Author: alohawild

I became exhausted this Wednesday night and had to stop playing board games with Z. I had a few coughing attacks, one bad enough to alarm Z, but my emergency inhaler controlled that. So, it will be a shorter blog as I am sliding into nap time.

Going with the highlights, starting in the early hours, I woke up too warm to sleep (that has not happened in a while) and then had a short-lived but terrible leg cramp. The fall in the kitchen that slammed my left knee into the floor was also bothering me, and I was taking painkillers for that. So, sleep was troubled when I rose before 6:30.

I had coffee and a banana. I got out the drill and put two new holes in my belt. Mariah urged me to get a new belt (on its way) and to stop my pants from falling. It worked and will be better. A new belt is on its way. My weight increased to 158 (!), but my waist seemed smaller. I believe I am building muscle at the same time, and that is why my numbers are varying by ten pounds.

I was able to clean up and dress without issue and soon was in Air Volvo, headed to the Swift Building on the Nike WHQ campus. The traffic was heavy, and I had to wait ten minutes longer to reach the shoe company’s parking lot. Work was about processing and approving various changes. It was a usual day.

I left early and went to Barnes and Noble to buy a copy of the new game Wrymspan. I have a discount as a member, so it took no time to acquire the game and an electronics magazine I like. After that, I went to Happy Panda and ordered chicken with cashew nuts and mushrooms added to it. The bits of chicken in a light brown sauce were a crunch mix of celery, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and slightly undercooked mushrooms. Nothing that would help reduce my weight, but it was feel-good food. This over-plain rice and the usual spring roll and Hot and Sour soup was an excellent meal.

While consuming this crunchy mix, I read the rules for Wrymspan and later texted Richard and Kathleen for clarification. It was a pleasure to read and think.

I returned to work, and soon, my old boss, Brad, pointed out that the admin staff was serving margaritas, and we were relaxing and drinking. Sadly, much of the conversation is still about the wreckage from the recent layoffs and the new ones next week. Yes, margaritas were a good idea—we needed to party a bit.

Brad, my now-former boss, invited me and his previous MDG Engineering team for drinks and food. This was Brad saying goodbye, as the re-org had us leave Brad and move under another director. It was a nice dinner and drinks.

Next, I drove (ensuring I ate something to be sober) and soon reached First United Methodist Church without incident. Soon, Z and Dondrea arrived. We had cupcakes of a special cake made from bananas, pecans, and pineapple from scratch by Dondrea, carefully frosted with perfect roses and other flowers. Ashley, wearing a mask (she had been ill), joined us as her birthday was yesterday, as was mine, with the choir singing Happy Birthday. We had cupcakes to celebrate Ashley’s birthday and mine.

Z was excited to learn the Wingspan-like board game reworked with dragons, Wyrmspan. Z had it down soon and was crushing me. Z soon had an engine built, and I would watch as her turns would often be 1/2 again longer than mine. Z beat me by twenty points. I was too tired to play again. Z and I just chatted.

After that, I said goodnight to folks and headed home. I was soon writing.

Sorry for the rushed blog. Thanks for reading.

 

I woke up with the iPhone sending out sounds of messages. It was my 60th birthday, and I managed to sleep until 6:30. I thought I should have taken the day off, like most years, but today, I will try to summon the will to return to work. I found my slippers and rose; I have LL Bean felt PJs now and forgo the robe. I am warm.  I read the warm greetings and watched a card from the Lynn-Wolffs. Soon, I ran out of time and managed only a slip of liberal coffee from my French Press and a banana that I scarfed down.

I clean up and dress. I wear my blue Nike Metcon Turbo 2 shoes, which are not my usual Air Force Ones, and my Empire State T-shirt. My pants are a problem. I have shrunk, or they have grown. They are now falling off. Mariah insisted later that I purchase a smaller size from my usual LL Bean order; I ordered two pairs and a new belt. Let’s hope these will stay on.

I was in the office by about 8; the traffic was heavy but was moving, and I soon enjoyed a leadership meeting and more hours of meetings on various subjects, all on Zoom. I get a few birthday wish calls. I got a meeting notice for cake at 1:30 for my birthday, and I have to let folks know that it is OK to tell people I am 60 today. Birthdates are personal identifiable information (PII) data, and thus, they are protected. My IT folks are nervous to discuss my age and request that I release the information; I do. Yes, we will pass an audit even for birthdays!

I had lunch alone at the cafe and my usual at the pop-up. This time, it was a split chicken breast over Israeli couscous with a gravy that contained large bits of onions, small mushrooms, and other veggies. It was good. I read the news on Trump’s trial; he has become a class in obscure excuses in a legal setting.

When I returned, my team soon set up a nice party for me, and I served the cake. When I was a little kid, birthday people had to serve their own cake. By the later afternoon the cake was gone. I served extra frosting to the directors; they roasted me a few times. It was all in good fun, but I think the newer people are not used to the lack of decorum that is old Nike. But soon, they were laughing and enjoying the jokes.

Someone brought a pinata in the form of ’60’, but it was empty. I suggested we go to the supply of Advil, Tylenol, allergy meds, and other pills in small bags, making a true IT pinata. Meds instead of candy! That got lots of laughs; we did not do that.

After the cake, I walked through Core ERP’s area (my organization is Core ERP), invited folks for cake, and shook hands. Soon, the cake was gone; excellent.

I talked to some folks about my understanding of our upcoming work. Soon, I was out of time to meet Mariah at BJ’s for dinner. I thanked everyone again and headed out.

Eric, my usual waiter in the bar, was there, and Mariah soon appeared. I had the ribeye with a baked potato and a salad, and Mariah had their excellent double pork chop with bacon jam. I had a beer, Jerimiah Red, delivered by Eric without asking (a favorite), and then a gin and tonic on a cold but sunny day. I was thinking of the warm days to come. As it was my birthday, I ate the dessert–so wrong but so good: A macadamia nut cookie still warm with ice cream.

Mariah spent the evening giving me advice. I hold her in high regard, and she had much to say. I listened. Sadly, there were many requests for Mariah to repeat what she said. My hearing degradation becomes more apparent in social settings. Also, I fell in the kitchen yesterday when a moving mat used by the installer shifted under me while trying to stand. I landed back on the floor; my left knee slammed into the floor, and today, it is sore. My whole leg was locked into a cramp in the same area while sitting on the high chairs in the bar. It passed once I stretched the leg out over a chair. The problem is returning as I write the blog. Hmmm.

Mariah and I soon headed out. I returned home in Air Volvo. There, I went through the emails, found the Kickstarters, and updated the address and items I wanted. Ostia is a Macala-using board game that I enjoy. It was created, reprinted, and has add-ons supplied by the Kickstarter process. I selected my choices and will see the new stuff near the end of the year.

I received the paperwork to cash out $61 of Susie’s last remaining investment. They want a court order, so I may abandon the money. I am the surviving spouse, and they should recognize that, but we will see. Endless!

And then I started the blog, and that takes me to now. Thanks for reading!

I was home most of the day today as I needed to be home for the plumbers and the appliance installation.

I rose with my alarm, which seemed too early, as I had woken at 5AM and rolled over. I dreamed of traveling again, but the details evaporated as the day started. When I get this tumor stuff done, it seems like it is time to get back to traveling. I am thinking of New Orleans again or another crazy trip with driving to do museums in Chicago, Detroit, and then Lansing and the Old ‘burg (Laingsburg, Michigan 48848, for those who don’t know) for Linda’s last youngish birthday (59) on 23 July 2024. Folks will be welcome to overlap that trip and join me for museums (Chicago Field, Industrial, Arts, and then Detroit Arts). Details will wait after I recover. But yes, I am dreaming of travel.

I made liberal coffee in the French Press and had a banana with that. A light breakfast.

The plumber called around 8ish and said he was running late, and I should have expected him at 9:30. The appliance delivery, installation, and haul away were potentially at the same time. Oh my. I did the process Zoom call at 9 and a planning meeting afterward. Then, Rick, the plumber from Crown Plumbing, showed up, and he was done in just a few minutes as he was there to review the issues and provide an estimate in a few days and a date–likely in a week or so. They will replace the connections for the washer and the discharge to a more current setup with a little sink. Excellent.

Back to Zoom meetings. I met with my new boss, who asked me to help with a few items before I head out on Medical Leave about 15 May 2023 (I travel to Michigan for Susie’s Concert and fly back that same day, 18 May 2023). We discussed helping folks attend the technical conferences and how I can help.

We finished, and I was just starting on paperwork when I heard the truck. I spent the next two hours helping and watching as the dishwasher and stove were replaced. It took them a while to disconnect the dishwasher. I had turned off the power to the washer, not the dishwasher. They checked, and I fixed that. Yikes! The stove is not flush as the power cable is looped. We could fix it, but it will work as it is.

They hauled away the old ones, the boxes, and other packing stuff, and they were gone before 2PM. I was back online and worked until 4ish. I made a sandwich of shaved beef, cheddar slices, and cole slaw with Thousand Island Dressing. Corwin found my half sandwich from last night. I ate both halves as I was hungry.

I ran a few dishes in the dishwasher and tested all the burners on the stove. We had to burn off the transportation oil before I could use the stove. That is a bit smokey. I put on the vent fan.

I got out the slightly reduced Easter Ham and set it in a glass dish to make. I put Oregon black, not sweat, cherries in the dish; this was from a can. I peeled carrots and put them in some oil and seasoning to bake—they did dry out too much. Next time, I will steam them, cover them, and then uncover them. I made rice pilaf from a box as the starch.

I baked the carrots in the first oven and used the convection roast in the second oven. Fun! I used the cooking surface to make the rice pilaf in a saucepan. I used the whole stove! It works perfectly and heats much faster than the previous one.

I sliced off the baked ham and put the liquid and cherries on it. The carrots were passable. The pilaf was OK and made well. I think I am spoiled by my couscous.

Corwin was waiting for his paycheck. I paid for a tank of gas for him. While he borrowed my Amex, I raced to finish all the clean-up and packed the food in glass containers (thanks, Glenda). I was done before he returned and had the dishwasher on custom settings: A heavy load with regular dry but high-temperature water for three-plus hours.

With my AMEX card back, my bank card was lost–the AMEX is all I have, so I headed to The 649. I have put in a request for a replacement and locked down the card. Alexa immediately told me that my payments for her services were faltering. I fixed all of that. I already have the replacement card numbers (I printed out a picture of the virtual card) and put them in to make Alexa happy again.

I am now at The 649 writing and having a sour beer suggested by Avery, who bartends tonight. She is manually playing tunes, a DJ, and a bartender, as the sound system music selections are not working. I do recognize some of the music. It has a fast beat, and I can see Avery moving at the speed of the music. Mondays are often quiet, but she is keeping busy tonight. She is moving with the music. I saw her shaking a drink to the beat a moment ago.

Thanks for reading!

It is early evening, still on Sunday, and sunny and dry, which is unusual for the Pacific Northwest (PNW). I am at The 649. Avery made me a special drink she thought I would like. She was just finishing her day and so headed out soon after. Crystal is here to finish the night. I decided I needed a drink and to be with people while I wrote. I am sitting inside as the desert weather means a cold wind, and soon the temperatures will drop desert fast. We are either raining or doing the desert-like nights and days.

I dusted and ordered the bedroom for the afternoon today. I went through Susie’s jewelry. Most of what remains is decorative and costume. I found some gold given to Susie by Ben, her father, and I will soon take that to Michigan and give it to Barb, Susie’s sister. I plan to mail the lesser stuff with photos and other items for Susie’s concert on 18 May 2024. I found Susie’s first passport, which she did not take to France when she fell ill, but it included the stamp from Israel from when we went there in 1996 with the Maryland Bible Society. Next, I found Susie’s ID for the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington and her original Michigan Driver’s Licence. All will be sent for the party.

I then made a sandwich for dinner, roast beef, cheddar cheese, and cole slaw. I added a smear of Thousand Islands dressing to the bread for flavor and to stop the bread from soaking up the slaw. I could only eat half of one. I put the rest in the frig for later.

I napped for a few minutes, then rallied and called Leta before it got any later. I caught her before she went to bed, and we chatted briefly. We switched to FaceTime, and I walked out to the backyard. I showed Leta the tulips (those I bought when Glenda was here a few years ago), and Leta showed me the night lighting on her deck, all powered by solar cells. Leta likes to have some pretty lights on at night. I switched to some less dusty clothing before heading out to The 649.

Going back on Sunday, I was at church in time for the service, even a little early. I sat in a new place, and that drew some comments. Methodists never do that. The music included the choir singing Precious Lord, and I recorded some of it and posted it on Facebook. Facebook software suggested I make it a public reel, so I did. Jack did an excellent solo that I missed in the recording.

Pastor Ken continued his mix of lectures, reports from his travels, slide shows, and preaching. Today, he attached everything to Isaiah 58. This is a favorite passage for me because God says people should stop pretending and show care for the poor, the needy, and the widow to experience a genuine connection to God. God promises to be there if you are there for your fellow humans. Pastor Ken covers that evangelism, including John Wesley’s trip to Georgia (the founder of Methodistism and who preached to the poor and the coal miners), was funded by the sugar plantations that existed through the abuse of slaves. I had read Bury the Chains, which Ken brought forward, and I knew the story. I recommend this book; it is a fantastic work, and I must admit I cried at the end when we said goodbye to “the preacher” in the story.

For Pastor Ken, the question is about truth and how complicit we are in the terrible sins like the sugar-slavery economy of the past and those new modern sins like human trafficking, mass theft of people’s savings, and other apparent horrors we still face. What are we doing to make the world better? As God promises in Isaiah 58, helping is how to be closer to God. God is much less interested in the hymns, great as they are, and more interested in how the poor, the orphans, and the widows in your community are.

After church, I had an event with a homeless person at the church. I gave the person money to help, and then I had to leave. I will not describe the moments here to provide the person with privacy. It left my mind and heart troubled.

I headed home and remembered I had a book at Powell’s to pick up. I turned around; my head was still spinning a bit. The novel that becomes the musical Cabaret is Goodbye Berlin, and I ordered a used copy to be picked up at Cedar Hills Powell’s. While I love the musical, the last parts are so dark and hard to enjoy. Life may be a cabaret, as is sung in the musical, but that is a harsh moment that gets much darker. I wanted to read the original story.

Next, I decided I needed lunch, so I headed to Beaverton’s Elephant’s Delicatessen and ordered a Ruben with fries. It was wonderful, but I only ate half. I did eat all the fries. I brought the sandwich half back in Air Volvo and gave it to Corwin, who enjoyed it. As I had said, I was soon cleaning and organizing the bedroom.

I rose before my alarm and wrote the blog. I am time-boxed because I planned to be at church early, so I could only partially edit it. I wrote for hours as Saturday was a busy day to describe. I wore a sweater over my dress shirt and tie—no suit today.

When I arrived, a skateboarder, Angelica, asked for a bandaid. She had a scuffed knee. Not seeing a first aid kit, I grabbed the one from Air Volvo. I realized I had never opened it, which greatly amused Angelica. Soon, we found what we needed, and Angelica helped herself, and soon, she was fine. She was apparently known to Pastor Ken’s daughters and sat with them for the service.

It was obvious we needed to get supplies like bandaids in the worship area. Also, Angelica nearly laughed when I offered her coffee—it was not her thing. Bill, who does the coffee and snacks, will see about getting some water bottles for folks like Angelica. If we serve the public, we need to meet them where they are and their needs, even water, and bandaids.

I talked to Z at church, and Z saw the new Wyrmspan and asked me about it. I told Z I just played it, and we might have to play on Wednesday if I acquire a copy as an additional birthday present (I will likely buy a copy on Monday–don’t send me one!). Z is excited to do dragons. Wyrmspan is a reworking of Wingspan, one of Z’s favorite games, which has dragons, not birds.

I pulled the stove out partially; it is being hauled away and replaced on Monday. I ran one last load of dishes in the dishwasher, which is also going on Monday. I will be working from home as 1) the plumber is coming to improve the connections for the washer/dryer, 2) the new appliances are being delivered, and 3) the old ones are being hauled away.

I have enjoyed a New England IPA now at The 649 and enjoyed writing about it today. I hope you have enjoyed today’s story. Sunday is the day when I have to write twice. Thanks, dear reader, for following along. Also, folks on the East side of the USA or those willing to travel, see you next month if you can connect at Susie’s Concert. I plan to have dinner with friends on Friday, so connect with me if you are interested in the Beggar’s Banquet in East Lansing on Friday, 17 May 2024. I am staying at The Graduate Hotel.

I slept into 7ish and rose slowly as I had no morning tasks. I found the coffee and used the French Press to turn the grounds, Equal Exchange French Roast, into a liquid that tasted strongly liberal. I made a NYC bagel (thanks, Joyce) with cream cheese. Yes, liberal coffee and NYC’s flavor: perfectly leftwing. Makes me smile on a cold grey Pacific Northwest (PNW) morning.

The blog for Friday was long because I was enjoying writing again; it no longer seemed like a chore. Writing is like that for me. The muse comes or not, but the blog must be written, as that is a discipline. Pumping out 500-2000 words daily to the public is excellent practice. Most days, it is a pleasure.

Evan, my usual gamer opponent on Saturday afternoons, was out of town and had items to do today. The morning, while cold and slightly overcast, began to look like a nice day. I stripped the bed and put the bedding in the LG, and it recognized it as bedding and offered the Bedding setting. I pushed start. Nice. Less than two hours later, it had washed and dried the bedding while I wrote. It played (since I could load software changes to the LG now on my iPhone) Beethoven’s 9th when done. It may be true that I did the laundry to just hear the new setting!

After writing, I sent through all the transactions loaded in Quicken for the last two months and checked them. I found quite a few I had miscategorized and corrected them. There was only one mystery transaction that I just assigned to what I think it was (it was not enough to make me care, and I know I did something with the vendor). I then took all the paper bills, statements, pay stubs, tiny paper receipts, and other jetsam floats and put them in my notebook. I punched holes into most of them and put them in the binder or slid the receipts into a page protector in mass. I am not taping that stuff to paper. I had forgotten to finish February and did that month, too. Lastly, I print out a transaction report and a net worth report for the month, punch it, and add that to the cover for the month.

I also emptied out my inbox, a physical inbox of papers to be filed, and started punching and putting the items into a new notebook for April. I have recycled Susie’s judging notebooks, and they are smaller, so they hold a quarter (three months) of paperwork. While boring and way beyond my comfort level for personal accounting, I am dealing with too much money and too much complex tax handling to not keep nearly perfect records.

I updated Quicken with the selling of Nike stock from the stock purchase program and then, in US Bank, sent a payment of most of that money to cover my travels and the new appliances. I have lost my US Bank card, which has not been stolen. It is probably somewhere in the house or under a seat in an Air Volvo. I watch everything, and there has not been a transaction since I lost it. If I can’t find it today, I will order a new one.

I did the dishes again. I ordered another battery thing as Corwin loves mine; when he delivers food most nights now and earns about $25-50 an hour (before taxes and expenses) from Uber, he must charge his phone. His old beater truck has no USB stuff, so the battery thing works. I found it useful on my recent trips and keep it in my gym bag, which is a travel bag and overnight bag (always ready).

For Corwin, it is most nights driving food to make money. He has trouble with cash flow and had to borrow a short time from friends for gas. Hopefully this will pass as he builds up some cash reserve. I have passed on charging him rent these months as I would rather have him working than paying me. Hopefully, he will soon pay off the truck, acquire the title, and then own the truck. I have urged him to save as much as he can for a down payment for an excellent car to be an Uber driver and provide more profitable passenger service. I suggested the dreaded Prius as it is roomy, electric-hybrid, and seems to be what many folks are going with.

Corwin is a new driver, and the insurance on his truck, a beater, is over $1000. As he gets a good record, he hopes this price will go down. I have asked him to share his insurance details with me to see if he had a collision on the truck, which is likely an unnecessary item, as the annual cost would be more than the payment for the truck being totaled.

This was discussed over lunch, and I bought it at the local Mexican place. Corwin, still bodybuilding, ate the huge plate while I had a three-item combo. Our waiter, who I have known for years now, son’s family live in Israel, and I asked after them. They are fine, and he talks to them every week–he admitted he has to know they are OK every week. He thanked me for asking.

Wistfully looking at The 649, we took Air Volvo back to the Volvo Cave. I then ordered the mess of books in the bedroom. Next, I took Air Volvo to be fueled ($4.55 a gallon, a crime committed by the oil companies, and remember, we have no sales tax in Oregon) and washed. The pollen and tree sap were covering the windshield.

Air Volvo stopped at the Volvo Cave, where I collected a grocery list from Corwin. Toilet paper was highlighted as we were done with one full roll. I spent an hour or so collecting groceries at Safeway and only strayed from the list a few times. Corwin asked for body wash without specifying the product, and thus, he is now using Old Spice Dragon Blast. My large cart did get the stinkeye as folks seem unwilling to wait for a family-sized purchase to go through the checker–how strange. With over $230 of goodies, I returned to the Volvo Cave, and Corwin and I unloaded, and Corwin put most items away.

I loaded up our new smaller-than-I-expected plastic storage solution from Amazon with baking items that have been sitting on the floor. I have tossed or recycled small things, and I am noticing I can use flat surfaces again. I continued to try to transform the house from looking like a nick-nack gaming book store blew up.

I had planned to skip all gaming today but decided to check if Richard still could include me after I had passed. He could. So 6PM PDX gaming!

I had yogurt and a banana as Corwin had mopped the kitchen floor, and I could not make much for a quick dinner. I was fine. I then headed into moderate traffic with Air Volvo and crossed Portland to Richard’s place in about thirty minutes—not bad. Today, I saw two cars on the side with mattresses blown against the barriers. The one car had a box-springs-sized hole in its grill. It looks like someone was going too fast or did not use enough rope. I have never seen this mistake before!

We played the new remake of our favorite board game, Wingspan, unsurprisingly, with it replacing the bird with mythical dragons, Wrymspan. Kathleen is a super expert at Wingspan, and she was down for this, being a fantasy fan. Chris had never played either and so was interested in what was all the hype about. Richard had played a few games already. I was unprepared and so had to be taught like Kathleen and Chris. I was excited to see how this remake worked.

This is an excellent game with less focus on luck and more on the process. Also, all the steps have been rethought to make them more transparent and controlled. Definitely a plus. The dragon focus, resource scarcity, excavation, and exploration (new to this game) really tightened up the game, and the ability to get coins to play a longer turn all made this, I think, a better game than Wingspan. Recommended instead of Wingspan!

I nearly caught Kathleen (I am lucky if my score is 1/2 her score in Wingspan) by being below ten points from her. Richard played what he said was his best and most lucky game and beat Kathleen by twenty. Chris did well and was below me by ten points. I had an unusual collection of end-game scoring items that almost caught Kathleen.

Chris left, and Kathleen, Richard, and I played a fun and quick card game called Pilot. I won the first hand, and Richard and Kathleen crushed me in the second game. Richard won after playing an impossible-to-get hand. It was fun.

I drove Kathleen across Portland to her home and then took Air Volvo home. There were no extra mattresses to avoid, and I arrived with the paint and grill unchanged in Air Volvo. I had a cold roast beef, cheese, and coleslaw sandwich as I was hungry and needed to take my pills, which are best with food.

I read some more Sherlock Holmes carefully, watching the cadence and word choice in the original. I was tired and soon slept.

Thanks for reading.