Going backward, I was home late on this time change day, around 11:20, on a wet night. Air Volvo splashed its way back from Kathleen’s place across Portland, only sliding once in the rain at high speeds as the water collected in a few unexpected places on the highways. There was little local flooding, unlike last year’s ‘rivers of rain,’ the rain seemed to be absorbed and flow away. The rain could be heavy at times, but not the hours of pounding rain that heralds a weather event.
I put on Amazon Echo’s music for sleeping, took a longer warm shower, and made the bed. I left the recently washed sheets to be put on. Nothing matches somehow, but I am trying to care, nope. I seem to have a lighter-colored fitted sheet compared to the pillowcase and top sheet. I’m not sure how that could be. I took three tries to get the fitted sheet on, finally turning it to fit. Next, I read in the luxury of fresh sheets, read more of the Vampire Cookbook, passed by another recipe in the text, and put away the story/cookbook from New Orleans (NOLA). I sleep and pass the whole night in the clean, cool sheets while rain mixes with the background music from Amazon.
Moving to earlier on Saturday and my habit of trying to fit a whole weekend into a single day, I took Air Volvo in the wet to Portland in amazingly slow traffic in Beaverton. With no accidents, construction, light rain, or even school events, Beaverton remembered the week’s traffic and seemed as a group dynamic to drive slowly and pack all the vehicles into small, safe groups. The herding of cars meant it took me twenty minutes to drive a mile in Beaverton, again, even with no construction, accidents, or predators of any form. Some sudden lane changes booted the driver nothing more than a few car lengths, and often, the other lane would move with the newly provided spaces and then gain more, making the move unprofitable and undoubtedly frustrating for the lane-changing driver.
Air Volvo and I were not in a hurry, and I chatted legally on the iPhone while this was ongoing. I now drove onto the highways, which were wet and moving well, though not fast. The emergency vehicles pushing through the traffic blasting and bright in the tunnel was a new experience. There is no shoulder in the tunnel, and the sound is amplified. Yikes!
Soon, I was on the bridges and exited into quiet streets in SE. The puddles are the usual size, and there is no sign of flooding; it is a typical Pacific Northwest (PNW) gray day. I detect sadness and the resistance to do anything; I recognize this as light-loss depression, an issue here in the (PNW), and will be careful to get some full spectrum light now. With the grief and the losses from cancer and brain tumor surgery, I am more emotionally fragile than before.
Aside: My hobby lights are full-spectrum, and I feel better using them. I will likely paint some figures soon, and I feel better as I have completed something and sat under full-spectrum light for hours. It is all good for me (and I see the colors in pure light), but it is essential to notice, check, and adjust. While writing this, dear reader, I have more light turned towards me, and I feel better.
I pulled into Lucky Labrador’s parking lot, which was full, but a car pulled out, and Air Volvo was happy to take their place and not to be parked on the streets of Portland. It is doubtful that something would happen in this wet, but I don’t need another issue with Air Volvo. The check engine light is back again. F**k. Ignored!
The place is busy this Saturday in the mid-afternoon. Three sets of gamers are playing simple to insanely complex board and card games. There are various friendly meetings with beer and appetizers—a fun and happy crowd. I grab a few tables for my board game and laptop. I take off my coat and hat but keep my Nike Manchester United scarf (quite old, as Nike has not had ManU in years).
I brought Brass: Birmingham because I don’t know how to play this more popular version of the older game Brass. I can play it harder and less loved (but I like it better). Brass: Lancashire. This version is the highest-rated game on Boardgames Geek’s list. I get a pilsner (remembering Octoberfest) and a bowl of peanuts (this is not the place for peanut allergy!) and soon feel better from the beer, peanuts, and just doing something. I slowly set up Brass: Birmingham for two players. While I brought gaming poker chips, I instead used the cardboard coin money as I wanted to try everything as is.
The blahs fade as I enjoy the peanuts and beer and start to see the game forming. A call from a friend also lightens my mood. Soon, I will have the whole board, covering the table itself, ready for play. I am again tempted by depression to stop, but then play the first turn, and soon I am enjoying the game. I plan only to play the first era to learn the game, but I realize it is fun to get the mechanics to work, and I can see while players like this game, I miss the extra layers in Lancashire, but your focus is better in Birmingham, I realize. It is an excellent, though unfriendly and limited resource game as every move removes options from the game. I order my favorite there, a BLT sandwich and another beer, Golfer (light in alcohol but tastes like a pilsner), and soon pack away an unfinished two-person game. I head to Richard’s house, only ten minutes away.
(This is me crashing out in the end game. I play yellow, and my board is incomplete–you can see the other player’s boards are full; my resources on the round disk are low, and I have cured three patients).
The rain is not heavy, and the puddles are not overflowing. I park and walk into Richard’s finished basement, his inner sanctum of game-playing, and meet him and Lauren for a board game of Unconscious Mind. Kathleen will soon join us. Richard does his teaching for Kathleen, and I follow along to see if I missed anything last time. She has many questions, and soon, we are playing. The game is complex, with rules that are not always clear from the structure. Richard has to clarify some rules, watches our play, and helps as Kathleen and I get confused a few times. Lauren has a few moments, with many plays now, and with the rules, too. It is a difficult game to learn, but I like it. One mistake was made but noticed too late, one I made previously, now known as “Michael’s mistake,” but I did not make it this time.
This is resource management and worker placement, with goals and building represented in curing patients. I thought the art and flow of the game were beautiful, though complex. I believe some of our difficulties could have been solved with some component restructuring, but it still works for me. While coming in last (still my best score, not breaking 100), I enjoyed the play and the game. My last turns were not engaging as I had crashed into the end game without enough resources to finish well–my mistake of burning through resources first and building second–an easy mistake and one I often make as I learn a game.
Richard ran away with the game (his best score, over two hundred), with Lauren and Kathleen close at over 100. I did lead for a while and managed to do every part of the game this time. I am learning, but I don’t understand games as fast as Kathleen, but there is always next time.
Dear reader, Unconscious Mind is recommended; the Kickstarter version is lovely. However, be warned that this game was challenging for me to play, and the rules were manifold. The full version, available only on the secondary market, is about $220 and has high shipping costs.
Returning to the start of Saturday, I rose about 7 and started writing the blog, finding coffee from last night still in the pot. I had microwaved-second-heating liberal coffee for today. The coffee, though the caffeine works, is a bit flat. I had ham with my banana and coffee. I spent the morning writing the blog and had some excellent distractions on calls and texts. I managed to finish the blog and post it before 11. I ate the salad I made days ago, but it has languished ignored in the frig. I added pickled beets, blue cheese, and croutons with ranch dressing. I ate it while watching YouTube Battleship New Jersey and ShipHappens videos.
The sadness started to build; not chatting or texting could bring me out of the darkness. I am unsure what is wrong until I see how dark it is. I have the light issue–something new. F**k. Off to Portland to do something and to ‘woke’ up.
And that takes me full circle. Thanks for reading!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 