The rains returned after a cloudy start on Friday morning. I was feeling tired and slow, likely from the Skyrizi injection. I did not rise until after 8. Once I got started, I was able to move through the mists of exhaustion and keep going. The water in the backyard was draining, but only temporarily, as another inch of water was in the sky for us and would soak the Beaverton Area all night. The slow, polite rain of the Pacific Northwest.
I rose and spent the morning in my office. I wrote and brought some order to my finances by downloading my transactions into Quicken and sorting them into categories or accepting its matching. I read the news and tried not to get angry or depressed. The blog came together, though with more typos than I like, and Grammarly is running in starts and stops and not finding my spelling errors until later. Hmmmmm. I have read that the tool has recently offered styles but has failed to obtain permission from the authors to copy or pay for scanning their copyrighted material. This service has now been discontinued following the obvious backlash. It is likely I will have to replace Grammarly at some point. I have made some basic searches, but most of the possible replacements are Chatbots, not a more useful one for me: a grammar and spelling check with optional advice on rewording.
I wrote for most of the morning. I was called by Emily, the RN working for Skyrizi, to see how I felt. I shared that I was tired, and she said she would report that. With that, I returned to writing. I wrote for most of the morning on Friday. I remembered to strip the bed and wash my sheets. Later, I would finish the rest of the laundry, but I had not yet folded it and put it away. I had yogurt and a banana with my coffee. The choice for Friday morning was Gather Darkness from the 185th Veggie place. I have to grind it. I made it that morning, as it seems a waste to freshly grind coffee and then have it sit all night out.
I showered and dressed for Friday, wearing a dress shirt and a gray sweater vest. I was using my belt, but my pants again tried to fall off, and I would be pulling up my pants all day. I switched to suspenders later in the day, and that is much more comfortable.
I make lunch from Butter Chicken with rice and naan, a frozen meal from Trader Joe’s,
Off to Safeway. There, I get the items I forgot, including broth and whole cooked tomatos (I will crush them myself so they are not too small). One batch will be red and another brown. I get flowers for Cat, with whom I am meeting her parents for dinner at 7.
Next, I head to Costco near the Hillsboro Airport. The parking lot is nearly full, and the folks are always intense and moving fast. I see their carts and wonder where they put all that stuff. These are the huge carts already. Wow! Again, Costco buys many premium products and sells them in large quantities. I wonder if the huge bills at Costco (from larger quantities, premium products) are what lead many Americans to think things are so expensive. According to what I read in the press, polls suggest Americans are overacting, but I digress.
I get a chicken and luggage. My old red suitcase finally broke and split. It has been to China, India (three times), Europe, and all over the USA. Now I have a new, inexpensive Costco set. My other bag that folds over for suits is not large enough to handle packing for multiple weeks and various weather conditions. I check out with just a few items. I do not do self-checkout at Costco; the items are heavy, and boxes are hard to find.
With all of these goodies and new luggage, I return home in Air VW the Gray (down to 35% charge; over 100 miles left to drive). I unloaded, and with all the walking and carrying, a nap overtook me. But Corwin appeared, woke me, and I left him to clean (like making sausage, there are some things better not watched). I picked up cash for him; I pay him 50-60 to clean once a week. I need the cleaning, and he needs the cash.
I next went to Home Depot, looked at flooring, and called my fix-it guy, Jeff. I looked at simple vinyl flooring that clicks together and liked one type. Jeff thought it was on the cheap side and required him to pay for padding first, but he agreed it looked great. I will have that installed while I am out in Salt Lake City. And while it is not top-of-the-line (he suggested rentals would pick that), I still liked the look, and it is waterproof and all that. Jeff will see if he can find something with a similar look but easier to install. I am going with less white and not tile like (tired of dirt in the cracks and on the tile).
I get a coffee at the nearby Starbucks with a chewy chocolate-and-nut bar that goes great with their dark brew. I read more chapters of 1929 and really enjoy walking through the weeks and months of that year. The chapters advance the time by a few weeks or a month. I learned of an apartment building in Flint that was once owned by one of the people in the story and is still named after him, The Durant. Hmmm. Found it on the Internet; it was recently remodeled into a lovely place, though the apartments are small without balconies.
I returned to the house, called Corwin, and thanked him for the excellent work. I boarded Air VW the gray and traveled very slowly in the rain and in the usual how-can-you-drive-that-slow Beaverton-Hillsboro traffic. I reached Hillsboro and found parking near the Courthouse, with just a few minutes to spare. But David is always late, so I stop by the huge redwoods and get a pinecone for Cat (besides the flowers). I love to give away these pinecones.
David, Michelle, and Cat are waiting for me! I am on time. We move to a local Indian place (passing on the burger-and-beer joint): Jalsa Indian Cuisine. We talked about travel and their plans. We do not pick up politics, but Michelle and I talk a little bit about The Rapture as I am teaching Revelation in May. She is dubious of my disbelief and strongly suggests watching some sermons from a church in California (whose name I forgot, but I will still try to get to them; learning other options is good). I reassure her that I understand the reasoning for the belief in The Rapture (it allows for good folks to escape the retribution listed in the apocalyptic text). It was a nice dinner, and it was good to see Cat feeling better.
I headed home in the sloppy weather with the puddles growing again. I finished the laundry, as I said, and did the dishes (that is, loaded them in the machine and started it). I finished the night reading and smelling Pinesol. The Indian food did not settle well, but the discomfort is almost gone after I enjoyed all that spice goodness. Still, it was worth it.
I am now a few chapters into May 1929 (October is the famous crash), and I learn that there were crashes in that month that were moderated by actions but deepened debt levels. I also learned that some of the men (women were not allowed in trading until much later, the 1970s, I think) pushing these new levels of debt were already quietly selling off into cash. The belief, much like today, is that pouring cash in from small investors will cause the market to climb, and that by loaning 80% of the cost of the stock (going on margin), the investors have greater exposure to upward price moves. Of course, this scheme can only work if more and more money moves into the market. Not unlike the current practice of folks’ 401(k)s that put a percentage of their earnings into the market every paycheck, but not with the margin—that is what is driving much of the current Wall Street upward movement. In 1929, on the margin, a market correction (10-20% loss) would require someone to pay cash for a percentage of the loss, plus make payments on the original amount; a double hit.
Trying not to call my banker and move all my money into cash and enjoy my safe 4.25% (though if the bank failed in a crash, most of the money in my IRA would not be insured), I put the book away and soon sleep. There are no disturbing 1929-like dreams, and I believe I dream-walked in a rainy dream, Beaverton, enjoying the rain and the green of the moss. I woke calm but still dragging from Skyrizi side effects.
Thanks for reading!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 