Author: alohawild

It is a misty Saturday morning when I write this. I managed to sleep until 6:30 and rise with my 7:00 alarm. Yesterday, I was exhausted from preparing for Susie’s Concert today and attending a funeral for a friend. My emotions were all confused, and the day was hard on me.

Starting with the waking, I slept the night, woke at 6:30, and rushed to find my slippers and robe, prove hydration, and make coffee. My first Zoom meeting of a work-from-home Friday (Nike has required attendance in offices on Monday-Thursday) was at 7:00. This is the weekly staff meeting for our team and was run by my newly minted boss, Rajani. The meeting filled the hour, and I finished a banana with the liberal coffee made in my French Press.

The morning was short, and I attended more Zoom meetings on status and change control. Next, I dressed in a dress shirt and tie with a sweater over that. I boarded Air Volvo and headed to the area near my building, Swift, at Nike WHQ. I stopped by Fred Myers and purchased two sympathy cards. I signed one. Scott met me after 11 at Swift parking lot, and I boarded his jeep. I gave him a card to sign, and we headed to the funeral.

I had an early lunch of chicken nuggets at McDonald’s. It was something I could easily eat in Air Volvo and not get on my shirt. It was OK, and the upset tummy settled.

It is not my place to tell the story of another family and their loss. My emotions rose for Susie’s Concert the next day and for the family and their loss. Scott and I left after the service. Scott, following NAV, returned to the Swift Parking lot. After boarding Air Volvo, I returned to the Volvo Cave.

Aside: My colon was not happy with the morning, and I did struggle a bit during the funeral. I nearly ran to the bathroom but managed to resist. This, too, made it an exhausting day.

There were a few meetings left. The project was going on hiatus for a week after today and was wrapping up. It was a quiet day, the usual for Fridays.

I needed some frames for pictures, so I headed to Beaverton in Air Volvo and the Blick store. The traffic was light as Spring Break seemed to have started early. There I found what I needed. I next headed to McMenamins for dinner. It was happy hour, and I ordered a Ruby and a happy hour cheeseburger. Susie and I did not have much money left when we first moved here in 1996 and would splurge on a burger and beer at McMenamins once a week. So I decided to remember that and blew my calorie count.

I brought my Apple laptop with me, but I did not write. I just ate and tried to relax. I have not had a cheeseburger in months, but it was excellent. The side salad with blue cheese dressing was also a treat.

Aside: Yes, I come from a family of people who deal with stress by eating.

I paid the check, more than it used to be in 1996, and boarded Air Volvo. On returning to the Volvo Cave, I stopped by Guardian Games (previously, Rainy Day Games). They were clearing old stock with up to 25% off. The board game Stroganoff (named for the family, not the dish) was at a reduced price. I had thought about buying it before–it has good reviews, and now it is reduced, so I had to get it. I spent the rest of the evening reading and punching the game. The game is a resource-gathering game with some worker placement and rewarded actions. Much simpler than many I play and without the deck building or complex player board that has become the de rigor of Kickstarter games (I learned it was a Kickstarter). It looks like it would play fast. I am glad to have it and look forward to playing.

The theme of Stroganoff is to gather furs on the Russian steps. These become the currency to buy other resources and to achieve awards. The deeper you travel, the more options you will likely have. In Winter, you return, gather your riches, and compose new songs. There are songs to purchase with your experiences that are recorded as song points. It looks like fun, and the strategies will be complex.

The game uses lots of cardboard, and I think it could have been upgraded to include more wood and real coins. There is also no player’s aid. All of this is likely available online (it is, and even a rules update). I did look up the upgraded version (with all the extras), which is over $100 plus shipping. I like my$50+ copy!

After reading that and punching the game, I showered and went to bed early. I soon was asleep, the coughing slowing from the cough suppressant. My allergies are still enjoying all the Spring pollen.

Thanks for reading.

Today, I mainly worked from home. So I rose at 6:30 with some reluctance, but the 7:30 status meeting meant I needed to be going sooner. The last meeting is at 5:45 PM, which is a large bracketing. I did cook dinner in that bracket and finished eating dinner for the previous meeting. I also rested a few times.

So my alarm went off after I sat up in bed. I turned it off, put on my slippers and robe, and found my home office. The sun rose, and it was dark again in the mornings after the time change; as the sun rose, I could see that the day would be gray, and we had Oregon mist but no rain to measure. It is always strange to have blue in the sky and Oregon mist, but here in the Pacific Northwest, we just smile and know we live in a unique, wonderful place with rainbows and sunny rain.

I did not have to rush, and soon, hours of Zoom meetings took most of the morning. I finally washed up and dressed. I had coffee, a banana, and then one toast with jam to take with my meds. It was beautiful–when you stop eating sweats, some jam was a treat.

Scott is at Swift at Nike WHQ, and I will drive to meet him for lunch. We have lunch on Thursdays. We talk about work while eating at the cafe. I have the pop-up: chicken and tiny dumplings with veggies and mashed potatoes. Scott has the salad bar. I have been reacting to salad, so I did not do my usual salad with Scott. It is always good to catch up with Scott.

They are remodeling our workspace until next week, so I head back to the Volvo Cave. I arrive there without any issues in Air Volvo. The traffic is light; I suspect some folks took an early local spring break.

I spoke to Matt V on the phone. Matt (or M@) will manage my estate should the need arise, and I updated him on my paperwork and planning. We also discussed gaming items as M@, and I have been playing Role Playing Games (RPG) for years. We used to alternate running (DM-ing in RPG speak) games. I am thinking about playing with more groups (M@ liked the idea), but he suggested using Dungeons and Dragons and not Savage World. He uses a simplified set of characters for new players. Interesting. More to come as I think about the future.

And I am so glad to be thinking about the future and not worrying about HAVING a future. F**king brain tumor. I look forward to many years of playing games with M@ and discussing gaming plans with him. He is an expert gamer, and I seek his thoughts and advice. Again, it is good to focus on future fun.

I return to working in my home office. During endless status meetings starting at 3ish, I carry the laptop to the kitchen and do the dishes while listening to the meetings. I then begin to cook dinner. I boil water for pasta, open a jar of pasta sauce, heat it in a pan, and brown some sweat Italian-style sausage in another pan. All of this happened while I attended three status and process meetings.

I wash the pasta in cold water to prevent it from cooking and sticking together, then put it in a large glass dish. I then add some ricotta cheese mixed with dried parsley in dollops to the pasta. I tear up some good mozzarella and put that between the dollops of ricotta. Meanwhile, I combined the sauce into the frying pan of browned sausage. Let that cook for a while. I reserved a cup of water for the pasta, and I mixed that into the sauce (the water was salted, and thus, starch and salt were added to the sauce–an improvement). I carefully pour the boiling sauce with sausage onto the pasta and cheese. I tear up more mozzarella and sprinkle with bread crumbs. I baked this for about an hour, adding hot water to the sides of the dish once to keep the pasta wet.

This is a revision of the same scratch-made sauce and cooking the pasta first recipe from the NY Times. I would say that the pasta was overcooked, and I should use uncooked pasta and add two cups of water next time. Still, it was good. Corwin liked it. I think the jar sauce was a good upgrade. More to come.

I took out all the trash and recycling that had piled up in the house. I was happy to get it out of the house and into the container, and I was glad to see that it was gone on Friday morning. Just more chores that need to be done.

At 7AM, I took a nap after eating all that pasta (which was not good for me–but it was sooooo good); I rose for Theology Pub on Zoom tonight. Today’s topic was justice and avoiding unintended consequences when seeking justice. We had seven of us on Zoom, and we talked about many things and some early Christian Father’s writing on the sources of evil. I got to quote the pagan Hesiod on justice, how the world was created by Zeus (in his story), and what he intended for us of the Iron Age. I will be loaning out my translation of Hesiod. We concluded that justice is found in the community. Jesus was building communities and churches–it is about us together.

We finished around 9, and we all enjoyed that chat. We ended the Zoom meeting. I then started on the blog. I am feeling a bit better about the future and the surgery. Meeting with friends and talking about God and justice seemed to help.

Thanks for reading!

I am tired today, and it seems like a hard day. I had to work on a few items for Susie’s concert. Tears came and went. I also rested briefly and was fast asleep in minutes to wake up too late for a meeting, but they did not need me, so it worked out. I decided to take next week off as the project is shutting down next week for local Spring Break. I was planning to hoard my time off, but it will be a wasted week, and I just can’t do a find-work week.

I woke just before my alarm at 6:25. I was up late the night before writing the blog, and the day before that, I was traveling from NYC. Self-inflicted.

With Susie’s Concert coming this weekend, I see the approach of my surgery, and to be frank, I am scared, and I am having trouble accepting the suffering I face. Brain tumors–f**k. It makes the days harder, the dread.

The air is full of pollen again, and I am choking and coughing all day. This, too, wears on me. I am working from home as I have items coming up for the concert and a package to pick up.

After the initial status meetings, starting at 7:30AM now, I cleaned up and dressed. I boarded Air Volvo and headed to the post office. It was a short wait there to get a large box. When I opened it at home, it was full of packing peanuts, with the expensive books carefully wrapped and stored in the middle of the packing: Leonardo Da Vinci: The Madrid Codex Facsimile Edition. A birthday present for myself. This version comes with an Italian and English translation. I am happy to have a copy of the master’s work. After carefully unpacking, I looked through the books to ensure they were intact and worth the investment. They were excellent. I put the set in my office.

The meetings continued. I cooked chicken for some dinner in the future. I boiled the chicken thighs (boneless and skinless), baked them, and then boiled them with North African spices. They are quite good. I put them in zip-lock bags and will likely have chicken for a few days. While that was cooked, I ate a leftover pasta dish I made a few days ago. It was improved with time.

I did a few more work meetings and then rested, and as I said, I slept by accident. My day ended, and I soon headed out with some laptops, sticks, and games. I showed the pictures and Susie’s ice skating video to Z and Dondrea. They think they will be great.

Z and I played the board game The Lost Ruins of Arnak again. Z was tired and did not remember how to play, but Z soon found the way. Z could have won had Z followed up at the end, but next time, I am sure it will be hard for me to win. Andrew joined us when band practice started. I like the game with three players, and Andrew, who is new to the game, liked the mix of theme, complexity, and deck building with resource management. We played the base version with all the corrections and additional cards. I picked the basic easy game, which worked out for the best.

The Lost Ruins of Arnak is a favorite, and I like the theme of the Hollywood version of archeology in South America. The deck-building game mechanic is also a favorite; combining it with a strong theme and resource management makes it fit my favorite type of game. Another favorite is Concordia, which fits this model, too.

Z was happy to be playing games again. I was happy for the distraction.

I headed home after that, had some toast, and wrote this blog. Thanks for reading. I am falling asleep while writing, so please forgive my mistakes.

I have been working on Susie’s photos most of the night. I did slip out with Corwin to get some Mexican food, but I have been building a photo album in Mac Photo for most of the night. I have got Barb’s (Susie’s sister) photos combined with what I scanned and all the photos I have of Susie from the years on my Mac. I included the last photo I have of Susie on 13 Oct 2024, when she passed. All this is loaded on a stick. I did cry a few times as I watched it as a slide show. I also got Susie’s movie of her skating running on my laptop and found a cable to put that on a large screen. That, too, is on a stick. Ready as I can be.

I am tired now. I will try to write a blog for today. It will be short.

I talked to Dondrea and Bill at the church about some of the items for the service. Bill will do the usual punch, and Dondrea will help me get the audio and video working. They will have the mics for us on Saturday.

I also cooked a corned beef for Corwin while he worked out. After boiling it for a few hours, I just put it in the oven. Dondrea slowly bakes corned beef in beer. I boil and then bake. I then use the boiled water to cook the veggies. We have Brussels sprouts instead of cabbage to go with carrots and a few potatoes plus an onion to add some flavor.

This should be ready about 11PM when Corwin usually gets in from the gym.

Corwin starts his new job as an Uber food delivery driver. He has his truck and a license, so let’s all pray this works out. It would be wonderful if he could make a good wage as an Uber food delivery driver.

I returned home early and discovered that I had missed my birthday present. Every year, I buy something extravagant for myself for my birthday. This year, I selected a used copy of the six-volume reproduction of The Madrid Codices of Leonardo Da Vinci. I did not know it was coming today, and it required a signature and my ID to accept it. I will head to the post office to get it on Wednesday. My copy is translated into English and Italian.

Sorry, I am just bouncing around writing tonight. My emotions are messy, and I am tired and cold. Among the photos, I saw my friend’s daughter, who just passed away. It is hard to see so many folks gone.

Here is Susie on a Vagas trip.

Work was the usual meeting, with a few approvals and change control items. It was a sunny day, and last night’s winds had blown the bad air out of the valley. My coughing was much reduced. It was 70F and sunny in the afternoon. Not our usual endless rain!

I was working in the atrium, and folks stopped by, including many directors, to chat about various work and non-work items. Everyone seemed happy today, and I felt they were happy that I was back from NYC. They also know Susie’s Concert is Saturday, and I believe they were trying to help.

I will put the sticks, DVI cables, a spare Windows laptop, and my Apple M2 in Air Volvo for Wednesday. I will also play some board games with Z. We have not played for a while. Maybe Scythe again or Concordia, which are all my favorites. I also thought we might try Savage Worlds for a role-playing game one of these weeks. SW is sort of Dungeons and Dragons light, and it would be fun to try it. So maybe soon. Also, the printed rules are cheap, and PDFs of the rules are even cheaper.

In the mail, I received another set of add-ons for my model of the SMS Deffflinger, a WW1 battlecruiser–considered the greatest one made for the time period. I have bought the same set twice, as the model is the deluxe version with the same add-ons. At least I have the spare parts to make mistakes. I am unsure when I will get to this, but I am excited to try.

Well, it is nearly midnight. The corned beef and veggies were great–I had a sample. I need to stop, shower, and sleep. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

It is the 95th day since I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The surgery for the tumor is planned for 20 May 2024.

For those on the East Coast and Michigan, Susie’s Concert will be repeated in Lansing on 18 May at Grace United Methodist Church. More to follow. Thanks to John for being flexible!

The day started with waking at 6:30 and wishing I had taken another day off. I managed to remember who I was and find my robe and slippers. I found the office and the Nike laptop and logged back in. I read some emails and Slack updates to be aligned with what was happening. I also read some news.

I made liberal coffee and had a banana to go with it. Soon, I was cleaning up and dressing. Despite the good food in NYC, I lost a few pounds, and I am down to 248. I would prefer to be at 240 by now, but that will take longer, I guess. I found the work laptop, loaded my thermal cup with coffee, and boarded an Air Volvo.

Traffic was light, as I was early. I found myself stuck in the lobby of the Nike WHQ Swift building. The security turnstiles were not working, and there was no access all over the WHQ and another site. There is a bug or a data issue. Now, with the lobby full, it is finally decided to just override and let everyone inside, back to the 2nd floor.

My first meeting, the 8AM one, has been canceled, as there are no defects to discuss. Excellent. The status meetings and change control meetings continue for another hour. They are the usual things, but the project is doing well, and it is a bit boring. It is good to be bored when running a dress rehearsal test.

I head to the cafe, but the gates are still not working. I find that glazed salmon over rice and some steamed bo choy are in at the pop-up. I cannot resist that, and it feels so much like home. “Why yes, I will have the fresh steamed salmon perfectly cooked with local perfect veggies,” comes to mind. I love the Pacific Northwest.

I read my Kindle while eating and noticed my eyes were closed. Yes, the warm food and a good book, and I was fading. I returned to Swift, being let back in as the gates are more wall than door now, and let Rajani know I was headed home.

The light cough I had in New York City was returning as a pollen-driven nonstop coughing. Spring was here today, as the rains had stopped, the sun was out, and the cherry trees were in bloom. It was wonderful, but the tree pollen was harsh.

I opened the doors and windows to air the house and then held a change control meeting. I also approved a design and was following along. I went to rest, and suddenly, it was two hours later, just in time for the 4:30 status Zoom meeting. It was difficult to start again, and the open windows filled my lungs with pollen. I was coughing and sneezing, and my eyes were burning. Ugh! I attended the Zoom meeting.

I put on my shoes again and went to Safeway. There, I got the missing ingredients for dinner and a few other items (I still forgot to get a better razor!). With one bag of stuff, I returned and started to make a messy pasta dish following the NY Times recipe. This time, I added more veggies and finished it in a baking dish. It was wonderful.

I had a few bowls. I then started on the laundry and scanning pictures for Susie’s Concert on Saturday. I hope to have them ready on Tuesday. Barb, Susie’s sister, sent me a set, too.

Max Brenner, the chocolate shop in NYC, has connected with the Easter Bunny, and Leta, Barb Wild, and my sister Linda received some Easter Chocolate. More will be delivered soon.

I started on the blog once the scanning was done. The coughing has not slowed down. Ugh!

Thanks for reading. It is nice to be home.