Measuring Recovery by Kitchen Carts

We used to have a kitchen island when we were in SF. The small kitchen needed more counter space and 22x50" kitchen island from Overstock.com fit the space perfectly. The 100 lbs furniture made of MDF and pressed wood cost $250 back then, and it took me multiple days to assemble it. I'm sure how many days, but I do remember parts strewn across the living room for several days. That was in 2014. When we left SF for the NYC in 2017, I got rid of it rather than keeping it in the storage along with other furniture; I wasn't sure if we'll need it when we move to a new place and I was running out of space in the storage. 

Then we moved to our current apartment when we came back. This old fourplex has an alley kitchen with the counter abruptly ending two thirds of the way. Too bad, the kitchen cart I got rid of would've fit perfectly in the remaining space.  We've been using my camping table as an extra countertop instead.  I wasn't sure how long we were going to stay here, and I didn't want to invest time and money to get a new one. So I used my camping table as a temporary solution.

What's temporary has ways of becoming permanent. It's been over 3 years and we were still using the camping table as a countertop. I finally had to reclaim the camping table for it's intended use as I am planning to travel for a year boondocking and camping.

There must've been a great inflation in furniture industry. The kitchen cart that I bought and assembled for $250 before was selling for $500 on Amazon. I finally found another one for $260 at Walmart. Turns out, it is exactly same kitchen cart, only in white to match my kitchen. It took only half a day to complete the assembly this time. I had to break it into 4 sessions with 30 minute breaks in between though. 

From multiple days to half day to complete the same task? Now that is what I call progress. And it only took 7 years, LOL. Maybe I'll be able to assemble my next kitchen cart without taking a break. That'll be a measure of full recovery.

I spent the next day mostly lying around. The hamstring and calves along with triceps were sore as hell and I was groggy from fatigue and the lack of sleep -- I only slept 4 hours.

That's been happening over and over again this year. I come back from skiing, I become "tired but wired" and unable to sleep. And a half day exertion to assemble a furniture has the same effect. Last year I was sleeping 8 hours after skiing. Something has changed this year. 

The recovery required 4 days. Two days after I was up and running after 7 hour sleep. It would've been a normal recovery if it ended there. But I gradually descended to PEM as dopamine faded and it took 3 more days to recover.