Daily motorcycle and walking sessions ; first annual water-treatment system maintenance

(posted from home)
(This post covers 1 - 23 July, 2013)

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Tuesday, 23 July -

Today I took the fresh GS to Starbucks, intending to then walk five miles at Crist and Rudy parks. But when I left the coffee shop I could see there was rain bearing down on us from the south. I headed home and got caught by a light rain for a few miles but it was over by the time I got home.
The rain stayed south so I was able to mow the lawn using the new mower setting of all-the-way-up. The lawn has been so dry that I didn’t have to do it all but still ended up with about four miles of walking.
That evening we watched three ‘The New Girl’ episodes.

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Monday, 22 July -

This morning I did the coffee-and-walk thing, five miles and 140 pushups. That afternoon I drove Mocha Joe and the ATV trailer over to the cycle shop and picked up the GS after its maintenance appointment. The bill was $300 for brake pads, oil and filter change, brake fluid change, and annual maintenance checkup. My cost for parts alone would been something like $120 and the shop-time estimate was three hours so I guess that’s about right. Doing it myself would have saved some bucks but I don’t feel I was ripped off.
I spent the afternoon researching a solution for Dad’s camera problem. That evening we watched three ‘The New Girl’ eps.

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Sunday, 21 July -

Still hot, still doing the coffee-and-walk thing each morning, then recovering in the afternoon. Five miles and 140 pushups today.
That evening we watched ‘The New Girl’ episodes. Some lines are laugh-out-loud hilarious.

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Saturday, 20 July -

I took the Concours to Starbucks and Rudy Park this morning for my five-mile walk. That afternoon I researched some messages I’ve been getting about password changes. Apparently someone’s trying to break in to one of my accounts.
That evening we started a new series, ‘The New Girl’ with Zooey Deschanel. The pilot was funny but the next episode not-so-much.

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Friday, 19 July-

This morning I washed the GS and took it over by trailer to Trans-Am Cycles in Lititz for its Monday appointment.
That afternoon we drove to Mom and Dad’s apartment and then went out to dinner at Olive Garden.
That evening we watched an episode of ‘The Practice’. I didn’t have time to take a walk today but still managed to get in more than three miles worth of steps.

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Thursday, 18 July -

It was 97 today so I did the Starbucks-and-walk thing early for five miles and 140 pushups. That afternoon I researched brake pads for the GS and decided to take it over to the shop for an oil change, brake fluid change, and annual maintenance check. I called late in the day and made an appointment for Monday.
97 degrees, early to sbux and rudy, 14k, reading hunger games, Hit and miss last three

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Wednesday, 17 July -

95 today so it was early to Starbucks and Crist Park. I see my mileage today was over seven miles and I needed a short nap and read to recover.
That evening we started watching ‘Hit And Miss’ with Chloe Sevigny. She/he is a trans hit-person for a local mobster in Ireland (!).

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Tuesday, 16 July -

This morning I zipped off to Starbucks and then Crist Park for another five miler in the heat. The temperature read 93 but the ‘feels-like’ temperature was well over 100 today. I’ve also started doing modified pushups using the park benches and concrete parking barriers. I do seven sets of twenty and that’s plenty.
That evening we watched the last two episodes of ‘Orange Is The New Black’, the Netflix series. Excellent work, y’all.

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Monday, 15 July -

I’ve had to change my walking strategy a bit in this hot weather. I’m now heading out in the morning by 0830 or so to get down to Rudy Park by mid-morning for a five-mile walk. I’ve figured out how to stay in the shade much of the time and that’s a big help. I’ve been parking at the Crist Park end of the rail-trail segment and walking up to Rudy Park and circling the outer perimeter before returning to the bike.
I replaced one of the Xenon bulbs in the bathroom light fixture today. These are expensive bulbs and are hard to find.
I again read a bit this afternoon and we watched another two ‘Orange Is The New Black’ episodes that evening.

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Sunday, 14 July -

WIth the GS in the shop for it’s appointment tomorrow, I took the Concours down to Starbucks and Rudy Park and walked four miles.
The walking in the heat is catching up to me a bit and I took a short nap and then read for an hour. I’m catching up on ‘Hunger Games’ after seeing the movie recently.
We watched two ‘Orange Is The New Black’ eps. Good stuff.

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Saturday, 13 July -

Another rain-threatening day today. I took Labashi’s car into town and bought another bag of solar salt for the water softener. I also looked into what it would take to put a section of clear PEX on the outlet of the acid neutralizer. The fittings are cheap but the tool to cinch down the metal ring is expensive-- about $50.
Afterwards I did my coffee-and-walk thing, putting in four miles at Rudy Park.
We watched two ‘Orange Is The New Black’ episodes that evening.
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Friday, 12 July -

Today I researched the calcite for the acid neutralizer and how to put it into the system. I then drove in to town to find the right salt for the water softener and ended up with solar salt from Lowe’s for less than $5 a bag. While in town I also stopped by the Walmart to pick up some of their excellent Starter Dry-Fit tee shirts. The new orange ones make excellent hi-vis riding gear for the motorcycles and they’re very comfortable in these extra-hot days for walking.
Today was a rainy one so I put in a few thousand steps at the Galleria Mall since I was in the area and figured I’d not get a chance to get out later.
Back home I started pouring the salt into the water softener’s brine tank and ended up putting in the entire 40 pounds. I realized I had allowed the brine solution to get too sloshy because I didn’t have any salt on hand. This didn’t hurt anything but I decided I want to always have salt on hand to keep the level in the tank about the same.
That evening we started the new Netflix series ‘Orange Is The New Black’. We’re hooked.

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Thursday, 11 July -

Today we drove to Baltimore for my Hopkins appointment. It couldn’t have gone easier.
The GPS took us right to the parking garage entrance and the check-in process was very straight-forward and easy. I tend to leave early for appointments at new places but this was ridiculous. We were sitting in the waiting room by noon for a 1330 appointment. And surprisingly, we were ushered into the doctor’s office shortly after 1300 (!!!!).
The meeting with the doctor went very well. The bottom line is the experts at Hopkins will read the xrays and give an opinion on how to proceed.
We were out of there by 1400 and I thought we’d be home in a little over an hour. But as we approached York we saw a sign announcing an incident at Exit 19. We were soon stopped in traffic about a half-mile below the Queen Street exit. I realized I could exit there and go home the back way-- the same way I had gone in the rain just the other day. Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate running into two construction zones along the way. We made it home about an hour later than anticipated.
That evening we watched the final two episode of ‘Canterbury’s Law’.

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Wednesday, 10 July -

Today I made sure everything is in order for my medical appointment tomorrow. I rode the GS down to my urologist’s office to pick up copies of paper records and xrays. I then hit the nearby Starbucks at Tollgate.
When I came out from Starbucks a light rain was falling and it was only going to get heavier. I was only dressed in shorts and a tee shirt so I knew I’d get soaked. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was how cold I’d get.
I took the back way home to avoid the interstate. That meant I went east to Red Lion and then up Route 24.... a long way ‘round. By the time I got home I was cold to the core and shivering. I drew a hot bath and lay in it for a half hour to get my temperature back up, then took a short nap.
That evening we watched a ‘Canterbury Law’ episode. I didn’t walk today because of the rain and because I woke with a sore throat. Not a great day for a rainy motorcycle ride, eh?

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Tuesday, 9 July -

I ordered the new UV lamp this morning. I found I’d have to pay $93 for one locally or $66 to have one shipped here from a North Carolina supplier. I also had a frustrating search for calcite for the acid neutralizer.
Orat called this morning and I learned the Miata transfer went through so now I can cancel the insurance on it. I then called my agent and learned I’d get a check in the next two weeks.
That afternoon I walked at Rudy Park for a day-total of over 14K steps today.
That evening we watched a ‘Canterbury Law’ episode.

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Monday, 8 July -

I had more paperwork to do for my upcoming appointment this morning. I then rode down to Starbucks and my Rudy Park walk after the roads dried out a bit from this morning’s rain. Today was a better day walking in that the humidity was down enough to make it feel downright comfortable.
That evening we watched episodes of ‘The Practice’ and ‘Canterbury Law’. The latter features Juliana Margulies and you can see how it pre-sages her excellent work in ‘The Good Wife’.

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Sunday, 7 July -

Today I did a blog post to bring the blog up to the end of June. I also had a long Skype call with Maypo before riding down to Starbucks and then Rudy Park for my daily walk.
That evening we watched another episode of ‘The Practice’ and an episode of ‘Life’. The latter is actually becoming tiresome. I like it’s premise but the writing is so predictable.

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Saturday, 6 July -

Last night when I locked up I noticed we had a new sound. The alarm for the ultraviolet water-treatment light was sounding. The bulb is a year old and it’s time for a change. This wasn’t a complete surprise since the control unit shows a day-by-day countdown. I just wasn’t aware there’s an audible alarm.
I also need to refresh the calcite media in the acid neutralizer and add some salt crystals to the water softener. I spent the morning researching these items.
That afternoon I walked 12k steps at Rudy park in the heat. I drank three bottles of water doing it and the heat made it a bit of a struggle.
That evening we watched the pilot and two episodes of ‘The Practice’, a mid-Nineties lawyer series.

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Friday, 5 July -

Last night we heard a loud car sound outside and this morning we found out why. Some fool had gone into the cornfield and back onto the road, narrowly missing our mailbox. There’s no way to tell if the driver was drunk or just narrowly missed hitting a deer or something. In any case, I bet it was exciting for the driver and any passengers. The corn is almost eight feet high and the car carved a nice arc into it about three rows deep and about three car-length’s long.
We spent the day with our guests, hiding from the mid-Nineties temperatures outside.
That evening we all watched ‘Dead Man’ (the Johnny Depp/Jim Jarmusch movie) again. This is one of the few movies I can watch multiple times and enjoy it each time.

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Thursday, 4 July -

Today we did a whirlwind cleaning of the house for our guests arriving later today.
At mid-afternoon we drove up to Mom and Dad’s apartment and met Labashi’s sister and husband there. After a few hours of catch-up, we went to dinner at the Bonefish restaurant in Camp Hill. This is the first time it hasn’t been completely full, I assume because of the holiday.
We spent the evening with our guests looking at New Zealand photos and clips.

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Wednesday, 3 July -

I was still caught up in the Hopkins paperwork today and verified with my insurance that what I had been told was true.
After a long Skype call with Orat, I mowed the lawn, most of it in a light rain.
That evening we watched ‘The Bletchley Circle’, a PBS Masterpiece Theater series about women who turn their wartime (WW 2) expertise in code-breaking to solving crimes. Another good one from the BBC.

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Tuesday, 2 July -

I continued with paperwork for my upcoming appointment and called my doctor for a referral as directed by that paperwork. It turns out I don’t need the referral because my insurance doesn’t require it. I just hope I don’t find out differently when I show up down there. When I called the girl said the form is a generic one which doesn’t take into account the fact that some insurances don’t require a referral.
At lunch time I rode down to Starbucks and then tried out the new Qdoba restaurant in the same strip mall. I wasn’t impressed with the plain quesadilla but I was specifically trying something on the bland side. Still, it doesn’t make sense to me that they put the pico de gallo inside the tortilla-- that just negates the fresh taste of the pico.
On the way home I zipped over to Crist park and walked up to Rudy and back.
That evening we watched the last three episodes of ‘The Fall’. Good one! Well done, BBC.

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Monday, 1 July-

I spent much of the morning doing paperwork for my upcoming appointment at Johns Hopkins.
I rode the GS over to my tax preparer’s office to drop off some papers and then went on down to Starbucks and on to Crist park for my walk on the rail-trail to Rudy Park and back.
I was back home by 1400 but was so exhausted I took a nap.
That evening we watched ‘The Fall’, an excellent BBC TV series about a female detective in Belfast.

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