Today 29June2023

Today I took Paid-Time-Off (PTO) and tried to sleep in. I had tea yesterday to help wake up, and instead, I was nervous and exhausted at the same time, meaning sleep came after 1:30AM. So I stayed in bed until 9ish and did not have to rush or do much. I kept things simple and made liberal coffee in my French Press with cheese, crackers, and kielbasa slices for a European breakfast.

I then cleaned up the pile, a huge mess of books, magazines, and gaming stuff spilled and piled next to the bed in the master bedroom. I recycled most of the magazines, some only looked through, as I understand I won’t find the time to reread them–Being realistic. I also will send most of the non-history or reference books (SciFi, classics, etc.) to Goodwill. I retained the gaming stuff, put some rules back in the games, put some games away, and put some quarterly magazines on the gaming shelf. I still get Decisions Game‘s quarterly history publication. Their write-up on the Soviet-Nazi tank battles was excellent, and I could not put it down.

I was coughing and sneezing from the cloud of dust. I reheated some of the leftover Chinese food from yesterday for lunch–doing dishes, cleaning up the mess, and Quicken took up the morning. I got tickets for Indiana Jones last night. I water the roses and plants; the new tree is still doing well–the redwood I planted.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, I took the new Echo Show (the video version for about $90) in Air Volvo. With no real traffic, Air Volvo got me soon to 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. Susie was still resting in her bed and deeply asleep. I dropped something twice in her room, and that woke her. With some finagling, I got the device to connect and sign into my Amazon account for music. You must approve the connection via an email and text sent to your phone and account email. I did and played music for Susie. The new speakers are supposed to sound better, and this one did (the base is clear). I then deleted the old device from my account and gave it to Jennifer for use on their account. I don’t need a spare one!

That done, it was time to head out. Jennifer got Susie ready while her son ran around with the new (my former one) Echo Dot. I then took Susie to Air Volvo and managed to lift her into the co-pilot spot, load the wheelchair into the cargo bay, and head to the Regal Evergreen Theater. After a short trip on 217 and 26, I arrived and unloaded Susie and rolled her into the RPX theater (one step below IMAX) for Indiana Jones and the Dail of Destiny. We got popcorn, no butter, and a frozen ICEE Cherry Coke-like product nearly glowing orange-pink.

We loved the seats (D1-D2 for wheelchair and campaign) and the theater. The movie was a great version of an upgraded Indiana Jones movie, and I recommend it. Susie loved it. No spoilers.

After that, I took Susie back; she looked exhausted but happy. It was time for dinner, and I quickly kissed Susie goodbye while Louis (Jeniffer’s husband) got dinner going.

I headed back by highways instead of crossing Beaverton, retracing my steps. Instead of the movie theaters, I headed to Mod Pizza for a pizza and a large salad. I was shocked by the $35 price tag, but I had enough food for two dinners–I packed up half.

Next, I went to the Men’s Warehouse and bought three suits, dark gray, black, and dark blue, with vests, black leather shoes, and suspenders. I got vests, too, going old school. The grey is for Linda’s wedding on 10Sept2023 which I might make. My sales associate was Alex, a 5′ tiny gal in combat boots, tight jeans, and a silk blouse (no longer are suit salespersons, male, in a suit, and boring). Alex was friendly, a GenZ or younger, and happy to sell me three suits–I have twenty-sided dice older than her. Linda, my sister, wanted darker grey for the wedding, I wanted black for those events that call for that, and a blue suit for more formal items. Alex was thrilled to sell me three suits plus all the extras. She seemed surprised when I kept adding on–I was trying to get it over with and adding everything I might need.

Alex has been selling suits for four months and has had to get some help with some modifications. She seemed thrilled to help me–again, someone who pops in and says let’s get three (over $2000 sales) and makes it easy is not likely a typical event. Also, my pants fell down once, and nobody commented on it. I had new stripped underwear on–I had bought new underwear this week. My approach to suits is to buy what they have, modify as little as required, and let Alex work it out. They had to order some of it as my request for a second pair of paints and vests could not be filled tonight. Done! They will contact me when the modifications are ready and when the ordered items come in.

With that done, I headed home, grabbed my laptop and a board game, and headed to Wildwood Taphouse to write this blog and relax. I also brought the boardgame Furnace, hoping to play a game with me playing both players.