Closing out the day
Today was a good day. It was my birthday and I did only what I felt like doing, and got gifts in the evening (the gifts differentiate it from most any other day off from work :). I was in the mood to play poker yesterday so I headed over to the casino in West Virginia, and ended up playing poker from about 5:30pm to 4am this morning. On the way home, I broke my previous record of top speed (115mph) by getting my Mini Cooper up to 120mph (and I wasn't even in Sport mode). I only dare driving high speeds (above 85-90mph) on a highway within about 5-8 miles of my house that is three lanes each way, and generally very, very straight. I also only do it in the early morning hours when there is next to no cars on the road. This day could have been soo very un-good if a cop was around but I was willing to take that chance. It is exhilarating to drive that fast, and to see "120" on the digital speed gauge in front of me. I could have gone even faster, but I really am a chicken deep in my core so I was willing to not push it further.
Playing poker all night does ruin me for most of the next morning. After having breakfast at 6am and reading the paper, I tried napping and maybe got 3-4 hours of real sleep before getting up again to putz around and then have lunch. I had thought about hopping on my motorcycle yesterday but the wind gusts were insane (regular wind speed around 20mph, with gusts up to 50-60mph). I did not need to attempt riding and have a super-gust of wind push me onto the opposite lane of traffic. I rode today instead (zero wind), with temps in the mid 40s. The cold only affected my right hand, which is generally colder than my left normally (probably due to poor circulation). Riding is still fun for me, even on roads I am very familiar with. My total ride time was maybe 40 minutes today, but that was enough. I am hoping to get out every day this week that no rain is predicted and winds are not extreme.
My parents came around around 5pm and we all went out to a local restaurant, where yummy food was had, a cute waitress was discretely admired, and fun conversations with parents were exchanged. After dinner and back home, I got my booty :). I had asked for a new computer desk (trying yet again a new position/chair hoping to be more comfortable while teleworking at home) and a floor lamp for my spare bedroom where the old one died. Both were received. My sister, oh the wise one she is, got me heated riding gloves. I am very interested to try them out tomorrow and see how much heat they do produce and how effective they are in mid 40s weather. They are battery powered (battery fits in a pocket on the back of the palm), which is good since the other style of heated gloves would have required me to install a connection to the bike's battery, something I am not yet motivated to do. The batteries are currently charging, and I hoping they get fully charged soon since I am pretty darn tired and want to go to bed, but I don't want to leave them charging all night long (no matter whether that's supposed to be ok for the batteries or not).
Playing poker all night does ruin me for most of the next morning. After having breakfast at 6am and reading the paper, I tried napping and maybe got 3-4 hours of real sleep before getting up again to putz around and then have lunch. I had thought about hopping on my motorcycle yesterday but the wind gusts were insane (regular wind speed around 20mph, with gusts up to 50-60mph). I did not need to attempt riding and have a super-gust of wind push me onto the opposite lane of traffic. I rode today instead (zero wind), with temps in the mid 40s. The cold only affected my right hand, which is generally colder than my left normally (probably due to poor circulation). Riding is still fun for me, even on roads I am very familiar with. My total ride time was maybe 40 minutes today, but that was enough. I am hoping to get out every day this week that no rain is predicted and winds are not extreme.
My parents came around around 5pm and we all went out to a local restaurant, where yummy food was had, a cute waitress was discretely admired, and fun conversations with parents were exchanged. After dinner and back home, I got my booty :). I had asked for a new computer desk (trying yet again a new position/chair hoping to be more comfortable while teleworking at home) and a floor lamp for my spare bedroom where the old one died. Both were received. My sister, oh the wise one she is, got me heated riding gloves. I am very interested to try them out tomorrow and see how much heat they do produce and how effective they are in mid 40s weather. They are battery powered (battery fits in a pocket on the back of the palm), which is good since the other style of heated gloves would have required me to install a connection to the bike's battery, something I am not yet motivated to do. The batteries are currently charging, and I hoping they get fully charged soon since I am pretty darn tired and want to go to bed, but I don't want to leave them charging all night long (no matter whether that's supposed to be ok for the batteries or not).