Excuse the helter-skelter of this post. It was written in installments throughout the day, beginning at 5 a.m. I got up a little before 3:00 because I was wide awake (not unusual) and because I had a lot of stuff to get done (becoming more typical).
I took care of some tasks on the laptop - checking news, writing some emails, booking Pam's SFO-PHX flight at the end of our vacation, and doing some banking. While doing that I ate b'fast and watched the F1 race I recorded yesterday. I root for Louis Hamilton because I like his style and because he's the only non-White guy driving in F1. OK, that's not entirely true because there are several Hispanics, but Hamilton, who is mixed race (Black dad, white mom), is a one-off. And extremely intense.
He started ninth because of problems during qualifying and finished second, behind his Mercedes teammate. He's bothered he didn't win but that was a pretty impressive performance.
It's now 5 a.m., the sky is just beginning to lighten, and I'm headed out to change the starter in the Falcon. It's 73 degrees, headed for 105, and now is the time to get this unpleasant job done.
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6:55 a.m.. 76 degrees - the old starter is out and the new starter is installed, not without grunting and groaning. Ford did us no favors with their starter placement and it took a fair amount of cogitating and wrestling, but it's in. I always wonder if I've done things correctly, a concern that increases in direct proportion to the number of steps involved. Not only did the dear old gal start, she fired after the tiniest blip of the key. I now realize how bad the old starter was and how long it had been gradually failing.
Now a shower, maybe second b'fast, and then off to AZ Sound to get the brackets I need to install the new radio in Pam's Kia. Last night I removed the old radio, which required pulling off about six different dash pieces, so there's a gaping hole in the center that looks worse than it is. The old unit decided it liked the taste of CD's and didn't want to spit them back. Pam really likes listening to her sizable collection and I want to use it as I make the long portion of the vacation drive by myself. I got the new unit from Best Buy yesterday afternoon (what a disaster of a store/chain) and even this cheapest unit it has all kinds of features that boggle the mind. More on that later.
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11:25 a.m., 96 degrees - the radio is in, 19 electrical connections made, and the dash reassembled. Turned on the ignition and got sound. Some guy shouting in Spanish. But I haven't time to figure out the bells and whistles, or even how to change stations. Wolfing lunch and off to a noon meeting.
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3:00 p.m., 107 degrees - good and profitable meeting, then to O'Reilly's to give them the old starter and get $15 back as a core charge. I stopped at the optometrist on the way home and set an appointment for Wednesday morning for an annual eye exam for which I'm one year overdue. She said I should have any new glasses before leaving on vacation in two weeks. I got home about 2:15 and crashed for about 20 minutes. Now it's off to the gym for a good workout that my body needs and my mind is less than eager for.
Pam has run up to the grocery store to pick up a few items, but before she left she said that while I was crashed she got a phone call scheduling an interview with the hospice administrator tomorrow morning. Woot!
I'm curious to see if she has a reaction to the new stereo unit in her car. On the way into town for that meeting I managed to get it to the classical station and was surprised at the improved sound quality. Same speakers, just a new head unit, which I didn't think would make any noticeable difference. But what's really cool? Not only did the display tell me the station frequency, it told me it was a classical station AND the name of the composer of the piece they were playing! Magic!
Tomorrow morning while it's still in double digits I'll go out with the owner's manual and get the rest of the thing programmed. Given the size of said manual that may take an hour or two.
OK, off to the gym. Here I go. I'm getting up now. Really, I am. Ready, set....
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4:30 p.m., 108 degrees - One of the things I like about Crossfit is that it's all out, high intensity, for a relatively short period of time. I spend 30-40 minutes at the gym, all of it working hard, and leave exhausted. Some people are at the gym for twice that and get half the exercise & benefit.
Now it's time for a shower, dinner, and another meeting. These aren't meetings in the normal sense of that word because they're one-on-one conversations. But they're business, not socializing, so I don't know what other word to use. I expect this one to be as profitable as my earlier confab, but by the time I get home I'll be in crash mode.
Methinks you've wasted the five minutes it took you to read this page of drivel with absolutely no value, but it's my job to write. Reading is your issue.
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