It is after 10PM (22:00), and I am eating a late dinner. I have a huge 16-piece to share as leftovers for Corwin. So, this will be a rushed story, but I would like to have time to read some tonight.
Backward seems the best approach. So, as I said, I just picked up lots of Popeye’s spice chicken coming back from First United Methodist Church, where Z and I played the board game Concordia. We managed one full two-person game and two-thirds of a three-person game, adding Andrew after he finished the choir practice while the praise band practiced.
I won the first game, but Z was remembering how to play. We did not complete the second game, but we scored it, and Z pulled ahead by ten points when we ended. She admitted that I would have likely caught her and won, but a win is a win. Congrats, Z.
We played using the Cyprus map, which I seldom use. I can recommend it for two or three players. Concordia is a worker placement and resource management game with a deck-building mechanism. It is not mean, but it can be competitive, and the choices are hard. The turn structure is easy to learn and simple, but I often plan my turns three or four in advance. However, I am ready to take advantage of changes or replan when options become unavailable. You can block others, but it will cost you resources and points in the end. Precision and running efficiently are the best ways to win.
Concordia is set in Roman times, and you represent a family-owned trading company spreading out your trading posts throughout the empire. You need to acquire resources to expand and to hire people (buy more cards). Other families are expanding, too. Can you build the best and most diverse trading empire?
Before this, I was home, having left the office after 3PM. I had to call the City of Portland tax office. I received a letter saying that my tax forms were in error, and they corrected them. I think it was a trivial issue, but I still have not received my 2022 refund, and my 2023 is now expected. I received correction letters yesterday for both tax forms; Portland is just getting this work now (the tax started in 2021!). The 2021 penalties and interest were already refunded to me, and I had a 1099-G included for that in my taxes.
I waited about thirty minutes in a call line until a gal answered. I learned the correction was trivial, and my refund for both years should be delivered by mail by next Wednesday. Yay!
I called Cornerstone Tax, my local tax service, and informed them about the issue. I am sure the mistake has been repeated, and others will soon call; they thanked me for calling The City of Portland tax folks and working out what happened. I scanned a copy of one letter and sent them an email with the image of the letter. The withholding goes on line eight, not nine, which is for prepayments.
Going further back, I had a few meetings at work, and I was very unhappy with the usual behind-the-back credit-stealing that is part of the project. I don’t usually mention the political stuff here, but today was especially strange. Some of the same folks who were misbehaving got the same treatment, and the irony was not lost on me when they came to me to complain they were being mistreated. I was supportive even after they had set my teeth on edge earlier. Later, I reminded my folks (who were frustrated) that we do good work, and thus, we get more good work; just ignore the rest. But that was easier to say (growl) than to do.
I left early for lunch and had Orange Chicken at Happy Panda (too much sugar, but so good). I stopped by Barnes and Noble and got the next issue of the Fine Scale Model (there are full-colored photos). The nice sales cleric convinced me to convert my legacy membership to the new membership. I can cancel by December before I have to pay for a year. I got a free book bag and a new membership card. The cleric was happy (she gets credit for upselling me), and I meant to do something with the membership. All good.
I rose at 6:30 and somehow managed to reach Air Volvo after cleaning up and dressing around 7:30. Then, I found the Swift building at Nike WHQ before 8AM. I managed to make coffee in the French Press using Uganda-sourced coffee (thanks, Kramers). I had just a banana for
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