Friday Thief In The Night

Friday was a day of challenges and could make a fellow depressed. But I am here on Saturday with fresh coffee (thanks, AJ and Most Rev Steve), some rest, and watching the sunrise, and things are better. But what a f**king nightmare of a day.

No ELEGOO Saturn 16K printer here anymore! The thief did leave the resin and my chair (I set it up while watching a print).

The day ended with me reading and falling asleep. I am reading the published diaries and letters from a young man who recorded his thoughts and feelings, usually brief, from his experience as a navy cadet in 1913 (using the modern terms) to his death at the Battle of Jutland (though his journals of 1916 were lost with him when HMS Invincible exploded). The Complete Scrimgeour was published by a family member. He, Alexander Scrimgeour, was a wealthy, privileged son of the Empire, and his story, often discussing secrets, is a firsthand account of life in the imperial navy. Sometimes history is best in its micro-stories.

Before this, I was making a claim with Allstate and speaking with the Sheriff’s office in Washington County, Oregon. My neighbor told me she had seen someone in my still-open garage (I had planned to go out and left it open by mistake) and had carried something away. That turned out to be my ELEGOO 3D printer ($489), and we did chase them after finding what was missing and getting coats and a flashlight. Nope. I had hoped they had dropped it. They must be local.

Few things put you more on edge than someone breaking in (or walking in) and stealing your stuff with you only twenty feet away. I called the non-emergency police line, and within 20 minutes, a Washington County deputy called and completed the paperwork with me over the phone. A case number was established.

I then stood outside for a while to see if any police or thieves might visit the crime scene for about 20 minutes, returned to the house, entered all the info into Allstate, and filed a claim. Not sure if a deductible will prevent me from getting a recovery for my loss, but I like to get something for all those insurance increases they have been doing to me.

Before this, my colon decided on its own to empty with suddenness and left me a bit woozy. I stayed home, made dinner, and passed on playing games with Corwin at the house. Instead, I read Agatha Christie’s The murder of Roger Ackroyd, which is purported to be the best mystery ever written. I found two anti-semitic remarks disturbing in this 1926 writing, but it is fantastic and, yes, one of the best I have ever read. Another locked door murder that I love so much. I could not remember how it was solved (having seen it on the BBC version), and then remembered it all when Poirot gives it away near the very end. I would recommend the book (despite the two terrible remarks) as the perfect version of polite British Murder from the 1920s.

Dinner was fried and then roasted chicken, split breasts with salsa and cheese. They were a bit tough (next time I will beat them). I made stuffing, leftover from a sale around Thanksgiving this year (everything more than a year old having been tossed). I think I liked the stuffing more than the chicken.

I watched more Halo for the afternoon and read, as I said. I finished another episode of Season 2. It is not going well for the humans. I am enjoying this, but it is endless fighting and running. Much, I imagine, the computer game was like. Hard to recommend given it ended at Season 2 (it reportedly had an insanely high cost to make and got canceled).

I rose early-ish and started with the coffee I had to make. I reheated the last bit and then made more. I was bouncing from too much coffee, and I think this also brought on some of the wooziness. I wrote the blog and drank too much coffee, as I said. I talked to Deborah, and we texted all day between our respective work and events.

After the blog, shower, dressing, and all that, I headed to Providence Ready Care because I could not get an appointment with my usual doctor (he is on leave, and the next available is still in late Feb), but I was turned away. I felt awful and like my money was not good enough from Providence now that I had signed up for Regence as part of ObamaCare. I pay $ 1,100 a month for this basic insurance, but Providence says they will not accept it because it is not through my employer (I am retired). Looks like I need that barista job to have acceptable insurance. I will call Regence later to find out why their stuff is refused, not even out-of-network, outright no to a large amount of service, only minutes away!

This left me angry and depressed. I then had reheated KFC, and I am sure it was not that, then my colon decided it had enough and emptied for hours. I was stuck at home. The results of time changes, flights, and other travel challenges. It happened on my last return.

And that day finally closed, or in this case, is covered. Let us draw a curtain on Jan 9th and the shootings in Portland and other terrible things. Thanks for reading.