Day 49

Going backward, as I have not done that in a while, I am back from Portland and writing the blog in the home office. Corwin and I met Mariah for dinner at Hopworks off Powell in the Rose City. There, I had a pilsner and a bowl of chili–resisting fries and other carbohydrates (other than what was in the beer) and dutifully added these meals to my app. We headed to Portland before we had a target and stopped in the Pearl District, and then Mariah sent us a text to do Hopworks. We re-boarded Air Volvo and used Nav to get us there. I missed a few turns, but Nav worked it out for me.

We had a nice dinner chatting, and Corwin and Mariah laughed at my misuse of the words hook-up and connect, which had more sexual context than I understood. Corwin and Mariah had burgers, and I had to resist not taking a French fry. I continued to misuse slang phrases.

Air Volvo took us back across Portland and handled well through all the curves and required lane changes. We reached the Volvo Cave without incident. We did witness some creative lane use by the other drivers.

A box with a new digital bathroom scale was delivered from Target. I could not make it work. I sway a bit, preventing the scale from giving me a weight. It’s useless. It did work for Corwin. I will send it back. I ordered a more run-of-the-mill scale from Target–hopefully, that one will work. Frustrating.

Corwin puts out the trash for me. He remembers that it is lawn debris week, so he puts out the lawn and trash containers for Friday pick-up.

I start to write the blog.

Moving further backward, I arrived at the house at about 3 p.m. and picked up Corwin. We headed to the DMV so Corwin could get an official Oregon ID, the first step to getting a driver’s license. Next, we found his credit union on the other side of Beaverton, and he deposited his check. After that, we took Canyon Road to Highway 26. Canyon Road was one of the old passes over the large hill between the valley and Portland, Sylvan Hill.

Moving further back, I rose at 6:30, and starting was hard. I was tired from the near week of work and my travels. I found my slippers and my robe and started the day. I dreamed last night, but I cannot remember the dreams. I find the electric kettle in the kitchen and the coffee and make liberal coffee, but the Mexican stuff is waiting (thanks, Kramers) and likely better. Friday, I promise myself.

I take the coffee and a banana and read the news and email. I look at a few messages from work. Time vanishes, and soon, I am scarfing the banana. I clean up, shave, and get dressed. I pour the coffee into a thermal cup and head to Air Volvo.

Air Volvo turns off of Baseline and uses a local street to avoid the three lights, which works better. I arrive early at Nike WHQ, the Swift building (named after the Nike Swift Suit, not the singer). I do some meetings and call out some issues with existing code and design. Rajani told me he likes it when I do a knowledge transfer session–I find issues. I had a few more meetings. Later, it was agreed that it was an error and should be corrected. Vindicated!

Lunch was with Scott. We walked across campus. We talked about internal Nike items–none of which can be repeated here. It is always good to reconnect. I got to walk across the Nike WHQ and back, significantly improving my step count for today.

We are having unexpectedly nice weather and even sun. This makes for a lovely walk across campus. Everyone is smiling and looked comfortable.

The meetings, emails, and requests continue into the afternoon. I am the backup approver and have to approve some changes into production as other folks are out.

I get a call from my primary care physician’s office. They will send in the final approvals, but my H1C was 7.5, and I need to work on that. I agree, but remind them I was in New Orleans last week. That gets a laugh.

I blame the vampires–they wanted me extra sweet-flavored.

The salad sent my colon to emptying mode again. It seems that fresh salads are not working for me. I will try something else for lunch on Friday and see if this is just a new afternoon thing or if it is a reaction to salads and fresh veggies. I am still running experiments. Iced tea is ruled out as the cause, as I had none today.

I leave early to get Corwin to the DMV.

And that takes me full circle.

Thanks, and I do mean that, for reading, even on boring days. It’s just a normal day.