It was another rainless day with blue skies and a cold wind. Frost appears in the mornings. It is an unusually dry and cold mid-December for the Greater Portland Area. I was cold all day.

I was nervous and hungry for much of the day. I am not sure if this is stress, exhaustion, or I am ill. I just kept going all day, freezing often. I also missed Susie a few times, but there were no tears on Saturday. I was a bit numb still from the diagnosis of a tumor in my head.

I started Saturday dragging out of bed at 7:30 for my project Zoom status calls. I was rushed to be prepared. I made liberal coffee in my French Press–I love the taste of liberal in the morning. It gives me hope that we can make life work better and the confidence to say something is wrong–yes, liberal.

Aside: What is liberal? To me, it is the desire to free the world exemplified by the Four Freedoms from the FDR speech called by the same name: The freedom of speech, the freedom of every person to worship God in their own way,  the third is freedom from want, and the fourth is freedom from fear. Liberal can mean that policies, budgets, behaviors, and actions should be measured to achieve these freedoms for everyone everywhere.

Returning to the narrative, the meetings included a severe break in our code for the data loads. Puke! Rajani, our director, rallied the coders and the team leads to evaluate the break and find a solution. This took all day, and Rajani worked two shifts. By 10PM, the fixes were in and being tested.

I left the meetings and dressed. I forgot to put my old Apple Laptop in the cargo hold of Air Volvo. I headed out to Portland in Air Volvo in light traffic and parked off of Burnside in a lot just off the Portland Saturday Market locals. The old location, a parking garage, is now replaced with a nice partially covered pavilion by the river on the riverwalk. There are also some excellent tents filled with tempting goods in the old parking lot and the open areas of the Skidmore Fountain area. The MAX stop is by the same name, Skidmore Fountain.

There was no music today, and Elvis was not playing by the tracks. The whole looked a bit tired and battered by the recent past. The protests and the COVID-19 restrictions hit the market hard. But still, I found most of what I was looking for. New vendors have filled in (I counted three different soap makers), and the food looked good, but the choices diminished. There are now food cart parks in Portland that are likely a better economic model for some food folks who used to attend the Saturday Market. Still, the food looked and smelled good.

I got my usual set of artist playing cards I give away for Christmas. I found soap and bought a bar from two of the makers (I spotted the third soap maker when I was headed out). I found a glass-made item for Meg, my newly minted niece (via a marriage of Linda, my sister, and Jesse). Evan found me as I was finishing my shopping. He was joining me in Portland. He found a bottle of wine for a Christmas gift.

I did think about Susie and all of our visits today. No tears this time. Just happy memories.

We headed to Kell’s for lunch. I had a Kell’s beer, a match to Harp, and corned beef and veggies. Evan stuck to appetizers of soup and some oysters. The bill was surprisingly high–a hazard of Portland food joints and explained the light lunch attendance at Kells so close to the Saturday Market. Definitely priced for the deep-pocketed hipster crowd.

Evan convinced me to try TPK (Total Party Kill, a Dungeons and Dragons term) for gaming. The place is an old pizza place with a giant, non-working brick oven near the end of Hawthorn. Since the pandemic, I have not returned to the edgy Hawthorn area, which I see was updated with the latest food and trends. Crepes are gone, eggs are in, and various themed bookstores are still de rigor for a trendy area. I observed this as I slowly flew in Air Volvo in traffic and dodged brave/trusting pedestrians. I parked on the street after calling Even to discover the location I missed. I should have made a strange half-left to continue on Hawthorn instead of being sent down 50th Street, another malfunctioning junction.

The place is a rebuilt pizza place showing an expensive remodel and the addition of enormous brewing tanks for their own ales. The tables are small for a gaming place, and the light is dim on the first floor. A huge set of stairs takes you to a well-lit larger table on a balcony. These mainly were reserved, but not until the evening. Evan and I went for that as we would be done before the reservation time.

We tried Quartermaster General 1914 board game that simulates WW1, a favorite setting for me. This game uses mechanics that I learned later were a hallmark of the Quartermaster General system. I have been looking for a more accessible game version of WW1 that leaves you to make the decisions without being buried in rules and exceptions. We struggled as I did not know the rules, and we could not understand the build army rules, troop placement, and the fact that allies can share a location (I read that late last night when I had trouble sleeping). While there are better and more entertaining games, I think this one does well with its theme.

The game is driven by card decks, each different and driving the countries represented by the deck to take specific actions. Instead of the rules forcing a WW1-like game, the cards do this. Thus, the rules and play are simple. The decision is to play the card, burn it for troops, or add it to your resources by preparing it for use. Each country has different cards and card counts (for example, Austria-Hungary has only two attack cards; use them wisely and protect them). The opposite is the WW2 games like War Room, which has endless rules, devices, and resource tracking, or Victory In Europe, which has endless exception rules. The Quartermaster’s idea of decks of cards for each country (or pairing of countries) is a good answer. You can do interesting things on those cards. My favorite is the Russia +1 Victory point for assassinating Rasputin; it’s perfect. The exceptions are worked into the cards–better.

While not a fun game, if you love history and don’t mind letting history direct your gameplay, it is fascinating. I would try it again, and it can host two to five players. One complaint from the Discriminating Gamer is that some players felt the game played itself and was not that interesting, but he recommended it.

Evan was happy that the Central Powers won by a few points when we stopped at turn 7 of 17 (!). Next time!

Next, Evan and I got out the board game Architects of the Western Kingdom. This is my version with every add-on and promo card. We use the premium mat that includes all the changes for the final game versions with all add-ons. I had 1/2 a beer and a freshly made chicken sandwich, which took thirty minutes or more to arrive. It was too large, but I was strangely hungry and nervous, as I said above.

Aside: I have described this game before, and I recommend it. But it is hard to learn at first, so be prepared.

Evan and I ran close until he raided the mines, and I did not arrest him until he built up a pile of gold that gave him a nine-point lead at the finish. I should have arrested him immediately, and I usually do. I was working on an end-game plan and got too focused on it. An unusual mistake for me, but I was feeling odd. Evan deserves the win, and nine points is a crush.

It was a longer drive back through Hawthorn to Richard’s, but arrived without incident. Hawthorn looked busy, and the new Willy Wonka movie was playing at the Bagdad Theater, a favorite movie house of mine, a few years back when they did second-run movies for just a few bucks. I might have to be back to Hawthorn and see what I have been missing.

Richard did not mind me being fifteen minutes early, but I was cold and nervous again. Richard got me a coffee, which did not improve my nervousness but did warm me. I had asked to repeat last weekend’s game, Dune Imperium, but to add the add-on that Shawn recommended, Rise of Ix. I played the same personality, and my fellow players thought I should pick some better and new; I resisted and stayed with The Duke. I was surprised to take an early lead, and that held until the end of the game when Richard, in usual Richard fashion, suddenly jumped up five points (which I saw possible in the last game). I had the pleasure of ending the game and scaring my fellow players with the possibility of a crush. Shawn never caught up. I was excited and interested through the whole game, even with my hands so cold they burned–I was exhausted, pissed, and grieving at the same time.

The game is a deck-building Euro game with elements of the rougher 4x games. The add-on, I thought, improved the game and removed some elements of luck. You had more control of your fate. It certainly worked for me.

I did not stay for a second game. I returned home, and the trip was unmemorable in Air Volvo.

I tried to sleep and could not sleep until about 1:30. I read some more of The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, which has me laughing and amazed at the author’s ability to invent adventures for Holms and Watson that feel so real and also modern at the same time. Recommended. I finally started to nod off while reading the rules for Quartermaster General 1914.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

 

The morning was hard at 7:30 as I had only slept since 5ish, and the few hours were insufficient to wake up. I dragged myself out of bed and got started. I made coffee and found a yogurt and a not-too-black banana for breakfast. I found my way to reading the emails, Slack updates, and news. I also reread the diagnosis. I am supposed to hear from the Doctor’s office to plan the next step. They called the wrong number and sent me an email to call them after they were closed for the weekend. I have printed out the info and will call them on Monday. I hope this will not be the usual three to six months to meet with a specialist to do tests for another month and then meet again months later. That was what happened with my colon cancer at first. Hopefully, with an actual tumor diagnosed, I can get on the fast track–this also happened with my colon cancer–once there was a diagnosis, the surgeons lined right up (I had three).

As usual, on Friday, work was just a series of Zoom meetings on status and process. We have some tasks running over their planned durations, so the usual grumbling from leadership was that we needed to catch up and run smoothly over the weekend. This is followed by the regular finger-pointing (or circular firing squad) of the hardware and system people saying to run the software right. The software people will demand more hardware and resources. This is followed by the usual request to find some pixie dust to make it work better. Our team created the pixie dust Excel spreadsheet to run the process and thus prevent any handoff issues. It will run efficiently for the whole weekend. It is quite likely we will magically catch up.

I slept again from ten to noon. I made dinner last night and then put it all in the frig when The Smiths invited me to dinner. I reheated it in the microwave. I added Swiss cheese to the Chicken Cordon Blue, broiled out yesterday. I reheated one sweet potato, which I ate plain. I had a bowl of couscous seasoned with almond slices, cranberries, and Indian-styled spices. I watched some videos from Battleship New Jersey, which covered why modern weapons were not added to the New Jersey when the ship was reactivated by Ronald Reagan’s administration. All the cool systems of the 1980s (some still in use or revised) are too fragile to be placed near the 16″ guns. The missiles added to New Jersey were placed between the funnels to prevent damage from the big guns. The escorting destroyers for New Jersey bristled with these weapons and were on duty to protect the battleship–somewhat ironic.

I showered, skipped shaving, and dressed in time to catch the architecture meeting, which was called again every week to talk about issues. This meeting filled the hour, and I did share my diagnosis of a brain tumor with my colleagues. We talked about many technical items I cannot share here.

I took another nap until the status meeting at 4:35, the last one before the weekend, and we had the described grumblings again. Everyone was respectful and ready; we knew what to do.

I put on my new whiter-than-white Air Force Ones and headed out. I finally selected the GVB in Beaverton for dinner. There I am, enjoying ginger ale and bourbons and beef pot pie. I wrote the blog in the bar. I am slowly feeling better. It is likely the bourbon.

My replacement hat arrived. It is the same style as Dr. Jones’s hat from the movies, but taller and historically correct. It is a soft wool that is thicker than the previous.

Thanks for reading.

I do not know how to write this blog, and I went to bed trying to sleep so I could do this writing with a better perspective, I hoped. Morpheus barred me from his kingdom tonight–bastard. I don’t know if it is the chai I had with dinner–too much caffeine; the Smiths (David and Michelle) picked me up, and we had dinner together as they wanted to comfort me. I did not want to be alone. It was a great dinner, Indian-styled food. I had the lamb vindaloo (I love that hint of vinegar), eating with my hands (but using a fork to load up my naan). It helped me calm down. Thanks!

Today, I was expecting news. I thought it unlikely that I had a brain tumor, and if I did, it would be cancer and would not matter in that I would have so little time that I would be in a marathon to get my estate ready. A strange comfort that I would not have to go on after Susie’s death. Or I was fine. But, f**k, I was not expecting another possibility. A benign but slow-growing tumor behind my ear, slowly taking my hearing on my left side, would also threaten my balance, which was not on my list of expected options. F**k again. Unexpected! Unprecedented–f**k, I hate that word.

Today at 4ish, I got to enjoy an MRI. I have not done that before. I have no metal implants and proved it today by surviving an MRI. I have never been stuffed in a tiny hole, my head in a cage with headphones and earplugs, and assaulted by a mass of sounds. I kept my eyes closed for most of it and tried to breathe normally for thirty minutes. The strong, cool air they blew across my face helped, and it reminded me of my train ride years ago, with me sleeping in a bunk above Susie with only a few inches to spare.

You get to pick music, and the nurse who did my IV was the slightly distant voice in my headphones while I was stuffed in a tiny hole recommended The Wall by Pink Floyd. She saw the gray hair and thought I was a rock person. I picked, instead, and she highly approved, The Dark Side of the Moon, also by Pink Floyd, and the first CD I ever owned.

Most of the time, it was difficult to hear the music, but when the claustrophobia started, I started to listen to the words. I imagined flying in space around Saturn, Jupiter, and Uranus in my capsule. The loud noise was the gravity effects of the massive planets. I also imagined I was a Lovecraftian creature flying in space, and the noise was my way of experiencing gravity and radiation, “listening” to Pink Floyd through a bone vibration process (there is no sound in space). The music borrowed from the humans at the third rock. It was a difficult process, but it gave me something to daydream about (I did not fall asleep).

The results came by 5PM on myChart, and my hearing Doc Brian called and said the tumor would not kill me, and if I were older or in frail health, they would do nothing. But my tumor, a benign tumor over the nerve bundle, is not tiny, 2.2 cm, and I am looking at surgery or radiation. Doc Brian will connect me to his partner and more doctors. Again, it is slow growing, and there is no risk except for my hearing and balance. I also read my facial nerves could be impacted, but I will not speculate–I will listen to the professionals.

Well, f**k, I have a new challenge. Also, I was thinking that I would need to retire if the tumor was cancer (and die), but now I need more medical stuff, so I will have to keep going. Yet another f**king adventure with yet-another-medical-leave-request and Sedgewick and Nike HR.

F**k!

I feel like I have caught irony instead of COVID-19. Not cancer. It’s not life-threatening. But, I need brain surgery or brain radiation (possibly the gamma knife I read–again, I should not read anything on the internet). It seems ironic to have a boring, low-grade brain tumor–how can there be something like that. F**K!

So, new doctors, new tests, new options, new tumors, and it sounds like a bad version of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

And now I can’t f**king sleep, and it’s Friday at 3AM. I also can’t stop using F**K!

I started counting again. Today is Day 1 of the new challenge. Let me try to write my narrative for Thursday, 15Dec2023.

I started at 6AM and rolled over for what was ten seconds, I swear, for 6:30AM. I rose, having slept some of the early afternoon on Wednesday and still able to sleep. I made only coffee as breakfast was available at work today. We get a breakfast and lunch buffet for the testers and those who support them (us) at Nike WHQ Swift. I never drank much of the coffee as it was too hot before 7AM showed on all my clocks. I did have time to approve a change in a technical design document (a software bug fix) and read emails, Slack channel updates, and the news, as usual, to prepare for the day. I don’t want to be that guy who asks something in a Zoom call that was called out in the channel updates! I showered, shaved, put Utterly Smooth on my feet and hands (every f**king day), and dressed. I am still pulling clothing from the suitcase I loaded when I thought a family member would need me in Michigan–the person is doing better. And, like me, meeting with a new bunch of doctors and running tests for the latest challenge–f**k.

Air Volvo, damp with some of the Oregon Mist that has slipped in between primarily dry days, had me at Nike WHQ without incident. For a Thursday, the traffic was lighter (Christmas break for the kids has parents not on the road running late and panicked) and well-behaved (it won’t last). I took the elevator, still unfamiliar with the brand-new and glowing white Air Force Ones. My balance and coordination, while improving, were still best not tested at 6:50 today. Aside: Now we know why.

I sat in the atrium; the two stories of glass were not warm! I did the hours of Zoom meetings there while eating my breakfast (with bacon). I had some discussions about data and processes, but none can be covered in this blog. Next, I had a burger from the updated buffet for lunch. I ate two cookies because I had an MRI and need a hit of sugar for that! I did my last Zoom meeting, which was surprisingly short, and approved more tickets and design changes–all software bug fixes.

I also created a myChart account for Providence Medical Services, as I only had an account for Susie. They require an email address, and my usual one, alohawild@mac.com, was used already for Susie’s account. I slid in by using the alternative that is mapped to the same account, alohawild@me.com, and soon had a working account that immediately showed my MRI. Excellent. I could get results online.

That also gave me the address of the MRI place, which I had only my handwritten notes on. Better. I left Swift at Nike WHQ and boarded Air Volvo, and soon, I arrived and discovered the location of the imaging service. I left Air Volvo in the parking lot, which was almost full, and found the lobby almost empty (?!). I have found that specialized imaging is often waiting for patients as they book it for the worst-case timing, and I was right and soon was enjoying the process. Non-metal using scrubs were provided, and I locked everything in a set of lockers. MRI is serious voodoo, and the forms and warnings are manifold. I was effectively told that this would suck and to make the best of it. I tried to comply. I closed my eyes and hoped I would not panic when shoved into a round, slightly off-white 2001 Space Odyssey-looking machine. It needed more red lights, but it did have one red laser that seemed to be an update of the red light from the movie’s HAL-9000. The nurse, Diane, was the voice in my non-metallic headphones. She spoke calmly, but I could hear her humor, trying not to leak out. Had she said, “I can’t do that, Micheal,” I would have ruined the process with my giggling.

So, as I described before, I managed it.

I took Air Volvo home, and knowing I had Theology Pub at 7PM, I made dinner. A Chicken Cordon Blue from the freezer, couscous, and some microwaved sweet potatoes. No results on the MRI, so I was expecting that on Friday. I took almond slices, dried cranberries, and Indian-styled spice and cooked them in hot butter. I got this hot and the butter brown and added a cup of couscous to toast in the butter and seasoning. I cooked the chicken in the oven. All was nearly completion when an email popped up that I had results.

The results, coming before Doc Brian’s call, took me three reads to understand. The word lesion took me a while to understand. The worst news: tumor. I looked up a word I did not know, and that was a horror internet story you always get when reading this stuff out of context.

I called Dondrea, The Smiths, and Linda, my sister. Doc Brian called and explained that I was facing a non-life-threatening tumor and that, at its size of 2.2cm, it would need to be addressed. He would connect me with the next doctors, and the process of developing a care plan would begin (my words).

F**k.

The Smiths suggested dinner out, and I heartily agreed. The finished dinner went into containers and was carefully placed in the frig. We managed to avoid the tumor in the discussion. It is premature to have much to say. It was a good distraction, and I have 1/2 a plate of Lamb Vindaloo and plenty of naan next to my other dinner.

And that ends the narrative.

I am cold and shaking while writing this. I am freezing. I turned up the heat. I made ginger tea.

Another voyage begins Thursday and this early Friday. Like before, it is not a voyage I would select, and it will be painful and awful. I will do this one without Susie. The adventure will also be amazing and I get to do strange things and experience weird things. Fun with brain tumors. I still plan to travel, see Zorida in Texas, and visit New Orleans in January.

The voyage is holy and must be respected and cannot be resisted. I imagine myself changing rafts in a little village. After a few drinks and an Indian-styled meal with friends in the friendly village, then it’s on to the next boat. I make something warm and put on my coat. I see the flag on the raft, The Unexpected, and just say, “Well, Fuck.” I cry and drink my tea. I was not ready, but you are never really prepared. Here I go!

Thanks for reading.

Welcoming the 2024 early, Rocket Mortgage celebrated by sending me my 1098 early. Yipee!

Today was also the Nike SEC Project’s (my project I often mention as a “project” in the blog) Holiday Party with a Ugly Sweater and a trivia contest. There was finger food, and wine, and beer. Also, a photo booth and fluffy snowball-like items that we threw at each other. That was really fun, and I gave as I got. Leadership was not afraid to defend themselves! It is only a rumor that I threw the first one.

And while all of this eating, drinking, and tomfoolery was ongoing, Nike stock did break $121 a share. So, a good day, indeed.

Before the storm of fluffy snowball-like items, I spent the day in Zoom status and process meetings and discussing data. Another boring day which is excellent at this point of the project. We did get an emergency ticket issue at 4ish, a process mishap–the Service Now ticket was accidentally closed on an emergency change to production. Oh my. We had to do sudden re-approvals on a new replacement ticket–yes, more like watching paint dry–but we do make the paint. The rituals of replacement were followed without any future intervention of the dreaded internal audit expected.

Aside: I use funny language, but it is serious business when tickets go off the track.

I drove home in the darkening skies, but dry. Once home, I considered doing something but then crawled into bed. I managed to sleep until almost 8PM! I feel much better!

Before this, I had lunch at Swift, finding a conference room for my weekly lunch meeting with Scott. He is going on holiday break soon and was getting things on auto-pilot before heading out. We had a nice chat, and we both look forward to getting the next version of our software running this holiday.

The morning was filled entirely with Zoom meetings. I was even talking to the dread internal audit folks, and we agreed that involving the internal audit folks before we had completed anything in a sandbox was premature. I did cover some issues I believe we will have, but first, we have to have them and then find a resolution before we ask the internal audit to agree to the process. The proverbial horse was before the cart. It happens.

We did the usual Zoom meeting on how to go live, what the processes are, and most importantly, how we get out of 7/24 support–my favorite topic today. It is a shared PowerPoint and various linked documents. At least they did not read every word on the slides to us. But, despite the didactic process, we are excited to finally reach this point. There were over 400 people on that Zoom meeting! Excellent.

The early morning was the usual question, “Why?” Why am I getting up at 6AM, and why can’t I sleep more. I rolled over and finally slept a few minutes before my alarm, only to be awake again. My slippers and robe were found and applied to my still-numb body. No breakfast was made as I would consume what is offered at Swift as my colon and nausea were under control. I found the office with just a cup of coffee and started my day. Somehow, I read the emails, Slack updates, and news to stuff my head with what is happening today.

With only one cup of coffee imbibed–risky, I performed the usual shower and dressing tasks. I thought of a Christmas present (inbound Kramers!) and spent extra time ordering some to be delivered. I grabbed my Nike laptop, climbed into Air Volvo, and headed to the Nike WHQ Swift building, running late.

I arrived on time (wondering if I had used the TARDIS controls) and had time to acquire breakfast from the buffet. I do wonder some days what IT would do without catering. There seems to be a cosmic connection between testing and fixing software and bacon, at least at Nike SAP-based systems.

Pelting my fellow project and Core ERP folks with snowball-like fluffies was enjoyable. They had little fires (carefully watched by the catering folks) to make smores. I kept mine to just toasted. A nice party!

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Tuesday started with me waking at 6AM with my alarm and rolling over for another thirty minutes, which only seemed a moment. Before, I woke twice to prove hydration in the early morning and could sleep afterward. So, I did get some sleep.

I stayed up again after I finished the blog on Monday night. I erased my old Apple computer, the 13″ M1, so others could acquire it. I worked on that beyond 11PM. Also, on Sunday, I did some model work after writing the blog until after 11PM. I plan to build a model of my father’s, Bob Wild, US destroyer. But DD-840, USS Glennon, was updated in the 1950s with a better firing control system and dropped other WW2 items like the two racks of depth charges. I will need to incorporate that in my 1/700 (small) models, as they match a destroyer from 1945. I was also looking at etched brass to improve the models from plain plastic to detailed ones using the finer detail of brass. I have done this in my recent model building (but I did not finish the newest models as I lost focus when other events happened).

So tired from staying up late two nights in a row, I found my slippers, slid into them, and rediscovered how to put on my robe–this is not usually a voyage of discovery. This all screamed, “Coffee!” I located the kitchen and, from a distant memory, remembered how to create coffee in my cup from my French Press and Equal Exchange coffee. The taste of liberal in the morning helped to restore me. With this magical brew, I made a plate of Whole Foods baked goods (the last piece) and a not-yet-black banana. So supplied with provisions, I could continue my day alert and fed.

I quickly ate, sipped the too-hot coffee, read emails and updates, and then read the news. I was trying to slam all this information into my caffeine-demanding brain to prepare for the status and process meetings all morning. Next, I rushed to the shower and did everything to be dressed and presentable at the WHQ Swift Building.

Aside: It was PJ day at Swift for the holidays. I do not own the Christmas outfit–that would be a lot of felt! Many folks were in PJs and colorful.

Air Volvo was quick in getting me to Swith without incident. I did notice on the way in that the old farm of the Baseline Belgium Horse Farm was being redeveloped into something, likely apartments. I miss the horses.

Arriving in time to grab some fruit from the breakfast spread, ignoring the baked goods and bacon, I soon sat in the atrium doing hours of meetings. These Zoom meetings went on for some time. I then worked on a few new items, talked to my boss about the new work, and continued to have a low-stress and nearly boring day.

This is good, as we are in the middle of a software install and huge data conversion. Boring is good.

I headed home at 4:30ish and rested a bit.

Next, I found the Trader Joe’s Taco Spice (you use 1/2 a packet ?!) and fried ground beef with a can of diced tomatoes. I heated the taco shells from a box with Mexican-styled shredded cheese inside the shells. Lastly, I over-stuffed the cheesy shells with the spicy meat and tomato mix, with lettuce and sour cream, making them decadent tacos. I ate too many while watching the old (1975) classic Doctor Who with the Fourth Doctor, “The Pyramids of Mars.” I like the storyline and the problem of facing a god-like evil power. It gives me some ideas for stories, but it is definitely an acquired taste and not recommended ($4.99 for all four episodes on Apple–the price hinting at the fading glory of the show).

Afterward, I helped Dondrea with a theme for Theology Pub the next day at 7ish. I wrote the blog and hope no little night project will slip into tonight.

Just a few items…

I spoke to my family member in the ER, and there are many follow-ups. The symptoms are reduced. Better.

I tried to take the old Mac to Best Buy to have the microphone repaired. Since I did not buy it from there, it was no good. I will have to try Apple or send it on without the repair.

Last night, as I headed back from Wildwood, the air was dry and cold, and the smell of burning wood and the perfume of fresh pine from the trees was in the air. It seemed so Christmas for the Pacific Northwest.

It was a sunny day. There were blue skies! We started to dry out! We discovered, we did not know this, that when the sunsets, it is blinding in the Nike WHQ Swift building’s atrium. Yes, we did not notice until today, the first non-gray day in weeks!

Thanks for reading.