Author: alohawild

The day started with me sleeping into about 7:30 and then heading into the office to start my shift with an 8:30 status call. I had procured from the kitchen breakfast links and two hard-boiled eggs, peeled the eggs (destroying one), and eaten all cold with a banana. Add to that French press-made liberal coffee. The status meeting was long as the run times of the data conversions were running short, and then some ran long, causing the plans to have to be rewritten on the fly, which was not always successful. Also, a foobar moment happened, and we are now catching up on the production support updates for master data too. This added to our efficiency woes as we had to leave enough processing power to run the usual processes, do the data conversions, and catch up on the foobar-caused missing updates in production. Everything was well in hand, but it meant lots of active management.

The meeting and the day shift were just about running data into the systems, and that happened all day. I watched events at home and then from my iPhone on my Slack app, which lets me watch the channels where updates, statuses, and issues are tracked.

Returning to the narrative, in the morning, I wrote the Friday blog, which reached over 1,100 words and had a few pictures. I post that on my site, here, on Facebook, and send out an email. Corporations are blocking my email as my blog goes on for years, and the automated corporate threat detections try to scan the whole history of the blog and runs out of memory, crashes the scanner, and the email is then blocked. I then get all the return codes sent to me and see the crashed scanner. I have dropped sending those emails, but learning the types of scanning was interesting–not sure corporate security is aware of the information being sent out. Anyway, folks can subscribe to my blog and get an update when I update it each day, but it requires them to create an account, which is annoying.

Once that task was completed (using Grammarly to get the blog beyond first-draft editing), I cleaned up and dressed in a t-shirt today. Air Volvo took me to see Susie at her place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. It being a holiday weekend, drivers seemed a bit stressed, and a semi with a large trailer turning on Hall Boulevard took lots of lanes upsetting many folks who thought you should stay in your lane (like me). I arrived safely in Air Volvo, and no paint was lost, nor any of Beaveton’s Finest decided I had to make a non-voluntary donation to the City’s budget.

Susie was in her wheelchair when I arrived, with Susie’s feet in soft wraps to prevent any skin issues. Susie’s feet were having problems if left in shoes all day. Next, Anassa, the weekend day nursing aide, moved Susie to her rocking chair, and I, taking thirty minutes, finally found a version of Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I bought the film on Amazon so we could avoid commercials. Life is too short to wait for commercials, and you are never sure if they edited the film then. Evan joined us about 3/4 through the movie. Susie was singing along to some songs and stayed awake for the whole show.

We stayed in as it was cool (62F, 17C) and grey. One of the residents told Anassa that the clocks must be wrong, as it was too dark outside to be lunchtime. Yes, our typical June weather was back.

At the end of the movie (I think the ending is too abrupt, and the film should have gone on with views of Charlie’s experience running the factory and family looking happy and maybe one more song), I left with a kiss with Susie watching M.A.S.H. Evan, and I headed to Portland.

The traffic to Portland was sluggish but moving. Again, folks were traveling for a holiday and seemed scared of the crazy ramps and bridges that make up a Portland crossing. I got off the highways and ramps to find a long train blocking all the streets in the industrial area that contains our goal, Rogue Brewery. I drove along the river until I reached the overpass that was not blocked, MLK Street, and took that back into the industrial area (passing over the train). Next, I got to try out my parallel parking with Air Volvo, as parking was a bit harder today. We were a bit later than our usual Saturday.

I was hungry and found a table inside Rogue and ordered a Ruben, fries, and a Dead Guy Ale. I set up the board game Vindication while eating. Finally escaping the train, Evan showed up, got a drink and a snack, and deviled eggs.

For this play, we removed the Academy and replaced that with the Sacred Quest tile. I pulled a set of Strength (Fort), Knowledge (Library), and Inspiration (Holy Spires) tiles and instead added the two Loot and the Pet tiles and added those cards to our game. I don’t like the Wishes Well and Infused Crystals as they seem to distract from winning–just more noise. My version of Vindication has all the Treachery cards and all the bonus cards, so blinding drawing a card could saddle you with a cursed item or at least one that does not count for final scoring.

I was leading our first game, so I could afford the experiment and got a loot item. It allowed me to roll for a random attribute twice and pick one. Loot was helpful.

In the first game, I led the whole game, and Evan had trouble finding his groove while I stacked up a lead of over ten points that I kept. I had an easy start and made no mistakes. In the second game, Evan got a lead and then used the easy end-of-game trigger to end the game before I got my groove going. I started with a Strength focus and explored but did not get the tiles I wanted (tiles are blindly drawn from the Scum Bag), and had just stared at my point-generating steps when Evan ended the game. You can get a short lead and lock in the win by finishing an easy end-of-game trigger in Vindication. A win is a win.

I paid the bill, and we parted ways, each with a win, and I headed to Richard’s house. Tonight we have five players for Saturday night games. Richard suggested Western Legends. Which is a beguiling board game where you play an Old West legend; I play Eyatt Erp on Saturday. You can be an outlaw or a marshal. You can gamble by playing poker, buy excellent goods (like the Hat), and hunt bad guys. The game is played on a board that resembles an Old West town. The play is engine building (using panning for gold, gambling, or hunting bad guys as the engine) set in a sandbox, so strongly themed your planning merges with the setting. The theme makes the game exciting and fun.

In our game, nobody turned outlaw (most of us had a goal to reach a mid-point in the Marshal Table, so outlaw was literally not in the cards for most of us), and the final scores for most were within a few points. One player was frustrated as her cards were consistently low (they are playing cards with extra abilities listed).

Kathleen, her first game, surprised us by gambling and spending her way to win by tie-breaker against Richard (who mined his way to second place). Shawn improved his scoring at the end but took too many wounds, giving me third place (one point behind Kathleen and Richard). Claudia did better than my first game but was disappointed.

We played one more game, a horse racing betting game; Richard played the announcer, and so did not bet. We bet on the dice-driven Horses. Quite fun and easy. I have bet on horses before, and Monte Carlo AI’s are a favorite of mine. I won after five races, having gone with reasonable risks on Place and Show to generate the most revenue with the least risk–very AI.

Kathleen had a car this week, so I could drive straight home and arrive home before midnight. I did take the huge ramp onto the bridge I call the Space Shuttle Launch, but it was not wet or windy; thus, it was less stressful. On the highways in Portland, I did see cars flying by Air Volvo at speeds I thought showed some relativistic shifting. Yes, the extra-legal drag racing, I think that was what that was, is back in Portland.

It took me a while to sleep. I bid on a few cheap stamps on Hipstamps.com. Finally, I got sleepy.

Thank you for reading.

 

It is Saturday morning when I write this. Our weather has returned to our usual June grey and rain. We have some sprinkles Friday night, and Sunday, according to the forecast, is a usual June Oregon hose-down. The rain will leave after that and will not likely be back, except for a thunderstorm, until September, and the rains will not be back until October/November. We hope (and pray) the smoke and the 120+ temperatures will stay away this summer.

Going backward, I was back at the Volvo Cave before midnight. Air Volvo got me from Dondrea’s and Z’s house after we all returned from Portland. We had seen A Midsummer’s Night Dream at the Armory in the Pearl District in Portland. This is one of my favorite Shakespeare play (The Tempest and Macbeth being my other favs–I like the fantastical plays), and the pre-play discussion described how this play is unique; the story and structure do not appear to be based on any existing works (much of Shakespeare’s plays have an origin in other works). The play inside a play makes this very approachable.

The Portland Center Stage at the Armory group reduced the cast to just nine people, and they switched roles and costumes, with some of the leads taking secondary positions. In contrast, others played almost the same character in both versions (the Duke, Theseus, and Oberon being the same actor). It was fun to see the actors taking different roles all night, and the costume changes helped to direct the adaptation for us, the audience. The play switched to slapstick and physical comedy a few times while the actors shouted Shakespearean insults at each other. It worked. Dondrea, Z, and I enjoyed the play and were laughing through much of it. Recommended if you can fit it in (closes on 3July2023).

We visited Powell’s City of Books before the play, we had an hour to kill, and there found On a Pale Horse for Z. This is the first book in the old incarnations series by Piers Anthony, and we could not find the second book, on time, but Z was happy with something new to read. I resisted Powell’s stacks of board games and did not visit role-playing games (RPG) as there is always something there I want.

We ate at Van Eberts before heading to the books store and the play. Dondrea and Z joined me in consuming the best wings I have ever had. These are smoked before recooked with your choice of excellently made sauces. Mine, Korean-style, was almost black with the sauce brushed on and then broiled–cooked twice. The rumors are that the wings are so good the chicken volunteer. Dondrea and Z had their sauce on the side and loved their wings. Dondea tried a cider, I had the Volatile Substance IPA (their award-winning IPA), and Z had a Shirly Temple with a bitter cherry (an Oregon cherry) that Z did not like.

Moving backward, Dondrea picked up Z at school, and we headed directly into the back roads and Highway 26 to reach Portland. The traffic was moderate, and we were not rushed. I had left Air Volvo at Dondrea’s house after coming from Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Being a work-from-home day, I completed my afternoon working online from Susie’s room. Susie listened to Emmerson, Lake, and Palmer while I did various Zoom meetings and followed along with work via Slack channel updates, texts, and emails. The current crises of the moment were going to run all weekend, so all of us on the team must check in all weekend, and I will attend the morning status meetings. Susie was happy to have me hang out with her and was not upset when I left at about 3:20. She looked sleepy.

When reaching the hummingbird house, Susie agreed to head out to the park. I had only twenty minutes before my next meeting. We rushed out and found a bench. Susie loved the still-warm weather, and the park was quieter today; apparently, all the kids were back in their respective schools and not visiting the park today. The butterflies, Oregon Swallowtails, three doing circles together, were out and enjoying having the park almost to themselves.

We called Leta, Susan’s mother, and chatted for a while. Leta was working on getting her car repaired (she has a scrape on it, which is a leased car, so she needs to fix it) and had some blood work done. Leta is still unhappy that the local deer enjoyed her best flowers. We could only chat briefly, and soon I had Susie back in her room (Jennifer popped Susie into her bed for the afternoon).

Moving back to the start of Friday, I got going at 7:30ish and did not feel like an animated undead creature rising, but more human. I put some breakfast links into a glass dish and baked them in the oven. I put six eggs in a pan to hard boil and headed to the in-house office. I try to make homemade breakfast on Fridays with leftovers for Saturdays. I then started the usual Zoom meetings on status and defects that go from 8AM thru 9AM. I cooled the cooked eggs in ice while the meetings went on, and I was relieved that no new crises of the moment surfaced like a terrible iceberg ready to sink the weekend. I had my breakfast of links, eggs, a banana, and liberal coffee (my next two months’ supply arrived on Friday). I found a break in my meeting, slipped into the shower, and dressed in a dress shirt.

The last morning meeting at the shoe company was a discussion and lecture on encryption options and processes to be used by Nike IT–and nothing that can even be summarised here! Next, we had an excellent presentation and discussion on tax-efficient approaches for foreign trade for the shoe company; the next version. Again, indeed, nothing to be discussed here in my blog. Michael G presented, and it was his usual nearly perfect delivery of a complex subject. Always a pleasure to attend the software architect forum, which I will be taking over for the summer as Subha is on sabbatical.

My last thing in the morning was to open a can of peaches, spoon them next to cottage cheese, and eat that for lunch while watching a few videos on YouTube. Drachinifel channel had a new video on the inside of the USS Texas battleship, a pre-WW1 Dreadnought, that is currently in dry dock being made safe to survive another fifty or more decades.

I did not finish the video (it is a long one Drachinifel videos are best taken in smaller bites), but instead cut a pile of roses to bring to Susie and the hummingbird house. My Wedgwood roses canes are nearly breaking under the weight of the blooms. I also did a bit of deadheading of my other roses. I arrived at Susie’s with a pile of roses after 1PM.

Well, that was Friday! Thanks for reading.

The morning started with me again resetting my alarm to 6:30 and waking again, not knowing how the thirty minutes could be over in a blink or shutting my eyes. I found myself in the kitchen and had an out-of-body experience as I watched myself find a banana and make coffee, liberal coffee, in a French Press. Slowly, I become myself as I reassemble in my office with breakfast and read emails, Slack channel updates, and some news. The current emergency was solved, but a new one has been discovered, and the various recovery and defect process has begun. Nothing for me.

I shower, dress, and board Air Volvo with the rest of the coffee in a travel cup. The pollen level, while high, has me not coughing but sneezing all day. The drip-drip and the cough-cough have stopped, and the sneezing is only outside or in Air Volvo before the high-quality air filters restore normal air to the interior. When I get so many miles on Air Volvo, I purchase the standard fixes and updates, and the air filters are also replaced–it is always best for Air Volvo to return to the mothership for maintenance.

There were two school buses before me (there are only four school days left for Beaverton) on my trip to the office–usually, there are none, and I was not late. I think the school drivers are going slower, and more kids are likely getting on the buses for the last few days. I arrived before 8AM at work for my shift.

My day was meeting and Zoom rich. I also had a tummy issue, likely caused by my small breakfast and my pills. A bagel-like product at the breakfast table for testers (we qualify for the food, too) and more coffee got me back to normal. Today, I travel to Nike WHQ, which is lovely on a sunny clear day like today. I parked on the third floor of the NYC Garage (plenty of parking) and then walked across the Nike WHQ campus.

Serena Williams Building has a beautiful cafeteria with a great salad bar, and there I met Scott for lunch. Scott and I made our usual salad lunch and discussed software development and how Scott could get data to run reports for his biz. There (Nike IT mostly has returned to campus), we saw an old friend, Don, who usually works remotely from Florida–the world has permanently changed (he moved there to care for his late mother) from the pandemic, especially for IT. Don was visiting for a while and was working from WHQ.

It was a lovely lunch; the bright sun had us eating outside and enjoying the warm June.

Ms. Williams’s outfits and trophies on display in the lobby of her building.

After lunch, I returned to Air Volvo, rushing a bit and reaching Target not far from Susie’s place when it was time for my next meeting. I sat in Air Volvo, parked, and did the Zoom meeting on my iPhone. The meeting was about another data conversion with a late-discovered issue that must be resolved soon. The conference ran over a bit.

Yes, the fire extinguishers signs have swooshes, and the Nike WHQ NYC Garage wall panels have Morse Code “Just Do It” cut into them.

I drove a few minutes from Target’s parking lot to Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Susie was in her recliner in the shared living room, sleeping. She was waiting for me and had fallen asleep–she smiled when I gently woke her.

Jennifer, the weekday nursing aide, popped Susie into the wheelchair, and we headed to Susie’s room. We looked at the new hats that Barb, Susie’s sister, had sent her. One was a wool hat Barb picked out in Ireland, and another a straw summer hat. There was a note in a large script, so Susie could read it, from Barb suggesting new hats for summer and winter for Susie. Susie tried them on; they are adjustable, and we fitted the sun hat. We called Barb and sent her photos of Susie wearing the hats.

You can see the Moose Cross sign that Barb sent too.

Susie then sat and listened with me to my 2PM meeting, a change control meeting that happens twice a day. The questions are all about process and testing and having proper documentation to prove to any auditor that the software (initial install, fix, or enhancement) is adequately tested. While tedious, Susie did not mind just holding my hand and sitting together for thirty minutes.

Next, adorned with the new hat, Susie agreed to try out Metzger Park next door. It was filled, again, with kids, these older than yesterday but not high school age, and there was lots of running around and fewer parents. We found one unoccupied bench, and I sat there and called Leta, Susie’s mother, and we had a friendly chat on FaceTime. We use FaceTime to see each other. Leta approved of the new hat.

We did the full park tour and saw Bo, who lives in his car near the park. We said hello. We then toured the local streets looking at the flowers and trees. The magnolia tree had not yet bloomed.

The kids seem to have a Blair Witch theme!

I got Susie back to the hummingbird house, and Susie was now ready for a nap. I kissed Susie goodbye as Jennifer took Susie to her room. Susie had a good day.

I enjoyed in Air Volvo the extra, almost end-of-school massive Beaverton traffic. Finally, I arrived at the Volvo Cave, got the mail, picked-out dinner, and did the last 4:30 status meeting from my home office. At the end of my shift, I purchased the old Hammer Studios version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) on iTunes and watched the old, almost horror movie while making dinner. This one is with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee with the horror music soundtrack and the same sets you see in all the 1950-1960 horror pictures, ala Grindhouse. I loved the movie.

I used a new sauce from a jar, Puttanesca: Olive & Capers, from Seggaiano. It contained olive oil stuck to the pasta and mixed well with the Italian sausage I fried until just before it burned in a non-stick pan. I recommend this sauce and will repurchase it. I made Orecchiette boiling it until it was a bit overdone (sometimes it is too chewy for me). I mixed it all while watching the Hammer Studios film turned Sherlock Holmes into a series of horror set pieces. Fun. I had many bowls of pasta, meat, and sauce.

Having overeaten, I collapsed into a food coma, napped until 8ish, got some tea, and started writing this blog.

Thanks for reading.

Going backward, I am rushing through the blog as it is already beyond 9:30 at night. I played games with Z tonight while Dondrea and the praise band and choir practiced. Howard’s playing and singing were strong and wonderful, while Z and I went back and forth on board games–Howard is the Choir director and organist at First United Methodist Church and is simply amazing.

Z and I started playing just after 6PM when Z and Dondrea arrived. I felt we should play something less complex than Scythe, so we agreed on Wingspan. Z plays fast, and we played two games in just over an hour. We walked in the park and then played a few rounds of Azul using our more straightforward scoring process.

I won the two Windspan games, but both of us had not managed to get a strong engine going, so both games were low scoring. Z had the game down cold, and I did not have to help her. Each time we were not more than ten points away–anyone’s game.

Wingspan is a game where you fill your bird sanctuary with birds (represented on cards), and your birds lay eggs, or you raid the bird feeder for the right foods to attract the birds, or you collect more potential birds (more cards, not played yet). The birds can be activated, and they then provide various superpowers. Also, each round of play has goals for extra points. It is a delightful game and very positive and has limited player interaction. I recommend the Europe/Asia add-on, as it seems to remove some random luck from the game. The game takes a few plays to understand it and more plays to get good at it. Z is starting to get good–I had to play well to beat her.

Azul is a tile-laying pattern game that we love. We use a more straightforward alternative scoring method that I like better than the original one. No matter how you play it, it is recommended. Z and I had a great time and could have played all night, but it was getting late, and it was a school night for Z. Yes, Z is twelve and plays well!

Before this, I found dinner at the Shack Shack a guilty pleasure and ordered from the same gal who took my order last time, and we agreed I should do the Shroom. I did not know there was no meat. Interesting and not bad at all. Fries are excellent and old-school, at least. Funny, the food delivery guy asked me my name, it was spelled WYOT instead of Wild, and apparently, there was a bet that it was WILD. Often younger folks cannot get my name right as they really can’t believe that there is someone named Wild and so hear Wyot, Wild, Wolt, and other variations. Seeing them betting on my name was funny, and later I waved to the person that took my order–I was not offended. “Just plain Wild, no ‘e,’ like Wild and Crazy, W.I.L.D.,” I often explain.

Preceding this, I finished my afternoon with another status meeting, and I must admit I left it early as I was tired and a bit grumpy, and losing my calm. Details cannot go here, but a fix was needed, and the process was not followed. Growl.

Moving the story further back to the morning, I was able to leave the office in the later morning after the status meetings and doing some research. I am working on my next tasks. I headed to see Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Susie was waiting in her chair and decided she could do 68F (20C) in the park with a cool breeze–Susie got to wear her coat again this spring/summer.

The park was full of middle-aged kids, pre-teens, and there was pizza and lots of them running all over. Apparently an end-of-school party. I found a bench in the park, still in the sun, parked with Susie to watch the chaos and call Leta, Susie’s mother. Leta could hear all the screaming kids over the phone, and we chatted for a while. Susie looked cold, so we rang off and then circled around the park once, having to dodge kids, parents, and plenty of friendly dogs. It was a short visit as I had to return to the office today. I left with a kiss and a promise to return on Thursday afternoon.

I found lunch at Chipotle, getting a rice bowl with pork and guacamole. I eat pork and guacamole on corn chips; I don’t eat much rice or beans as I fill up on the chips and dip.

Before this, I started the work-from-office day rushing at 6:30. I could not start at 6, just too tired and out of it, and reset to 6:30 and was fully asleep when the alarm woke me at 6:30. I stumbled into the kitchen, found a banana, and made coffee, liberal Fair Exchange, in my French Press. I somehow read emails, Slack channel updates, and the news without being late in the shower and dressed and out the door at 7:30. I reached the office on time, even after meeting two school buses on the road.

Sorry for the rushed blog, but it is already getting late. Thanks for reading.

 

Today I was sensing a change in the world. I notice these sometimes and start to move to the following items to work on. It makes me hopeful as this means there is a future, and exciting work is coming. I was busier today as I began to start new work. I am playing Philp Glass’s Akhnaten opera and saw more strange winds; it is being broadcasted next month (the 2019 production I saw live in the theaters). I think I will make a virtual show at the Met next month, July 26th.

The day is like many, and I hate to keep writing about getting up and making breakfast like it is incredible that I made it to the afternoon and bore people with the mundane. But, I heard today on public radio that the anti-cancer drug (the one that put me in the ER) is now in critically low supply, and folks are having to forego treatment or try a more dangerous or less effective drug. I am so blessed that none of this happened to me in the middle of the f**king pandemic, and I managed to avoid Covid-19. So it may be best if I remember the day.

So the morning started with me waking before my 6AM alarm and figuring out why I was up so early. I managed to find the kitchen, it appears to be in the same place–but I had doubts for a moment. There, I located an NYC bagel (thanks, Joyce), heated it for a bit in the microwave (it was frozen) to allow me to quickly slice the bagel and not turn it into a bread ball, toasted it, and smeared cream cheese on it and sprinkled it with capers. I improved my meal by adding a mug of freshly made liberal coffee (I have drunk it since Trump won his election as a reminder to be vigilant). I took this all into the office (formally Corwin’s room) and read all my emails (both the shoe company’s and mine), reviewed the updates in the Slack channels, and read the news. While the news was embarrassingly stuffed with articles about Trump, I was more interested in the Consumer Price Index, which was surprisingly better and may mean a soft landing for the economy.

I then showered, which included washing my grown-out hair, which is more than I have had in a long time. I towel it dry, but it is still damp when I leave and reach work. I am still trying to understand how to manage long hair. On shaving, I did order the Dollar Shaving Club new blades (they changed their base product again!) and changed my blade today. Interestingly, the cheaper blades have no way to clean them, while the more expensive DSC ones easily wash out and are not dull after a week (I did change after a week and noticed little change in the performance). I may take the suggestion to switch to a new shaving supply company that is not a zombie version of a brand now animated by multi-nations like Unilever.

I dressed not in a dress shirt, a Nike Tiger Woods’ short leave shirt, and boarded Air Volvo. I did encounter a school bus, but only for a moment, and I arrived in time for my first meeting at 8AM. Today it is knowledge transfer meetings from our software vendor. I was fascinated by the code and process (I suspect most people would be nodding off) and asked questions.

I was unhappy with the code as it made database requests without wrapping the request in an error recovery (Try…Except style code) process. Anyone can code a request, but a real commercial-grade program checks for failures and then returns those failures to the caller. Instead, this program is written with the hope to not fail, and if it does, it just sends a generic error  (swallowing the exceptions). This is the worst type of code–I was not happy. Worse, the program was slow as it did not Fork some tasks and wait for the results, thus only waiting the maximum time of one process. Instead, the code adds together all the time by running the processes back to back without exception handling. I did not know what to say as the program was already live. Worse, the presenter said the program already has tickets against it for running too slowly. Ugh!

After that, I did status meetings and put in all my vacation requests for July, August, and one day in October (H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland). Barb, Susie’s sister, is coming in mid-July, and I can get some time free then (I may have to do some security requests and help with a go-live at that time, but I should get free from most work items).

I headed out to see Susie after 11AM. Susie was sitting in her chair. Susie was delighted to have a visitor, and we soon called Leta, Susie’s mother, and talked about our day and Leta’s hopes for her tomato plants. Soon, I had to find lunch and get back to work. I kissed Susie goodbye and promised to return on Wednesday.

Next, I traveled on the highways without seeing Beaverton’s Finest handing out speeding tickets. I stopped by Burger King on the way back to work, had a Whopper with cheese, and listened to public radio while I enjoyed my burger and fries. The burger seemed really good today.

On the radio was a gal, Matika Wilbur, who did a photo album of every sovereign Tribal Nation in North America, 562. It took her years and is called Project 562 and the book’s name. The author was a teacher and could not find any appropriate pictures of Native Americans to show her students in a Native American School, so she went on an odyssey to fix this by photographing people from all 562 nations. 

I was sitting in my car and looked over, and Gary, another IT person I have worked with for years, was eating his lunch and reading his phone. We chatted and then headed out.

The rest of the afternoon was a few crises of the moment and me starting on some new work. The afternoon disappeared, and soon I was done with status reports and driving home. I reached home, looked for something to make, found the Jambalaya mix, and headed back to Safeway. I bought various types of meat for Jambalaya (not seafood) and other items for breakfast. I saw my Iraqui friend, Ise, checking, and we greeted each other with a smile and a handshake. He looked well and happy.

I cut up the sausage: Portuguese spiced links, cajan sausage, and plain kielbasa. I cut it lengthwise and then again. Finally, chopping into blocks (no coins). I heat these in a pan (no oil) and cut up a fresh green pepper to cook in the hot meat (which creates its own fat). I stir in the rice and seasoning from a box of Zatarain’s mix (21 cents an ounce if bought in a 12-box on Amazon) and heat until things start to stick. I then add a can of Mexican-style stewed tomatoes plus two more cans of water and scrape the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to release the goodies. Next, heat to a boil and simmer on low for 25 minutes, tightly covered. Do not stir. When reaching time, if still sloppy, then that is good. If not, then take it to sink and pour, using care, cold water on the bottom of the pan. Now it is safe to stir–hot rice will burn when stirred (the heat released from stirring instantly burns the rice to the bottom of the pan). 

I watched the rest of the newest Doctor Strange movie while cooking and eating. I have yet to do the dishes and get back to the laundry. Instead, I wrote this blog. Remembering how lucky I am to have all these boring things happen to me. I pray for the folks who cannot get their anti-cancer drugs and may not be doing boring stuff in a year. That was not the headline today. CPI and Trump were the headlines.

I remembered. I cried. I pray. I write.

Thanks for reading.