Monday started to f**king early when my iPhone alarm rang at 3:45. I threw on clothing, having organized them before I went to sleep, which was good as simple tasks are not at 3-4. I made coffee and tea for Emma, who was also awake. With some go-juice in car-safe cups and Emma carrying everything in her short-visit carry-on, we board Air VW the Gray and head to PDX. Kink.FM is playing softly, and I use the Navigation. I, or the car (at 4 it is hard to know who is really driving), can drive to PDX without thinking, but if there is an unexpectedly closed highway or bridge (i.e., construction, running, biking, protests — right-wing likes to close the roads — and other Portland weekend weird), I can quickly find alternative ways to PDX. I have had to do this before. Today we get to PDX in a fast 35 minutes. Emma is surprised by how much traffic I have, and I am not surprised that even with nearly clear streets, they are going slowly. One porche rushes and dives in and out of cars, and frustratingly, usual slow-going-drivers have to brake to avoid it (making all of us go even slower than slow for empty streets).
The end is always sudden. We pop in, and I cut over three lanes to get to the curb to ‘unload’ without any horns or any complaints. Yup, sleepy Portland. Emma is gone with a few waves, on her way to find her flight to Chicago and then to Flint, Michigan. Emma will arrive at a long-ish wait in Chicago and a slightly delayed flight. She makes it to Flint in the evening. I took the EV back through traffic that was building, but it was a trip without any memory; the coffee helped to drive, but I did not really wake up.
I reach the house, take off my shoes, and curl up in my bed again and wake with a fuzzy head at 8ish. I manage to rise, find more coffee (still warm), and begin writing the blog and doing the usual things. I manage to enjoy the liberal coffee, Fair Trade, and read the news (depressing), check my email (a few interesting electronic items, but most I delete), and pay a few bills. I see that my IRA daily balance is no longer available at US Bank. I call their helpdesk, and they put me on hold for 30 minutes while they try to connect me to someone to help (yes, the helpdesk can’t get through their own phone tree); they get no answer, and I tell them I will watch it and hope they fix it (not so far). Hmmmm.
I do the laundry; it is Monday, my day for using the washer and dryer. I strip the beds and wash the sheets. I did not realize I had bunched up the sheets, and they turned into a twisted mess, and the yellow sheets tore in the dryer. Ugh! I did wash everything, including the towels. Not everything is folded yet and put away.
I finally showered about 3, as I kept finding things that needed to be done. Now dressed and clean, I continue my chats with Deborah. We have connected here and there as a family member is sworn in as a citizen. Excellent.
Dinner on Monday is from Gyro House and take-out. I pick it up. I am tired, watch some Star Trek: DS9, and try to find some focus. None is available.
The Lay Leader meeting, the last one with the outgoing District Superintendent Karen H, is at 6:30 and runs over to after 8. We talk about church items, but we also share some experiences, and Karen seems reluctant to stay on topic or to end. One last meeting with her church leaders.
With that done, I find my way to bed early, read for a while, but soon fall asleep. I wake at 1 and manage to roll over (after proving hydration). I sleep until sunrise.
Thanks for reading!
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