Author: alohawild

Going backward, I just rose from a nap after Corwin piloted Air Volvo to Hood River and back. We found and took the Bridge of the Gods and WA 14 back to Vancouver. The bridge is unique in our area; a previous private toll bridge that was purchased from a catalog and assembled over the Columbia River. It is now a state Park and still a toll bridge, $3 to cross. WA 14 is a two-lane road that, at some points, seems to be glued to the Columbia Gorge, and Corwin got to test his driving skills and Air Volvo’s handling. No mishaps, and I only thought one guardrail seemed too close. We left 14 to I-5 and returned through Portland over another high bridge, though the tunnel (Corwin does not like tunnels, and this one is short), and back to Beaverton. We arrived home with no losses.

Moving further back, after lunch with Rev.Dr. Wayne and Rev. Anne Weld-martin at Reedville Cafe, I returned home. Lunch was shrimp and local crab meat on a salad. I helped Wayne a few times as he had trouble with mobility. Anne and I talked some on Susie’s Concert coming up in just over a month.

At the house, I waited for Corwin to be ready. As we are traveling in the Gorge, I put my coat in the cargo hold–Oregon is less civilized than some folks think. It is best to be prepared. Corwin took the pilot seat, and I was in First Class (Biz Class is found in the back seats). Corwin had trouble with the steering at first and overran a curb, scaring me good (and possibly requiring a re-alignment in the future); he managed to handle the sensitive power steering after that. Air Volvo goes where you put it. It is not manual!

Corwin navigated Beaverton Traffic without issue except for being frustrated by the slow and extra-legal driving. The lane changes have to be watched for. I had to give some instructions on approaching some turns and lights. Oregonians make it harder to drive in traffic as there are no patterns to apply. In NYC, you assume everyone is angry, and you need to go with authority. In LA, you know they are all there to kill you, and you need to not show fear, and signaling is a sign of weakness. In Oregon, the cars trade lanes without warning, and there is no logic, just lemmings.

The transition to highways and highway driving was the practice Corwin needed. We took the advanced class for Corwin and did the tunnel and then the bridge, which is also a suspended highway. After that, we made the various connections to I-84, and Corwin watched as our fellow drivers would change lanes two at a time or fly across the highway to an exit with only a few feet for each move. Speeds randomly decreased to the speed limit minus five to ten over.

Corwin enjoyed I-84 as he flew Air Volvo at 100 mph a few times but discovered that the sensitive steering of Air Volvo is less enjoyable at high speeds–SUVs are not meant for racing. Most times, Corwin had us flowing with traffic, the imaginative lane-changing stopped in the Columbia Gorge, Corwin’s speed slowed, and we practiced better lane changes under 80 mph. I asked Corwin to keep it under 80, as the handling of our XC60 Volvo is not that good at higher speeds.

We had one complaint from Air Volvo, and it told Corwin to stop it, literally telling him to pay attention and get a coffee when he had trouble with high speed and a curve with a car in the other lane. We heard the trolly car bell, the collision avoidance warning, and it moved the wheel back, to Corwin’s surprise. The Volvo’s version of a raised eyebrow. No loss except Corwin’s amazement to be dressed down Air Volvo. I just smiled, and Corwin drove less like a video game.

I texted Dondrea that I would take Z driving when it was time, and Dondrea jumped at that. Wild’s Volvo Piloting School opening soon!

We arrived without any more comment from Air Volvo in Hood River. There, we parked Air Volvo and found Trillium Café was open and would to make us dinner a bit early before they closed at 4PM. I have been going to this edgy bar for years, and their food is good. I like the Wild Things mural and the games to play. Susie and I used to take Air Volvo to Hood River for fun and get a bite there for years.

At the cafe, I had a club sandwich with just a few fries to taste, and Corwin finished one quarter for me. Corwin had the mac and cheese with bits of meatloaf liberally sprinkled on top. Yes, it is that kind of food. I had ordered a BLT, but somehow, that got switched to the sandwich I almost ordered, The Club–an excellent change. My beer was good and would make the next challenge easier, Washington State’s curvy roads and a see-through bridge, The Bridge of the Gods.

Aside: The Bridge of the Gods is a local native American legend, and the physical bridge here is worthy of a Google search.

After a fine repast, we stopped by Waucoma Bookstore, and I finally bought a copy of Emily Wilson’s transition of The Odyssey by Homer. I have been meaning to reread Homer, and now a new translation is getting high marks in the press. From reviewing my newly purchased copy, the notes and glossary are already worth the $40 price. The bookseller joked that I needed to buy more to help with his rent payments. He agreed with my selection and loved this version. We both agreed that The Odyssey is more approachable than The Illiad. It is always nice to find a friendly bookstore.

Corwin and I reboarded Air Volvo and soon were headed to The Bridge of the Gods.

Moving back to the start of the day, I rose at 7:30ish. I had woken up with an ache in my leg and had to rise at 6ish to take some painkillers. I started writing and raced to be done in time for church. By 10AM, I had a decent story with the text mostly fixed. Published. I cleaned up and dressed, a Gay-pride tie under my blue sweater.

I sat next to Wayne at church. The church’s choir is growing and sounded good today. In the past, the choir has almost outnumbered the congregation. It is not unusual; it is a Methodist thing. I watched Dondrea, a former television journalist and communication director for a large local insurance corporation, handle the service with fantastic aplomb. Her open body language, smile, and her hand wrapping her hair behind her ear as she reads over the mic are so easy and professional that it was fun to watch her work.

The sermon, also by Dondrea, was about the newly minted apostle Paul in Acts 25:1-25 being unjustly accused. Dondrea tied this to the history of journalism, Joe McCarthy, and other dark histories of the USA from the Communist Scare. She pointed out how exposing the injustice and demanding it to halt is part of the American Experience. It is our responsibility, according to Dondrea, to evaluate any doubts about some people, more so for people who hold other political views and stick to facts. Rumors and gossip are not truth. In the end, “do good.”

After the service, Dondrea, Z, and I talked about dinner on Monday or Tuesday if they can fit in.

And that takes me full circle. I hope you enjoyed the story. I did stay calm while riding with Corwin. He will try for his license on Thursday.

I tried to rise at 7ish to write the blog and to start my day, but I must confess it was more like 8ish. I had too many things to do: lollygag in bed and hide under the covers. Blurry-eyed and unready to face the world, I rose, found breakfast (coffee, cottage cheese, and canned low-sugar peaches), sat in the home office, and began writing.

How do I find the discipline to write 500 words to an occasional gust of 2,000 words? I learned from two Michelles at the shoe company, Michelle V and Michelle S, that tasks are just something you do, and the longer you do it, the easier it gets. I admire and respect these gals and can never pay back all I learned from them. I must add that the tools make this much more manageable. WordPress and Grammarly and looking up words online mean that the mistakes and typos are less extreme. The structure and boilerplates (like describing how I got up) also make a less onerous task. It is now a habit, and you, my dear reader, and I enjoy it.

I wrote the blog until about 10, returned to Susie’s concert plan, and completed a version I could share. I include Jack in the Oregon service, who asked to be included and to sing Goin’ Home. This took until the afternoon, but I got it sent out, and I already have some feedback from Barb (Susie’s sister and Rev. Anne). Somewhere in the morning, I got cleaned up and dressed during these times. I reheated the jambalaya from a few days ago for lunch. I watched a few Battleship New Jersey videos, including their announcement that the last commissioned US battleship, New Jersey, was headed to drydock for more preservation work. US Battleship Texas, the last dreadnought in existence, is also in drydock being partially reconstructed. It is an exciting time for museum ships (HMS Victory is also being reconstructed).

Evan and I met at The 649 in the early afternoon. I had gassed up Air Volvo and ran it through the car wash. We were on the coast yesterday, and I wanted the salt removed from Air Volvo. Also, the local artists, a murder of crows, had started to decorate it again. Air Volvo sparkles again, but I arrived late after 1:30PM.

Natalia was our bartender, looking stunning as usual, and I got a smile that this time I remembered her name (it is a game I have with all the bartenders at The 649–trying to remember their names). I brought in board games, and we played Scythe and The Lost Ruins of Arnak, both favorites. I shared the painted characters and mech with Natalia, who loves to see our board games’ details. Natalia was off early today as she was meeting with vendors for The 649 and was working the whole weekend. She told me she felt guilty that she would not be hanging out with her 16-year-old son. These hourly jobs are hard on families.

While we had Natalia (she would be leaving early and replaced by Stephen), we ordered drinks, a red ale for me, and played Scythe. This is a two-person game on opposite sides of the board, and I raced to end the game with my just higher score. Z has faced this juggernaut style of play, mixing combat at the cost of popularity with rushing to each star. Evan was playing to a sudden hit with many milestones, with him likely winning two stores a turn. I was two turns ahead of this when I stopped the game. I scored only eight coins higher than him, scoring fifty. I played white and used the power of two encounters to maximize my rush. Evan was playing blue and was spreading out (I call it the blue plague when playing against it). The last time I looked online. Blue historically wins the most.

A headache, a side effect of losing weight and eating less, had me let Evan do the setup. We got nachos to share, and that helped. I also started to drink lots of water, and that helped more. Evan picked the advanced research board from the Lost Expedition add-on. We played with the new leaders as it is recommended that you play with them when using a new add-on, with Evan taking The Captain and me the Baroness (primarily for fun as she is a blast to play). I was now role-playing, working for a rich woman who wanted things to take home and put in her mansion. So I explored more than usual, and the cards, monsters, and treasures all fell into place for me. This leader, The Baroness, plays the basic rules but with some extra powers. The other leaders, including The Captain, require specific leader-centric actions to unlock them. Evan was struggling to use all these capabilities and unlock them. I just kept using the extra money this leader gave me and The Baroness‘s special card to let me use a tool I had just bought to explore and research. I defeated a stack of monsters and matched Evan in research. We did not score and just gave me the victory.

I had a bowl of soup for dinner, chicken curry with rice, and then paid the bill. Evan and I headed our separate ways. The traffic into Portland was heavy but moving, and I was only a few minutes late for Richard’s game. We were playing the board game Great Western Trails: New Zealand. This is a favorite, too, but with Richard, Kathline, and James playing, I knew I was not winning this engine-building game–they are the masters.

Great Western Trails: New Zealand is the newest version of these games and, according to many, including James and Richard, the best version. It is a Euro game, quite heavy, wrapped in a friendly sheep-herding theme. Even you meeple has a cowboy hat matching your color! While heavy in process and Euro mechanics, the map is a friendly annual cowboy sheep process. We all love this one.

I was utterly crushed with a score in the eighties in the end. My friends were all over 100, with Richard winning. I had not bought the high-value sheep, which is the difference. I did not see the ability to increase my hand size on my board, and this handicapped me. While I was last, again, I enjoyed the game. Next time!

After that, Air Volvo took Kathleen home. She is headed to the coast next weekend for a break from studying (she is doing her architect licensure exams soon). Corwin will need more driving experience and might have his license then–fingers crossed–so we might visit her.

Yes, Portland is keeping up that weird thing.

The roads were wet, and the tires seemed to hit harder tonight on the bridge joints, but I managed to return to the Volvo Cave with no new stories. On the way in, I did see one pickup change lanes across all the traffic with a few feet to spare and exit. There were accidents in a few places that caused the slowing.

Corwin was home when I arrived after midnight. We chatted briefly, but I needed to get to bed. So I said good night. I showered and then went to bed. I managed to read a few pages before I fell asleep while reading. My dreams continued the story from the book until I woke enough to put down the book, roll over, and sleep. I woke at 6ish this Sunday morning from pain in my right knee. I had to take some painkillers to get back to sleep.

Thanks for reading!

Today, Saturday, I slept in until 8ish, and quite frankly, I could have remained in bed until late. Events at the shoe company made me want to pull up the covers and hide (2% layoffs started on Friday). I decided to abandon my usual boilerplates and just tell the interesting part. Not that the boilerplates are a waste, as my friends have told me there is comfort in the regular process of life, and I find happiness in applying them like a Rex Stout Nero Wolff novel (Rex always uses the same characters in these mystery stories; they don’t age, and many items are boilerplates–recommended). It is an intellectual challenge to describe the same activities but make them entertaining and find the fun in them.

Firstly–starting the narrative for Friday,

Susie’s service is on 23 March 2024, at 4 PM, at First United Methodist Church in Beaverton.

Susie’s Michigan service is on 18 May 2024 at Grace United Methodist Church, Lansing, at 2PM.

From Oregon, India is ahead by 13 1/2 hours. For example, 8AM in Oregon is 9:30PM in India. India is literally on the other side of the earth from Oregon. In the world-is-flat corporate world of multinationals like Nike, Inc., India is up late or early to connect to folks at the WHQ during our Pacific Northwest time. Like many multinationals, Nike built a computer center in India (and many other places), so our colleagues (fellow IT employees) work and live in India. To reduce the burden of shared meetings, Rajani’s master data governance weekly meeting is now at 6:30AM.

I woke to my alarm at 6AM trying to understand YTF (why-the-f**k). I needed to start so f**king early. Slowly, the knowledge that it was Friday and there was a meeting soon, and I wanted coffee before the meeting returned to my mind. I made coffee and made breakfast. This un-memorable breakfast was likely peaches and cottage cheese, but I have no clear memory of those first thirty minutes.

I managed to get coffee and start the Zoom meeting. The WHQ team voices were rough, and our India-based friends were happy to join the Zoom meeting in the early evening and were bright. The meeting was pleasant, and we were happy to be still working this Friday. We witnessed no layoffs so far. Our India-based team members then started their weekend in the early evening.

We spent the day waiting for the shoe to drop (I think there is a pun in there), but we received no updates from Nike leadership besides an FAQ to read. I made jambalaya (cooking and eating is my stress response) while attending and interacting on the weekly Software Atrchects meeting (my title was changed to Engineer, but most folks still think of me as an architect of the legendary–legacy is not a word we use for these systems–Nike SAP-based fulfillment, accounting, and reporting system). Change and redirecting were at the root of these discussions. The shiny toys of a few years ago have been found wanting, and we are returning to more proven methods and finding, as usual, new shiny toys (likely to be unsuccessful as the previous FOMO-based software selections) to use now.

Soon, I completed my last scheduled meeting, no new meetings about the layoffs appeared, and I said to myself, “f**k this.” Corwin needed more practice driving, and I was ready to use the rest of Friday to de-stress (yes, more food and travel). Air Volvo was readied for a new pilot, and bags were packed in case we decided to spend the night somewhere. Corwin’s phone was connected to Blue Tooth to provide music.

Corwin took Air Volvo to the Oregon Coast and drove for three hours (we took a less direct route as Nav seemed confused, and we had no plans, “Why not”). Mariah was taking her dogs to the beach, had a house for a day, and texted me to meet her. It being Mariah, she reversed this, and was surprised to find us on our way. We agreed with her that today was a good day to see the PNW Coast, and dinner was also an excellent idea.

Corwin and I took the full of curves and “rough road” Highway 6. With the increases in taxes for various fixes in the state for Portland, drug policy liberalization, and housing, you would think we could fix a street. Growl. Corwin got good practice and did have to relearn the sensitive Air Volvo handling (it goes where you put it) and enjoyed the four-wheel drive and power anti-locking braking. He also appreciated the slightly larger rear-view mirror with its auto-dimming in the dark. Air Corwin is a cheap old pick-up with manual everything.

I managed to not panic and got to look out the window for some of the trip. The rivers and waterfalls along the twisting pass that Highway 6 uses are fairy tail-like. As we went along, I advised Corwin and directed his driving as he is still a new driver and has never driven to the coastline. This actually was his longest time behind the wheel so far. I managed not to be too annoying, and he succeeded in never scaring me the whole way.

I think I would base my Tolkien movie, assuming I get to do one, in PNW as it is closer and just as lovely as New Zealand. Our grand lodges at Mount Hood and Crater Lake would make an excellent home for the elves. Depot Bay would look like a great version of the Gray Havens!

We tried to stop at the Oregon Air Museum, but it closed at 4PM. It is actually an airship hangar, slowly rusting, that is all that remains of the American experiment of Zepplin-like on our Coast. Next time!

We finally reached the Pacific Ocean after a few hours, and before it was dark, the sun was already set, and it was cold and windy. We parked at the Casino and walked on a paved walkway to the beach. We then enjoyed a frigid walk on the beach, and Corwin found a few shells.

I called Leta, Susie’s mother, on the cell from the mountains and got a broken service. Her nerve doc told her to be more patient as her nerves have not yet healed in her repaired broken arm. Her bathroom remodel is ongoing, but the guy doing the work has some family events, so the work will likely continue on Monday.

I called Barb Wild (my mother) from the ocean to tell her I was thinking of her as I walked on the beach. She was pleased to be included in my trip to the coast just by phone call. It was cold, and I made it a short call, and soon Corwin and I were at the nearby restaurant having a coffee and dessert (saving dinner for Mariah, who was not inbound to the PNW Coast).

We changed pilots (me) on Air Volvo, and I took us to Depot Bay in the dark and usual ocean spray. This is prime whale watching, but the sea is dark at night. The natural phosphorescence colors the waves in some places, but generally, you can hear the ocean at night in Oregon. We did not see any whales, nor did I try to see them.

Mariah picked Tidal Raves for our meeting. We were early and got a seat anyway. We are not in the Tourist season, so you can get a seat on a Friday by walking in. I imagine the place will be fully booked in a few months. The bartender at the previous food joint with a few of the ocean told us it was the best food in this part of the coast relieved that the prices, while high on the special items and seafood, were not nuts.

Corwin and I ordered drinks and appetizers. We had some kind of lettuce-wrapped five-spice pork with oysters, recommended by our perky wiater, Rosebud. It was great. We also had bread with a smear of seafood and cheese, which was good but wholly eclipsed by the pork appetizer. Our expectations were raised. Knowing her food was terrific, Rosebud smiled and accepted us as new converts.

Mariah appeared on time. We decided to go for it. I had the swordfish. Mariah scallops (she had seen Gordon Ramsey make them and wanted to try theirs), and Corwin had a whole dungeious crab that the kitchen had dissembled and reassembled to make it more food than a dissection.

I learned to love crab in Maryland, and while the locals claim that our native crabs are a superior meal, I find them less tasty than a pile of blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay caked in Old Bay. I also love a simply fried soft-shell crab in a sandwich. So, while the locals recommend them, I recommend the local fish.

My meal was wonderful. We closed the place at 9PM. I took Air Volvo to the more direct route, Highway 18, and arrived back at the Volvo Cave with no incidents. We discovered that one road was closed (glad to see something is getting repaired) and had to drive out to a highway. This delayed us only a few minutes.

I was in bed before 1AM. I dreamed of Air Volvo on the roads and the ocean.

Thanks for reading.

I cannot publish information from Nike, so I cannot cover some internal announcements made at the end of the day. The press is reporting that Nike announced layoffs that start soon. I cannot comment.

I left work at about 3:30 and was in a meeting at 5PM when the internal announcements were emailed out. Again, I cannot comment.

I cooked a few potatoes in the microwave and covered them in chili heated from a can on the stove and some cheese. The chili always tastes better when heated on the stove. While promising, I don’t remember eating it.

I spent a few hours reading and watching some YouTube videos, mostly distractions, including clever editing of the Genesis of the Darleks into one 45-minute show. This is a Doctor Who series from 1975 with the Fourth Doctor, and it worked being edited to its basic story.

I was freezing, had a cup of Salep, and nearly blew my calories for today. I finally warmed up and started to work on the blog. It will be a short one as I am out of sorts.

Starting at the beginning of Thursday, I was up a few times, and my colon decided it was time to empty. This does not usually happen. This meant I was missing some sleep when my alarm rang at 6:30. I was wondering and nearly fell asleep while thinking about how to describe this start in the blog. My mind was just interested in slipping off and shutting my eyes. Instead, I rose, put on my slippers, and wore my robe.

I did the usual morning tasks of finding the coffee, assembling the French press, adding coffee, and, once ready, adding hot water. I also found the last banana that Corwin left me. All this was consumed in the office.

Corwin cleaned all the dishes and even washed the French press, pot, and pans last night. I put the last few items in the dishwasher and ran it. I found my Year 25 Nike service thermal mug, as all the other thermal cups were in the dishwasher. I have a lot of Nike mugs over the years. We got one for St. Valentine’s Day yesterday that is white with ‘Nike’ on the side.

In the office, I read the usual items and the news, and poof, the morning was gone. I cleaned up, dressed, collected my laptop, hat, scarf, and coat, and boarded Air Volvo. The traffic to the Nike WHQ Swift building was light, and I arrived early. The morning was a few meetings and me taking two hours of online classes, which feel ironic now, on how to protect Nike’s assets and to understand discrimination and how not to cause it.

Lunch was with Scott, and we talked only a bit about rumors of layoffs, but instead, we talked about all the good work coming. I had Impossible Meatloaf, avoiding the salad today; no problems except for the calories. Having been here for a while, we both waved at lots of friends at the cafe.

Returning to Swift, I did more annual online classes and helped with a meeting to change technology. A big deal. As usual, the architects on the new platform did not seem to get it. We have more meetings scheduled, and I asked our developer to see if he can get a Python program to at least read the data on his laptop. This is where we started years ago when we made the existing connection to a remote database. Exciting.

Note: I had to delete some details as I cannot share them here.

I did my six-month review with Brad, my boss. He shared kind feedback from my co-workers. Brad also suggested that surviving cancer and my wife’s passing, and what I am yet to face and still come to work, was a success. I never thought of that before. I am still going and have focus.

After that, I decided to head home to the last meetings from my home office.

And that is when we come full circle. Thanks for reading.

But you may think I have much to say about today’s announcements, but I cannot possibly comment. Paraphrased from the BBC’s version of House of Cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today started with my alarm waking me for the first time in weeks. I usually wake up before it. It was hard to wake up as I was dreaming all night and waking a few times. It is another all-day playing meeting today, and in the office, I have thirty minutes for breakfast and getting started.

I assembled coffee in the French press and found a banana. Corwin eats two or three a day; they are disappearing fast. Once the water is hot in the electric kettle, I pour it into the French Press and start applying caffeine to my sleepy body–wake up!

I run out of time before finishing my first cup. I then clean up and dress. It is back to unrelenting rain–the usual February weather in the Pacific Northwest (PNW).

I am still excited to live here. I remember when I was a boy, looking at maps and seeing the strange coastlines and art of the coastal tribes. It all seemed so exotic and a fairly land. I love it here and wearing my hat in the pouring rain. I will, I think, be traveling from the PNW for the rest of my time. This is my home.

The drive-in was in light traffic, with me leaving a few minutes early and avoided the school buses. I parked and walked in without my badge. I gave little boxes of candy to the desk staff. I think that it made their morning that someone would think of them. I gave the rest of the candy boxes to my team and Mike, who is now a stretch member.

The morning was more meetings on planning, and I helped when I could. I also approved many software fixes as the team was busy planning. Mike and I were happy that our new work, Mike’s stretch assignment, is moving forward and included in the planning for the next quarter.

I did not know a stuffed pizza was over 500 calories a slice, but my app does. I had a slice of meat pizza (not wanting to discover if my reaction to salad could be made worse) and a small Caesar salad. No reaction, but I was so tempted to have another slice. I resisted. My app counted nearly 700 calories for lunch, but I still managed, by the end of the day, to stay under 2,030 calories. That did include St. Vanatime dessert of sorbet (I passed on cookies, cake, and other caloric wonderlands).

After lunch and dessert, I needed to stop by the house and handle some paperwork. So, I took the Air Volvo back. The traffic was light, but cars were throwing up water everywhere. We are having some serious wet.

I completed work remotely, with the plan being accepted with a high level of acceptance. We also got our expensive package from Istanbul. We had finished my supply of Salep, and more was acquired. I ordered, more for curiosity, some treats. While pricey, they certainly bring back memories. I plan to have Salep with my meds.

I had a can of Campbell’s Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner with a handful of extra egg noodles. I had this for dinner and then headed to the church for the Ash Wednesday service at First United Methodist, Beaverton. Traffic was thick, and the water on the roads slowed everyone even more. I arrived with plenty of time and brought the board game Scythe with me. My copy is a blinged version with painted figures and printed meeples.

The church service was the usual recognition of the start of Lent, and ashes were applied by Rev. Anne Weld-martin. I missed Susie during the service and thought of all the various ways I have participated, including the fire department arriving when the pastor’s attempt to make fresh ashes in the fireplace was not wholly successful. The pastor completed the service without fire alarms or other new surprises.

I supplied Z and Dondrea with a smallish heart box of chocolates.

After that, Z did today’s math homework (Z is twelve), and then we played a two-person version of Scythe until Andrew and Seth were done with choir practice. The band practice follows, and often we get ninety minutes to play. Andrew and Seth had to learn the game. They caught on fast, and Z remembered much of the game from previous plays. Z and I managed to get the game moving for everyone, and Andrew and Seth enjoyed the newly learned board game. We had to end before the game early, so Z and Seth decided to fight final combat for control of the center factory hex. Z was happy to win, ties go to the attacker, and based on money and resources Z took the partial game.

Z, Seth, me, and Andrew finishing the game. Z is planning her last attack!

It was a fun evening. We packed away Scythe, and everyone headed home happy. It was an excellent evening, and playing a competitive game on St. Valentine’s Day is always fun!

Air Volvo took me home after Z returned the cames to the cargo hold. It was a wet trip with water splashing everywhere. My gutters, now cleared by my lawn service, are now running.

And that takes me to writing the blog now. Thanks for reading!