The morning started with me rushing just a bit after my 6:15AM alarm. I was up reading late, and so the morning came unbidden. I made liberal Equal Exchange Fair Trade Morning Blend coffee using my French press and combined that with yogurt and a banana to make a decent breakfast. Next, I rushed through my email and any pressing issues from work. I showered, dressed, headed out, and was at work by 8ish. I heard that smoke was starting in southern Oregon and was talking to my sister in the car about it; thus, I was a few minutes later at a desk.
Aside: There are fires now in northern California, and the smoke is in the south still. See https://www.oregonsmoke.org.
I had a few meetings and some suggestions to provide. The usual crises of the moment resurfaced, not unexpectedly, and I was busy in meetings and discussions until after 10:15ish. I then took Air Volvo, with cat prints on the windshield that only showed in the glare–ugh, to hummingbird house only fifteen minutes away from my office building, Clubhouse.
Susie was free from lockdown and happily sat with the other residents in her recliner in the living room. She had breakfast at the table; it was not served in her room. She was excited to see me, smiled, and gave me a kiss (on the mask). I, always masked, in hummingbird house, held her hand, and we talked a bit. I usually would take Susie to the park, but it was still 65F (18.3C) and overcast (with an ugly humidity of 80%).
Next, we called Susie’s mother, Leta, on my iPhone, and Leta was thrilled to see Susie via FaceTime. They chatted for a while, and I was running out of time. Soon, Susie was sad to see me have to leave already; with a kiss, I headed out.
I stopped by Jimmy Johns to grab a quick sandwich. I had to wait as they had a too-go sandwich box to build. I watch the sandwich guy grab a nest of lettuce, fill it with sandwich making, and carefully roll it and tape it. He then cut the roll into small sandwiches that the tape held together. Amazing. He then took a minute or two to make my Italian grinder, and I ate it in the car, avoiding Covid-19 and unmasked folks. I could not finish it and toss the rest.
Air Volvo soon had me back at the office building. After lunch, I had a few more crises of the moment and some discussions with various teammates at the shoe company. As usual, I took Air Volvo home at 4PM and then made dinner while listening to the 5:05 meeting. I avoided some political fireworks with one team that wanted to explode an issue, but nobody would raise to their bait.
Having just escaped and escalation, I was done for the day. I rested for a bit.
I read the rules for a couple of board games. Zophia, Dondrea’s girl, will be at the church for a few hours for choir practice on Wednesday night, so I will meet them there at 6PM and bring some games to try out. I have put chess, Forbidden Island, Kill Doctor Lucky, and the improved game from the same idea, Save Doctor Lucky (on the Titanic). I reviewed the rules of the board games to remember how to play (I know chess, of course).
I went out and got gas for Air Volvo, and the fill-up was down to $80.
Next, I had the car washed for $15. The price has gone up a lot. A cat had walked across my windshield, and I needed to fix that. I fantasized about putting up a picture of a cat and offering an award for making the cat lost while the car prints were expensively removed.
Before returning home and starting the blog, I stopped by McDonald’s and got a hot fudge sundae.
Today I also have two new forward-looking plans started. Air Volvo needs to return to the mothership once a year, and I have the car fully detailed then. I do this near the bonus time at Nike–this weekend. Sadly, to get a loaner car, I will have to wait until 19Sept2022, which is a two-day process. I ask the dealership to do all the maintenance and recall and software updates when I do this once a year.
Also, I have an appointment with a CPA in Hillsboro to discuss my tax situation and Susie’s illness. I also want to see what he thinks of retirement for me, possibly selling the house, renting the Volvo Cave, or, yes, keeping the house. I want to know if I can deduct the substantial medical expenses this or next year and how to make the most tax-efficient use of the stock option, IRA, and 401K. His name is Darrin, and I have visions of Bewitched, and I hope he can help. I need professional help with the expenses and how to keep paying out $8,000 in support for Susie and some money for others.
The new office furniture for my office is coming about 11AM on Friday.
The Internet connection is running fast again with a burst of 600 mbps.
Thursday is our 32nd wedding Anniversary.
Thank you for reading.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 