Alarm went off at 5:50 AM and I rolled out of bed, trying not to disturb Saorichan. With all of three pairs of pants and about five shirts that look more or less decent for work, it doesn't take a lot of time to get dressed in the morning. A quick check in the mirror- hmmmmm. I picked up a beard trimmer to keep my ragged facial hair from getting to long (as I start to look like a 19 year old trying to prove something) but I need to clean up my neck, so, shave.
Feed both the cats, slam down some off-brand honey nut cheerios ("its a bagged cereal in a box disguise!"), and mom rolls out of her room and we dive into the microconvertable for the five-minute drive to the RAPID bus stop. The RAPID bus goes straight to downtown from this park and ride on the edge of Phoenix, and for a limited window, it runs about every ten minutes. What makes it annoying is that to get a ticket on the bus you have to pay the exact fare, which is $2.75. So I had to go to the bank and get a ton of $1 bills and a fat roll of quarters since I pay that one way fare about five times a week. The ride is quick, a little over half an hour in the fast lane, and I read or listen to music. It's a commuter bus.
I jumped off before the main station- its faster to walk than to take light rail in. It's about a 20 minute walk to the office, and I meander through side streets, parks, and parking lots. I arrive about two minutes before 7:30. Right on time.
I've been working on two projects- one of them is a large multi-specialty clinic that will be going up in Illinois, and the other is a willed body storage and processing building. This one is going up in Arizona. This is a really interesting facility as it where cadavers and animals will be stored and embalmed (and possibly plasticized a la bodyworlds) for use as teaching devices for medical students. Its a building that the client wants to be very quiet and subdued, as discreet as possible, and I also want to make sure that its form is suitably understated and distinguished for the human dead. Especially as body doners may potentially come and visit the facility. So its the more fun design project.
Saorichan met me for lunch, and we took the light rail up to eat at Pane Bianco, of the Pizzaria Bianco fame. They make their own bread and serve up a caprese sandwich with fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil. It's expensive, but its one of the best sandwiches in Phoenix.
Normally, I catch a ride back to Ahwatukee with my coworker David, and we make great time in the carpool lane. Today, though, he was back in Mexico for his birthday, so I had to leave early and make a mad dash in 110 heat to catch the RAPID bus back. It was standing room only, but it was a unique experience to stand at the front of the bus while zipping along the freeway.
Mom picked me up at the park and ride and drove me straight to hot yoga. Saori was already there waiting for us. She had packed my yoga bag for me and we got dressed (or undressed or whatever) and went into the hot room.
Yoga was miserable. It was their special "flow" class, just an hour instead of the normal 90 minutes, and more intense workout. They also cranked up the heat. It was noticeably hotter than the typical temperature, and I made the mistake of sitting in the hotter side of the room. It was a grueling workout and the heat and humidity made me nauseous and lightheaded. It's something that can be overcome with better preparation and more practice, but I think I like my workouts better without the artificial heat and humidity. Like running. At least there's a cool breeze of the moving air over by body when I run. So I'm going to do that instead. Saori is pretty hooked on Yoga. This class was her favorite.
After yoga, mom dropped me off at home first and went back to pick up Saori. After everyone showered, Saori and I grabbed a snack of leftover pork on some leftover rice. We watched some TV and went to bed around 11.
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