Story 8May2022: Monday Tired

I woke tired today as the weekend was busy. The alarm at 6:15 came too soon. I had a 7AM All-Employee Meeting Zoom call, so no lollygagging this morning. I was up with breakfast and read my email, and was ready at 7AM for more corporate wisdom infusion. I can’t cover that here, but it was mostly about how the brand connects with people and how Nike is enabling that.

Today is Monday, so we work from home on Monday and Fridays. I was thus able to shower, dress, and read emails, and no commute. Next, I read various information on the release today. There were no meetings in the morning after the first few, so I headed out to see Susie.

The trip to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A, was uneventful, but I witnessed a bit of car racing down TV Highway. After passing the touch screen sign-in process, I found Susie still sitting near the Nurse’s station, hanging out with the other residents. She was delighted to see me there so early, and we quickly called Susie’s mom, Leta, on my iPhone using FaceTime. They had a long chat as they had not had a long conversation since Friday.

After Susie was done with the call, I took her for a spin around the facility just to have a change of scenery. We looked at the fish. Then Susie was clear she wanted to return to her room and rest a bit. She had a workout with Rehab and breakfast–time for some rest. I found a nursing aide and told her of Susie’s wishes, and kissed Susie goodbye.

I decided on the way back to get lunch. I drove first to Einstien’s Bagels. Bagels are cheaper on Monday, and I got a dozen and two shmears (plain and chives with onions) for about $14. Unfortunately, they no longer do poppy bagels!

After that, I stopped by one of our old lunching places, Happy Panda. A hot pot of tea was perfect for a tired Monday. Lunch was too many calories but was a familiar flavor. It tasted like pre-Covid-19. I enjoyed Hot and Sour Soup and General’s Chicken, and I felt much more like myself. I missed Michael Giessner and Michelle Smith, who used to eat there with me for years.

After that, I returned to the Volvo Cave and carried in my bagels. Work went on with a few more Zoom meetings and reading lots of emails. The big project I am working on announced that we will get the official week break for WHQ Nike employees in August. A surprise to me 1) I did not know about the week in August, and 2) I did not know our project would decide if we could have it off (previously, we did not get it as the project times lines could not handle the new week holiday).

I had a bagel for dinner and headed out to the taphouse The 649 with Nemo’s War. This solo board game, Nemo’s War, simulates you running the Nautilus as Captain Nemo, and I got my copy of the game from the latest Kickstart. It is a reprint, with all the add-ons now included and updated. For example, the game uses drawing bags (sailcloth) to randomize the experience, and the game escalates as you play.

I am new to it, and it took me an hour or more to set up while having an excellent red ale. I managed to start and play a few turns without making too many mistakes. I was constantly looking up the rules, but I watched many videos and soon had a feel for the mechanics. Soon Captain Nemo had explored a trench (for a pile of victory points) and defeated a cargo ship for salvaging parts. The game felt immersive, and I liked it.

I stopped as the game hit Act 2. It was getting late, I was tired, and I had to lookup more rules to play Act 2. Time to stop. I did order some nachos before that. They were great!

So I headed home and avoided a storm hitting just north of Forest Grove. Not sure that Susie did not get to hear some thunder; she loves thunderstorms.

I ordered a new rose bush today. Souvenir du President Lincoln old rose should be here in a few weeks (released in 1865 as a memorial to the assassinated president), and Corwin promised to install a hole for it. So this, like Mister Lincoln, is a second try for this rose. On the rose front, only two roses are showing stress. All the rest, including new climbers and Mister Lincoln, are growing fast and look happy. So I should have flowers soon.

The April snow and constant wetness have stopped the usual bugs from eating the roses. As a result, the leaves and buds look perfect on the unstressed roses. Also, the roses were fertilized, and fresh potting soil was put around them.

I ordered the rose from Heritage Roses, which once had a friendly farm near Newburg, but the rose garden and farm are gone now. Instead, I now order my David Austin roses from well David Austin USA. I order old roses and cold weather roses (for folks in Michigan) from Heritage–their Viking Queen can handle -30F.

The rose Cardinal Richelieu is being drowned. The gutters have an issue and are dumping water near the rose. I am not sure this lovely rose will survive, but I will try to clear the gutter blockage. Unfortunately, the rain has been unusually heavy, and I am unsure if the drains can handle the volumes.

Dear reader, I am fatigued and will stop there. Thanks for reading!