Today I did back up all the text of my blogs to a file on my laptop–I want to ensure I may access my own words. I use WordPress for my website to retain ownership of my writing and photos. I am unsure of the ownership and fate of my entries on Facebook and Twitter. I use WordPress and their original editor, which works with my other technology, Grammarly. Grammarly helps me get all those silly commas in their correct place (and forces me to use the Oxford comma-Bah!) and finds all the mistakes I can never find. See, I discovered that I have dyslexia, undiagnosed and that many of my challenging ways of doing things are just normal survival skills for someone like me. For example, I still add numbers by counting how close to fives–a dyslexia survival skill. I also drop negative signs in complex math, which I love, but seldom do now. Often shocking my friends with my B’s in high math–even when I know the subject better than the A students. Someday I will return to Calculus and Modern Algebra (which I never learned). I did graduate from Central Michigan with honors in mathematics, even with dyslexia!
Aside: Deborah Hills, I still owe you a tour of how I do this blog. Maybe a Zoom meeting someday?
Returning to the story, but beware, I am in a mood for going sideways in my writing. It must be re-reading the book The Club Dumas; that book makes my mind wander. Recommended!
Again trying to return today’s story, I started at 6:15 with me awaking before my alarm, just a few minutes. Then, I fell utterly and profoundly asleep, and the alarm went off and scared me. Not very nice. I sat up, fell asleep again, and was woken when I nearly fell out of bed. Not good.
Coffee was more First Aid than a drink of choice and enthusiastically applied. Breakfast was the last of the large containers of strawberry yogurt. I will not comment that a large container looks precisely the same, to me, on the Safeway website as a small one-serving container–but I was happy that my buyer found only two of the five I ordered! I have only one more large one left now. I had this with some fruit I had leftover.
I eyed the cupcakes. After I finished the blog last night, I baked cupcakes: German Chocolate Duncan Hines (old fashion) mix. I frosted them with pecan and coconut frosting (premade and Duncan Hines). They are delicious.
I also started making replacement masts for the 1/1200 (four-inch long) RMS Titanic model I built years ago for a class I taught on Machine Learning. It was damaged last year, and I need to replace the plastic masts. I made new masts from brass tubing and wire. I managed to fix everything else. It is a neat little model and helps visualize the disaster. The original build was fun; It took one weekend, unrushed.
Back to the story–yes, I keep making side trips; I was rushed as this was Tuesday and was the first back-to-the-office day of the week. My first meeting is at 8:05, and I like to be a bit early to clean the desk. I wear a mask at work, except when eating or drinking. I do not want Covid-19, colds, or the flu.
Air Volvo got me to Nike’s Clubhouse building, just off the WHQ campus, without incident. I was early, and I was busy all morning. I had a few crises of the moment and meetings on some work. The first time I felt very busy in a while as work starts to heat up.
I was late to see Susie, so I called ahead, and Jennifer, the nurse for today, agreed that she would have Susie ready in a wheelchair when I got there if Susie wanted a spin outside. So Susie was waiting by the door in her wheelchair when I arrived.
Susie was tired, and her eyes were red from allergies. So we headed out, getting some tissues from Air Volvo on the way to Metzger Park. We spun around the park and even did a bit of cross-country through the grass to reach a bench for me.
We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and had a friendly chat. Susie is having therapy coming on Friday, and we also chatted about that. Susie was getting sleepy in the sun in the just reaching 80F (26.67C) heat.
I headed back to work after a kiss goodbye. Jennifer was setting Susie in her recliner when I left. Lunch was in an hour for Susie.
I had a 1 and 3 meeting this afternoon and thus needed to get a fast lunch. After mistakingly missing Jimmy Johns and other good sandwich places, I ended up in Burger King and, despite swearing I would not be back, I had another average burger there. It was just OK.
I was only a few minutes late for my 1PM meeting in a small room, and on Zoom–I projected onto the larger screen. It is sometimes maddening that we come to the office to spend every meeting on Zoom. Even in a conference room still on Zoom with few in the conference room.
More Zooming, and then I headed home about 4ish and then to Zoom for the 5:05 status meeting at home. I make and eat dinner during this meeting. So today, after the burger, I had cottage cheese with olives and peaches from a can (no sugar added). I like cottage cheese with pepper, sea salt, and smoked paprika, and the olive fits this mix, just four as olives are full of oil. I did have some cake.
After the meeting, I sat around the house and read some more. I did fall asleep and managed to restart at 7:45. A cupcake might have been sacrificed to get me going again. So good!
I will work on the RMS Titanic some more after publishing the blog. I am also thinking about republishing the blog as a book of my experiences in the pandemic, Cancer, and my adventures in New York City.
I am also thinking about publishing my Howard stories.
I also have a church story on my mind, but that will have to wait.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my blog today and that my side trips did not feel like a maze or Alice-like. Thanks for reading!
Is that a “eat me” note on that cupcake…
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