Story 5Oct2022

The day started at 6:15 and, being Wednesday, was a work-from-office day. Rushed morning! I was soon late after having a slice of pastry with a banana combined with French Press liberal coffee. I tried to read my email, text, and Slack messages while reading the news and getting caught before I was late, but not today.

Air Volvo got me to work at 8ish without incident in surprising light traffic. I started my following along and status meetings via Zoom. It was then announced by Jim, our senior director, that Brad, my boss, was celebrating his 30th year at Nike, Inc. today. Emails followed, and Brad was congratulated often.

I slipped out at about 10:30 to see Susie. I hazarded highway 217, often called the Devil’s Bowling Ally, to quickly reach Susie’s place at 9925 SW 82nd, Portland (Tigard), called hummingbird house. I was passed on both sides by speeding trucks and cars. A piece of construction equipment pulled on a trailer by a truck decided it wanted my lane at 60 mph, and I could slow down and not change the structure of Air Volvo by sudden deceleration. I was happy to arrive intact.

Susie was finishing her breakfast as I got there. So I waited for her and got ready to take Susie out to Air Volvo!

Jennifer, the nurse aide for today, helped me do the lift to get Susie into Air Volvo. We managed to be safe and get Susie unhurt and unflustered into the passenger seat of the XC60 Volvo. The leather seats helped Susie to slide into place.

I then took Susie for her first drive in Air Volvo since early November 2021. Next, we drove to the mall and made a small circle. Susie was very attentive. She has tried to understand where she lives now. Now she gets that she is near the Washington Square Mall.

We called Susie’s mother, Leta, and her Aunt Joyce to have them hear Susie in the car. They were thrilled that we had managed to get Susie in the car without issue.

I soon returned, and Jennifer monitored while I got Susie out of the car. No issues, except we changed Susie to place her hand on me instead of trying to reach the wheelchair. No problem. I kissed Susie goodbye and returned to work.

I stopped to get some gas and a burger from Burger King that I ate in the car. Next time I will order a Junior as I need a nap later! Next, I was back to work and continued work on the same crisis of the moment from yesterday. I left about 4ish, logged in from home, and followed along some more.

I made a ham and cheese sandwich for dinner. Wednesday is when Zophia and I play board games at the church during rehearsal and choir practice. I was at the church on time, 6PM, after dropping off some mail for Corwin that is still coming to the house.

Zophia was game, so to speak, to play Scythe again. This steampunk 1900s-themed 4X game ranked as the 16th best on BoardGameGeek’s website. It is not hard to learn but hard to master. Zophia soon recalled how to play but had trouble scoring as the strategy was opaque to her. A few more plays, and she will soon be pushing all over the board. I enjoy winning while I can; she will quickly crush me.

We finished with Azul, a favorite, and we hate-drafted and played cut-throat. Nothing like being crushed by an 11-year-old! One time she stuck me with the maximum number of dropped tiles! We played two games, each winning one.

Notice all the negative points on the pretty blue star tiles Zophia stuck me with!

After the games, choir finished, and I headed home. I stopped by Safeway and got a piece of cheesecake and some flowers for Susie on Thursday. Aws is a checker there from Iraq, and we are friends, and he was happy to see me. He always asked me about Susie, and I showed him a picture of her in Air Volvo. He was glad that Susie was better. He prays for us at the local Mosque.

I got home, started the laundry, and am getting ready for Thursday. The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival’s first events are Thursday night!

Thanks for reading!