Story 25April2023: Tuesday

Tired tonight, Tuesday, so this will be short and hopefully focused. I met Shiva and Subha at Central Station Taps for a drink at 6:45PM. Subha stayed with water, but Shiva had a beer. We talked about work and life and how we are doing. It is the first time we have all met since the pandemic–it was good to meet. Central Station Taps was busy for a Tuesday, and there was little parking in the area. The excellent weather, sunny and over 70F (21C), had folks flocking to Beaverton and its food carts- a great day to have dinner outside with the carts!

Before this, I was at the house making and eating dinner. This time I did not overcook the pork chops. I made plain couscous to go with it (alright, I might have toasted it in the pan in hot butter before adding plain boiling water), and my frozen microwaved green beans wilted in a frying pan with salt, butter with garlic, and onion powder (just hints). I browned the chops, boneless and thick wrapped in bacon, in a pan in butter (yes more) and then baked the now seared chops in a 350F oven for twenty minutes until 160F (I don’t want them at 170, the usual overcooking). It was good. I made two chops and put another dinner away for another day, having plenty left.

Aside: Grammarly must be in the middle of a software update, as here is the change it recommended:

• • I browned the chops in a boneless and thick pan, wrapped in bacon…

Don’t worry. You are still safe from Artificial Intelligence.

Before this, I finished my day in the office, following along at work. I finished my shift at 5ish.

Susie enjoyed the trip in the park before I headed home from the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. It was a clear sunny day with temperatures headed to 70F (21c). The park was busy, and everyone looked happy. From what I observed, the habit of social distancing is still in place; folks stepped off the path to let others by. I am not sure folks recognize they are still keeping six feet apart.

Susie loved the flowers again; the daisies were bright and tiny in the park (English daisy–from Google). going backward, Susie was delighted to see me when I finally arrived in the afternoon and was happy to tour the park and sit in the sun. I spent some extra time with Susie. We called Susie’s mother, Leta, and she was pleased to see we were outside again enjoying the sun (we use my iPhone to see each other via FaceTime). I pushed Susie through the park.

Starting the day, I woke at 6AM and got going. I made oatmeal to go with the liberal coffee after completing the lighter exercise and stretches. I do the complete set on Monday, Wednesday, and some Fridays (if it is not too crazy at work). Then, I read the basic stuff (emails, Slack channel updates, and the news) to prepare for my day. I put on a new blue striped LL Bean Oxford dress shirt for work with a button-down collar. I decided I liked dress shirts and wanted to return to wearing them–so I ordered some more. I am more comfortable in dress shirts than T-shirts.

Air Volvo got me to the Clubhouse office building before 8AM. I started my two hours of Zoom meetings then. We had a few crises of the moment take over the morning and some meetings best not described here (my blood pressure meds were working overtime today). I had to grab a turkey and cheddar sandwich from the coffee shop (very fresh and pleasant, actually) as I had a meeting over lunch.

The day was typical, with a bit more going on than usual, as we have two overlapping releases running. As a result, it is hard not to mix up the issues.

Thank you for reading. I hope this was not too disjointed today.