Showing posts with label Smog check. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Smog check. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Boulder, The Thigh Injury, The Oil Change Walk, and the Pregnant Dream


So there was this rock that rolled into town two weeks ago and I was planning on seeing it on my way home from work. I even made a note of it on a post it pad. Well I totally forgot about it until was at a grocery checkstand and I overheard a cashier mention it to a coworker. I drove less than a mile from the store and found the rock where it was supposed to stay all day. They only moved it at nighttime to minimize traffic problems. The rock was parked in the center median and occupied the inner lanes of both sides of the streets leaving the outer lanes for the vehicles to travel through. I took a picture of course but it’s not anything you haven’t already seen in the newspapers or the internet. Truthfully, I was slightly underwhelmed because I thought it would be bigger than the monstrosity that it already was. Maybe because it was shrink-wrapped in white plastic. Nevertheless, it was nice to experience the unusual event so close to home.
You would think that I had enough problems with my ankles when I do one of my infrequent attempts at running. A couple of weeks ago, the plan was to run a little and walk a lot for about an hour just like I’ve been doing in Signal Hill. It went pretty well at the start because I was able to do my full stride on the running portions no matter how short in duration they were. About half an hour into it, my plan was spoiled when I began having some pain in my left thigh. Oh my, another tribulation. It was not a new type of injury though because it was something I’ve had three times before. The last I can remember was about 4 years ago. The difference was that in the past, I would have kept on running regardless of the pain. This time, I stopped and walked the rest of the way and just extended the workout to an hour and a half. I haven’t tried running since.
On a related note, there was finally a Q&A on the Runner’s World website addressing PTTD (my permanent ailment). Here is the link:  http://sportsdoc.runnersworld.com/2012/03/orthotics-recommendation-for-ruptured-tendons.html. There might be a slight hope for some relief but first I have to find a talented orthotist as mentioned in the article.
A week after the thigh injury, I had my car serviced (smog check and oil change). While that was being done, I was able to do a walking workout of about 8 miles. Rain was in the forecast for several days and the clouds were already thick that morning but fortunately I was spared from it. The walk lasted two hours and I was actually back at the shop in an hour and a half. When I saw my car was still in the oil change bay, I tacked on another 30 minutes. The only running I did that day was to cross one street. When I had my car serviced in past years, I would either run around the neighborhood or if I took it to the shop on a workday, I would take their courtesy shuttle home, go to sleep, wake up in the afternoon and run to the shop to pick up my car. What a time saver, and oh how I miss those days.
The L.A. Marathon was held last Sunday morning and I watched it on TV while riding my stationary bike. I didn’t realize it was the 27th iteration of the event already. The first time I ran it, it was L.A. Marathon V in 1990 which finished at the L.A. Coliseum. I mentioned the marathon because I had a weird dream Sunday night about a running acquaintance who ran in it. I dreamt that she was pregnant, had a C-section, ran the L.A. Marathon a few days later, then the evening after the race, she was singing and dancing in a Filipino reunion party. I still haven’t told her about that dream. Should I tell her before, or after she runs the Boston Marathon in a few weeks?


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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Things I Did On My Days Off Last Week


It was time for my biennial car smog check so I had that taken cared off last Wednesday and also had the oil changed along with the air filter which hasn’t been replaced since I’ve had this car in 1998. The next day I paid my car registration. Online payments make it so easy, no lining up at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) office or renewal forms to mail so fuel, time, postage and paper are saved. The results of the smog check are also forwarded to the DMV electronically. Yes, my trusty old, dinged, and dented 1998 Honda Civic is old by American standards but it has never given me a problem so I haven’t found a reason to replace it especially in these tight economic times and since I haven’t worked overtime in about 7 years. So I don’t even aspire to buy a new set of wheels because there is no extra cash lying around.
I received my census questionnaire last week and noticed that it was addressed to the correct Zip Code but wrong city. A couple of days later the newspaper had an article about it. I filled out the form and mailed it in.  Something else came in the mail. It was my absentee ballot for the Long Beach city elections. I picked the officials I thought would get the job done and mailed that out along with my census form.
So, on my days off, I did my civic duty by completing the census form and voting, and dutifully did my Honda Civic good by having it serviced. How about that for a lesson about civics? How can I almost forget? I also went to see my doctor for my dizziness problems as previously mentioned in another post and finally got a diagnosis of fluid in the ears. Next up: the dentist and the barber.

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