Friday Portland

Sleep was a bit harder as we passed through the summer solstice, and sunrise was so early. I don’t have curtains in the bedroom so the sun lights up the blinds in the summer. I manage to roll over and sleep some more. I rise at 7ish. I have my usual liberal coffee made in my French press, yogurt, and a scone, which I made a few days ago; the scones are still good.

I started writing the blog, and this went on for a few hours. I had a few distractions, but I also had no need to rush; I am retired. I finish about 10, including eating breakfast, reading the news, and updating my Quicken books. After finishing the blog, I went through my June transactions on Quicken, made corrections, and then printed off June transactions. I must print off US Bank and the other accounts to finish June. After that, I will take all the documents, punch holes, and put them in a binder. I think I did not finish May, and I will check that off soon, too.

I continued to change my bandage and managed later to damage my skin with the tape. F**k! I will be more careful and use a minimum of tape. The incision is still weeping. F**k. But it is not getting worse, and the attention and antibiotics seem to work. My face seems to be less frozen, and my taste is slowly returning after the Thrush. I still can’t close my left eye with the right one open.

I take a quick shower, trying to keep the incision mostly dry. Someday, I will get to take a long, relaxing shower without something bleeding! I dress in a T-shirt and long pants that barely stay on, but I have the belt pulled all the way now, and that keeps them on.

I board Air Volvo, but I feel hungry and a bit weak. Hmmm. I take Air Volvo to the car wash, and I have a monthly pass for daily washes (which breaks even on the second wash in a month). I drive to the dry cleaners and get all my suits. I then commit a diet sin. I have a Carl’s Jr. Western Burger with onion rings (which I can’t finish). Completing the outrageous calorie count, I start to feel better. I need to be more careful with keeping to my diet; I can’t afford to starve myself while recovering from brain surgery!

I am off to the Quatama MAX station, which, being the Geater Portland Area, even has its own Wikipedia page. Now, I try my credit cards, all rejected, to get a daily paper pass. I then load the Hop app and load $25 on my virtual card (which costs $3 to buy the card ?!). I watch one train go while I try to do this. I then cannot figure out how to tap to get my legal and paid access to MAX. As the train finally appears, there is still no tap–it is not connected to the train. I spy the green pole, wave my phone at it, and I tap. The train driver kindly waits for me before moving the train on (I am not likely the first confused user).

The MAX train contains one person who is having a conversation with themselves–sometimes getting into an argument with themselves, young people who could be models in a fashion magazine and ordinary folks. The train fills as we get closer to Portland, but strangely, keeping the proportions of beautiful, crazy, and ordinary people. MAX goes slower than I remember, but I am happy to not be driving.

My back hurts, and I am tired. I am surprised that I am running out of steam so fast, but this is a continuous process, and I realize it may be the longest time I have done something since the surgery. I try to relax and try to find a place to look where I won’t be staring at a beautiful person (being creepy) or making eye contact with a person talking to themselves (not wanting to add to the conversation) and find my phone very interesting (like everyone else). While I never feel scared or worried, it is less comfortable than I remember. This is my first time on the MAX since the pandemic.

I ride through Portland and get off at Skidmore Fountain stop (I should have stayed on for one more stop). I walk five blocks to the Chinese Garden. I managed to handle the uneven pavement of Portland (not as bad as NYC) and did not trip or even sway. Excellent. I suspect, with all the balance issues and PT over the last five years, that I have been compensating for the tumor-caused damage for years and have no problems walking in an urban setting.

I restored my garden membership, but it was a sad moment when Susie’s name was dropped from a family membership. I also have to align the phone number to my new number. I am not 62, so I am not a senior yet. It is hot, and my back hurts, but the shade is nice, and there are a few benches. Soon, I headed into the tea house and discovered that it had changed since the last time I was here. It is now run by the garden, I am told, and I like the menu now, which is light but has enough food for lunch. I ordered a tea service and cold lotus root salad (just something cold and light), and I picked a seat outside near the water. The service is delivered, and the process is explained to me (I remember much of this from previous visits). I have hot tea and a very spicy cold salad with various crunchy veggies and mushrooms.

I walk through the garden, and only once do the steps fool me. I was never near falling, but the step was further than it should have been. There is a man playing a traditional instrument, and he tells me about it. It has only two strings and is bowed. The amount of sound and range are impressive. The garden with all the water is humid, and soon, I am tired, and my back pain is back. I am near my limit. I left the Chinese Gardon after touring the shop and resisting the Year of the Dragon items (I was born in 1964, A Year of the Dragon). This time, I walk two blocks to the MAX. My train leaves as I reach the station. I discovered my original purchase on Hop App is still in time for a transfer to be offered to me. I wait three trains until I get one that will take me back to my starting point.

I noticed that the homeless and people screaming obscenities and acting violently were more prevalent than I remembered from my other visits to Portland. I can see why people are disquieted about coming to Portland. I could hear some of the screams from inside the Chinese Garden, and there was now a metal gate around the garden’s entrance. I had to be let in. It feels less safe than NYC as there are fewer people, and thus, the proportion of would-be violent folks was higher, and I saw no police presence my whole visit.

My ride back was nearly the same, with about the same proportion of crazy, beautiful, and ordinary people. It seemed to go by faster as I read a book on my iPhone. I was surprised to see some folks who were on the MAX before me and went out beyond Beaverton. With the difficulty of filling hourly positions in the area, few would ride that long to a job, so it appears these were mostly students, with most getting off at 185th on the PCC campus. The Max train was mostly empty when I arrived back at Quatama MAX station. Air Volvo was there and hot as it registered 90F (it is inaccurate for air temperature). I returned to the Volvo Cave via the 185th Fruit and Veggie stand. I got items we needed and a few we did not need. I enjoy our local stone fruit and found ripe nectarines this time.

I rested for a while and then started to make Lentil Soup from a Women’s Bean Project kit. I added cooked celery, onions, and fresh tomatoes to the soup. I used boxed chicken stock (I am not a foodie enough to make my own). I also added a can of diced tomatoes with garlic and other seasonings. Despite my back again complaining, I continued on and boiled some pasta to add to the soup. I assembled this, and it was excellent (three smaller bowls). I cooled it and finally put it on a pad and put it still warm in the frig.

I headed to Wildwood Taphouse in Air Volvo, which I had not been to in months. The bartender knew my name and was happy to see me. I explained about the brain tumor and Susie’s service and was happy to still be able to have a beer. I picked “something as dark as my life has been,” and number 19, 12oz pour, as it is dark, not sweet, and boozy was provided. I sipped it while surfing on the Internet (I now use my own hotspot from my phone to avoid hackers). While surfing, I looked into using Python, or in this case, micro-Python, for the new Arduino Avik and found the Python lab to download, selecting the non-Intel Apple version (I use an M2-based Apple running Sonoma 14.5) and selecting a place to save source code. Without a device to run it, that was as far as I could go. My $140 Avik will arrive next week (free shipping does not mean fast).

I was at Wildwood for a few hours, and it was likely the slowest drinking I have done. The bartender only charged me for the drink, dropping the charge for the bar mix I also ordered (I ate only half of that). I left with a thank you to the bartender and an extra high tip. Air Volvo had me back, and Corwin gave the soup high marks. I soon took my pills and went to bed to read more of the newest Analog magazine stories. I went to sleep but woke a few times.

Thanks for reading.