Story 14July2022: Thursday

To begin with, I had my check-up with my cancer doc. As I had read in the reports, there was no sign of cancer in my CT scan, and all that remains is to have a colonoscopy, ugh, in December (don’t open to Christmas label comes to mind) to validate the findings. Thus, it appears that I am doing well.

The morning started with the alarm waking me at 6:15 despite the sunny morning, meaning I got some sleep. I did have to prove hydration at 1AM, but after that, I slept through to 6ish. I was rushed as this is Thursday, and I need to be in the office at 8 for the first status meeting in the command center.

I had a bagel and banana for breakfast. The liberal Fair Trade coffee was from a french press. The house was a bit cold as the AC seemed to let the temperature crash in the early morning hours. Nevertheless, I managed all the morning tasks and meds and was in Air Volvo before 7:30. I reached the command center in the Nike Clubhouse building to find it empty of any leadership.

More positive Covid tests, I am afraid, and some folks late. Unforently, I could not figure out how to start the AV, so I just had my laptop for the room. It was messy but worked. I did sample the fruit in the provided breakfast but skipped the breakfast sandwiches provided by catering. It was one of the jokes we have in Nike IT that a project is not serious until it starts catering!

I followed along and then headed out to see Susie at Hummingbird House. I ran a bit late and arrived at 10:30 without incident. Susie was still eating her breakfast. I waited for her to finish. Susie managed to eat her whole breakfast without help. Her right hand is working again; I am very relieved.

Once done, Susie was ready for a trip outside. This time we did Metzger Park, which was starting to fill up with kids and picnics. It was sunny, but the shade still came with a chill. No hot wind to mix the air yet, so I parked Susie in the sun by a bench where I could sit. I am careful not to stand for an extended period and wear myself out.

We called Susie’s mother, Leta, who was home, and we talked for a while in the park. It was hot in the sun, and the wheelchair, which was colored black, was heating up in the sun–we headed back. I kissed Susie goodbye once I got her back to Hummingbird House and headed back.

I stopped to get gas as Air Volvo threw the message that I had only 40 miles to go. Today regular unleaded gas was $5.45 (credit), and the fill-up was less than $100 this time. Better.

Lunchtime was close when Air Volvo got me back to near the office, so I parked the car at a Chinese place and waited for my lunch meeting time. I read on my phone all the emails and messages. I was right; one of the directors told me when I predicted that we had repeated a mistake that we fixed/avoided in the legacy system.

I had lunch with a work friend, and we discussed our plans for data at Nike over Chinese food; we both ordered tofu. I am starting to head to a less meat-inclusive diet. I actually like tofu.

I have a new health issue, mouth blisters deep in my mouth, and I decided to leave work and deal with them some more. They were bothering me after lunch. So I headed home early, stopped by Walgreens (our RiteAid has closed its doors), and got some antiseptic mouthwash and painkillers. I then took my 400mg (two tablets) of Ibuprofen and one 500mg of Tylenol to reduce the discomfort and swelling (this is my pain management system that I recommend to anyone) and used the mouthwash and soon felt better.

I rested for a few minutes and then did my video call with my oncologist. It was not a good day with AV, and we just did a call, no video. But, as I said above, everything is fine.

This was followed by the usual 5PM status call for the project on Zoom. I followed along. I got out the taco makings from a few days ago and made a taco salad for dinner. While this is ground beef, it is at least me eating my leftovers (Glenda must be smiling). I crushed a few taco shells (also leftover) and added lettuce and cheese. It was good and did not bother my mouth. I ate dinner while listening to status.

I took out the recycling and garbage for Friday. Glass in the red container.

At 7PM was July’s Theology Pub, where we discuss theology with a glass in one hand, usually an adult beverage. Before, we met in a pub, but now it is Zoom and supply your own dinner and drink. We talked this time about the separation of church and state and the seeming disregard the American Supreme Court has for the previous ruling on this right. It was a hot topic.

With the loss of rights now accelerating in the country, some of us have friends and family thinking of immigrating, and Portugal appears the go-to choice. I was surprised to find a whole industry helping Americans move there. Apparently, if you can own a few million dollars of land and businesses for a few years in Portugal, you can get a gold visa. As you can imagine, the gold visa gets you treated like a local, and you can travel in Europe with the ease of a native. There are quite a few firms on the Internet available to help you make the transition (an example: Atlantic Bridge), assuming you make the investments. I suspect 401K money can be redirected to specific funds and assets to qualify–for a fee.

I would say that most of us were surprised that folks wished to reduce the separation as it seems one of the main issues that the founding fathers had with England was the mixing of church and state. We did go for 90 minutes which was longish for us.

Besides looking up immigration to Portugal, I spent the rest of the evening writing the blog and doing dishes.

Thank you for reading!