Thursday with misses

I am rushed this Friday morning, meaning I will only cover the highlights on Thursday.

Please also know that I still do not use the word ‘so,’ as it is recommended that you avoid it for better writing.

I had three events on Thursday, making the day messy. I had a lunch meeting with Scott at noon, church meetings (SPRC for those who speak Methodist), and then the Theology Pub dinner/meeting at 7. I managed to write the blog and publish it before I had to head out. I then revised it using the standard editor (which does not support Grammarly) when I realized missed part of Wednesday. Yikes!

I got a text from Brad, my former boss. He enjoyed my Christmas card, letter, and ‘Retired.’ business cards I included, which made him laugh. It finally arrived at the Nike WHQ, and he did not get it until he returned to work in January. He is sharing it with other folks at Nike IT. It was nice to hear from Brad.

Air Ford (Escape) delivered me to McMenamins at Cedar Hills without incident, and I soon met Scott there. Scott and I got caught up. Scott was in Italy, and I had been to Michigan and New Hampshire since we last saw each other. We talked briefly about money. Scott is starting the withdrawal process; I am a few years from that. It was good to see him, and the trip to Italy sounded fantastic. Scott and I agree that we shall travel while we still can; we expect travel to become problematic when we are in our 70s. Build those good memories while we can!

I drove next to Volvo and met Logan, the technician who had tried to save the vehicle, once known as the Air Volvo. The pine-gray-colored XC60 Volvo still looked great, but the inside was wrecked with parts thrown inside (I decided not to pay another $900 to reassemble the SUV). Logan helped me get all my personal items (toolbox, blanket, emergency items, and papers about the car) from the vehicle. They even found a long-ago canceled credit card stuck between some parts. Logan offered $500 for the wrecked Volvo, as scrapping would get me about $300. He repeatedly apologized for not being able to save the car. I was emotionally numb then; I loved that vehicle, paid it off, and even cleared the title. It hurt to say goodbye. I kicked the tire and thanked it. Tears for the past.

My emotions were jumbly, and I was tired, so I headed home. As I rested and nodded off, I completely forgot about the church Zoom meeting. I realized I had missed the meeting at 3ish and called Bob and apologized. He was OK, and they managed to handle the issues on the agenda without me.

The Volvo repair agent, Doug, whom I have worked with for years, called me and asked if he could walk my papers to Volkswagen (VW), another part of the dealership, and see if they could make me a good deal on an ID.4, about the same size as a Kia Sportage. I agreed. Soon, VW called, and they had a great deal on leasing the all-electric ID.4. I agreed to not close a deal on the Kia until I had reviewed the ID.4 (including a test drive).

I read more and rested. The cough and exhaustion were back. I left early for the Theology Pub at McMenamins at Cedar Hills (yes, I had lunch there, too). Air Ford (Escape) got me there without issue, and soon, I was sitting in the side room they gave us for our 10 (later 12) folks. Robert was our waiter and could break up the table bill anyway with the new handheld paying machines. Food and drinks flowed.

The topic, with two people on a remote Zoom call, but still could hear and be heard (to some degree), was Faith in Action and referred to the life of the recently passed American President, Jimmy Carter. The discussions were friendly, with only an occasional comparison to the president-elect, and the conclusion was that Jimmy Carter often made the best decisions that were unpopular based on his faith and trying to find the right decision for the country. It was also observed that staying with the truth and unpopular choices is more straightforward than remembering all the lies and unrealistic campaign promises and trying to align with them. It was also observed that Jimmy Carter lived his best years chiefly out of office and made the most extraordinary contributions then. Others should follow and remember his life.

Once the meeting concluded, I headed home, showered, put on my PJs, and tried to stop coughing enough to sleep. I read more while the coughing responded to meds, and soon, I drifted off. I woke early and rolled over a few times. I am, I think, still in the East Coast time zone.

I also reconnected to my IRS account. This required taking photos of my driver’s license, using my video to show I was a person, and setting another password for ID.me for the IRS. I then used their process to send a pile of cash to the IRS for 2024. After I spoke to my CPA yesterday–Cornerstone in Hillsboro, I saw him when I dropped off my first papers to do my 2024 taxes (an annual requirement), and he suggested avoiding the underpayment penalties if I could. I repeated the same process with Oregon, too. He also told me that the Volvo loss is not tax deductible. Sadly, my CPA also believes I will likely get the standard deduction next year, meaning donations will not change my taxes for 2025. Thus, donating the wreck of the Volvo has no meaning in taxes. F**k.

Thanks for reading!