Day 75: Tuesday

I rose at 4AM to prove I was hydrated, which is a diabetic thing. I rose at 4:20AM to get painkillers as my feet and legs hurt; I walked a lot this weekend, and now it was hurting. At 4:45AM, I got up and took my inhaler as I was having an asthma attack. At 5AM, I just said, f**k this, and started my day. I found my slippers (I had put them on every time) and my robe (ditto) and caught up on my email and news for the morning. I read the Slack updates on the project status. I read lots of FaceBook posts for fun; I have plenty of time.

I located a bagel-like product, I did not notice it was not one of the NYC bagels in the freezer, but it was still welcome. I toasted it and covered it with cream cheese and a few capers. It was a locally produced everything, bagel-like product, and I enjoyed it–even with a load of carbohydrates. I made liberal Fair Trade coffee in the French Press. I had a cup and finished the delicious bagel-like bread–it has been months since I risked the carbo-load.

Next, I cleaned up and dressed. One of my colleagues wanted to read one of my stories, a Howard story, and see my published story in 2600, so I printed a copy and found my copy in the magazine. I added that to my laptop, badge, and other required items to work from the office. I boarded an Air Volvo, which the rain and snow had mainly cleaned. I will someday get back to the car wash; it was backed up last weekend until there was a line in the street. Nope!

I got the stories to him, and he said he would have a look.

I was still early; there was no traffic, and the desk team was not in yet. My badge does open the door before the desk opens. I found my usual spot and then started to read more notes and items and follow along. We had the defect meeting, and I learned that our team had three defects for the project, one critical. Yikes, I am fully awake now. The release manager for our team and I said we were working to get the fixes moving. We did, and the fixes were in progress, and some were in place by the afternoon.

I approved fixes at the change control meetings and continued on until lunch. I headed to the cafe. I did not get past the pop-up food. I purchased Chinese-style beef, just a scoop, rice (also just a scoop), and steamed veggies. It was good and did not blow my calorie load, as the portions were small. Europe folks are visiting, and I missed having lunch with friends from Europe as I was done when they showed. Brad, my boss (today), discovered that the other pop-up station was doing curry–next time!

I returned to the office. I got a call from the church and decided to head home. Air Volvo had me home without incident and before school let out. I then emailed photos of Susie and her obituary to the church office–the information resides on my Apple computer. I spoke to the gal in charge of hospitality and will meet with her and the church folks on Sunday to review the event. I talked to Dan and the office to complete the bulletin for Susie’s Concert. Sound and video will be used for part of the service, which was discussed. I spent about an hour on arrangements and then called Susie’s sister, Barb, about the decisions so she could align the Michigan service. Rev. Anne thought I should change one thing, and now Pastor Steve will do the last part of the service without Rev. Anne. It seemed smoother to Anne, and I agree.

After that, I had a couple hours of Zoom meetings, including an architectural alignment discussion. I am sorry, but the details cannot be shared here. We had more emergency fixes, and I approved more production or QA changes. I was busy until after 5PM. Corwin sliced onions, potatoes, and carrots for me (all from Vancouver’s Farmer’s Market). After my last meeting, I defrosted stew beef, about two pounds, then browned the meat and added garlic, onions, and spices to make Hungarian goulash. I like to make it with veggies instead of putting it on noodles.

That takes about two hours. I watched another Avengers 1967 episode while cooking. I like the color episodes (there is only one season). I like the acting and the outrageous cold war stories.

The food had to be cooked on the stove for a while, so it was a late dinner. The food was terrific, with the potatoes picking up some of the seasoning. It still has a carbohydrate load, but it has excellent flavor. I might have had more than one bowl.

Corwin will have some when he is back from weightlifting. We are waiting for his glasses to show to get him back to the DMV and get his licenses. We both look forward to Corwin delivering food and starting to make some decent money. He agrees that he should get a chauffeur license in the future, save his money for a good car, and start doing Uber taxi-like driving, too. Maybe some real chauffeuring. Hopeful!

I travel to NYC in mid-March, and the following weekend is Susie’s Concert on 23 March, at 4PM, at First United Methodist Church, Beaverton, with John Nilsen. Come if you can, everyone is invited to a great concert. In Michigan, on 18 May, we will repeat this for East-based folks at 18 May, at 2PM at Grace United Methodist Church, Lansing. Everyone, especially ice skaters, is invited. It will be grand.

Thanks for reading. Tell your friends, or better yet, bring them to Susie’s Concert.