Story 24April2023

I write down in a notebook by my pill bottles when I take my pills, and the results show I forget some nights. I seemed to have missed 1/2 of my doses this last week. Not good, but the night pills are not very important–so no serious loss there. I also noticed that one was running out, and now I have to pay an extra $20 to correct this. Usually, United Health Care sends me almost two sets of 90 days, but this time no. Instead, I had to order it. So I am being more diligent and watchful. I discovered another one that needs to be manually requested before it runs out–done!

The morning started at 7:30ish, with me resisting my alarm at 7AM and finally rising like a drunken magician assistant without the outfit (I have a robe). Poof, I rise. Coffee was located and assembled. Breakfast was still more muffins that were getting a bit stale–but I matched them this morning, so it was OK.

The night shift did not have a rough time, and I expected the usual slow and quiet Monday, working from home. A bit of a dull morning with hours of Zoom meetings. I got in all my exercises and took my pills. I finally got dressed and continued to follow along at work.

The morning was cold, and the sky was filled with cotton-candy clouds with our darker blue skies (the blue here is a bit darker than the East Coast, I think), but the forecast suggested a warmer and nicer afternoon. I stayed home for lunch, re-heated tagine-styled chicken from a few days ago, and watched a few YouTube videos on ships and shipwrecks. I also did my usual checks on Quicken, downloading all the newly available transactions and checking my recent re-alignment of investment priorities in my 401K (80% Stable Value (not bonds) and 20% Nike stock with NKE at $127 today)–everything is correct. I am passing on extreme volatility and will see if things are less scary this Halloween 2023. I usually realign once every year.

The roads are mostly dry, and my fellow drivers stopped hitting each on this first day of the working week. I saw a lot of pile up this weekend (?!). The weather was not nice enough to bring out Beaverton’s Finest. Still, I suspect they will be out as the rains stop for a while, with the forecast above 70F (21c) on Wednesday and becoming a sunny day on Friday in April with a California temperature of 84F (29C)–unheard of in Oregon. An Other Day of Sun from La La Land.

Air Volvo, with no alarms, reached Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Traffic was heavy, with the surprise hole installation starting all over Beaverton. The City of Beaverton has four seasons: Make holes, enjoy flooded and messy holes, partially fill holes and enjoy stressing your tires and suspension, and finally, repave as school starts. Beaverton, unlike many municipalities, often re-holes the same area over and over until reaching some new standard and then moves on.

Susie was sleeping in her recliner in the shared living room when I arrived after 1PM. I woke her, and Jennifer, the weekday nursing aide, got Susie comfy in her wheelchair with a zipped-up coat (Susie insisted) and her hat. Out to the now sun-break afternoon. The wind was still saying 50F (burr), but the sun said, “Why a coat.” The park was not yet busy as school was on today, but young kids were everywhere running around in shock that the grass was primarily dry and it was warm (well, sort of).

We found our favorite sunny bench and parked there for a bit. We called Leta–Susie’s mother and she was happy to see we were outside and enjoying the day. We chatted about the weather (it is only to get better here) and the new deck Leta is getting. We rang off and then took the long trip through the park. The tiny English daisy (I Googled this) got Susie’s attention growing as a weed in the park’s grass, and she loved all the flowers, “beautiful.” The tulips are out, and some of the late cherry trees are blooming. It was a lovely walk, and I also completed the walking part of my exercise.

I headed back after kissing Susie goodbye. I drove to Salt & Straw and got an ice cream cone. The scooper (what do you call folks that scoop ice cream) suggested I try some more, as I might want to order something different. So I tried a few, and the coffee with nuts will be my next cone (if still there when I stop by again).

I reached the Volvo Cave without incident, but I dodged more hole installations for most of the flight. My snail mail was full of new and exciting items. I have the new Lord of the Rings for Dungeons and Dragons 5E. This is a new edition (I have spent a lot of money on the previous one), and it closely matches the earlier version. The old material can be used with the new version, which is excellent. It is not as colorful as the earlier material, and the maps are more basic.

I also got a new Decisions Game issue on Panzer tanks. These are quarterly-created magazines with one subject, and I love reading them. The mail was full of fun.

I continued the day following along. I had a few colon issues, and this made me tired (best to not describe). I nodded off when reading for a minute to take a break, but woke with a start and went back to the office. My left ear and jaw hurt (I cannot hear out of my left ear for some time now and have a doc appointment for that). I took some Advil, and that went away.

I was done at 5:20ish with my shift and laid down to read, and woke at ten to seven! I decided a hamburger was needed and maybe some beer and people, so off to Imbrie Hall, a McMenamin’s joint. There I had a Ruby (beer) and a Captain Neon Burger (blue cheese and bacon) with fries. I am feeling better now.

I am enjoying a new book (and I might have read it too late last night): Ninefox Gambit (Machineries of Empire Book 1). This is space opera with the usual focus on a middle-ranked women officer, disgraced by doing the right thing and now finds herself at the center of a plot and battles. The focus here is on mathematics and establishing consistency with the current vision of the universe described by agreed to equations and stopping heretical equations being used by heretics called rot. I like it, and the main character is a soldier, a super mathematician who uses math to solve weapon issues and is mostly to attracted to girls. Fun so far.

Thanks for reading. I finished writing this at the bar with a cup of coffee to finish my dinner. The bartender wanted a shoutout, Brooke, at Imbrie Hall.