I woke around sunrise, soon fell back asleep, and did not rise until half past seven. I found yesterday’s coffee and decided to use it for today via the microwave. I was not hungry (from a late dinner the night before) and skipped any morning food. Yes, going corporate warrior with just a cup of old coffee and a morning on my laptop.
Deborah sent me many texts and welcomed me to the morning (she is three hours ahead in Michigan). I am always happy to have someone say “good morning,” even if I type it. It is glorious to have Deborah as my girlfriend.
With my dark coffee and my laptop, if I were still employed, I would be in various Zoom meetings, reading endless emails, trying to help direct a project toward clarity and away from the usual chaos, and generally swinging unpredictably from boredom to horror to anger and back (sometimes all at the same time as multiple projects and issues would be happening). Instead, I begin with the electronic house chores and download transactions, review and file them correctly in categories in Quicken, check the status of my IRA (seemingly connected to the Straight of Hormuz status as stated by the White House, with some sudden drops as truth happens), which (for now) shows an insanely easy rise to new highs. Faith in AI, the White House claims, and strange exuberance keep stuffing my IRA with more money.
On money, it is July 1, and all the July expenses hit. I have moved them to use the Platinum AMEX instead of checking (except for the mortgage). Yes, I earn miles, and I can choose how I pay the bills. The health insurance bill is paid on the due date, car insurance is covered, and support for Mom Wild is sent. I still marvel that my max was reached with Regence (health insurance provider), and I pay almost nothing (except for the bill, which, at over $1,000, is nontrivial—$40 for dental—for the cheap plan for one!). Still, it gives me a little pleasure to be independent of any corporate entity and to keep on my PJs until lunchtime!
I have not been focused on church matters and upcoming travel, and Deborah has started asking me questions. We will have a planning moment on Sunday for the upcoming trip to Michigan. I feel a bit guilty for not being heads down on many things, but it feels good to write, play, and find my way again at home. But then I realize I have only been home for five days, including a travel day! I have medical things to take care of these days.
Which moves us to an unexpected change, the dentist’s office wants me in today for my tooth work. Tooth 12, the first bicuspid, has an old bimetal filling that needs to be replaced, and the tooth reworked to cover a wear spot that is slowly progressing toward the root. With allergy season, the idea of trying to breathe with my dentist sharing the same space that enables breathing is not thrilling to me. We agree (after a call back) to 3.
I finish the blog with many distractions of my own making, and still in my PJs, and shop veggies for my soup. I had taken the chicken bones and other remains and boiled them for hours (it was still too watery), then headed to the shower. There (having not yet heard from the dentist), I forgo some creams to allow for a haircut without exposing the cutter to the medications. Ready after all that, I head to Safeway. There, I get some items for other food projects (new yeast, for example), herbs, broth-making concentrate (to add to the soup), and noodles. I return, having tossed the veggies into the watery broth (after passing them through a screen and paper towel) and added my purchases to the mix. I cut up most of the chicken and add it. I let that get hot for 20 minutes (until it reaches a slow boil), then add the noodles. Still not great, but lots of veggies, noodles, and fresh chicken. I might have had three bowls. The rest finds its way into plastic bags, and some will likely be in the freezer soon.
I watched more old BBC shows from the 1980-90s, David Suchet’s Hercule Poirot, while I ate. I tried to relax and nodded off in my chair, but rose in time for my few-minute trip in Air VW the Gray. While it is unpleasant and the thirty minutes or so seem like hours, I focus on the fact that I like my dentist, who combines skills, humor, and a touch of cynicism that makes me comfortable (we often talk about his costs relative to his pay from insurance). I spend most of my time trying to remain calm, counting backward, and seeing how many times I can count from 100 to zero. It is important not to think about what can go wrong (someone is in my mouth with a carving tool, and an advanced Dremel) and to remember that I pay for his expertise (which is excellent), with tough moments having me try to go backward by three. I also imagine the mist and roar to be the sea and I close my eyes and think of Deborah and I walking a Caliornia boardwalk. It is the sea, not a drill, that I hear and enjoy the inner image of the waves crashing in the Pacific. The water is sea mist, and I can almost smell the salt.
And then the drilling is done, and the strange resins are applied and shaped (a bit more light drilling). All done, twenty minutes (or a day, in my experience — time runs differently in a dentist’s chair). I spoke with someone else who still does bimetal. I have discussed this with my dentist, and he believes these resins are better. He understands the use of bimetal and why it is still popular, and I agree with his opinion to use resins. He is a skilled professional, and I will follow these recommendations accordingly. In the same way, I would not let him tell me how to code or load an AI model.
I returned home, cleaned up the mess in the kitchen (it looked like the Swedish Chef had made chicken soup), sat in my chair, nodded off, and woke to a call. Corwin wants to visit, but we agree to Thursday afternoon. I get up and fold the laundry and put it away. I call M@, and we talk gaming stuff. I am thinking of running a Call of Cthulhu game at Rune & Board (if I can get a plan together and they agree) and needed to align my choices and retrieve a few items loaned to M@. We agreed to avoid the material M@ plans for early 2027 (yes, we do plan that far out), and I will pick up some Central American-based Kickstarter items I can use without covering the same area that M@ is using.
I headed to Shake Shack and had a single bacon avocado burger with fries and a Diet Coke, a caloric travesty, and watched the USA finally score the needed knock-out goal to move on to the 16. It has been a long time since the USA made it this far (2008). I was surprised to learn that Germany and Japan were out (I have been too busy to spend hours watching the games). Belgium and the USA are in the next knock-out game. Luck is all I see taking the USA forward, but the team fought hard in the game I watched, though the red card is going to hurt (f**k!).
With the crimes against my weight-loss efforts committed, I headed to First United Methodist Church in Beaverton and followed Dondrea with Z to the parking lot. Z, skipping over Scythe, Concordia, picked Raiders of Scythia (a new favorite) for today. Z surprised me by raiding fast and furiously, remembering how I played last time and running on high-risk and reward. Z swept up the goals and raided until she ended the game with almost her whole crew “retired.” I had misplayed by not taking a wagon instead of provisions (I ended the game with a pile of provisions unused) on one turn; I knew I had done it wrong but lived with it. I could not then raid on my last turn and break Z’s point spread. I ended six points behind (I missed nine points on the raid). Lesson learned! Next time!
We finished the night playing Flip-7, with me able to be slightly more risky than Z, who had not yet picked up that with just a little more risk, Z would match me, and luck would split us then. I suspect this was my last win!
After that, we chatted for a while, and then I headed home. I had said good night to Deborah in the middle of the game with Z. It is always wonderful to start and end a day together.
I read more and soon slept. I managed to sleep through the night. I had dreams, all forgotten now, nothing scary or repetitive. I remembered waking up from a pleasant dream and needing to remember it for the blog, but alas, it is gone.
Thanks for reading, and I hope, dear reader, that you will wave to me as we pass in dreams, fellow travelers in the phantasmagoric worlds of sleep.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 