nonlinear models and simulations to give good results. I also work on documenting my work. I tend to lag in documenting my work and I know that is going to be more critical now if I am going to retire in a while (and somebody else will have to pick up my work). When I get home the 2002 Yamaha YZF-R1 hits 80000 miles and I celebrate by taking a picture of the odometer. I get in a good session with the weights where I drop the weights some and "rep out" since I haven't lifted for 6 days. After the workout I trim the roses and pull down the last bit of the fence on the sideyard. I also trim the sideyard and start thinking of things to do with the space. later in the evening I do some writing for work and hope to watch the Los Angeles Kings' first playoff game of the season but then find that they don't play until Thursday night.
I have a semi-productive day on Thursday. I finish up some draft documents and send them out for comments. I also manage to get some other results and have some difficulty with a nonlinear simulation that is mis-behaving. When I get home I go out walking and stop in at the grocery store for supplies. Tonight I just relax with the Kings' playoff game and get ready for a presentation at work on Friday.
I get to work early on Friday and sit through all sorts of presentations until it is my time to present. One of the reviewers, who is notorious for asking many questions, has to catch a flight home and is someone passivated during my presentation. Nonetheless I do a decent job and we can declare victory for this time period. I ride on home and have a headache, so I think about skipping the workout today. When I get home a finger on my left thand is bleeding and I put antibacterial on it and put a bandage on it (but it still threatens to bleed through the bandage). But I end up lifting weights (with the same "rep out" workout as Wednesday), mowing the lawn, spot watering some bare spots, and trimming the roses. I take a quick shower and relax with some television for a bit and then start preparing things for Saturday's ride.
I have a good 55 mile ride on the road bicycle on Saturday morning. Just as I'm getting to the Whitter Narrow dam I pass two riders and greet them and the one says, "Hey, it's you". At first I think that it is a co-worker and I slow down and ride to the dam with the two cyclists. But then I realize it is not a co-worker and probably just a rider I've met who remembers me even though I don't remember him. Later in the ride there is one stretch where I started struggling but found four other riders to draw energy from. After getting cleaned up I run some errands and get another book from the library and help Person Ti_Ca with homework and watch qualifying for the Grand Prix of China and then relax. Near 6pm Person Ti_Ca drive down to 2nd Street in Long Beach for middle easter (Lebanese) dinner.
On Sunday morning I get up and have a text from Person Ti_Ca indicating that he has been out clubbing and will not want to go hiking. This was a contignecy plan because I knew that if he went out clubbing with friends that he would not want to wake up early and go hiking. I watch the first part of the Chinese Grand Prix and then go out cycling with the recently-tuned mountain bicycle. My legs are still tired from Saturday's ride but I get down to the old yacht club and back. Towards the end of the ride I run into a co-worker and his friend and we ride (slowly) up the Los Angeles river talking about retirement and 401(k) plans and stuff. When I get home I pull out the chainsaw and chop up the old fence and it is now ready to be put into the trash when I have room. After a shower I go buy lunch and do some grocery shopping and finish watching the Chinese Grand Prix. In the afternoon I watch some ice hockey playoffs and just relax. Late in the afternoon I get restless so I paint small sections of the house and garage where the old fence was removed exposing an older color paint. Otherwise I watch the Los Angeles Kings' playoff game and prepare things for work on Monday morning.
Monday through Wednesday are good days at work. I have a productive days getting some long-dreaded nonlinear simulations to run and to give good results. Still some cleanup and understanding to be gained, but a good three days nonetheless. At home I have productive weights workouts on Monday and Wednesday and mind-sobering times in the garden with the roses and cleaning up a fence and stuff.
Thursday morning is a great, productive time at work, but I run out of steam in the afternoon. I've been denying that I have the start of a sore throat for a day or two, but now I'm tired. I don't have a sore throat or any visible signs of illness, but I'm listless. I leave work and take my time getting home from work because traffic is bad (even for a motorcycle) and then I go walking and stop at the grocery store on the way home. I water the impatiens and spot water the yard and try to kill some wild-growing grass, weeds near the driveway and then relax. In the evening I still don't feel sick, but I feel listless and mentally I start feeling bad.
I'm supposed to ride long on Friday, but I've woken up in the middle of the night with a slight fever. Though I don't have a fever of any sort when I wake up, I ride the mountain bicycle down to the old yacht club and add some extra in and call it a ride. There is a strong wind all the way down to the yacht club that gives me a great workout for the two hours. When I get home I mow and fertilize the lawn. After a shower I run some errands including getting more books from the library (what happened to the reading break?) and getting plant food. At home I water and feed the roses and carnations and relax for a bit. Late in the afternoon I sit on the porchwith a book and soak my feet. And then I watch some of the ice hockey playoff games.
On Friday night there is rain and lots of wind. The wind carries over into Saturday morning and when I wake up I assume I will not go riding because of the wind. But after a while I look out and the wind seems to have calmed down, so I get dressed and ride. I was wrong. It is still very windy. But I get in a tough ride today with the wind almost completely reversed (but much stronger) from Friday and I get a good workout coming home. After a quick shower I'm off to drop off expired medicines at a colelction drive at Memorial hospital, visit the main Long Beach library for more books, and do some grocery shopping. When I get home it is still very windy but I clean up a pair of bushes in the front and edge along the driveway. I finally get lunch and watch some of an ice hockey playoff game and in the middle of the afternoon I gt down for a nap.
I'm out the door Sunday before 7 am for a road bicycle ride. There is a good, persistent headwind all of the way up the Los Angeles river to the dam. I meet up with Person P_C who is recovering from a sore knee. And Derrick is blowing us off again for school. Fortunately Person P_C wants to go easy and shorter than usual because I am tired from the two previous windy rides. We get to the bridge and Person P_C turns to go home and I continue on home myself - stopping a bit short of 40 miles.