It was another rainless day with blue skies and a cold wind. Frost appears in the mornings. It is an unusually dry and cold mid-December for the Greater Portland Area. I was cold all day.
I was nervous and hungry for much of the day. I am not sure if this is stress, exhaustion, or I am ill. I just kept going all day, freezing often. I also missed Susie a few times, but there were no tears on Saturday. I was a bit numb still from the diagnosis of a tumor in my head.
I started Saturday dragging out of bed at 7:30 for my project Zoom status calls. I was rushed to be prepared. I made liberal coffee in my French Press–I love the taste of liberal in the morning. It gives me hope that we can make life work better and the confidence to say something is wrong–yes, liberal.
Aside: What is liberal? To me, it is the desire to free the world exemplified by the Four Freedoms from the FDR speech called by the same name: The freedom of speech, the freedom of every person to worship God in their own way, the third is freedom from want, and the fourth is freedom from fear. Liberal can mean that policies, budgets, behaviors, and actions should be measured to achieve these freedoms for everyone everywhere.
Returning to the narrative, the meetings included a severe break in our code for the data loads. Puke! Rajani, our director, rallied the coders and the team leads to evaluate the break and find a solution. This took all day, and Rajani worked two shifts. By 10PM, the fixes were in and being tested.
I left the meetings and dressed. I forgot to put my old Apple Laptop in the cargo hold of Air Volvo. I headed out to Portland in Air Volvo in light traffic and parked off of Burnside in a lot just off the Portland Saturday Market locals. The old location, a parking garage, is now replaced with a nice partially covered pavilion by the river on the riverwalk. There are also some excellent tents filled with tempting goods in the old parking lot and the open areas of the Skidmore Fountain area. The MAX stop is by the same name, Skidmore Fountain.
There was no music today, and Elvis was not playing by the tracks. The whole looked a bit tired and battered by the recent past. The protests and the COVID-19 restrictions hit the market hard. But still, I found most of what I was looking for. New vendors have filled in (I counted three different soap makers), and the food looked good, but the choices diminished. There are now food cart parks in Portland that are likely a better economic model for some food folks who used to attend the Saturday Market. Still, the food looked and smelled good.
I got my usual set of artist playing cards I give away for Christmas. I found soap and bought a bar from two of the makers (I spotted the third soap maker when I was headed out). I found a glass-made item for Meg, my newly minted niece (via a marriage of Linda, my sister, and Jesse). Evan found me as I was finishing my shopping. He was joining me in Portland. He found a bottle of wine for a Christmas gift.
I did think about Susie and all of our visits today. No tears this time. Just happy memories.
We headed to Kell’s for lunch. I had a Kell’s beer, a match to Harp, and corned beef and veggies. Evan stuck to appetizers of soup and some oysters. The bill was surprisingly high–a hazard of Portland food joints and explained the light lunch attendance at Kells so close to the Saturday Market. Definitely priced for the deep-pocketed hipster crowd.
Evan convinced me to try TPK (Total Party Kill, a Dungeons and Dragons term) for gaming. The place is an old pizza place with a giant, non-working brick oven near the end of Hawthorn. Since the pandemic, I have not returned to the edgy Hawthorn area, which I see was updated with the latest food and trends. Crepes are gone, eggs are in, and various themed bookstores are still de rigor for a trendy area. I observed this as I slowly flew in Air Volvo in traffic and dodged brave/trusting pedestrians. I parked on the street after calling Even to discover the location I missed. I should have made a strange half-left to continue on Hawthorn instead of being sent down 50th Street, another malfunctioning junction.
The place is a rebuilt pizza place showing an expensive remodel and the addition of enormous brewing tanks for their own ales. The tables are small for a gaming place, and the light is dim on the first floor. A huge set of stairs takes you to a well-lit larger table on a balcony. These mainly were reserved, but not until the evening. Evan and I went for that as we would be done before the reservation time.
We tried Quartermaster General 1914 board game that simulates WW1, a favorite setting for me. This game uses mechanics that I learned later were a hallmark of the Quartermaster General system. I have been looking for a more accessible game version of WW1 that leaves you to make the decisions without being buried in rules and exceptions. We struggled as I did not know the rules, and we could not understand the build army rules, troop placement, and the fact that allies can share a location (I read that late last night when I had trouble sleeping). While there are better and more entertaining games, I think this one does well with its theme.
The game is driven by card decks, each different and driving the countries represented by the deck to take specific actions. Instead of the rules forcing a WW1-like game, the cards do this. Thus, the rules and play are simple. The decision is to play the card, burn it for troops, or add it to your resources by preparing it for use. Each country has different cards and card counts (for example, Austria-Hungary has only two attack cards; use them wisely and protect them). The opposite is the WW2 games like War Room, which has endless rules, devices, and resource tracking, or Victory In Europe, which has endless exception rules. The Quartermaster’s idea of decks of cards for each country (or pairing of countries) is a good answer. You can do interesting things on those cards. My favorite is the Russia +1 Victory point for assassinating Rasputin; it’s perfect. The exceptions are worked into the cards–better.
While not a fun game, if you love history and don’t mind letting history direct your gameplay, it is fascinating. I would try it again, and it can host two to five players. One complaint from the Discriminating Gamer is that some players felt the game played itself and was not that interesting, but he recommended it.
Evan was happy that the Central Powers won by a few points when we stopped at turn 7 of 17 (!). Next time!
Next, Evan and I got out the board game Architects of the Western Kingdom. This is my version with every add-on and promo card. We use the premium mat that includes all the changes for the final game versions with all add-ons. I had 1/2 a beer and a freshly made chicken sandwich, which took thirty minutes or more to arrive. It was too large, but I was strangely hungry and nervous, as I said above.
Aside: I have described this game before, and I recommend it. But it is hard to learn at first, so be prepared.
Evan and I ran close until he raided the mines, and I did not arrest him until he built up a pile of gold that gave him a nine-point lead at the finish. I should have arrested him immediately, and I usually do. I was working on an end-game plan and got too focused on it. An unusual mistake for me, but I was feeling odd. Evan deserves the win, and nine points is a crush.
It was a longer drive back through Hawthorn to Richard’s, but arrived without incident. Hawthorn looked busy, and the new Willy Wonka movie was playing at the Bagdad Theater, a favorite movie house of mine, a few years back when they did second-run movies for just a few bucks. I might have to be back to Hawthorn and see what I have been missing.
Richard did not mind me being fifteen minutes early, but I was cold and nervous again. Richard got me a coffee, which did not improve my nervousness but did warm me. I had asked to repeat last weekend’s game, Dune Imperium, but to add the add-on that Shawn recommended, Rise of Ix. I played the same personality, and my fellow players thought I should pick some better and new; I resisted and stayed with The Duke. I was surprised to take an early lead, and that held until the end of the game when Richard, in usual Richard fashion, suddenly jumped up five points (which I saw possible in the last game). I had the pleasure of ending the game and scaring my fellow players with the possibility of a crush. Shawn never caught up. I was excited and interested through the whole game, even with my hands so cold they burned–I was exhausted, pissed, and grieving at the same time.
The game is a deck-building Euro game with elements of the rougher 4x games. The add-on, I thought, improved the game and removed some elements of luck. You had more control of your fate. It certainly worked for me.
I did not stay for a second game. I returned home, and the trip was unmemorable in Air Volvo.
I tried to sleep and could not sleep until about 1:30. I read some more of
Thanks for reading.
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