Sunday Slow

I rose around 7 on Sunday. With the church service now at a distant 11, I am not rushing to complete a blog. I too quickly drank all the coffee today, IKEA coffee, which was an issue. By mid-day, my heart was racing after more Methodist coffee—too much caffeine and on an empty stomach. I had to slow down, drink lots of water, and take my inhaler often. The caffeine seems to make my asthma worse, and it is unwise to mix it with my diabetes medication, metformin. This failure, on my part, meant a quiet and unproductive Sunday.

Deborah and I spoke on the phone for a while. I had to ring off to write the blog. It took a few hours to remember and assemble a narrative. My retirement life is less rigid and organized than my working life, and it takes a while to recall the previous day. The result is a jumble of mind-pictures, and I must sort and spot the missing bits. I often remember the missing events when writing or editing.

With the blog’s daily update done, I clean up, shave, dress, and talk to Deborah. Her voice accompanies me in Air Ford (Escape) while I travel to First United Methodist Church. The iPhone connects to Air Ford (Escape) but with no audio. I find that if I turn off the vehicle, the problem clears. There is likely a better solution, but this works, and it is so IT. Just restart it!

I ring off with Deborah at the church and soon have more coffee (a mistake), and my heart is racing. Ugh. I get some water and let Dondrea know I am uncomfortable—in case it worsens. The church service is the usual Methodist Advent service, but without the drama of trying to light a tall candle with a long brass candle lighter with a little kid waving a flame around has been replaced with a long lighter and a capable adult. It’s a pity in some way; the Peace candle was peacefully lit.

Micah 5, a minor prophet in the Hebrew text, was the center of Pastor Ken’s sermon. He focused on the words that God has a plan that will come to fruition and that we are part of the plan. Ken liked the translation, “from of old,” which describes the plan. He thought it got the point across that these are ancient plans running now—what Ken said C.S. Lewis called “the deeper magic.” The text predicts Persia’s rise and Babylon’s fall in 539 BCE, ending the neo-Babylonian empire and the Persians giving the captives leave to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. It is interpreted by Christians as a message that the Messiah will return and thus is read at Christmas times.

I was getting better. Switching from coffee to water helped, and I headed home after asking Michael R when he wanted to play Seige of Jerusalem 70AD, a “Strategy and Tactics” magazine game. Though most have disappeared, a few quarterly wargame magazines still include a complete game. They are often about $25 an issue, a reasonable price now (my last wargame game cost me $118). We have settled on 16 December to try this out.

When I returned home, I reheated the salt-and-pepper squid and a few cheese crab wontons in the oven. I then found Classic Doctor Who on Prime and watched an old Fourth Doctor episode I don’t remember. The stove did produce hot and not dried-out squid, but I will try the air fryer option next time and see if that is even better.

I turned off the TV, as the Prime I have apparently is with commercials, which are set in intervals of about thirty minutes and have five commercials. Yikes! I cannot waste that much time on 1970s SciFi.

I read the rules for Seige of Jerusalem 70AD. It describes the usual wargame process of moving little squares of paper on a map, but with an activation process and complex turn flow, you now see in newer board games. This is unlike the old Avalon Hill war game with the same name, which took hours to set up, had long turns for each player, and had huge stacks of paper squares. This new game, published in Fall 2024, focuses on enjoyment and decision-making. I am concerned there is no base recommended set-up, and Michael and I will have to pick where to start our forces, but we will see. I will try to play a game against myself and get the mechanics working in my head.

I read the rules and a book for a while. When I tried to return to the commercial-filled Classic Doctor Who, it changed to another episode, and there was no way I could find to change or select the series! I abandoned the Fourth Doctor and rested some more.

I got the racing heart under control with aspirin, an inhaler, and reading (trying not to think about your racing heart so you don’t get worried and make it race more) and headed to The 649. Crystal and Natalia served as bartenders, and soon, I had a red ale. I read the rules from the beginning and looked at the components. I punched the little squares of paper, wishing this one had larger components; these were tiny. I brought leftover little bags from various games and purchases of gaming pieces and arranged the different parts in multiple bags.

I had a simple appetizer for dinner: their hummus plate with pita bread and veggies. I read until the little light at my table’s batteries failed. They kept the place too dark for me to read or play games at night, but it was comfortable and romantic, the feeling I believe they are trying to promote. I try their cheesecake plate.

I tell Natalia goodnight (Crystal left earlier at the end of her shift, and I wish her well) and take Air Ford (Escape) home. I read for some more and felt better but tired. I soon showered, got into bed in my PJs, and read more of my book, The Three Summers.

I tried to sleep and noticed my heart racing—again, my worrying did not improve this. The issue faded as I read, and soon, I nodded off. Less caffeine! I sleep well.

Thanks for reading!