Michael got back in town yesterday so this morning we went to the gym at Stanford to work out. We had a good set of arms, and then went back to our places. He came over for lunch and I gave him some of the left over tom yom and curry. He really liked both, and he also was impressed with the state of the game.
I decided to bike over to meet with Steph, Nick, and Andrew at the AMC 20. It was about a 1.5 hour bike ride, and since half of the trail was unpaved, it took me a bit longer than I thought it would. I had a really great time on the ride since I was listening to audiobooks and the weather was perfect. I should bike without a backpack more often. I got there just in time, and the theater wasn’t that packed so we got pretty good seats.
I thought the movie pacing was both too fast and too slow. There were parts that didn’t seem to give it any good story, but increased the drama that I could have done without. There were also lots of scenes that were there just to be flashy, which was nice on the big screen, but made some of the more important points from the book not make it in. I haven’ t read the books, but I listened to some of the comments about the choice of what went in and what didn’t and I was surprised a good bit. I am going to have to read the books now.
I introduced Michael to squash after our workout this morning. We went to Stanford gym and worked out there instead of at Reach, then we played squash upstairs. He started to understand how the game is played at the end of the 4th game. If we are to play a few more times I think he’d be a bit of a challenge. I would really like to play more squash anyway.
I’m probably not going to post every single time I have a workout with Michael, and in this post I’ll cover 2. Yesterday we went for a long bike ride to Steph’s work and back. She left her phone at my place, so I thought I’d deliver it as well as get some exercise. Michael and I took the long way around on the way there, and went through a lot of chopped granite while we were at it. My hands were hurting by the end of it from all the vibration. We chose the much nicer paved routes on the way back, as going through all that chopped granite again wasn’t something we were looking forward to. We got to take some trails I hadn’t been on before, like the ones around Palo Alto airport. There is a little raised ridge that goes along there, where you have to watch for planes as they take off and land.
This morning we went to Reach and had a good time of it. I was still hurting from Monday, so I didn’t perform as well as would be liked. I am glad I’m doing these exercised and will have to keep them up. It hurts so much, but feels really good at the same time.
Nima and I had some really close games today, I think all of them were within 3 points. He won all of them, and I got really tired after the first two games. We played a total of 4 and I was ready to pass out at the end of that. I had tons of fun but this combined with the morning workout is more physical activity that anything I’ve done in a long while. I’m feeling really good about it, but sooo tired and sore.
This morning was my second workout with Michael and it was hard. I am going to be really feeling it tomorrow. It took an hour and a half, and we didn’t take many long breaks. I was having a good time, and we got to talk about a good bit of interesting stuff. I really enjoy having someone that I can talk to at a higher level and they enjoy it. Not many people like to philosophize openly and at the level Michael does, and I find it very interesting and refreshing when his arguments and points are based on reality and not prejudice or bias. I plan to make these morning workouts a common thing, and I’m feeling good even though I am tired and sore.
I biked over to the farmer’s market on California Ave this Sunday. HODO Soy wasn’t there again, and their spot was taken by a crepes stand. It makes me wonder if they will be coming back to the farmer’s market or if they called it quits. I decided to grab some bolani, got Steph some more of the yogurt she likes, and had a lamb curry wrap for brunch. The ride was very nice, even though it was a little cool out.
I decided that if I’m going to act on what I believe a good way to start would be to work out with Michael in the mornings. I went yesterday morning and it was really intense. I don’t work out normally besides squash, climbing, and riding my bike. I am really feeling it this morning in my back, chest, and arms. I’m going to have to make this a regular thing.
Steph and I went climbing again last night, and we got a good number of climbs in. We hit a 5.10d on one of the taller walls, and it was quite a challenge. The holds had been made very smooth from the hands of many people before us and a ton of oily chalk. There was one part in particular that Steph and I skipped, but I was able to come back to it later and get through it with some really precarious balancing. Steph was getting worried about some stuff at work, so we went back home to let her work through it.
It's an Exciting World 