Layoffs were the news at Nike today. Not my organization but all over the shoe company with re-organizations. This was all announced at 2 PM after the company entered the summer hours. I was back online reading all the emails and looking at the very vague diagrams trying to understand the meaning of the organizational changes and a hint of what was philosophy underlying the changes. There are always explanations, but ambiguous words never satisfy. In the end, I was sad and unhappy–the usual for layoffs.
My day started at 6:15ish this morning, making coffee and reading all the emails and getting ready for hours of Zoom meetings. The meetings and emails and text were about real issues and trying to solve real computer problems or me covering some of the histories of why the computer systems work the way they do for new employees. Resolving issues and recalling why things are the way they are made it a happy day for me, and with the day ending at noon, it was a good Friday.
I finished my last meetings and then got in Air Volvo and headed to Portland. My mother, I called her to check in, was concerned that I would be injured or arrest by some crazy Federal person. I told her that I would go with the Portland approach and just strip down and pose for the police if things got complicated. My mother was sure that my plan was flawed, but I explained it had worked a few nights ago for others–how could it fail for me. She rang off, still worried, but reassured that I was not headed to the Federal Court House in Portland.
Instead, I drove over the Burnside and the new Gaming store, Mox Boarding House. Mox opened just a few weeks ago, and I wanted to support my local gaming store and have lunch. They have a bar, and Sydney and Tatyana served me lunch.
(the bar with Tatyana)
I had the lamb with pasta and a sour beer. It was great.
They stamped my parking, you get 90 minutes of complimentary parking. I parked in the garage they share with the soccer stadium.
I then drove further on Burnside and the bridge to get to Guardian Games and picked up an older book on Lankhmar for the Savage Worlds system. I did not have this one, Savage Seas of Nehwon, so I picked it up. Someday I will play a Lankhmar based role-playing campaign. Some day without a virus…
Next, I drove back, avoiding the Federal Court House and City Hall area, and went to the very local Rainy-day Games here in Aloha and bought the April edition of Wargames Illustrated magazine. I use to buy it when it came out at the bookstore for something to read at lunch when working in the office. I completely forgot about it as I no longer have those habits and all the places I usually buy it are closed. I am shocked that I completely forgot about it and wondered what else I am missing.
Wargames Illustrated is a UK publication that covers miniatures mostly 28mm (used in Dungeons and Dragons) and 15mm used in tabletop gaming. It reviews all the cool miniatures and some games and rules to use miniatures. It also has a good section on books too—all in glossy color to make me want to try again to paint figures that good.
I got home, and Corwin and Susie had scrambled eggs and cold steak leftover from my cooking yesterday. I just had a bagel as I had a large lunch, and breakfast was a bagel and banana.
I got out Brass: Lancashire again. Brass is my newest board game purchase, and I am still trying to learn it. I managed to play a two-player game without that many errors, all minor and fixable. I know I am getting the rules down as I find myself wondering how to play instead of trying to remember the rules or actions. I also had trouble with my choices and how best to do the play. The whole design of Brass is to make you decide and face the results of those choices. Decisions are hard, and the results are to follow the paths from those choices. Do I increase my network, or maybe build a mill, or sell some cotton? Brass: Lancashire plays 2-4 players in just a few hours or less. I think I like it, but it is much harder than most games I play.
While I was moving over to the next epoch in Brass, a friend of mine just bought a car and need a lift. So I headed out and helped out.
I will finish the Brass game after I write this.
Tomorrow is Free RPG Game Day and looks for me in-line to get into Rainy-day Games in the morning.
The USA stock market went down again and is down for the week. I have sold most of my short term holdings. I decided to settle for what I could get than hope for higher.
Reports show another eleven-hundred Americans’ lives with cut short today by the virus.
Today’s hymn to remember all we have lost today is Abide with Me.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 