Author: alohawild

As usual for Fridays, I am writing this Saturday morning. For two nights in a row, I have not slept well. I am late to get to sleep, wake up a few times, and then early to rise. I hope it will get better soon.

Friday started as usual as a work-from-home day. Less typical was the bad headache and the lack of sleep. I had some vaxs on Thursday, which made me feel feverish, and I could not sleep. I think I managed a few hours of sleep. This made the morning a hard start. But it is overcast, and a river of moisture is pointed at Oregon (the skies are gray and dark), and there is no chance of the sun interrupting my vampire moment.

We have sheets of sideways rain all day and night, about three inches (7.5cm) of rain in 24 hours. Flash floods, flooded streets, and some overflowing gutters are just the norm for a river of rain. The ground, parched and cracked, drinks deep, as do my grass, trees, and roses. Water is everywhere now. There is a chance of slush next week as we crash from a season of fires and drought into leaves filling our drains and flooding into freezing with snow and ice. Just a routine change of seasons in Oregon!

I was reading and following along on Friday at work. I wrote some ideas about handling some issues, and these thoughts, having to be shared, take some time to organize and get down in words that can be easily shared.

I traveled through the slippery wet, windy mess that is a river of rain, and my tires even spun a bit on Air Volvo at intersections as they tried to grip the road–a lot of wet. Air Volvo is a four-wheel drive with automatic wheel selection. So it will still move when the front wheels struggle for friction as the rear wheels push the vehicle.

I get cold easily, and my coat and hat are wet soon. Air Volvo turns off when idle, and that stops the hot air. So when traveling through the constant stop lights in Beaverton (I did not cross over Coopers Mountain in a river of rain), my heat goes on and off. A bit disconcerting. The seat warmers seem to stay on.

I reach Susie without incident, the streets filling with water, and the flash floods are still in the future. Susie is in her recliner in the shared living room. The room has been reorganized to allow another resident to view the TV better. I like it. I get a winged hair next to Susie, which is better.

Susie is thrilled to see me, and we quickly call her mother, Leta, who takes the call sitting in her car. Leta was headed out but stopped to chat. We talk about the election and various health issues. Now that I have met with the doc, we can plan joint days of lab work. Susie still is not sleeping well, but she is eating better–it is a focus for her now. Jennifer now tries to get Susie’s help when getting into the wheelchair or out; this is more exercise for Susie. This, too, is a focus for Susie. Finally, I have to return to work at home and soon get a kiss and head out.

Beaverton is starting to look damp as I cross it, and water is running fast down my street. I check, and the pond is full again, but not high. All the drains are running. When the rain is heavy, my gutters drip from overflow, but not too bad. The standing water soon disappears–Oregon is drinking deep.

Breakfast was cereal with milk, and lunch was a homemade salad and reheated pizza. I watch while eating lunch the rest of a second look at the last Doctor Who special: The Power of the Doctor. I liked it better, but I still find the fading in and out of black strange–there are no commercials on the version I watch.

I continue reading, researching, and writing a few thoughts to share for Friday of work-at-home work for the shoe company. The rain is sideways and heavy, and I feel at 4ish, it is time to start the weekend.

For next year, I need to avoid increasing my compensation by selling stock as that will increase the amount of medical expenses excluded from being written off. Instead, I am arranging to borrow from my 401K next year to cover Susie’s $8,000 in medical costs a month. This will allow me to reserve the stock and other compensation for later use. I have maxed out the medical reimbursement account for next year. I can then use the 401K contribution to further reduce my income. This should allow me to breach the Trump SALT tax changes, write off the medical expenses, and get a large amount of my taxes, both federal and state, and that should, with hope, get me enough money back to help cover Susie’s expenses in the following years.

The paperwork to track every medical expense is non-trivial. I also have to open a checking account in my name; all the money is in Susie’s name, and all the debt is recorded in my name. I have to transfer the 401K loan cash to an account in my name or use paper checks (!). I have thus opened a banking account in my eTrade account.

Aside: Years ago, and at the time quite cutting edge, Nike opened eTrade accounts for employees for their 401K and stock transactions. Nike provided classes and training on using these newfangled online trading accounts in the 1990s. The shoe company has moved to Fidelity, leaving me with a personal eTrade account. I use this as my trading and now banking account as it is no longer associated with my employer, perfect. However, I have complained that Fidelity is giving the advice to use their products and that the advice is from commissioned sales teams; I do not like this.

I have canceled my game playing on Saturday as I have too much paperwork to do this weekend (preparing for yearend and my tax efficiency changes), and the house needs some cleaning. So a boring wet weekend–but boring is good. I do plan to make Dungeons and Dragons on Sunday night.

I was tired of my own company and headed out. I bought tickets to The Addams Family musical put on by the Lovegood Company (I had never heard of them before); I saw the poster at Powell’s in Beaverton and decided to try it. For dinner, I stopped by BJ’s Brewhouse and had an excellent red ale and soba noodles with spicier chicken than I had expected. Mo, one of my usual waiters in the bar, convinced me to have an over-the-top cookie dessert. I think I ruined my good rating on my diabetes!

The show, high school and college folks, was well done, and I liked how they did a minimum prop usage. However, they did not swing or get that much into the music, which, as a church production, would be asking too much. Later, I learned the church, I won’t name it here, is known for its lack of tolerance and a solid anti-gay marriage stance. Too bad, it was a good start. But here is the original cast version of the first song: Be an Addams or Die.

Afterward, I returned home, read a bit, and voted. Oregon has a mail-only ballot system. The state mails you a ballot; you fill it in over about a month and return it by mail or drop it off. I had to do some research on a few names I did not recognize and had only one hard decision deciding to go with a biologist over a local farmer for a soil position. I decided to vote for the gun control item as it is the people’s will and should be respected–we will see. I thought I should not tell people how to manage their guns, but then I decided that folks need to learn to respect elections and voted for it–sorry, gun folks. I also voted to remove the ability to enslave people in Oregon–The USA constitution still allows for the enslavement of criminals–should not happen! I also voted against having a state representative/senator who misses ten votes from being banned from running again–that is why we have elections, and I would not like to confuse that. I try not to cover politics here, but these were part of my voting experience, which I wanted to share. It took me a few days to decide on some of these issues, with 114 being the hardest issue (the gun control item) to decide.

I went to bed after voting and tried to sleep. But, unfortunately, I had another night where rest was hard to find.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

I took the day off and decided to go with a low-stress day, so I did not rush all day. I was busy all day, but I was doing things I wanted or needed to do to feel safe.

The morning started with me not getting up at 6:15 but sleeping in beyond 8AM–something I never do. I then skipped reading my email and instead went to make breakfast. Today I had three poached eggs (which I failed to swirl enough and stuck to the bottom of the pan) and fried shredded potatoes I got from the German Deli in Metzger. I found some canned peaches already open in the frig. I made liberal, Fair Trade coffee. I had breakfast while re-watching the Doctor Who special: The Power of the Doctor. I managed to see 3/4 before I needed to move on to writing the blog and checking my email. I liked it better this time.

I ordered more Utterly Smooth, 20% Urea, for the care of nerve issues in my hands and feet. It seems to be working. I would recommend it. I also ordered replacement wheels for the dishwasher bottom rack, the second set I have ordered, as two have broken, and the bottom rack is hard to use now. It is cheaper than trying to replace the whole thing again.

I wrote a brief blog for Wednesday, got dressed, and hung up some laundry. I am trying to get all the washing done this weekend and even put it away. I also did some of the dishes. Soon, I was headed out in Air Volvo to have a biz lunch I decided to keep on my day off. So Scott and I had a pleasant lunch.

I drove by the old Baseline Belgiums today. The house that is on Baseline was being taken down. But, back in 1996, the area had huge Belgium horses in a field and a house and barn across Baseline Road with a sign that said Baselines Belgiums. For those who don’t know horses, a Belgium is a huge horse that pulls wagons and is best known in the USA as the horses that pulls the Budweiser wagon in TV commercials. Now the field is apartments, and the house is just a pile of wreckage–times change.

Next, I went to the hummingbird house, and Susie was waiting for me. She was in her recliner chair in the living room and was falling asleep. Jennifer moved Susie to her bed, and we set up the TV. Susie and I watched Lord of the Rings: Rings of Powers, one of the later episodes (I don’t recommend even watching the first four unless you really love obscure Tolkien Lore. We also called Susan’s mother, Leta, and we chatted for a while.

Soon, I was headed out to make my doctor’s appointment. I kissed Susie goodbye and took Air Volvo across Beaverton without issue except for the usual heavy later afternoon Beaverton traffic. Finally, I reached the doc and did the routine paperwork.

My blood pressure, A1C, and general health are good. The numbness in my feet is still surface-level–not profound. I have a physical therapy referral for the pain in my right leg. I will be doing all the blood and other tests to check some items–my kidney showed issues last time, but I was coming out of anemia, so it needs to be rechecked before actions would be taken–could be a fluke. I also have an ear, throat, and nose doctor referral for my hearing issues. I will need a diabetic eye check, also. Quite a list–glad I was not sick! I will try to overlap these tests with tests that Susie needs.

I got a flu shot and a Pneumovax shot, one in each arm. I believe vaccines are the cheapest way to avoid serious illness; you do not want Bacterial Pneumonia. The Pneumovax was a bit sharp, and my arm ached. The flu shot was painless and has no soreness.

While waiting for Mariah to pick a place, I headed to Beaverton Powell’s Books and found a new SciFi book highly recommended. Powell’s staff writes recommendations on cards and places them under the books. Thus, This Is How You Lose the Time War came to my attention. I have read just a few pages, and I already love it.

Next, I drove slowly (there was no choice in the heavy traffic to Portland) to have dinner with Mariah. We met a Hopworks in SouthEast Portland off of Powell. The beer was good and came in steins! This is another local brewery; Mariah is working through the local beer-making places. I had a good burger and thought the place was nice, but the parking sucked. I had to park in the dark and rain on the local streets.

We chatted about car buying and my story for my new adventure. She liked the story, thinking first about some SciFi I was writing.

It was late soon, and we headed out. I stopped by McDonald’s near the Volvo Cave and got a hot fudge sundae. Finally, I put all the recycling and trash out for Friday.

I am having chills and then feel overheated. Yes, I think the vax is working. I am falling asleep while writing.

Thanks for reading.

 

I took off Thursday and decided to write the blog today, but then I slept in and went slow. Trying to get some of that rest, I keep promising myself and others to do it. So I am now a bit rushed and will just do an outline for Wednesday.

I ate a bagel at 10PM (22Hr) and took my pills. I had written just a few more paragraphs in my Dungeons and Dragons adventure–just trying to do something every day. Before this, I was at First United Methodist Church, and we had a hooligan sitting on the church steps high and saying mean things about God. We managed to politely shoo him away, but we did find a used hypodermic outside on the steps.

I was at the church to play board games with my dangerous and wicked 11-year-old Zophia, who beat me again. Today’s game was The Lost Ruins of Arnak, the base game. This is one of the newer games that combines a strong theme with more contemporary gaming structures to create a fun and interesting game. The game has the worker placement and resource management style I like. It combines this with deck-building to control your turn and then a research track to apply your acquired resources. The theme, well used, is a 1920s Hollywood-style archeology movie. It plays well for two players and expands some options to accommodate three and four players–the game does not slow much with more players. It is a fav, and I have a blinged-out copy.

My friend Richard says this is a light game; I would say it is the entry-level to more complex games. It flows well, and I have seen turns run long at the end, as someone discovered all the means to play and take first place. But, on the other hand, I like all the options.

Zophia, her time at this game and with my help, beat me by ten points. Next time I will pay more attention!

Before this, I skipped dinner and worked at home for a while. Unfortunately, the fix for my laptop did not work–I think the laptop and network passwords are out-of-sync, and I will have to invest some time at the Performance Desk next week.

I left work, got lunch, and then I visited Susie at the hummingbird house; she had slept poorly for the last few days and was slightly off. We did call Susie’s mother, Leta, and chatted with her for a while. Susie is confused or is asleep when talking, and the staff is just helping late at night by getting her up for a bit and then putting her to bed again. Susie was tired and sleepy on Wednesday. She dropped her cup of Ensure, drinking three bottles a day, and Jennifer cleaned up the mess. Yes, there is no carpet in the place–just mop it up.

I spent the day working at the office; I worked on some more research and some planning meetings and discussions. I have also suggested a significant performance that is shocking to folks. I also have some other suggestions for forward-looking improvements to master data error tracking and logging. Time to do some architecture work–finally.

Travel today was without events, and I did the usual things in the morning. Cereal with milk and fresh banana plus liberal coffee. Lunch was a stupid choice of a burger at Carl’s Jr. that left me full and overwhelmed. Not again–only Western Burgers, if that.

Well, I am rushed again as I am going slow today and have to get a few things done before heading out to a lunch meeting I kept on my day off, then Susie, and then a new doctor. Mariah wants to meet for dinner in Portland. So have to get my day started.

Thank you for reading!

I am changing the name of these stories to Today as that makes more sense to me.

I am cold this evening and had reheated pizza and the rest of the chicken caesar salad for dinner. I watched a shipwreck finder show on Disney+ while eating dinner, but I thought it was terrible–so no name.

The day started with me waking twenty minutes before my alarm. I had just fallen asleep when it went off. I laugh when that happens (it is that or scream, “Nooooo,” and turn to dust like Dracula). The morning was rushed as it was a work-from-office day, and I quickly got my breakfast of cereal with milk and liberal coffee made in a French Press. I am trying to reduce my caffeine intake, so this coffee was all I had today as I did not get any of the free Starbucks coffee at work. However, I did take a coffee cup full of coffee to work to finish it.

I read my email and tried to get up-to-date on the news. I read the work emails and reviewed any updates in various Slack channels, which are starting to reproduce like mushrooms. Everyone wants you to watch their texts. I have to admit I created a new channel today too.

I was soon dressed and remembered the flowers I bought yesterday at Safeway for Susie. I reached work without incident in Air Volvo and was just ahead of the school buses. It is gray on gray with a bit of rain.

At my shared space, but always the same one, I was quickly researching and thinking about some new items we could be working on now. It was Tuesday, so the morning was full of Zoom meetings, but at least some were in conference rooms. Once that stopped, I headed to see Susie.

Susie was going slow (she had trouble sleeping last night) and was still eating breakfast when I arrived. I spent an hour with Susie and her eating breakfast. We briefly chatted with Susie’s mother, Leta, who was still at a church bible study in Lansing, Michigan. Susie loved the flowers, and she is getting serious about eating (she lost twenty pounds in the last four months), and there is a slight improvement already (she is also drinking Ensure–three bottles a day). Susie was finished, and I was out of time. She was sorry to see me leave, but I left with a kiss and a promise to return on Wednesday.

I stopped on the way back at Carl’s Jr. and had a guilty pleasure: A Western Burger. It is the last fast food I eat. After that, I returned to work and talked to some folks about some new ideas. It is time to start thinking about new cool things to do. I also did some reading and research on options.

I left work at about 4:30PM feeling tired again. I missed that afternoon coffee! I got home, plugged in my Nike laptop, and had a connection error. Puke! I went out to the kitchen and started making an early dinner.

After dinner and the show on shipwrecks, I returned and got my laptop to work when I remembered to hard plug it into my network. Yup, password sync issue–got me last time at the house. My laptop and network password are out of sync, which can be fixed by hard plugging into my network or using Nike’s network at the office. Wifi logins are not likely possible. That may explain some of the issues in MS Office. I will chat with the Performance Bar on Wednesday.

I spoke to Susie’s niece Emma. I sent her a copy of the Herbalist’s Primer book from a Kickstarter–I support many book projects and usually order a spare copy to give away. It is a Dungeons and Dragon book on the magical use of plants. She has not received it yet but is recovering from Covid-19, and the idea behind the book intrigued her. We talked about gaming things. Emma and I used to play chess, and she has played Dungeons and Dragons for years. I am glad she is getting better.

Thanks for reading.

 

Tonight, so far, I have one tricker-or-treater. I have my mad scientist look with my eyeball and lighted top hat. I managed to find a few decorations, one spooky–a yelling mini-skeleton that jumps up and shakes the cage, and a light that projects bats and a haunted house on the white paint of the Volvo Cave. I am happy to manage a bit of decoration, have candy ready, and being dressed up–it is a lot for me to pull off. Last year, Susie was in the hospital in New York City, and I had dinner with Kat at Tash and Jason’s place. Later I road back on the subways and had an exciting experience on Halloween in NYC.

I chatted with my neighbors for a while before the night fell. It was nice to just hang out a bit. I walked the street to see how many houses were giving out candy; most of the street was dark this year. Sad.

I watched a bad Vincent Price movie, The Twice-Told Tales–I have never seen the whole thing before. It is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s stories. I did this while waiting for tricker-treaters with the door open, so I could hear them. By the way, I never liked Hawthorne (yes, I will say it…he never got an ‘A’ from me), and the movie was not that good, but it fit the day.

I had a Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake pizza, a stuffed Chicago style. This, with a chicken caesar salad from Papa Murphy’s, is one of my favorites for dinner. I used to get a pizza and give out candy with Susie excited to see all the little kids in their costumes. I wanted to give out candy for the first time in years. Just one customer, but it is a start. I miss Susie tonight.

I picked up the pizza while sliding out to get some groceries on the way back from the hummingbird house. I was running out of soap, toilet paper, and other needed items. So I rushed through Safeway (only a few folks with masks–I did not wear one). Brittney Spears made my pizza with a cowgirl. Ms. Spears had a badge with her name on it at Papa Murphy’s!

Before this, I slipped out of work to head to Susie in Air Volvo. I crossed Beaverton without issue. Susie was ready for Halloween with her witch’s hat and Boo shirt on. We called Leta and Barb Wild, our mothers, and chatted a little. I had to head out after staying for a bit longer. We even went out on the porch, but it was too cold for Susie. Susie was sad that I was leaving but said it was OK and that she would be OK. It is heartbreaking when Susie asks to go with me, and I can’t make that work.

Before this and after, I followed along at work and worked on software ideas.

I was up at 7ish as it was a work-from-home day. I had cereal with milk for breakfast and a bagel-like local bread product with cream cheese and canned peaches. I knew it was a pizza night, so I kept breakfast and lunch light.

Thanks for reading.