Thursday A Whirl of Jet Lag

I could feel it on Thursday, and my body was saying WTF to me. I am not as young as I think I am, and those endless steps in NYC, various foods, airplane air, and time changes finally slowed me down. Thursday was less of a rush, and I felt it; soon I was tired and sad. I think the post-trip depression and the weight of all the church paperwork I need to do are weighing on me. But Brazil came back by finally accepting my photo, and reading Eternity at Sea by Sean Branney of The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society for Tuesday’s Call of Cthulhu game brightened my day (the version I have includes premade props and even 3D paper structures that fit 28mm figures for play). Things are moving forward.

I had a church meeting on a Stewardship program (for non-Methodists, about getting pledges for the church budget for 2027), and that was mostly a chat about what had been done and some themes. I managed to finish the blog just as the Zoom started; I lost track of time and mostly listened after Pastor Ken reminded me about the meeting, and I connected. It was on my calendar, but sometimes I get quite intense in my work and miss things.

The morning was reheated coffee in my new, slightly larger countertop microwave, a cheaply made Emerson model. I put a note on it and reminded Corwin that you must push the open button to unlock the door. This is to protect children from being burned by hot items, I read.

I showered, dressed, and all that, then headed to McMenamins Cedar Hills and arrived at 11:45, with Scott W arriving a few minutes later. We ordered Hammerhead beers, then another while we had burgers (I was ravenous after no breakfast and too much coffee). We chatted about travel, family, and pet updates. We are staying healthy, but pets are aging. I talked about my new interests in Rust (a programming language) and quantum computing after the conference, and my surprise at the amount of tracking the Hope Network Operations Center (The Noc) could do. Every movement, even with rotating MAC Addresses, could be tracked on the hardened, fast network. Attacks were easily turned away, too — tens of thousands. More to follow up on Rust and quantum computing.

I connected with Emma, and I picked her up after returning home and dropping off my laptop (it is a hot day for a laptop to be in Air VW the Gray). I also added the new game Vestige (here) to the collection already in the EV. Emma and I headed out after I picked her up at her apartment (classes have not started yet) and, using navigation to avoid less efficient routes, we soon arrived at Rune & Board. We grabbed a table and started to play. I did the “teach,” and Nic, the owner, was interested in the game and how I thought it compared to Vindication, also from the same game company.  I think it is a better game, as you make more choices instead of facing random cards and removing the real estate grab, but I would still play Vindication anytime and always enjoy it. I have not learned the nemesis rules for Vestiage yet. I forgot the Special Ops cards in the setup, but we were able to correct that without loss. Emma missed a rule, but soon I was running hard to keep up (never underestimate Emma or Z in a game). Emma tripped the second End-of-Game condition (they are random, as in Vindication), which ended the game. I managed to win by just over 5 points. I had claimed lots of areas, like in Vindication, and that ensured a win.

With that done, we packed up and got Emma back to her apartment for her Thursday night online game with Greg. I headed home and used water to defrost some chicken thighs. Fried some mushrooms I sliced, then replaced them with the chicken, browned it with just salt and pepper, and finished it in the oven. I made a pan gravy with butter and flour, and added the mushrooms again with Masala cooking wine. Sadly, this wine has salt, and it tipped the salt content over the edge for me. I heated a frozen garlic naan and had two chicken thighs with mushrooms and naan for dinner. I then watched two more episodes of Ted Lasso season three. Deborah was right about the show; I cannot recommend it enough.

I did not find the focus, and I was too tired to pick up any more church items. I soon started reading and fell into an unruly sleep, with things to do in my dreams and unable to get to them for various reasons. I woke at 4 and could not sleep (jet lag), and I will focus on more church things (I have already sent out an update on the visa process for Brazil).

Thanks for reading!