I still am tired and coughing more now. The inhailers are helping, and it is more sinus than anything in my lungs. I also have to use my inhaler more often, but I don’t see any symptoms of Covid or anything else going around. I have been here before in the winter.
I woke before my alarm, and then it blasted me out of bed on this work-from-home Friday when I fell back to sleep for thirty minutes. My first meeting was a team meeting at 7:30 to better include our India team members, so I had enough time to make coffee and start some hard-boiled eggs for breakfast.
The status meetings went on for two hours. I tried to be a positive influence, and now the presentations show how many days behind we are on the testing and data conversions. I would always ask as others wanted to know the same thing.
After the status meetings, I did stretching exercises and rode Susie’s stationary bike for six minutes. I had read the instructions this time and did less of some of the more strenuous exercises. Again, I did not feel any pain, just a few muscles complaining–nothing serious.
I showered and got dressed. I did the dishes. I stripped the bed and washed the blankets (which will go on all day as many blankets take a while to dry). I then grabbed my ladder and replaced the faulty light fixture in the hallway (just like the last one). The new one was an upgrade on the previous models–I saw more capacitors (two in a series) and even a plastic cover over the electronics.
The installation was the usual trying to hold things while attaching them. You need three or four arms to manage. Then, the house wire broke, and I had to strip it. After that, I managed without issue to get the fixture replaced (no zaps). But, in the end, I installed all the wires, and the fixture worked.
The new fixture is slightly brighter than the other one, and when powered off, the LED lights slowly bleed off the capacitors for a moment creating a more pleasing look. This also means the flicker I have faced twice will not likely happen to this version. Next, because they are different models, the likelihood that one of the fixtures will generate an AC current slightly out of phase with the AC in the wall and cause a flicker is near zero. I am hopeful the problem is solved (also, that many capacitors in an AC circuit will likely help suppress any stability from the grid–All good).
Next, I collected Corwin’s mail–just some of it is still coming to the house–and his Christmas present (a small picture of a US historical figure on a small piece of paper in a card) and headed to Hawaiian Kine Bar-B-Q nearby. I gave the mail and card in a large envelope to be given to Corwin, who was working and then ordered Uncle Biggie for lunch which is orange flavored chicken and excellent BBQ chicken. I got a text from Corwin later in the day apologizing for not contacting me sooner. Glad to hear from him!
Next, I crossed Beaverton to see Susie. I was following along on my iPhone with Nike and the testing and data conversions. It is a busy day full of critical paths that, if late, will make us later. I arrived with Air Volvo undamaged after enjoying heavy traffic on Friday at Susie’s place.
Susie was in her recliner sleeping while Blue Bloods was running on the large TV. I awoke her, and she was delighted to see me. I then went to the car and got her some remaining Christmas wear and a few other favorites. One is a tiny poncho that is close to something that Clint Eastwood would wear. Susie likes the outlaw look.
Susie and I opened the next day on her Advent Calendar and were rewarded with another candy–not very good this time. Next, we called Susie’s mother, Leta, and chatted with her for a while. Leta is still planning on making cookies and fudge next week to send to Susie. After we rang off, we called Susie’s sister, Barb, who was happy to be off from work and was grocery shopping. Barb and Susie chatted for a while and exchanged intelligence and logistic information on gifts inflight.
Soon I had to travel and left Susie with a kiss. I was amazed to find a four-car pile-up at the Hall Boulevard intersection. It is only thirty mph, and I am not sure they did that. Seeing that I am very attentive, and when someone in the right lane slammed their brakes and another car suddenly shared my lane, I crossed the yellow line without any cars coming at me to avoid scraping paint.
I stopped next at the hobby store to get some modeling supplies, Tammie’s. I needed some putty for a model I am working on. I also got the latest Fine Modeler magazine; the painting suggestions are invaluable for modeling and figure painting.
Next, it was only thirty minutes to my PT appointment. So I headed to Bethany. I checked the messages and emails at work and then read Fine Modeler for a few minutes. After that, I checked in for my appointment.
My appointment with Michael today was about an hour. Michael decided to keep it mostly to exercises today as I had hurt a bit last week. So they added another exercise to my group of four already. I was tired after that and all of the travel and traffic. So it was a long but careful process today.
While driving back, I saw a house door fall out of a truck on 185th (!?), and cars were making emergency lane changes to avoid smashing into it. So I parked the car with the hazard light on just off of 185th, walked out into the traffic, which stopped for me, dragged the now broken brand new door out of the street, got in Air Volvo, and went home. I plugged in the lights for the evening–they look marvelous.
Back to work online. I rested for a few minutes but got up and made tea to help with the cough and to wake up more. The last meeting was at 4:35 and was a bit gloomy as we had to assign work over the weekend. Meetings will continue with the work on the weekend. But I think we managed to get some clarity, and though folks will work the weekend, it will not be 7/24, and there is room for breaks. So that brightened things a bit.
I heated up the leftover couscous, North African sauce, gnocchi, and some wilted green beans for dinner. Mariah told me to retry The Umbrella Academy on Netflix and wait until the third episode before stopping. The second episode was great, and I look forward to the next one.
While watching this, I got a text from Mariah asking about meeting in the Pearl for dinner and beer. I was tired and had already eaten, so I passed tonight to enjoy
Another Advent day song: I was listening to Sting today, and here is his Christmas song: Here.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 