Story 26Oct2022: Mix and Match Wednesday

I am catching up as I was not okay yesterday, and the blog was a bit short.

Just finished watching a very chaotic Doctor Who special. This was the end of Jodie Whittaker’s run as the Doctor, and the showrunner brought in many of the surviving cast members for a final send-off, including the former actors who played the doctor. So it was quite a send-off for Jodie.

I cried, as always, when the current doctor gave her last speech. The episode was terrible in the same way that many new episodes seem awful to me, but at least they stuck with it. I look forward to the next season, and we will see where it goes, and I will rewatch the last season or so and see if maybe my judgment is too harsh.

I still suffer from being cold all the time, maybe a leftover from the cancer treatments, and I had to rest for a bit this afternoon after coming home from the office early. I am trying to make this work, but you cannot make yourself better–you have to find it. So I rest and search some more for better.

I finished The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner last night and liked the second half or even the previous quarter better than the start. The primary character starts to become someone you want to know, and the story changes from victimhood to taking control and directing. I would say I am pretty happy to have read it, and I would recommend it with the warning that the storyteller has to find her way–that is part of the exciting development of the character. Also, instead of having recipes for drinks or food found in the story (like in an old Rex Stout book), there are recipes for poisons at the end of the book–somewhat disconcerting.

Unrelated, I resisted buying a translated cooking book from 10th-century Bagdad. Instead, I was reading and found information about old-styled food: Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens (Islamic History and Civilization). I might still order it.

Beginning the narrative, I started at 6:15 with my alarm waking me. I had awoken in pain, and my right leg ached. I was up at 5ish, taking some painkillers. I managed to sleep and then wake for the alarm. The pain in the morning is new.

I began the usual rush to be at work before 8AM. I managed a bowl of cereal with sliced fresh banana and some liberal coffee. Most of the coffee ended up in my Yeti cup to take to work. I beat the school buses and was at the office on time and without experiencing interesting driving.

I had only a few meetings in the morning and could do some research on some software most of the morning. I also chatted with some folks about some issues I am wondering about; I am still doing my computer architect thinking and asking questions. Soon it was time for a team lunch. We headed to Biryani Corner. We were saying goodbye to our director, Mariana, who is taking a different position in the project next week. My boss bought lunch for everyone, and the food was excellent. I had the Lamb Vindaloo.

From there, I headed to the hummingbird house, stopping by Target to get more Ensure for Susie. Jennifer, the nurse aide today, told me they had just run out for Susie. So I supply it; this is new as we want to increase Susie’s caloric and vitamin intake. I get Ensure Plus in strawberry and chocolate flavors as every medical liquid seems to come in an imitiation vanilla flavor, ick. Susie is drinking three bottles a day.

Susie was still resting when I got there, and I sat on her bed and chatted with her. I raised her head in the hospital bed. There is a “crash pad” on the floor next to the bed as Susie has fallen out of bed, which makes me have to stomp like I am in snow. Susie thinks it funny. I talked to Susie about her labs, and she agreed to look into the anemia and liver function. This means more blood draws and an ultrasound test that I will have to schedule and take Susie to.

We called Leta, Susan’s mother, and Susie and Leta chatted. We also discussed the tests with Leta, and she agreed we should do them. I do not want to be the only decider of these things. I am glad that Susie understood, and Leta agreed.

I headed out with a kiss. I drove across Beaverton and headed to the bakery, but alas, they did not have the bread I wanted. I next bought some foam board and liked architecture products. I hope to find time to build a model of the adventure I am writing. I am not sure I will have time for that, but I have always wanted to do that.

Air Volvo then flew back to the house without any incident before the school buses started to tangle up the traffic. Once home, I returned to my at-home office and managed to install more of the software I was researching. Unfortunately, my credentials did not work, but that may just be a password reset request. I will try again on Thursday.

Corwin stopped by to grab some of his hammers and buckets. On many weekends, he and his friends have a beach fire on the coast, and he needs his wedge to split wood. So I gave him some mail that came in too.

After Corwin left, I watched a global corporate meeting until it overran by thirty minutes. I was happy that our project was called out as needed for the future of Nike. I was interested in some of the discussions on Supply Chain as I have been involved in that my whole career at Nike (twenty-six years now).

After that, I made a nice salad with cheese and ham. I also had crackers, and the remains of the maza sauce from Gyro House delivered yesterday by GrubHub. I ate this while watching the latest Doctor Who special I found on Prime without cost. I was in Susie’s chair with a heated blanket while I ate and watched.

Next, I started on the blog. I have been writing with my sweater on drinking hot tea. That seems to work.