On Tuesday I sleep late, but since my running shoes, socks, and bandages have already been laid out, I strap my running clothes on and go. (The bandages and tape are used to protect against blister-prone area on my feet. But this new pair of Asic 51 gel-nimbus shoes do not seem to have a problem, but I'll keep taping up for comfort.) I run for eighty minutes and feel decent. After a shower I go run errands to CVS, the library to to return two books, and to Home Depot. Hope Depot does not have everything that I need so I go on an Amazon spendng spree at home for pumi-sticks, Arduino components, protein powder, and miscellaneous wiring componets for some hobbies. At home I check the calendar and see that tomorrow is the first day of Lent, so I go on a wild, heavy drinking spree throughout the day as I continue to make progress on gathering tax information, prioritization lists, and the multiclass algorithm Can I really accomplish decent stuff when drunk? Yes - as long as I check it the next day when sober just to be sure it is ready to go out the door. By 1pm I realize that I've been drinking for a couple hours and haven't eaten anything yet, so I fix some veggie burritos for lunch. I download the new tax software and start filling in the taxes, and though I'm missing, a bit of information, the TAX REFUND is going to be enough to pay for a brand new motorcycle. Of course thanks to me paying my medical bills for replacement teeth in 2023. (Medicare, cigna, etc never pay for teeth replacement whether the cause is tooth decay, an accident, or cancer. So be forwarned.) Later I watch some of the Kings' game as they try to re-gather their beginning of season performance with a brand new head coach.
On Wednesday I start the day with a brutal ride of intervals on the mountain bicycle. Namely, all-out sprints for a period of time followed by recovery and repeat. This ride usually takes me to the aquarium and back to home with the brutal sprints and it feels good to do it. After a shower I'm excited about taxes and I work on them for a few hours. Later in the afternoon I go out and lift weights as I've decided to really beat myself up this Lent. And later I watch some Netflix.
After Wednesday's intervals, Thursday is a planned day off from working the legs. So I finish my taxes and do some other codng before lifting weights again with slightly increased weights. And then I edge and mow the lawn. After a shower I can barely stay awake and I drive down to the prosthodontist for a fitting of a re-worked temporary set of teeth and the prosthodontist and assistant and I say that that they fit so well that they are going to let me keep wearing them for a few weeks and see how I do. (These are not the final set, but the look and fit is so good that they want me to debug with these.) I cannot tell how excited and happy I am that I can now smile without the embarassment of missing teeth and capped implant posts. This entirely unexpected advance of the schedule has me excited beyond anything I can explain.
Friday morning is much warmer than it has been lately, so I start out on the road bicycle with just two layers of jerseys on (leaving the waterproof/windproof shell off). I'm a bit chilly to start, but I crank along nice up to the El Monte dam which is now full again after this week's rain. I've considered during this ride continuing on to the Santa Fe dam, but instead I turn around and crank like a madman to make it an extra hard eighty kilometers. After a quick shower I go to the post office to send off mytaxes, go to Trader Joes for some focochia, and the go to the gas station for World Rally Car and lawnmower gasoline. At home I grab fish and chips for lunch and I've lost motivation for much of anything. I've brought all of my old and new Arduino parts, wires, and etc into the house to work on a bit. But I just don't have it in me. Instead I'll watch some golf, do some tidying up, and repeat this cycle for most of the afternoon.
On Saturday I take the mountain bicycle down t the old yacht club on a recovery ride. Though I do push at times when "feeling it". After the ride I drop fertilizer on the lawn in advance of the coming rain, do the laundry, work on an Arduino project and get close to finishing, and watch the last part of Los Angeles Kings' 3-on-3 overtime win. Late in the afternoon I have a great workout with the weights as my strength is starting to come back and then I watch some silly Netflix movie.
I've heard a few drops of rain throughout the night and the pavement is damp, but I take the mountain bicycle out for another recovery ride. There are only patches of water and I have a decent ride though my legs are tired today. After a warming shower I work on my Arduino project and get the breadboard completely working. Now I have to work on the motor pump that is being driven by the Arudino breadboard. I watch some golf and get in a core workout for the abdominals and lower back. And I watch the last half of the Kings' game where they're down 1-0 for most of the time, but one player scores a shorthanded goal with five minutes left to tie the game and then the same players scores the go-ahead (and ultimate game winner) with two minutes to play.
Monday, President's Day, is a blah day. When I wake up, the pavement is wet but rain is not due for a while. So I put on clothes and walk to the grocery store to pick up a few items. Back at home I read the news and the rain starts. The rain contiues for most of the day and I miss a short window of "no rain" if I was going to go run/walking. Instead I get in a good weight lifting sessions and I'm seeing progress with regaining my strength. After a shower I start the laundry and poke around at little things around the house. Later in the day I catch up with some recorded programs and some Netflix.
There is a ton of rain on Tuesday. I try to find a window in the morning to go out walking with a jacket and an umbrella. It starts to rain lightly, which is fine, but I know not to go far from the house in case it starts raining hard. So I loop around the shopping center a couple of times and the rain starts coming. I get home after 32 minutes of walking with buckets of rain coming down. Everything is wet and gets removed and stuffed into the clothes dryer the second that I step in the door. I'm hungry today, so I eat pizza for lunch and read the news and check out the final MtoGP preseason test results. I'm excited for the new season to start. In the afternoon I watch a number of Netflix shows and happen to find an electronics store in Torrance (to buy Arduino parts). And I'll be in Torrance on Thursday for a doctor's appointment, so the timing is perfect. Late in the afternoon I get in a great session with the weights, grab a shower, and then have burritos for dinner. I'm desperate for a dry Wednesday so that I can go cycling.
I'm excited on Wednesday morning because the rain has stopped and I just need to wait for the pavement to dry for some cycling. I read the news and markets and plan Thursday's errands. And get out the door on the mountain bicycle at 10:40 am for a mountain bicycle ride. I take the mountain bicycle rather than the road bicycle because it was made for wet, sandy conditions. I have a good ride to the old yacht club and back to home with a strong headwind on one of the quarter legs of the ride. It feels good to ride again. AFter a quick shower I get my haircut and go to the ATM and then return home to watch some Netflix and just relax. I'm letting everything dry out really well for starting in hard on Thursday.
Early on Thursday morning I get out for a run/walk, the first one in more than a week, and I enjoy the run/walk though I'm extra cautious with my footing. I have just enough time for a 75 minute run/walk and to get a shower and drive to visit my radiation doctor. We both agree that I am making good progress and that the prescription written by my primary care physician is appropriate for the possible damage due to radiation to my thyroid. I run errands on the way home including an old fashioned electronics parts store, the Home Depot, Target, the library, and the grocery store. I unpack and cook lunch in parallel as I try to get my blood sugar stabilized. For a break I read the news and markets and relax a bit before I have a good session with the weights followed by carbo-loading for a long Friday morning bicycle ride.
Late on Thursday and into Friday morning I've lost motivation for a long road bicycle ride, so I take the mountain bicycle down to the old yacht club and back to home. It's windy and gusty and that's part of what caused me to lose motivation for a long ride. So this ride works out well. After a shower I read the news and markets and when I return from going to the bathroom there's a bird flying around in my kitchen. It entered through the open backdoor and sees me and makes a couple of swoops and is gone out the backdoor. I'm glad it decided to leave rather than have me chase it through the house. I have a good lunch and relax a bit. During the warmest part of today - an unseasonably warm 77F in February - I go mow and trim the front and back yards, do a bit of weedwacking, and then work the abdominals and biceps. I skip working the lower back today because it's getting enough workload. After the second shower of the day I find dinner and just watch some Netflix.
After a great night of sleep, I start off on the mountain bicycle again to the old yacht club. I have a good ride and we'll see about a long road bicycle ride on Sunday. At home I weedwack the roses, grab a shower, read the news, watch some Netflix and ice hockey and golf. At mid-afternoon I lift weights and get in a good session though both shoulders have a bit of pain. Both shoulders get iced after the workout. It's a slow Saturday and I watch some more Netflix before getting to bed early to read and sleep.
I sleep very well on Saturday night and when the alarm goes off on Sunday morning, I turn it off and sleep for another forty minutes. Then, still being worn out, I get on the mountain bicycle and ride to the old yacht club and back to home. My legs are tired! After a shower I read the news and watch some ice hockey and golf. After lunch I clean the exterior of the kitchen cabinets, clean the kitchen floor, re-grout the backdoor (where excessive traffic has worn away the grout right at the threshold of the door), and clean the bathroom floors. I'm working down my list, but as I work things off the list, new tasks appear. For example, after cleaning the exterior of the kitchen cabinets I realize that there are nicks and dents that need painting. So "touch up kitchen cabinet paint" gets added to my list. Then I relax more. During dinner I watch some Netflix.
I'm out the door on Monday morning at 6:11am for a run/walk. I have a ten minute walking warmup, 55 minutes of alternating running and walking, and a ten minute walk cooldown. I wanted to go longer, but this will do for today. After a shower I read the news and markets and then pull out the interior trim paint and touch-up dents and scrapes on the kitchen cabinets. These are dents and scrapes over the last fifteen years since the kitchen was remodeled. It really has been fifteen years! FOr the most part, nobody else would see the blemishes that I am fixing, but I see them. I stop for lunch and finish watching a Netflix movie that I started yesterday. I realized halfway into the movie that it was based on a book that I just read from the library a month or two ago. Though the movie is a bit different than the book. After the movie I clean the hardwood floors. Today I've knocked two things off the to-do list and fortunately only added one. Later I grab dinner and watch the Kings' game against the Oilers in a possible preview of a playoff series. Note the Kings have lost to the Oilers in the playoffs the last two years in seven games and six games.