…the parents will play.

Yep, I’d say this could probably replace the actual saying.

Yesterday, Monday, we resumed our regular week schedule with a Nana Monday, when Benji spends the day with my mom, while Ian and I work. Except this Monday we had the random New Year’s Day holiday, so we didn’t work. Instead, we went to the 8:30 am (!) showing of Rogue One in Alderwood. That sets our new record for “earliest movie viewing ever,” and we still didn’t get out of the theater until like 11:00.

I really enjoyed Rogue One. It may have been the best one since the originals, even though I didn’t feel much energy from the main characters. I attributed this, however, not to lack of chemistry or acting ability, but to the fact that the entire movie is set in a depressing and worn-down time. The characters have gone through so much, they just don’t have much passion left for anything.

The scene that felt the oddest to me was one where the main girl gives this (supposedly) rousing speech to inspire everyone, and nobody is inspired — not even the audience. I felt that whole scene was completely out of character. The whole point was that she really didn’t care about the Rebel Alliance or beating the Empire; she just wanted to be left alone to get along.

Anyway, even if the acting seemed a little flat, the overall making of the film, the feel and the sets and everything else, matched the original Star Wars trilogy perfectly. They did an seamless lead-in to Star Wars IV and explained some things about the original trilogy that always irritated me. The society and technology portrayed was a spot-on match.

Most of all, I respect and admired their decision to finish the story the way they did. It didn’t have the improbable escapes or last-minute rescues that protect the heroes in other movies. It seemed more willing to portray the conflict with the Empire by showing some of the real damage caused by war. No glossing over the fact that people do die in wars.

So, finally I got to see Rogue One, and I really did enjoy it. After we got home, I went for a fairly frigid bike ride with a friend. Over the weekend I did a couple of strenuous (if not long) workouts, and those combined with my general lack of fitness and the cold served to cut my ride short. I hoped to go for 3 hours, but only spent 2:20 actually riding.

Oh well; by the time I got home it was abundantly clear I didn’t have anything left in my legs. My heart rate was way over 170 and I was still crawling up hills at a snail’s pace. I was utterly exhausted, and my riding buddy kept dropping me on every hill in the most embarrassing way. It may help that he spent the last couple weeks riding hills in Hawaii while I had pneumonia and sub-freezing temperatures. Anyway, clearly I still have a long way to go in terms of gaining fitness back.

I hope that these agonizing workouts actually have some benefit. I’m trying to eat well to recover and rebuild, but I feel adrift and uncertain about my training decisions. “Ride more, ride harder” as a general recovery plan seems… vague and inadequate. I’m just going to keep doing my best and we’ll see how it goes. I guess I need to psych myself for going back to my regular slow bike commuting, too.

I did appreciate getting out of the house and moving around, however.

Then, after putting Benji down for the evening, Ian and I played a game of Castle Panic, a game “Santa” brought me for Christmas. I just read a bunch of reviews complaining that the game was too easy to win, but in the two games we’ve played so far, we’ve won one. The one we did win, Ian and I both felt like we were going to lose almost the entire time, and we spent the whole game trying to survive.

It was plenty difficult for us, anyway. We had a fun time, regardless of the grouchy reviews, and we are looking forward to playing it again with more people.