Saturday Better But Focused on Self Care

Befuddled, I think, describes my memory of Saturday. I was still not feeling well, but the extremes had been reduced. I was less bad. Or like the movie, “Situation hopeless but not desperate.”

I had a 6:30 alarm. . I had only a hint of tummy issues. With the disturbed sleep, pain, and discomfort, I was not completing anything but those things I must. It is a frustrating way to live.

I wrote the blog and found it hard to stay on task. I had no plans on Saturday, and so the deadline or other tasks did not drive me to get things done. No game this Saturday. My thinking was muddled, too. I would walk to a part of the house and not remember why I was going there, but I would then remember. Just hard to keep on task; my mind was wandering to something else. I was distracted by the illness, and my focus was gone.

Somehow, I got the blog done and remembered to put the towels in the dryer. I remembered later that I had not corrected the spelling of phlebotomist, and Grammarly did not correct it. I also had the wrong name of the Star Trek series, “Strange New Worlds.” I had slipped into Lewis and Clark with “Discover New Worlds.” Deborah pointed these out later; I don’t mind corrections. Have noted that Grammarly is not interested in spelling as much as rewriting my sentences to be simpler, mean less, or something completely different. Also, if I dismiss the suggestion, Grammarly returns it over and over; it does not remember the ‘Dismiss’ action (this sentence is one it will not love).

I boarded Air VW the Gray at about 65% charge. More than enough to do a trip to Portland and back (about 16%). I tried the local board game, Guardian Games of Aloha, and they did not have a copy of Raiders of Scythia, but there were two copies at the Portland store. Z likes this game, and Dondrea thought she would love a copy for Z’s birthday. I also had an Arduino learning set for Z, as I would support a young person learning electronics. I would have to loan a laptop to Z to use it. I have a spare Windows machine for such uses.

I enjoyed the slow Saturday afternoon traffic, which is an amazing transformation of American driving. Instead of the speeding of 10 over and higher, it is -10 or worse. In slow motion, various extra-legal moves are made to cut people off and change lanes of two or more at once. Monty Python or Mel Brooks could not design a sillier driving experience. And traffic lights give you a perfect view of the mountains, and some of us (not me) just sit there and enjoy the view. Yes, we have traffic from good weather and glare.

I make it through the 26 Highway, looking more like a slow ferry loading experience for the tunnel than a road. Highway 405 is better, and I manage to break away from the congealed traffic and reach the off-ramp to the sketchy part of industrial Portland where Guardian Games resides (always looking at the place where the Volvo enjoyed a smash-and-grab nearby). I find street parking and enter the gaming sanctuary.

I met a young woman on staff, and we talked about gaming. She is a Euro-loving woman in her twenties. She is off to play Trilight Imperum this weekend, her first game. They expect, as it will be a learning game, twelve hours of play. I give her some advice: remember to win by earning points from completing goals, not by building lovely space fleets and using them. She shows me her favorite Eurogames, many of which are math-heavy. Excellent! I will see if we can recruit her, if I meet her again, for Richard’s games and/or make a gaming appointment with her at the store. Guardian Games has a vast collection of games to play before buying. I bet Kathleen would love this (I am already ready to score at the bottom). I do get the game I was looking for.

I get that back in the EV and head to Dondrea’s house. I must drive slowly with the traffic. I enjoy the view during the slowdowns (what else can you do?), and park near Dondrea’s place. I wrap the gift. I had loaded the EV with wrapping paper and a bow. With that task, I headed to the house.

Everyone is there, including Z’s grandma Donna, and we enjoy warm coffee cake for Z’s birthday. Z wanted a low-key birthday. Z loves this game, her new favorite, an efficiency race with some randomism requiring some risk-taking. The excitement of rolling the dice in this game is a thrill.

I also explain the Arduino kit, and she likes that too. I take out the main board, bang it on the table, and drop it. Explaining this is a very stable piece of hardware. This is a new thing, and Z is excited to learn something new. I taught Z games, and she loves them. Z suspects this new adventure may be good, too. We will work on it together on one of the days and see how it goes.

I head out and return home. The tummy is full of gas again. I ignore it and cook a pork chop, salad, and couscous for dinner. I watch more Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, finish season 1, and start season 2. I binge-watched three episodes, and I laughed and cried. It was great. The show is really moving now, and the characters’ personalities are being developed. Wow! Highly recommended. It gets better as the actors and writers seem to learn the mix of old Star Trek, reinvented for the current audience.

I have some gas, but I feel better. My theory was that I was starving myself. I might be right. I did have some gas issues, but the evening settled with some painkillers and antacids. I slept well after midnight.

Thanks for reading!