Today 9Aug2023

It is another busy day, and I can only cover the essential parts of the day. A reminder that I will close this blog with one last entry on Friday. Thank you all for reading and for all the kind words.

The morning started with my alarm forcing me awake. My sleep was troubled, and it was challenging to start the day. I was worried about ending the blog and losing all the connections to people; I was not sure I was doing the right thing. Sleep came with difficulty last night, and the morning seemed early. I found the kitchen (it still has not moved), made coffee, climbed aboard the non-moving bike, and managed to not travel 2 miles in ten minutes. I am trying to reach thirty minutes; I was sweating and will continue to build up to thirty minutes. I have slowed my beer intake and plan to eat more salads and lose ten pounds in six months (or sooner).

Work was usual, and I will skip most of those details. We learned today that we will be on the third floor of the new building against the windows. Thursday, tomorrow, is our last day in our office building, Clubhouse, and Nike will no longer lease it–so it will go away for us. We were packing up the last bits these days.

I was not feeling well; I had only liberal coffee, a banana, and yogurt for breakfast. I stopped at Happy Panda off 185th, near the office, to have lunch. They brought me Sweet and Sour Chicken (not a fav) instead of Cashew Chicken. Ugh, but I kept it and saw it had no veggies or pineapple (sad), but I tried to make the best of it instead of sending it back. I read the news on my iPhone and ate. I was nervous and even shaking. I realized how scared I am to stop the blog and try to return to my previous life before Covid-19, Susie’s terrible strokes, and my cancer. My hand shook a bit; no wonder I needed to eat. I eat when I am upset. I was also exhausted from the stress and lack of sleep.

Fortified with overly sugared deep-fried chicken, I took Air Volvo 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. While the traffic was heavy, there was no sign of Beaverton’s Finest, and I arrived safe and without an opportunity to help fund Beaverton’s courts. Susie was waiting in her recliner in the shared living room. Jennifer was busy with lots of lunches, but she quickly got Susie in her wheelchair, making me envious of Jennifer’s nonchalance when she moves Susie.

Susie and I traveled to the Metzger Park next door, busy with kids and dogs walking humans. The sky was overcast, but the sun would slip out and bake us. We called Dr. Peter Koper, an old friend from college, and talked for a while. He may fly out to see Susie in the next couple of months. He was relieved that Susie’s health had stabilized (Susie is at 70.5 pounds).

After Pete rang off, we did a three-way call on FaceTime using my iPhone. We reached Leta, Susie’s mother, and Barb, Susie’s sister, and connected a video call to everyone. Barb was outside walking her dog Sophia and had to leave the call. Leta stayed on longer, and we chatted for a while, but my time was running out. I had to return to work, as I had a 2PM meeting I could not miss; we returned to the hummingbird house. I left with a kiss and a promise to return on Thursday. Friday is our 33rd wedding anniversary.

Work went on, and I had hours of meetings to attend. I was done at about 4PM and left. I headed to Powell’s to get a copy of Analog Magazine to read some fresh SciFi. I am thinking more seriously about writing after being published in 2600 Magazine. I took that to Panera and had 1/2 a sandwich and soup I could not finish. The over-sugared lunch was still staying with me. I read a good story.

After some food and a break, I headed to First United Methodist Church, and soon Z and I were playing a rematch of the new board game Expeditions. This is what I call WingScythe as it comes from the company that makes the Engine building and card-playing Wingspan and the light 4X (i.e., Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate game) Scythe. The game uses the Scythe theme and retains a few Xs (explore and exploit) with engine building via card play, reminding me of Wingpan. So far, we like it.

Z played well, scored 49 with only two refreshes, and pulled off three stars, while I panicked with just one. I started to vanquish to get the points and for a star and did many quests. I was playing the same faction and leaders that Richard had last weekend, and I was using his tactics. I soon managed three more stars to end the game and was relieved to have 62. We corrected a few mistakes from the last game and enjoyed the combinations once we learned the cards better.

So an excellent game. Z and I then walked into the park and put the game away. Next time I will put Furance or Azule in Air Volvo so we have a filler game.

Thanks for reading.

The blog started on 15March2020 with the Title, Day 0: Virus.