Saturday Games and Going Slow

Yesterday was not an exciting day. I was tired, coughing, and seemed run down. Maybe I overdid it on Friday. The cold meds slowed me down, so I stopped taking them. I am now feeling better.

(Yes, I let Grammarly rewrite that paragraph. Notice the staccato-like sentence structure. The short statements are simple for the AI to get the context).

I slept into 8ish, rose, and started on the blog, reading the news (more like ‘doom scrolling’), updating my financial data via Quicken, which downloads all the transactions and consolidates them into one view, and then back to writing. I found an everything bagel from NYC (thanks, Joyce), sliced it, toasted it, and added cream cheese. I made the final IKEA coffee in the French Press (two and a half cups a morning) and a banana. I wrote while my nose ran endlessly and used many Kleenex sheets.

I wrote the blog, but the focus was hard to find; the impact of the cold meds. I did not finish until the afternoon and was not hungry for lunch. I made some poached eggs as a light lunch. I heated water with a hint of vinegar and salt. I never let it boil and just let the eggs set in the hot water for a while.

I watched some more of Babylon 5’s season 2, and the storylines are starting to develop better. I enjoyed the rescue mission and a terrible space vampire-like creature. I was still feeling off and rested. Still dizzy, I headed to Home Depot in Air VW the Gray. There, after wandering lumber for a while, I learned that shelving was a hole area near plumbing on the other side of the store. There, I bought most of what I needed. My shelf sags in the middle, and I need support for the center. I will return for more support. This is the rail and hook-like base that holds up a board. I moved books to it from the floor and bedroom despite the sag.

I was feeling better and did not take any more cold meds. I got better. I will just blow my nose. I grabbed a packet of cheese and nuts (a box I bought from Costco and put in the frig) and boarded the EV (fully charged again). I traveled to Richard’s house by crossing Beaverton and Highway 26 to Portland. With the new updates from Apple, including AI stuff, my iPhone identified that I was on 26 and then informed me of the slow traffic. This is new. It was the usual slowing and not a bad trip as the traffic kept moving.

I spoke to Deborah for a while; I was early. We like to chat when we are driving. Deborah rang off; we were both excited that her visit is this Friday!

Tonight, we are playing the board game Yokohama. Richard and Lauren are playing games alphabetically and almost through the list. This is a Kickstarter game and the deluxe version. Much like my favorite game, Concordia, it is a worker placement efficiency game, with most of the scoring done while playing. The game has various end-of-game triggers, and, like Concordia, it ends suddenly but with no reward for causing the end. The game uses areas to gain resources and capabilities that are more aligned with board games like Istanbul. There is no deck building, but there is technology to purchase that breaks the rules for you. Most points are earned by getting and fulfilling orders (more like Istanbul). I remember playing Richard’s copy before and liking the game.

I played fast and furious, filling orders, making all the goals (only three for Yokohama), and getting the first play bonus for two. Once I had filled three orders, I started on some of the other ways to gain points. I managed not to overextend and kept building points. As was his usual approach, Richard stored up resources and went from last place to first in the final rounds. Lauren was trailing about eight points or about one turn of play. I pushed back into first, and Richard tied me after tripping at the end of the game. The additional goals added a mix of points, but Richard and I were still tied at the end, and the tiebreaker was turn order, so I won.

I was concerned about exhaustion early in the day, so we ended early. The drive home was easy, and I set the EV for economy mode. I parked the EV and plugged in the charger. I reheated the leftover pork fried rice and had that as a late dinner/snack.

More church paperwork came in in the evening, and I read that and replied. Details cannot be shared here.

I showered, put on my PJs, and went to bed. I read more murder mysteries and soon nodded off. I can recall no dreams, but I woke up at 4ish and rolled over.

Thanks for reading.