Today is the summer solstice, and the sun is now just setting at 9PM, and this will stay after 9 for some time before the days start to feel like they are shortening. Pumpkin season is still far away! I woke with my alarm again, and I felt tired all day. It has been coffee and tea to keep going this morning and this afternoon. Dinner was reheated tamales from the tamales lady at Wildwood Taphouse–she sells them out of her truck on some Tuesdays. They are spicy and delicious. I ate them while watching the finish of The Rings of Power series (my third time watching it), and I genuinely love the last two episodes, and they make up for all the sloppy storytelling at the start. I am hopeful for the next series, but it will not likely surface until Spring 2024.
I rested for a bit, tired; even my boss commented on how tired I looked today. So I took the evening off and just relaxed. I am writing this as the sun sets on the longest day and the shortest night starts.
Today I took the stairs all day (the first time in some time) at our Nike building, Clubhouse, and we learned today that we are leaving it for Nike WHQ, just down the road, and leaving soon, August. We will be in the old Rogue building, now called Swift, and remodeled, a purchased building now included in the berm that surrounds Nike WHQ. We will be about two blocks from what I would call the campus. It will be good to walk by the lake again and eat in the cafes.
I also got my review, which was good, and I was disappointed with my new title, Principle Software Engineer. I will miss the Architect part of my previous titles as it better described what I do, but the pay is the same as are the benefits and a quick scan on the internet, and yes, my pay matches this title. I will have to get used to it.
Susie was talkative today when I arrived at Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. She was hard to understand, but we tried. Susie agreed to a visit to the park, and Jennifer (the weekday nursing aide) got Susie in her wheelchair, and we headed out to find a sunny bench in Metzger Park. It was about 80F (27C) with a light cooling wind–sitting in the sun was comfortable. The recent rains seemed to restore the trees and flowers. Cottonwood bunches were drifting through the air. The butterflies, yellow Oregon swallowtails, fluttered here and there in the sun, seemingly to warm themselves in the hot summer rays. A small dog rushed after a ball that the dog’s human threw. The dog would bring the ball back and, if ignored, would bark and jump to get the human’s attention. Small kids were in the park. Beaverton Schools closed for the summer today, so the kids were still saying goodbye to their teachers and friends for the summer. I remember it was always a sad day for me. Once I rode a large bike (a three and later a five-speed), I could at least reach the nearby kids and sometimes some of the more distant ones on good weather days, and that made things better, but the last day was always a strange day.
We called Leta, Susie’s mother, from the bench, but Leta was at a church meeting, so it was a short call. Soon I needed to return to work and get some lunch, so I took Susie through the rest of the park, and then we traveled on the streets. The homeless couple living in their car was not there today–I hope they are OK. The guy with the ducks in his van (!) was also not there.
I soon left with a kiss with plans made on Thursday morning to take Susie for a blood draw in the morning to check her liver function. The labs were catawampus last time, and we hope to drop the statin drug will get Susie back to normal.
Susie is also losing weight, and I have another message for the doc on that. We will get a new weight soon and hope things are stable. Otherwise, that is a new issue.
Lunch was at our old stomping grounds, Happy Panda. I used to eat with Michelle and Michael there, and I missed them while I had a quick lunch by myself. The food was exactly the same
To finish, recalling the early morning, I had yogurt and a banana with my coffee–Liberal and French Press–for breakfast. I ate the banana while taking Air Volvo to work. I was suddenly nauseous again and hoped it was a result of my pills and the banana would help; it did. It was usual to read emails and Slack messages after rising at 6AM, shower and dressing 7:00-7:30, and out the door to reach the office before 8AM.
Thank you for reading. Enjoy the short night, and Thursday is only a few seconds shorter, so enjoy the week of long days and short nights!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 