Colder mornings have begun to creep into place as the sunrise times receeds, making the impulse to linger in bed into the later morning hours for more compelling. The warmth, the weight of the blankets, the womb-like fetal position take a significant degree of willpower to break free of. Jen had already done so some 30 minutes prior, having scheduled a walk along the Los Gatos trail to Lexington and back with Deann. I grogilly bade her farewell from beneath the covers, cautious not to shift them them and allow the recently released natural gas heating to become apparent. I eventually quietly arose, weighed in (still at a plateau), gathered my morning's daily supplement of electrolytes, AirPods and tennis shoes, and head out to the gym. I was pleased to find it as I anticipated I would at 8am on a Sunday. Empty. I am absolutely not at home in a crowded gym environment, particularly when I am new to the equipment. It has been almost 20 years since my last gym membership at "AVAC'" and things have certainly changed when it comes to the integration of technology into the equipment. I won't call it an advance but with time I might. I have all of these various options for scenery to "walk through," integration of Pandora, YouTube and other media, and connectivity to AirPods, Apple Watch and other devices. You know what I could not find? An off switch for the distracting display. I would need to spend 10 minutes of a 30 minute workout just configuring the damned thing! I see the potential and possible benefit of leaving my phone behind if I want to consume content from a limited source. I will experiment, maybe adapt, but old dogs don't do well learning new tricks. After an initial effort on their eliptical (I prefer mine at home) and a series of rep's on the chest and biceps machine I wrapped it up and returned home just ahead of Tommy end of Jen. Her recent "bisquit" recipe made for an enjoyable breakfast alongside my medium roast brew. Shortly after, Steve texted us that his father, Bud, had passed away this morning. It was expected yet impactful. His last few years were the kind that make for good arguments around the dichotomy of longevity within the context of quality. It was ironically the first of two focuses on death for the day, the second being Jennifer and me attending a "Celebration of Life" event at Stanford with Tommy and his colleagues in Pediatric Oncology. It was a somber experience neither of us fully expecte,d yet it was also a reminder of the good fortune we have had so far in our lives, and the impact even the shortest lifetime can have on those that continue. The presentation of the images of all of the children of various ages that passed away during the prior 12 months had us all choking up. We met the family of the 11-year-old that Tommy had established such a strong connection to, and of course, they were filled with praise and gratitude for all he gave of himself throughout those last several months. The evening concluded with my making a few mentor revisions to the weekly newsletter now being generated within square space where the website resides. It makes things significantly easier.
🛏️ 7:27 AM ⚖️188(0/-9.3) 👣 10,284(5mi)🏃♂️25min ❤️62(60-109)
