A Draining Day

Just a bunch of odds-and-ends this week:

The hot water in the fitness center went out - again. They sent mail around saying it would be out 'til further notice, but no notice yet. So I'll call tomorrow morning to see if it's back on. Getting all sweaty and then driving to a shower at the main campus is no fun.

Instead, I went out for 40-minute walks on the Stevens Creek Trail on Thursday and Friday, which was very pleasant. Everything's turning green and some flowers are starting to bloom. It was just cool enough to be pleasant without being cold, and I brought my coffee to warm me up anyway. It's not nearly as intense a workout as the gym (where I've been lifting some pretty heavy weights in addition to my 25-minute cardio on the elliptical walking whatsis), but it's a nice change of pace.

Debbi's decided to start taking extended aerobics classes Saturday mornings for the next couple of months, which means we won't be seeing as much of each other on the weekends as usual (though it also means I'll probably go spend a few weekends at her place, too).

So I had Friday night to myself, and re-read Alastair Reynolds' Chasm City for the Keplers book discussion (which turns out to be next week, not tonight; glad I checked!). I also figured it would be a good warm-up for his latest, Absolution Gap. Anyway: Man I'd forgotten how good Chasm City is. Layers of plot lines, lots of atmosphere and tension, and a thoroughly rewarding ending. Plus plenty of high-tech gizmos along the way. Hold up very well on a second read.

Debbi arrived Saturday, not nearly as tired as either of us expected, I think. By-and-large we had a pretty sedate weekend.

Well, until Sunday morning, when Debbi asked me, "Have you seen my necklace?" She has a nice necklace she wears which means a lot to her, and she remembered putting it on her bathroom counter the night before, and now it was gone. Erk! Of course, we suspected the cats. We hoped none of them had eaten it. I searched around the house with a flashlight to no avail (though I do now know that (1) I really need to clean under my stove and fridge, and (2) somehow the cats are able to jam toys under the very tiny space beneath the couch).

We went to the farmer's market, and when we came back I decided to try one more thing: I disassembled the pipe to the sink drain.

And lo and behold, there it was! Yay!

So obviously the bathroom counter is not safe for small things (I could have guessed that, actually), but the drain is well-designed to catch objects that drop down it, and also to be taken apart without any tools. Good to know. Plus I clearly need to clean the sink drains from time to time, and there was an impressive collection of hair in there.

So all's well that ends well. We "celebrated" by going shopping. I finally bought a new 3-quart saucepan. Go me!

Saw my friend John on Thursday. He's doing well, happy with his new job, unhappy with his long commute, none of this is unexpected. :-)