Saturday with Board Games

I was home late Saturday night after playing board games at Richard’s with five players: Richard, me, Chris, Anthony (a new guy), and Kathaleen. We played Hot Streak, a party game of betting and robot-like-controlled racers (highly recommended). Flip 7 was our middle game, and it is always a fun card game. We played two hands. The hidden-traitor rules-heavy Unfathomable (a reskin and slightly improved version of Battlestar Galactica) was the main game for Saturday night. Lovecraft horror always appeals to Kathleen and me. I soon realized she was the traitor, but she is good at that “who-me” look. Also, we managed to lose without her reveal. She was just not helpful enough, and team-human, including myself, were not quite getting it, as we had not played the game in a long time. I look forward to another play. Kathleen was proud to win by herself having got both traitor cards!

Before this, I found the restaurant Piattino while getting some steps in while walking in Portland’s Pearl District. I managed 3,900+ steps. I had a glass of wine, a tiramisu for dessert, and coffee. After that, I headed to Powell’s City of Books. There I found a $4.95 copy of Failsafe, the 1960s Cold War Novel about nuclear war. Z wanted to try it.

I think Piattino will work for Deborah and Pickles, my bartender (no, really, that is what they call him), who recommended their homemade pasta and the lamb. We discussed whether they could keep the onions and peppers out of the food, and Pickles believes they could make some exceptional, safe food. Likely, I will be back with Deborah.

I was dizzy, nearly fell down the stairs at Powell’s (dying with a used book in my hand in a fall in Powell’s would seem a legendary end for me, but I am glad to have missed out on creating one last story!), and I think dehydrated. I stopped at Hale’s Cafe (formerly Zenus Cafe) and had a steak-and-mushroom appetizer (protein) with plenty of water. I then felt better. I then found Air VW the Gray in the underground parking structure and got lost trying to find Richard’s house, even with Nav. I was one block off.

Before that, I was at the house, working on my Dungeons & Dragons 5E adventure I used in New Hampshire. I want to get it out to DriveThruRPG as a pay-what-you-want adventure. I managed to edit and correct seven of about 25 pages. I hope to get it out next week.

Before that, I rose before 8 and just after sunrise. I found the coffee made; I had assembled it and pressed the correct buttons the night before. Almond croissants are also a breakfast with a banana. The mail still contains the same 1099s I printed after receiving an email saying they were ready. The city of Portland has a sense of humor and sent a card saying they are not mailing their 1099s, but you could use the information on the card to get it (even after sending me an email with the same information). Yes, it takes the strange, weirdness of Portland to decide not to send a 1099 by mail and then send you a card to tell you they are not mailing it. I have two 1099s and got, yes, two cards with the same information.

I wrote the blog, drank lots of coffee, read my email, downloaded my transactions into Quicken, and saw that my IRA, having reached a new high last week, had given back all of those earnings. All unrealized, of course, but with markets over-weighted in technology (AI wannabes), I am not surprised. Still, it is unnerving, and I may ask US Bank Wealth Management to expose me to more EU-based risk. Yikes!

I showered and dressed. The skin rash seems to be responding to the new treatments, and I hope it will begin to fade soon. Two days of the new treatment. A CT scan for the mass in my neck was ordered for Sunday morning at 8 at Good Sam in Portland. I will be up early on Sunday for a quick drive to Portland and back.

With the new glasses, I could read all the tiny print on the board game. That was nice.

Thanks for reading.