Day 84: Thursday

I am ending the day by writing after watching a video on the USS Monitor and The Mariners’ Museum, which holds much of the ship’s remains. I watched this after finally unpacking the boxes from Susie’s room. The video was a distraction from crying.

I have not seen these items since Susie passed away. I cried hard over Susie’s tiger slippers, shoes, and glasses. The shock of seeing them again was something I was not ready for. I knew it was going to be hard. Damn. I am preparing for Susie’s Concert and wanted to include these items. I also wanted to send what we did not need to GoodWill. I have a box to take tomorrow.

I set the other items on the floor so I could see them for a while. Then, I will put them in a box again to take to Susie’s Concert. Seeing them makes me cry, but it feels OK this time. Some items to share and then it will be better.

Before this, I ate the reheated pasta and meat I ordered a few days ago. The cough is much better, but the wheezing is still intense and makes it hard to sleep. I did nod off before a meeting while reading at the house and was late for the stand-up, but it all worked out. It’s hard to sleep, but sometimes, I can close my eyes and sleep. So strange.

Going backward, I came home after 3PM to make medical calls. I have all the papers and numbers in my office (that is why I have an office). I clarified that I should get a copy of my Advance Directive sent to Dr G’s office and that they will do the leave paperwork and look at it soon. I was told to keep the original and provide copies to them and to bring them with me on the day of surgery.

I also updated the phone numbers on various medical accounts on my new phone. I was on hold for fifteen minutes, so I had some time to do that. While I waited, I also updated the Quicken items for February. I think I should check everything again and see what I missed. I just need the bank statements, and I should be ready to close in February 2024.

Recalling the previous evening and after I finished the blog last night, I reconnected to my server account and started up some UNIX Cloud9 Amazon development systems. I hope to return to Python coding soon, and I decided I would be better served doing this on my own servers instead of using my laptop. Afterward, I went to bed, read, showered, and slept most of the night.

But 6:30AM Thursday appeared too soon. The wheezing stayed, but the coughing was fading—better, I think. I made liberal coffee with another NYC bagel and cream cheese. I took all this to the office, and I took a cough suppression pill that made me almost repeat the bagel experience in reverse. But I managed to resist and finish my breakfast, read, and prepare for my day. Air Volvo took me through light traffic, and the frost was light at this time. I was at Swift building at Nike WHQ early today.

Oregon has not had cold, blue-sky March days until now. I have never seen a March like this since I lived in Maryland! It was a lovely day, and I sat in the window of the atrium, my usual spot, to have my meetings. My hearing makes headphones a problem (I can only hear on one side), so I just talk to the laptop away from folks in a large space, which mutes the sound.

Three days early, the data conversions were done without meaningful issues. There is not much to status meetings besides tasks that must be closed early. I met Scott for lunch, and I mistakenly, even when he warned me, had the salad bar. It was beautiful, but two hours later, lunch had made a fast passage—so to speak. No disasters occurred, but I did have to hurry. I am coughing myself and salad-izing myself to thinness. Ugh!

And I think I can stop there. Next Wednesday, I head to NYC to meet Michelle and Cat Smith at Rosevelt Island. The following weekend is Susie’s concert.