Author: alohawild

I rose again with the sunrise over NYC and looked out my window. I would, before I wrote a blog, shower, dress, and walk the city as it woke up to another day, but now I write and watch the colors change as Manhattan opens to another glorious sunrise in my room. The discipline of years of writing helps, but I still feel a call to the outside; today is an all-inside day. It is a Hacker’s Conference, and Hope 2026 is inside with pale computer SecOps folks.

The crowd is a mix of older people, many showing the effects of a life as a computer specialist, heavy, or young people showing a mixture of difficulty with social interactions, indeterminate gender, or an intensity of overcompensating for social difficulties. Hackers. Some will be looking intently at screens during talks, while others tap fast and take moments to work on something with complete attention.

The Opening Ceremonies for Hope 2026 are at 10:30, and my vouchers are done: I have to buy breakfast. I invested the first hours in writing and rushing. I am excited to start and also worried I will feel out of place. I am not a hacker or SecOps expert. Still, it is exciting, and I push out over a thousand words.

I talk to Deborah once I get started, and it is good to be in the same time zone. We will connect here and there between items. I also spoke with Dondrea about some church matters, and I am deeply disappointed by some findings that I will not describe here; I am not sure what my reaction should be. I try to keep my focus on the reason to be here: Hope 2026.

The opening ceremonies were more of a welcome and a celebration of being back in Manhattan. There are memories of people who have passed and how happy they are to make this work. Kyle, the network builder, says it was very difficult this time to get the powerful network function working, but it is now. Hope 2026 serves near-real-time remote content with huge volume needs. It fends off hacker attempts as a matter of pride. It is safe, maybe the safest, fast, and carefully monitored. The hardware, NOC (Network Operations Center), is here, not in the cloud, and resides on the Grand Ballroom balcony.

“Reclaiming the color orange,” explains the reflective safety orange as one of the themes. The construction theme is about reclaiming the narrative, rebuilding, and resisting the takeover of social media and the Internet by corporations, as well as the divisive speech I heard. “We don’t have to be that way; make it as comfortable for others as possible,” is scrawled in my notes. There is a reminder that smoking, vaping, and similar activities are forbidden in the hotel and that they have sensing equipment, they are told. There is a statement to leave that alone, respect the hotel, which has been great, and not defeat it. There are nervous laughs, like children reminded to play nice with others. And with that, the first sessions begin.

“Cameras, Cops, and Cell Towers: A Field Guide to Modern Surveillance” by Michael Raymond, whom I have heard before, starts my sessions also in the Grand Ballroom. He points out that the company Axon, formerly Taser, makes lots of the equipment. He also reminds us that many HOAs, stores, and law enforcement agencies have cameras and share the recordings. He was unable to defeat the face recognition with makeup or by wearing another tiny face on his glasses. He covers Flocking, and a Freedom of Information request, with proper understanding of what to request by doing research into what the local government is using for tracking, is the best way to check if your information is being checked.

Interestingly, the high-tech Stingrays, the name for fake cell towers that can easily track cell phones, are not in use as much as was thought, he reports. The hackers have a hardware box for spotting the fingerprints of a Stingray. He supplies, and I have photos of QR codes to help resist this surveillance.

The Flock cameras are given special attention. Flock cameras are, I learned, just a Raspberry Pi with a camera, powered by solar cells, and connected to Flock’s network. And while of questionable legality, he suggests that these devices are easy to cover, cut down, and make nonfunctional. He also points out that Axon now tracks Flock’s rejection of selling the same service using Axon equipment, which is less well known.

Flock also tracks bumper stickers and other vehicle markings, along with make, model, and color information. I share this information with friends who are facing harasment/stalking. Michael’s talk was worth the price of entry, I think.

Next, “Building a Community Arcade Cabinet by Frank Chiarulli, Rose Hall, and Sophie Downward covers some of the details for bringing a video-tube arcade back to life. Sophie covers how they designed a USB-to-VGA conversion board, including surface-mount parts, to control the screen. A resistor was missed for a crystal-based timer, but Sophie tells the story of her putting her finger in, as the resistance of a human body was a close match, and suddenly everything worked. I and others I spoke to later want a copy of that board. Wow!

They used Rust for embedded work; I have looked at it before. Interesting. They also all met at a hacker space in Brooklyn that offered a six-week break from coding to explore and be imaginative.

I stepped out, as the hour-long sessions were less interesting, and headed a block away to the Irish bar Tailors, where I had lunch. I ordered an iced tea that turned out to be carbonated; the bartender took it back. “Yeah, it is terrible.” The Shepherd’s Pie was good, and I ate it quickly. I met another person from the conference from Washington, DC, who had just arrived by bus. Sticking out of their backpack was a plastic pigeon that apparently is a family thing and is carried all over the country. Today it is in NYC.

“Leaking & Investigating the Epstein Files” was the next surprising option. The session included two writers, the person who represents the secure validation and release of this information, and one remote “Kyrie” hacker who released the trove of Iranian hacks of Ehud Barak’s emails, which contained more Epstein information. The former prime minister of Israel had a business relationship with Epstein.

The hacker obtained the information, tried to sell it, and finally released it to Distributed Denial of Service’s Emma Best, who protected the information and the “Kyrie” and confirmed that it appeared to be real. It was released “to do the right thing,” and the hacker was given questions earlier, and the answers were read only during the session. It was pointed out that “Kyrie” could even be in the room.

Emmy Best said that, when asked what she was most disappointed by in this process, the lawyers giving advice in the emails on how to avoid trafficking charges by rerouting abuse to other places should have been at least disbarred but were not ever even charged. Hmmm.

The next session, “Seeing Inside the Mind of AI,” was not very good, and I will not cover it here. But I did get one good quote: “Good systems radiate information to use safely.” But the next one, “Spacesuits, Mars boots, and Vegan Roots in the Desert Regolith,” by Scott Beiban and Elizabeth Jane Cole, was fun, though they were late and took 10 minutes to set up. They are volunteers conducting space-analog research for EV suites on Mars. They told the story of their difficulties and how they built a suit that simulates some of the challenges (cooling is needed next time, they explained, as they boiled in the desert heat in the uncooled pressure suits). It was fascinating to hear about their somewhat madcap adventures testing and building the suits. They have designed a habitat for Mars and have named their venture: Offworld.Voyage. A vegan-only plan for Mars.

“Nikola Tesla’s Time at the New Yorker Hotel” by Jeffery Velez was next. I learned that Tesla lived on my floor, the 33rd, and that his room and place of death were across the hall. He spent the last five years quietly in room 3327 at the hotel (I am in 3319). Wizard is the book that is recommended. I also learned that Trump’s uncle reviewed Tesla’s notes after his death and that President Trump demolished the first building bearing a Tesla plaque.

“Hackers: Journalism Needs Your Help” by Brandon Roberts of ProPublica was my last session on Friday. I was surprised to learn that there are tools to review government forms filled out by various officials and thus made available to journalists. I also learned that data cleaning and verification are a big part of the work now, and “bullet-proofing” findings from multiple sources is critical. They need updated tools and parsers to extract the relevant information (and what is missing). President Trump and Vance have provided their forms, but distorted the characters to make them hard to read with tools. They will need special OCR processes that are not available.

Lastly, I headed to the movie at the AMC theater across the street, Reality Games: Control the Narrative. It is a fun hacker movie about a fantasy of two young men finishing high school and then betting to “ruin their lives.” The movie is about a bet going wrong, shadowy organizations, and both believable and less believable hacks. It is a moral story where you find yourself, as the audience, cheering for the hero and then discovering the truth, feeling betrayed by the hero, and learning that social media and the act of cheering without enough information to make informed choices- real information, not clickbait- is the real problem. Interesting.

I talked to Kyle, our network builder for Hope, and he told me the story of how they finally got the Telcos to allow access to set up their closet. It was hugely stressful, and Kyle said he felt like he had grown up to managing relationships and reassuring people. No longer only tech stuff. The hotel management finally convinced the Telcos to work together. Kyle was happy to tell me his story.

After that, and more church stuff in my email, I headed back to my room, stopped by and looked at the door to the Tesla Room, and soon slept.

Thanks for reading.

 

Thursday is my last full day before the conference, Hope 2026, at the New Yorker Hotel, starts. I rose, as usual when in this time zone, at 6 and watched the sun rise over NYC, with a view of the Empire State and Chrysler buildings from my single window in my room on the 33rd floor of the hotel.  I embrace jet lag and know that I am not here long enough to swing into the local time. I travel to the East often now and know what to expect.

I write the blog as my window shows NYC changing colors at sunrise. It was a busy day yesterday, and it took me a few hours to finish the story. It is August in NYC, and it is hot and sticky with travelers everywhere. My hotel is full of folks who, in the heat, show that less clothing is more. This is not Oregon T-shirts and come-as-you-are, but careful summer fashions that better fit The Devil Wears Prada in August NYC heat.

That is, until we computer people showed up with dark, weird T-shirts and mismatched, non-fashion shorts. And many of us Hope 2026 folks look uneasy in social settings. Nobody owns the room when they walk in.

I finish the blog as it gets near 9, get a shower, and pick another UFO Festival shirt (which also gets lots of comments like yesterday) to wear. I take my voucher and have another coffee, juice, and a bagel for breakfast at Tick-Tock, the 24-hour diner off the lobby. From there, I head back into the city.

There is a subway entrance for the E train against the hotel, and I climb down the steps, scan my phone to pay the $3 fee, and find my way to the correct platform to head downtown to the World Trade Center. I have more than an hour before my VIP ($85) access to the One World Observatory. I walk to the footprint of the lost towers, and sadness is nearly overwhelming. For me now, Death is serious business, and while I did not know anyone who died on September 11th, I know people whose bosses died on the Boston-headed flight. Still, the space has become more of a park than a memorial, and I like the change.

I tried the Oculus building and walked through the mall inside, enjoying taking my time and following signs to locate my tour, which starts locally. The building is white and seems pure. It seems to say it is OK now, and the space has been reclaimed for the future. Enjoy! I walked it twice after checking in for my tour and was told to return before my tour. I also walk the park outside.

I get some coffee after seeing the river, then connect to another mall via an underground passage. It is a pleasant long walk. Ryan is our tour leader, and there are just three of us. A young California gal with her cousin or brother from Utah. The kid would be nearly bored to death. Ryan covers the tower construction, and soon we are in the “fastest elevator in NYC,” with the kid discovering that it is hard, nearly impossible, to jump in the speeding elevator. Its walls are a movie of the city’s growth.

The view is 360 on the 101st floor with huge, clean windows. No outside here. I think the view is better from the Empire State Building’s outdoor observation deck (and the extra cost for spire access is about the same). Still, it is impressive, and I enjoy Ryan pointing out various buildings, including the Leaning Building, now dressed in graffiti at the top. I read more about it (leaning now, reportedly a full foot, and facing demolition).

I have $15 to spend, and my $30 lunch of grab-and-go and stand-and-eat tables has a view of New Jersey. I would have preferred Manhattan. The restaurant with coffee tables and chairs does not open until 2. There is no chandelier to show the building swaying with free drinks when it tilts far; at least that is my memory of the bar at the top of the lost towers, which I never visited. Ryan said this new tower only sways a few inches.

WTC2 has started, and a new huge tower will be finished in the 2030s. It is just a single story of cement base now. Ryan had pictures and pointed out Trinity Church, which will not be visible soon, as the new tower will be just below the eye line of this observatory. Ryan tells us about the two churches visible and mentions that Alexander Hamilton is buried at Trinity. I decide to visit Mr. Hamilton. I tip Ryan with a portrait of Alexander.

Pencils at the Observatory are less than $1 each, but the T-shirt is not cheap. The salesperson asks me if I have my voucher left, and I tell her, “Oh, I ate that,” which gets a laugh. I tell her that pencils at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library cost $1.50 and that they should raise their prices. More laughs. I find my way to the restroom and think about how far that has to go while I complete that process.

The elevator screens are a flyover, and I have to grab the walls as the strange flying feeling in that fast elevator (41 seconds to travel 1,700+ feet down) makes me stumble. Wow! I wanted to take that again!

I walk the three blocks to Trinity. I find my way into the graveyard and can’t find Alexander. I talk to a friendly docent who points out that Alexander’s wife’s sister (one of the Schuyler sisters) has a simple stone. “You would think she deserves something better,” the docent shares.  I walk out as directed, pass the church entrance, see there is a line, and walk into the other graveyard. There I find the grave and some others. His wife, Eliza, another Schuyler sister, outlived Alexander Hamilton and spent her years helping people and even getting the Washington Monument (she knew the man) finished; she is buried with him, along with some of his sons. After the musical and all the reading I have done, it was nice to finally get a bit closer to Hamilton.

Wall Street begins at Trinity Church, and I walked past the NYSE and, as Deborah said, waved to our money. It was 3-ish now, and I took the 4 train back to the hotel. I then showered and rested for a few hours. I then headed to the second floor, got my badge for Hope 2026, and met a few people I remember. Frank had a working gaming console; he is from a local hacker space (they actually rolled the machine onto the subway). He and others had learned electronics and then built a coding framework to build games. They are hopeful of finding some graybeards to port some old games to their platform, or find some new coders who want to try it out. Frank opened the back and showed us how they created a USB-to-VGA converter. It was surface-mount, too.

I stayed in the lobby and chatted with a few folks here and there, a few I remembered or remembered me. Kat was there at 7:30, and I had an idea for dinner. We walked ten blocks to El Forno: Hell’s Kitchen (though it is not really there, as that is four or five blocks away). I wanted Italian, and Kat agreed. I had the fixed-price dinner and Kat had a pasta meal (she shared a taste of my salad and more than a taste of my dessert). Sam was our waiter and helped us pick out our items. All was great, and the taste was sort of smoky with a hint of spices.

With dinner mostly inside us (Kat took some home), we walked back to the hotel, and Kat then went off to catch her train and sent me a note that she was home. I returned to the 33rd-floor meeting, met more folks for the conference, and learned that the party at the Irish place was good. I had skipped it to see Kat. Kat is available this weekend, but I am busy into the evening each day. We might connect on Sunday, or if I feel I need a break and she is free.

BTW: Kat works for Buck and enjoys her work. Her company is keeping up with AI trends, and she feels safe as both an artist and a technologist.

I was able to sleep well, woke just before sunrise, and managed to roll over again. It seemed to be a dreamless sleep. I was stiff from walking 5 miles and 7 miles the day before.

Thanks for reading!

I rise with the sunrise at 6. I slept until 2 on Wednesday morning, couldn’t get back to sleep for an hour or so, finally fell back asleep at 3-ish, woke at 4-ish, slept again, and then had an unpleasant dream. But at least I woke up not tired. I started the blog and arranged the various Quicken transactions, mostly from this trip or visa expenses. My Social Security income is on the middle Wednesday, and I learned it is next week. My decision to pay off my credit cards with IRA money (with 10% withholding) was sound. I am still getting used to this timing.

I spent most of the time in my room watching the sun brighten NYC while I wrote the blog for Tuesday’s travel day. The room seemed cool in the morning, with clear skies, and up here, 33 stories (or so), it got cooler, so I ran the slightly clunky AC. Everything works in the room, and the walls are not too thin, but the hall noise wakes me when I’m falling asleep. There is a loud thud sometimes.

I shower, and the water is hot enough, and the tub isn’t too slippery, but it is cramped, and I tapped my head on the sink in the tub while scrubbing. I smiled and was more careful. I was soon dressed in an Oregon UFO Festival T-shirt, which got lots of questions all day. Locals wanted to know where that is and what it is like.

I find Tick-Tock, the 24-hour diner at the hotel, and use my Breakfast Voucher for coffee, a small juice, and a toasted bagel with cream cheese. I tip three dollars. I respond to a church item on my laptop. I decide not to order anything else and enjoy NYC. I return the laptop to my room and stash it. I take my battery with me, as the iPhone will run out of power, and I need it for navigation and for my tickets.

I walk to Times Square, about ten blocks, and then five more as I find the theater for tonight’s Oh, Mary! show. I nearly miss it, and then there it was. I notice The Public House: Bar & Restaurant on the next block. It is not even 10, and I look at the Complete Strategist location, one of the best war game stores in NYC,  and start to walk towards it, but then I realize it opens at 10:30, and I need to be at the Frick Collection Museum at 11. I can’t do both.

My back hurts from the walk, and I stop at Bryant Park to sit for a while until the New York Public Library opens. I am a member. The huge bronze door opens, and the guard/staffer is amazed by the long line. I walk right to the Treasures of the Library display (disappointed that Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence is a facsimile, and I learn the original is shown every July 4th). But the NY copy of the Declaration of Rights is presented (hand copies were sent to each state to consider), and also the call sheet for approving the 13th Amendment is simply tacked up in a civil rights display. I pointed it out to someone and said, “It should be presented wtih gold around it; this is it and what ended slavery.” There is an exception to slavery; incarcerated people are excluded, and many states, including Oregon, have passed state constitutional amendments banning slavery in any form. Tears, again, came to my eyes as I looked at the call sheet.

I find the facilities but not the exit. Two sets of steps down and then a door to the street. Funny that it is easy to get in, but getting out requires asking for help!

Somewhere I saw the large inflated rat and people striking at a luxury store. I had last seen that rat in California. I tipped my hat to them.

I managed to get to uptown and near the Frick without issue on the subway. I walked some well-heeled blocks and saw it was the consultant area. I heard a lot of Italian and saw folks with FedEx mailers. I then noticed many folks with them, as this is the area where visas and other important documents are made.

I reached the Frick, went in, already had a ticket for the time, and went right in after heading to ticketing first, only to be pointed back to where I started. This is a Gilded Age mansion re-formatted as a museum and contains lots of furniture you cannot sit on (and some that you can). The paintings of El Greco, Rembrandt, Van Dykes, and other Dutch masters were excellent examples, and many were huge. There were plenty of security folks watching (and many folks had to be reminded that no photographs were allowed), and I moved quickly to see the interesting paintings. I am not the read-and-study-everything person. I look for what I like. I really enjoyed even a painting by a student of Rembrandt. Endless portraits, but still all of excellent quality and a certain match to the others and the setting. A catered experience, if you like.

There is a cafe on the second floor, and I needed lunch. The prices were high, with a $31 club sandwich, but it was the Frick, so it seemed OK. I ordered a drink, the Saint, for $ 19, which was sweet and maybe was a poor choice for the sandwich, but I liked the name. The second floor has the gift shop that has a waiting line to get in; I never made it in. The French Impressionists are on the second floor, along with some medieval pieces.

I believe I have seen these pictures in my college textbook, which must have paid the Frick for the images. It was interesting to see them. All very well lit with no glare or protective glass. You can get within inches of some. Other paintings are high on the wall above fireplaces and like. I find it fun to look at them close up and then from a distance. It often seems like two different paintings.

I got a call about church items, and my room key fell, but mostly I just marveled at and enjoyed the place. Two basements below is the coffee. I got some. I watched their films in the sub-basement theater (I saw there is a third basement!). The second floor, gift shop, and extra stairs are additions. Also, the research has moved to another building. I knew it was a huge revision, but wow! The 1940s-built vault was now the theater. I walked out and was told by one of the staff that she looked up the Oregon UFO Festival and area and can’t wait to visit. I smiled. She directed me to the exit, another place without a clear way out.

With that, I reversed my walk and again enjoyed the area. Lots of folks walking around fast with FedEx clasped in their hands.

More friendly questions about my shirt on the Local 6 Train and off at 33rd. I backtrack as my navigation gets confused about where I am, but soon the source of many gaming hours in NYC is located: The Complete Strategist. They have everything new and often multiple copies. I also see collectible Dungeons & Dragons items, including a few I still play with. My Gods and Demigod book is the first edition and in good shape. Mine is worth about $150+. I did find something: Death Test and Death Test 2 from the Fantasy Trip, a newer boxed edition, and decided to buy them for $20. I still remember James G running us through Death Test and later Death Test 2.

I was five long blocks from the hotel and walked them. It was just getting to the point where I had to push through when I saw the hotel. I did enjoy walking by the Empire State Building. I showered; it was hot and sticky, and took a short break with likely a 30 min nap.

I redressed and walked to the theater and The Public House. There I spent a few hours at the bar having some beers and Irish-style starters. I watched the Finance news while eating, drinking, and chatting here and there with the bartender. The bar was busy, but the restaurant was empty. There were lots of staff with nothing to do.

Oh, Mary! was OK. I think it might even be rated great from the audience’s reaction. I have hearing issues, and I missed many of the jokes from Meg Stalter as Mary Todd Lincoln. There were also some uses of words and gestures I did not know. I would recommend the show as it is imaginative and an irreverent retelling of the historical story. My seat, D2 in the balcony, was excellent. I am not good with comedy. The show is traveling now, and I recommend it if you like comedy.

With that I done, I stopped by the Irish place near by for a porkchop and a drink. I think the mashed potatoes were the highlight of that meal. So let’s not dwell on it.

I headed back to the hotel, walking the ten blocks. I was asleep by midnight (even though it seemed early) and slept through the night. It could have been the 7 1/2 miles I walked that got me to sleep.

Thanks for reading.

 

Because Hank the Dog had marked my bed, we (Corwin and I) had scrubbed and steam-cleaned my bed, and it was still damp. I woke at 2:45 before my alarm and climbed out of the guest bed. I might have slept a few hours.

I had multiple alarms on to remind me to wake and to call Joan S, who was kind enough to rise too early with me so I could arrive in NYC around 3 in the afternoon. I took a quick shower and was soon dressed in a T-shirt to go under my floppy sweater. I had, forgetting to put that in the blog yesterday, packed and used my smaller bag for a week’s clothing, which is 1/2 a folded suit carrier. The smaller one works for short trips.

I was ready early, texted Deborah, who rises around 6, and we talked and texted. Joan S appeared, and I loaded my bag, my red Nike gym bag, and my carry-on into her car. I remembered to turn off the AC and turn down the water heater. The mail hold was in place via their website. Joan and I headed across Beaverton with no traffic and soon took the usual ways, none busy, to PDX.

The usual drop of chaos even at 5 on a Tuesday (it is summer), and I grabbed my stuff and headed into PDX with a wave and a thanks to Joan S (thanks again, Joan S!). I headed to Delta’s bag drop and remembered to take my phone back after putting on my bag tag. There are long lines, but not for what I need. There are a lot of folks with issues who need a Delta agent. Never saw that before.

Security lines are short, but something is strange again: the line seems slow, and the number of bag scanners is low. I hear the woman with “Lead” on her TSA shirt thank other agents for “doing a solid.” I suspect they are understaffed and people are staying over their shift. I manage to complete the process in ten minutes or less, but I worry that it will be a mess soon.

My gym bag is selected from a more thorough search, and my snack box of chicken salad is flagged, found, tested, and returned. The agent tells me that round metal items, like a can of chicken salad, look like something more insidious without naming the threat; I was told this as an explanation. I thanked the agent for keeping us safe from chicken salad, which got a smile, and left.

Grasso is my go-to for breakfast. The woman at the counter called me a regular, and we agreed that, as I was going to JFK, I should get their “PDX to JFK” breakfast sandwich. I had that with coffee, found a seat there, and started on yesterday’s blog. I wrote until 6-ish and then packed up, thanked her and the cooks, and found my gate.

Bob P called out my name, and I turned, and we walked together to our gates. We had worked together at Nike under Aboo years ago. He was off to see some family in Boston while I was headed to NYC for Hope 2026, a Hacker’s Convention. Bob P has followed me on Facebook, and we checked in and were happy to hear that we were staying well and enjoying retirement. He went on to his gate, while I sat at mine.

Boarding was the usual process at Delta, and I was soon in my Comfort seat and on an emergency row. I agreed to help and to follow crew directions. I asked how to open the door and was told my understanding was correct, but that I should not do it without explicit instructions. I smiled and said, “Certainly.”

I talked to Deborah, and I booked my Christmas trip to Michigan while we taxied on my phone. The choices are reducing and the costs increasing. I need to lock that flight in soon. I managed a direct flight on Christmas Day, my usual travel day. Returning the first Tuesday in 2027.

I watched a movie, The Devil Wears Prada 2, which I had seen in theaters, and then nodded off a few times. The middle seat remained empty for the flight to my and the other passenger in the aisle seat’s delight. I paid for cheese and fruit after hearing that the sandwiches were running out. I ate that a few hours later. First class gets a meal, but for $500 and more for that nice chair, I enjoy my package instead. That is a lot for those chairs and the meal.

I watch a foodie NY Times show on local food. It is stopped by landing. JFK is usually a long walk, and I soon found my way to my bag and got directions to the AirTrain. I got the wrong one, I thought, but corrected that and soon arrived at Jamaica Station, paying in confused, long lines. My first NYC jostling. I asked for help at the train and bought my ticket for just under $8. I ended up on the stairs carrying my bags while being knocked around a bit by folks running up the stairs, and the person behind me hitting me with her bag. We both made it to the train with our bags. Welcome to NYC!

Sweating, I took off my sweater. I enjoyed the train and gave my ticket to the conductor, who put holes in it and took it. Next, we arrived, and everyone piled out. More staircases. Also, the gap is large enough to mess up my bag. I have to force it over that. I wait and am near last when I carry my two bags up the stairs.

Penn Station has escalators, and I managed to take the wrong exit and enter the momentary confusion of NYC. I head and walk around the block. I spot the hotel, finally, and I remember how to move and manage in NYC. I have not been in these blocks before, as far as I remember.

Check-in is complex, as I have two reservations, and the effort to merge them costs me another $30 (for a room with a view for my first two days), but it is managed with the proviso that I must get my room key again on Thursday. Later, I thanked the desk person, and that got a smile.

I took a shower, the reservations were merged, and I unpacked, and I will keep the room all week. Feeling more human, I headed outside. It is hot and muggy, or, in other words, NYC in August, and I walked the blocks nearby to see what there is for food.

Cat S will join me around 7:30 after work. I notice a few places. The New Yorker Hotel, from 1929, is near The Garden, and many places are bars that fill up before and after an event and have the same bar food. I am intrigued by Lady Wilde’s Libations, but alas, the menu is limited, and the prices seem unlimited. Now just a maybe. An Irish Pub, or something like that, gets my attention as the better option.

I return to the hotel, which has options too: a 24-hour Diner, a pasta joint, and a steak place offering a porterhouse for $159. Hmmm. Maybe a pub. Cat appears on time, and she agrees to chat, walk, and look for a place. She does not know this block either. The NYC Stout is busy and seems to have a decent set of choices. It is too loud and packed, but outside there is a QR code for delivery. Nice!

But there is a waiter too, and she helps us get water and later food. We thought we ordered sliders, but they did not appear, and we got our food: an excellent club sandwich for Cat, a deconstructed pot pie for me, and a beer. The travel starts to wear on me. We talk and enjoy each other’s company, even with the jet lag taking over some.

We headed out with Cat only a few blocks from her train back to Roosevelt Island. I was soon back in my room on the 33rd floor, too tired to do much more. Sleep came quickly, though I woke at 2 and had trouble sleeping, but I finally slept through a bad dream and woke just before sunrise at 5:45.

Thanks for reading

I was tired, having been all over Beaverton buying shoes, getting supplies, and running laundry. I had washed the sheets, and it was now closer to 11 than I wished, and I had to make my bed. I do the pillow cases first. I then put my hand on the bed. Soaked! Hank the Dog has marked a large puddle 3/4 down the bed. “F**k!” just does not describe that. Dawn dishwashing and sponges (all tossed) are applied to remove the yellow stain beginning on my newish, expensive, wonderful mattress!

Corwin drives over with spray and a steamer he owns. The steamer pulls out the pee and the soap but leaves the room smelling of cleaner, and the bed is, well, not available. I make the bed in the guest room, Leta’s room, as we called it. Leta’s picture from retirement is on the wall. I can’t believe I used to sleep on this bed. Wow, I am spoiled by my lovely new bed. I manage a few hours of sleep at best before waking at 2:45 to shower and dress.

Ugh!

The day started without dog pee or me being tired out. I make a list of the things I need as I write the blog. I am excited, as I have too much to do, but there is hope I will get through the list. This includes Brazil visa items. I wrote a short blog on Sunday, while the main events were a church service, a church Revival planning meeting, and then Dungeons & Dragons. The former is not that interesting to most, and the latter contains copyright items and cannot be covered. I managed to typo out 700 words or so and one photo.

I called the help desk and discovered that for $35 I could get some help from the visa service. I did not know that this was a paid help desk and that I was not hearing from Brazil. Later, I would get clarity that my photo image was too blurry (a lack of clarity) and, after talking to Deborah (who keeps being right about sooooo many things) there are digital options. I called another help line. FedEx helpdesk (who then asked me to rank their service; I did five stars) was happy to help after I connected, after two buttons, with services, and yes, they can do that, and gave me the address and local phone to call (I thought I had called the local one). A local-accented person picks up (after I selected, as I was told, 8), and yes, and after a moment, and yes, we can do a special Brazil version.

Laundry is in process while all this is going on. I get to the last load in the washer, and then connect with Emma, Susie’s niece who moved to Beaverton from Michigan, and pick her up for lunch. Happy Panda is a new experience for Emma: industrial Chinese-style food and old school, with a cup of soup and a spring roll or dumpling on the side. And portion sizes enough to feed two. Matty is our waiter; I am there once a week, and he puts up with my extra water chestnuts and bamboo request. This time, no veggies. Just piles and piles of water chestnuts and slices of bamboo. Emma enjoys her broccoli beef, and I have a strange cashew chicken.

Emma next tours our Trader Joe’s while I am photoed and charged for a pic (extra large for official Brazil standards) and told to use the plain digital photo when requested (and then to use the provided software to adjust it; do not use the processed ones). A new USB stick and photos in hand, I find Emma resisting all the products and wanting to save some of the plants. We escape without purchase.

Emma’s turn and I take her to US Bank near her apartments. This, no surprise, becomes an hour-plus odyssey as she gets checking, savings, and other services called in. I was proud that she mischievously let them think she was some kid in a T-shirt and shorts, and I noticed she was treated with respect. A typo also delayed her.

I traveled to AAA while Emma played with bankers, met Holly who booked our tickets, and found a good luggage tag for my bag. I have the silver Delta tag, but I wanted something I could slide my biz card into to add to the bag. I found one for $3.99 and a small first aid kit for travel. Next, I stopped by Target (heading back in Emma’s direction) and got more items on my checklist done. Emma was soon done after me.

REI supplied new shoes with their experts covering five different shoes to upgrade my footwear. Emma enjoyed the store while I explored shoes. I selected the Saucony Max Cushion version.

Next, we crossed the street in Air VW the Gray and went to the bar at Lake Oswego Grill and had happy hour items. We had drinks and split some happy hour items. It was a good ending. I dropped off Emma and was soon at a church meeting while also getting all the visa stuff fixed. I was multitasking full out and on a Zoom meeting like I was working again. Kathy, taking Missions from me as I was filling in, handled it well.

And now I am in NYC and just checked into my room. I think I will stop there. Thanks for reading.

I safely arrived at The New Yorker Hotel on Tuesday evening.