Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

The last couple of weeks have been busy but boring.  Here are the highlights.

I know it's been a couple of weeks since the Solar Eclipse, but I haven't posted about it.  I ordered glasses the Wednesday before and they were supposed to be in my mail by Saturday.  Well Saturday they didn't come.  I stalked the tracking information and it said it would be in my mail on Monday.  At first I was just going to go home at lunch and work from home while I watched it.  But I changed my mind and ran home and went back to work.  I'm glad I went back as a few of us went out and I passed my glasses around.  There were about 50 people out just in front of our building experiencing the beauty of the eclipse.  We had about an 86% eclipse and at the height it looked like a crescent moon.  It was amazing to see such a rare thing.  It has me thinking of traveling to see the full eclipse when it comes back to the US in 7 years.

I've biked a couple times a week for the past month.  It's good to get out there on the bike.  Most have been early morning sunrise rides.


I had an annual check-up for me, my car, and one of my cats.  Of course all separately.  The car passed it's inspection as did I.  Aiden did well for his but he was so scarred that he peed on me while I was trying to comfort him.  Then he hid under the chair and pooped.  The poor thing.  I got home and he still loved me, so all was good.


I was supposed to take a couple days off this week to take a class to get a certificate for work.  They canceled it the afternoon before and now I have to find another to take.  It was disappointing as I was looking forward to the class.

My mom started back teaching school for the fall.  We now have a nurse come by and stay with my dad while she is working.  Thursday I got a call saying my dad snuck away from her.  They did find him as I was on my way to their house.  I decided to stay with them till my mom was done with her class and came home.  My dad did seem agitated, but calmed down a little while I was there.  Apparently he keeps looking for my mom and will take the dog out for a walk looking for her.  Though he has letting the dog off the leash, so a neighbor will be taking her while my mom is not home.  But even without the dog he will go out for a walk looking for my mom.  So the nurse and I took turns going for a short walk with him till my mom got home.  My mom now has gotten bells for the door and is ordering a GPS finder to stick in his wallet.

My work has classes we can take at the gym.  I took a TRX one on Friday and thought it was good.  I didn't think I worked out too hard, but two days later my abs are still hurting every time I move or breath hard.  I will defiantly take the class again.

I finished up another month with a buns challenge.  I haven't thought about September yet, so I may not do this month's challenge.  I really liked this challenge and will probably add in a few things to my daily stretching.

I've caught up on the latest season of Game of Thrones.  I was disappointed that it was only 7 episodes instead of 10, but still another really good season.

Does your animal get scarred at the vet?  Have you taken a class that you could feel two days later and looked forward to taking it again? 

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

This probably will be a nice short update.

This weekend was our project deployment for the project that has been taking all my time for the last month.  It went fairly smooth, but a lot of time and a lot of moving parts.  I'm hoping after this week I'll be getting my life back.

I actually got out on my bike on Sunday.  I have only been on it a couple times in the past month and I have missed it a lot.  It turned out to be a 38 mile ride which was a little more (and a little faster) then I should have done considering the little I have been on my bike.  My quads were trashed.  Not like they were pulled and can't walk, just that I really couldn't have done much more biking.  I took it to the limit.  My biking partner is having back issues so and the people that ride early morning are a bit faster then me, but I still plan on getting out on Wednesday with them.


The Solar Eclipse is today.  I'm super stoked about it.  I was supposed to get glasses delivered to me on Saturday but they won't get to my house till today.  I'm hoping that my manager will let me head home at lunch and then work from home (minus the time I will be watching the eclipse).  I can't wait.

So that's really about it for this past week.  Just work, work, work.  Fun times.

Are you excited about the Solar Eclipse today?  

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It's been another not so exciting week for me.

Because of work, I haven't been able to do much of anything.  There were days when I had things that had to get done, like laundry and grocery shopping, and I just didn't have the energy, but still had to get them done.  Days like those, I wish I had a wife to do the domestic things. :)

I still haven't had a chance to get out on my bike.  Between rain and work, things just haven't worked out.  Though I'm thinking about going for a run next week.  Maybe.

The new position that I'm slowly transferring to has gotten under full swing.  I had some people question my authority of the new position, but I stood my ground and had management backup.  Things are starting to go really well with it now.  I enjoy the roll and have really missed it.

Even though I had to work some this weekend, I didn't plan anything social.  I really wanted a couple days to just decompress and sit on my couch and be a sloth.  I decided to get a monthly subscription of HBO and catch up on some shows from the last year.  I got through the last season of "Silicone Valley" and the first season of "West World".

"Silicon Valley" is just a fun show.  Though I do get tired of right when you think things are great, something bad happens.  Not just bad, the worst thing that could happen at that moment.  I understand needing the ups and downs, but it's getting really predictable on when something horrible is going to happen to them.  Like every third episode.  But it's still a fun watch.

"West World" gave me mixed feelings.  I do enjoy sci-fi and the thought of where we could go with our technology but the moral aspects of AI bothers me a bit.  There have been many stories out there of AI being "alive", from "Short Circuit" to "I, Robot", but this takes it to the next level.  I think it would be so much fun to have a world to go into to go on an adventure.  Like if I were to join "The Lord of the Rings" or "Alice in Wonderland".  But then there is the moral aspect of, if we make AI to look and act as another human, is it OK to rape, maim, and murder them knowing that they are just robots?  Is it any different then video games?  It's no wonder they rebelled in "Terminator". :)  I also have to say that their opening credits feels a lot like the "Game of Thrones" opening credits.  Similar music and a slow movement of different things.

Over the weekend, in Charlottesville, there was a lot of violence.  Charlottesville isn't very far from here, maybe an hour and a half.  It's a great town that I like to visit.  It's a university town with a lot of wineries near by.  What's not to love?  Like in Richmond, they have confederate statues of southern soldiers which are in debate on if they should be taken down.  A white supremacy group decided to protest the removal of the statue.  They have rights to their own views, but when those views turn violent it just makes me sad.  It just hurts my heart that someone could hate someone so much without even knowing them.

Have you been watching any shows?  How is your training going?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

Not much has been going on recently.  But a few small things that were good.

I don't think I mentioned that I got shades for my skylights a few weeks ago and I LOVE them.  I have two skylights in my bedroom and is so bright and so hot up there throughout the day.  I should have done this years ago.


After I had the skylight shades put in, it was still hot upstairs and I realized that there was something wrong with my AC.  They came by and said I had a leak in a coil.  So now it is nice and cool in my house.  So pleasant.

I finished reading The Handmaid's Tale.  After everyone was telling me how good the book was, I was really not impressed.  The whole idea bothered me and it was really never made clear why and how it came to that point.  I didn't have any empathy for the characters either.  It would be like The Hunger Games and just showing the game and not explaining the whole situation and not getting to know the characters.  I reluctantly watched the Hulu series this weekend, again because everyone said how great it was.  I ended up really enjoying the series.  It took a lot of liberties from the book and really got into the characters.  It also gave more of an explanation how a society could get to that point.  I recommend the series, but don't read the book.

Because I have been working a lot, it's been hard for me to get out on the bike while working 10 hour days.  I'm still getting to the gym a couple times a week.  I have also started another 30 day challenge.  I like this one as it doesn't seem to get to so many reps that I just don't have time for it.  If this goes well that site has a few others that look very interesting.

I still haven't had the want to run yet, though I can feel it building a little.  After I saw a 10k sticker on someone's car I thought it would be fun to do a 10k this fall.  We will see how the next month takes me.  I officially decided not to sign up for the Richmond Half.  While maybe a run or two in the next few weeks sounds fun, the thought of following a scheduled just doesn't sound like fun right now.  I'm hoping just to find my way back naturally.  It's there, but not like it was.  I know at some point it will be, for now it's not.  Going slow is what is best for me now so I don't completely lose my love for it.

For the past few months, I had had a cat come to visit us nightly on my back deck.  My cats love seeing her and sit and watch her.  They even wait for her by the door, looking out for her each night.  I haven't seen her in the past month.  I didn't know if something happened or if I had just not seen her around.  A week ago she started coming by again.  I broke down and started feeding her some treats that my cats won't eat.  I didn't realize how many nose and paw prints I had on these windows till I took this picture.  I have since cleaned them so that they have a better view of each other.


My cats love sitting and watching her.  She is the black blob on the right outside.


We have been very busy at work as we have a huge project going live in a couple of weeks.  A lot of moving parts which means a lot of testing going on.  While things have been good, I was asked if I'd like to change positions.  It would be a 50/50 split of my time, but this new position is what I want to do with my career, so it's a good move.  I'm excited for the opportunity.

I saw the trailer for "Ready Player One" this weekend.  It's based on a book that is based in the future, but has a lot of 80's pop culture references.  I loved this book and the trailer looks amazing.  I can't wait for it to come out next year.

Have you seen or read "The Handmaid's Tale"?  Have you read "Ready Player One"?  How is your training going?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Why Am I So Tired? (Friday Five Edition)

So I know it's been awhile since I posted.  I have been really busy at work and just too tired when I'm home.  I've also haven't been running.  Though I have been biking, I haven't in the past week and a half because my IT band has been acting up.  Too much too quickly.  I just was having so much fun that I kept riding and I should have given myself an extra rest day.  But anyway I have been wanting to write this post for awhile and this would help explain when I say I'm tired and have no energy to even blog, this would help explain it.

Ever since I can remember in my adult life, I have always been tired.  This is more tired then the average person usually is.  I mentioned it many time to many different doctors and all they say is get more sleep or get more exercise or reduce the stress.  No matter what I do, I'm just tired all day.  And to explain what I mean by tired is that I could wake up at 8 on a Saturday after getting 7-9 hours of sleep and I'll get up, have some breakfast.  I'm so tired that I would take a nap at 10.  Yes, I would be able to fall asleep for another hour or two after only being awake for a couple of hours.  And then there are even times that I could take a second nap in the afternoon.  And I am this tired every day.  An example I read was if a normal person went 3-4 days with only getting 2-3 hours of sleep a night, that is how tired I am.  And I get 7-9 hours of sleep every night.

Last summer I saw a new doctor and she actually took me seriously and referred me to a sleep clinic. I talked to the sleep doctor and he asked me all these questions on if I lose muscle control if I laugh too much.  He wanted me to do a sleep study.  Not only overnight, but also a day sleep study.  Here are five things that have happened with this study.

1. I showed up about 8 PM with my pillow, blanket, and a bunch of stuff to entertain me the next day.  I brought my own pillow and blanket not because they didn't have them, but I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.  I have a hard time sleeping when I'm not in my own bed.  They attached all of these wires to my face and body.  All to measure brain waves, breathing, snoring, and muscle movements.  Even though it was very uncomfortable I did eventually fall asleep.  I woke up a few times through the night and they knew through the monitoring.  They came in and helped me get to the bathroom (I was plugged into the wall) and reattach the wires that came lose.


2. The moment I woke up in the morning, they knew and came in to unattached some of the wires.  I still had to wear some of the wires throughout the day for my day study, but at least I was able to freely move around.  They had a TV and a comfy chair to relax in.  I was not allowed to sit or lay in bed.  So the day study was to have a 20 minute nap every two hours and see if I fell asleep and if I did, how quickly.  They ordered breakfast for me and I was off to my first two hours awake.  Before I knew it it was time to take my first nap.  I didn't feel like I fell asleep at all and just laid there for the 20 minutes.  I was very tired though the day and had 3 more naps.  The last nap I did feel like I fell asleep and the nurse said that I had and she let me sleep a little longer then the 20 minutes since it was the last nap.

I had to carry this around with me all day

3.  So what did the study tell me?  I don't have sleep Apnea or Restless Leg Syndrome.  I was so relieved that I didn't have sleep Apnea as I so didn't want to have a machine attached to me while I slept.  He said that I got 6 hours of good deep sleep, so he was satisfied that I can sleep well through the night.  But my day study told a different story.  Out of the 4 naps, I fell asleep within 5 minutes for 3 of them.  He said that was not normal, that I shouldn't be falling asleep that quickly after the amount of sleep the night before.  Even though I fell asleep quickly for those naps, I did not go into REM sleep right away.  This is a tell tail sign of Narcolepsy.

4.  So if I didn't have any of the sleep disorders, what was wrong with me.  Basically I have Idiopathic Hyper-insomnia.  So what's that?  It's basically a name they give to anyone with sleep issues where they cannot put into any other category.  So they know there is something wrong with me, but they are not sure what.  I explain it as Narcolepsy-light.  I have most of the symptoms of Narcolepsy but not enough to be categorized with it.  And no, I have never fallen asleep without knowing it, though I am so tired a lot that if I had a chance to lie down, I would fall asleep.

5. So how is it treated if they don't know exactly what is wrong with me?  They are treating me the same way they would treat someone with Narcolepsy.  So I'm given stimulants to help me not be tired and to have the energy of a normal person.  The common stimulants that are given for this are the same drugs used for ADD, Ritalin and Adderall.  For the last 9 months I have been trying to figure out the right drug and right dose.  There is also extended release and quick release.  I haven't quite found the right combination of things yet, but I have found that I am not as tired through the day when I am on the medication.  Even though there are days on the medicine that I still feel tired, it is so much better then the days I don't take the medicine.  I have also found that some of these combinations don't work for me after several months.  Right now I'm on a new combination that I'm not sure is working as well.  Hence why after work I have no energy to write a post.  And since I'm busy at work, I don't have the breaks I normally would to get a post written during the day.

Have you ever had a sleep study?  What have you done to help you stay awake?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Weekely Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I know I haven't posted in ages.  I have been really busy and honestly I don't feel like I have anything interesting to post.  I probably still don't have anything interesting to post, so I'll just ramble a little.

Let's see.  I did a triathlon a couple weekends ago.  I know that's interesting, but I haven't been able to focus long enough to finish the post.  I didn't train very well for it and I knew that going in.  But I know I put every ounce of energy into the race.  I am very proud of that.  I love the course and I know if one year I put in the effort I would do more then have fun, but also have a great time.


There is a place here that puts on two Shakespeare plays in an outdoor theater each summer.  We try to go to them every year.  We went to both this year.  First was Love's Labor's Lost and the other was Macbeth.  I had never seen either one and really enjoyed both.

I haven't run since the triathlon two weeks ago, but I have been doing a lot of bike riding.  I really do love my new bike and have really enjoying getting out on the bike.  I have mostly been doing sunrise rides, where we take off before the sunrise and watch it as we ride.  It's cooler, there is less traffic, you get the ride done and still have a lot of the day, and it is beautiful.

For the Forth the local bike group organized a ride to Duck Donuts.  There were a lot of people that showed up and we had a great time.

 

A couple of weeks ago one of the guys that I used to do these sunrise rides with two summers ago passed away.  Apparently he was going to have a knee replacement and they found out that he had lung cancer.  It apparently was very quick from diagnosis to when he passed.  While I haven't seen him in a couple of years, I've thought about him on each of my rides since.

The moment he hit 1000 miles in one month in 2015.

This week I will have shades installed on the skylights in my bedroom.  It gets so bright and hot in there throughout the day.  There are days when I get home and it's 85 degrees upstairs.  I can't wait.

That is about it.  I hope it wasn't too boring. :)

Have you seen Love's Labor's Lost or Macbeth?  Have you done anything exciting this week?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Weekely Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

Well it's been an interesting week.

 

First Monday started with me not wanting to go for my run.  So I slept an extra hour and when I got to work to see that the building was being evacuated.  It turns out that a drink machine on my floor caught on fire.  We were displaced to different places around the building or went home to work there.  I decided to join our business partners on their floor and worked till I could get back to my desk.  It was fun sitting with them.

Tuesday I was supposed to go to my gym class and I got up and ready and went downstairs to put on my shoes, my stomach just hurt.  I laid down on the couch and just tried to let it pass.  I didn't have my laptop so I had to at least go into work for that.  I was able to get a Ginger Ale - having to go to another floor since they removed ours - and started to feel better.

I did get my run in on Wednesday but it was a crappy one.  It was hot and I'm really losing my running endurance.  But I got out there and did it.

Thursday we found our that our manager got a different position in the company.  It really doesn't effect me, but it will be interesting as we have an interim manager as we wait for the new one to be hired.

Friday over 400 letters that were sent to customers got sent back to us.  I don't 100% understand how it happened, but it meant that we had to re-stuff the envelopes by hand.  Not only that, we had to check them off a list, twice because we had a handful that didn't match the list.  It was tedious, but fun with the people I was working with.

Here we have an outdoor theater that does two Shakespeare plays a summer.  We went to one Friday night.  There was a chance of rain, and it did start about 15 minutes after the play started.  So we got a voucher to go back next weekend.  On my way home the isolated downpours seemed to have followed me home.  It was so bad that everyone was going 15 MPH just to be able to see anything.  We all had our flashers on to make sure we could be seen.  Major roads were being flooded and it seemed like every block we were splashing.  There was one road where the mailboxes had about a foot of water up to them.  It turned out it was just my side of town.  My folks barely got any rain and we got about 3 inches in an hour.

Friday I realized that my triathlon is next weekend.  WTF?1?  Where did June go?  Saturday I decided to join the Sunrise Ride and we took off around 5 AM.  Yes that's early, but seeing the sunrise is so worth it.


And seeing these sites just make the ride fun.


On the ride, I decided that I'd go for a run and do my first and only brick for this training cycle.  I knew if I could do the ride and then a 3 mile run I could do the race.  I road 35 miles and then ran 3 miles.  I knew I could do it, but this was just want I needed to figure out how hard it would be.  And it was hard.  I walked most of the last mile.  This will be the least confident I will be going into a triathlon.  We will see how it goes next week.

Saturday afternoon I went to see Wonder Woman.  It is such a great movie.  Who needs Captain America when we have Wonder Woman?  It was great to see a woman super hero of her own movie.  I hope to see more as the genera grows.


How was your week at work?  How did a race go when you feel you didn't train very well?  Have you seen Wonder Woman?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.