Author: alohawild

Last place, by far, is not unusual for me at Richard’s for a new-to-me heavy Euro game. Richard, Laura, and Kathleen (in that order) were no more than 9 points apart; I was far away from that.  The game we played, Odin’s Feast, is a highly rated 2016 game (here) that is a resource management game with worker placement, selling for about $90, with two add-ons for $50 and other small mini-expansions.  I found it a confusing mess of choices and strange iconography, so I decided to try out various options, not think too much about the points (which sent me to last place), and finish my board. Something I never get done in one of these games. But while I always find last place a bit of a letdown, this time I was sampling the game and could see why this one is popular; there’s a lot to do.

The game has you place workers (Vikings) on the board to do work, with more workers needed for more interesting options. Forging, animal husbandry, raiding, hunting, fishing, homebuilding, boatbuilding, and some special point-slinging options are available. All having different rules and iconography! Being Viking-themed, the most points were in building and using boats, and like other twenty-teens, made Euros, animals are worth lots of points, and engines are available. I am not sure I would buy it (especially now with all the add-ons), but I would play it again (and try harder to win).

It was a late night with us ending just before 11, and I was soon talking to Dondrea about the Brazil trip. Airflight options are still being discovered. I also got a call back that Senator Graham, a long-term player and ally of President Trump, had unexpectedly passed away. And while I will not be singing and dancing, “Thank you very much, Mr. Graham,” from the musical Scrooge (though I think he is a good fit), I did not care for him in the least.

My trip home was uneventful, and I spent the time on the phone talking about flights and things. I was soon in bed and reading. It was hard to wind down after the game, and I finally fell asleep closer to 1 than midnight.

Moving the story, briefly, as this is less interesting for Friday, I rose closer to 7 than 8 today. I reheated coffee, saw that the ants were back in the kitchen, and had the last banana. I headed to the office and found the focus to write a long-ish blog post.

I was there for a while, talked to Deborah, and we reconnected all through Friday until I wished her good night in the early evening (Oregon time). I did my usual tasks while sipping reheated Fair Trade coffee. The bitterness (and the news I read) reminded me how far we liberals have to go before the USA is known as a land of Justice with Compassion. It still, despite years of effort to correct the mistakes and sins of the past, appears that special interests, the privileged, and racism (historical and blatant) still have a thumb on the scales of justice and government. But it is another day to be liberal and remember…

I had to rise at a more work-related time of 6:30. I even had an alarm set. I had breakfast with my niece Emma (by way of Susie) and her friends Greg and Ashley at 8, as they would return to Michigan the same way they came, driving after getting the brakes repaired on Greg’s car. Also, there were some other things (not shareable) that distracted me, and I heard from her son that she was doing fine. I was a bit distracted all day.

I started the blog, then was in the shower and did the usual bit. I did download my Quicken stuff and read my emails (mostly deleting). eTrade is taking 2 or 3 tries to get a balance. I think it is just timing out, and once it wakes up, it makes the connection (I have seen this before in other computer settings: set a higher retry count and wait longer between retries). I suspect eTrade has replatformed to another cloud vendor or made a similar change, and while supposedly paying less, is experiencing slower service connections. All guesses, but easy ones. Happy to be a retired IT professional, and not my job to have to tell my VP of (pick obscure IT title) that, after all their caviar-loaded dinners with the vendor’s VPs and trips to first-class hotels in interesting cities, the vendor is failing on all connections. Nope, don’t miss that at all.

I was not surprised that, within a minute of being on time, I found all the Easter-time zone people bright and already seated. I had coffee, and Emma ordered tea. La Provence for breakfast and baked goods is really the best Beaverton has to offer, I think. Its price point is not low, but Tom’s Pancake House and Biscuits Cafe are expensive too (I would pick those for an American-style breakfast). Greg tried the Salmon Benedict and Salmon hash for Ashley, and I forgot what Emma ordered, but it looked great. Everyone thought the food was excellent.

I am always amazed when Michiganders order. It seems to me that half the words are polite request words (I know that is not true, but it is fun to listen to). Not me. I always end with a thank-you and often ask for the server’s name, then use it, but Deborah does comment on my rather direct ordering. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we order fast and, hopefully, clearly, with a thank-you at the end. In Seattle, our Neighbors to the north, I have noticed that word endings are often clipped and that the number of words used is kept to a minimum. I am not justifying, but observing.

I imagine a skit from SNL with the server getting different styles (sorry, I kind of enjoyed this):

“Michigan: Would you please consider the option to apply some butter to plain toast, if that is not a bother?”
“Pacific Northwest: But’r toast now. Hmm. Thank you.”
“Texas: Y’all now charge me for bread with heating and some butter. Luv ya”
“Military: Execute Toast to specifications weaponized with butter.”
“Trump: We have the most beautiful golden toast and butter, a wonderful friend supplied it.”
“Press: USA government, in another non-bid contract, paid $14 million for butter for an unspecified use.”
“More Press: Epstein photo shows him appearing with buttered toast; no comment from the toast.”

All right, dear reader, I will stop (I was thinking of the Supreme Court splitting 3/6 on multi-grain and white bread). Now I will stop.

The food was good. I let Emma have my croissant and jam to take home, and we talked about Dungeons & Dragons and gaming. Greg and Ashley, with a repaired car, planned to head out around 9, and so we broke up, and I headed home. They had the little Dungeon pencil game to try on their trip.

I returned home with a lot of church paperwork, a whole list of items from Pastor Ken, and I had to finish the blog too. I found it hard not to bounce from one thing to another. I ordered a copy of a real 1920s guidebook to New Orleans from a local hotel on AbeBooks for less than $100. I have used these (often even cheaper) for various locations (I have two for Egypt and one for New York City) and 1920s travel books (and one 1890s guide to Paris, which really helps with running a Steampunk/horror story). Old maps, copies, or originals (if cheap enough) also help. I was bouncing from task to task, and it was hard to find focus.

I managed to push through Ken’s list and also make progress on the Brazil trip. Gordon in Brazil answered some questions.  I fought with the Canon Printer TR4720 and finally found the software that lets me scan from Canon. I also discovered that the default password can only be accessed by printing the network settings. The Internet information was wrong (and then I discovered that it did not help to scan either). I now have the required passport scan and a photo scan for a Brazilian visa.

I found a later lunch at Panda Express and a new server. They took forever to take my order (I asked for extra veggies), then heaped too much on my plate. The food is Americanized-Chinese-style, and they’re more industrial of late. I even chatted with a hostess, who said the recipes have changed and that there are complaints from older customers.

I did get my fortune cookie. I missed Belgium’s loss to Spain with my server, who was not very attentive, telling me Belgium just missed a tie at the last moment. I forgave his lack of attention when hearing that.

I traveled, tired of trying to find focus at home, to the Insomnia Coffee and had more tea, a hot London Fog, and chatted with the barista, after getting a paper and not a ceramic mug, that a paper cup was a better choice as their drinks come out very hot and paper gets the liquid to a drinkable temperature sooner. I skipped a cookie because I already had my fortune.

There, I did more church items and read more replies on various church subjects. Somewhere in the day, I finished the blog and published it. It is always strange when you have no memories of some events you know you did.

I texted Emma, and we agreed to meet for dinner and maybe a game. It was Mexican after a chat and Pepita’s. The food was great (my order was mangled and ended up as steak fajitas, but they were good). Next, we headed to The 649 and played The Raiders of Scythia (I have described it before, so I will just cover the play) for two with a few drinks. Emma caught on fast, and soon I was worried as I led by many points at first, but soon Emma caught up with raids. Emma raided larger point raids towards the end and then ended the game. We missed that we tripped the ending, and so neither of us added those last-minute points. Emma won by two points.

At 9ish, we headed out. I dropped her off in Beaverton (the cats, I imagine, rejoiced at her return) and was soon home. I put in some laundry, sorted some gaming stuff, went to bed, and read until I started to nod off. I slept until 6ish.

Thanks for reading.

I spent much of Thursday driving back and forth. I crossed Beaverton at least four times. But I drive an EV, meaning I did not add to local smog (most of the power is now renewable, with natural gas backing any missed generation here, and I pay extra for renewable-only power), and I did not spend much on the trip (I charge the car at the house), unlike a gas vehicle.

Starting from the beginning, I did rise earlier today, around 7, but I woke at 4, 5, and 6 and watched the room brighten, but resisted starting Thursday early. I made coffee and found a banana and a strange, whipped, and airy yogurt. I then wrote the blog all morning. My Thursday lunch was put off (and then put off until 20 August), and I heard from Emma and friends that they were off to Portland to see friends. We would reconnect on Friday for breakfast.

I received updates on a trip I am helping to plan and execute to Brazil for the church in November. I will be in Brazil for Thanksgiving week. The folks in Brazil got back to me, as did AAA, and I am trying to get my head around the trip, what we need to do to get nine people there for about a week, and back again. Avoiding a tour of the lesser airports of South America and other airline challenges.

With that read and still thinking, lunch was next, and I headed to Pastini at the Cedar Mills Crossing strip mall, making my first crossing of Beaverton. I had my usual pasta with iced tea, since I did not need a nap or a headache today, and their price for a glass of wine can be the retail price of a bottle. My server was excellent, and while Pastini is a change, this one seems to serve an excellent version of carbonara.

(Yes, magic & Pasta)

I stopped at Powell’s Books and picked up a small pencil-and-paper solo game to adventure with. These types of games are something I have enjoyed (I have a Cold War one and others). This one would be a gift.

Next, getting a cookie at Panera Bread across the parking lot, I was happy to write for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop role-playing game (CoC TTRPG). I ate my cookie and wrote at one of their tables. I updated my 4-page document on how I play and created a new version. I find it helpful to have an explanation of what I plan to bring to a game, to state some exceptions and processes (in this case, how to create investigators), and to ensure that the dice used are easy to read. I cleaned up the wording, updated it to my current thinking on playing CoC, and added drawing Tarot cards to the game process. I created a flyer and picked Tuesday nights as the times I should be available to play.

Returning home, I printed off the material and flyer, made copies of the covers of the New Orleans 1920s CoC adventures I plan to use, added a biz card, and paperclipped it all together. Made various corrections (there always seems to be one last thing to fix) and reprinting. Finally, I drove north of Beaverton to Rune & Board and gave the owner the packet; he is intrigued. He will get back to me. Fingers crossed.

Back to the house (a smaller circle of driving), and then at 6ish I head back to the Cedar Mills Crossing to visit McMenamins Cedar Hills for Theology Pub. They have a room for us, but there’s no air circulation, and it is hot today. It will not be improved by 10-14 people. Instead, being outside under a shading umbrella (though it falls on us when the wind catches it, and the sun’s movement makes this less effective) is a better option than inside. Our server is Ulysses (“Like in President Grant,” he tells us), and he keeps the food, booze, and non-alcoholic beverages flowing. He also acquires more umbrellas for us. He gets high praise for his service.

The topic is hospitality and later grief. Hospitality as it applies to visitors and our renters at church, and how we are to serve and interact. We discuss that some folks are finding the changes unpleasant and reacting with anger. It is suggested that this may be a form of grief (and grief easily leads to anger). We agreed that listening and remembering that when hospitality fails, it could be grief. We also talked about getting a cleaning service back to the church, as some old-time members may be reacting to stains and other messes. We are now in the biz of renting, which means more expenses for building maintenance, including cleaning.

We close the meeting, and some of us are irresistibly drawn to nearby Salt & Straw for ice cream. I have a small cone. While the locally made product is not cheap, it is excellent. Recommended.

With the dessert done, I read a note from Emma about breakfast on Friday, exchanged “good night” texts with Deborah, and was done for the evening. I took Air VW the Gray again across Beaverton. My fourth cross and sixth direction change for the day. The EV was done to 67%, and I plugged in the charger (yes, the car will not drive when plugged in, and this does not happen: Naked Gun).

I read for a while, including some CoC rules. I head to bed early.

Thanks for reading.

I rose late again, to Deborah’s bemusement. I rose, reheated some coffee from yesterday, after I located the kitchen, and while it had not moved, it seemed further this morning. I soon focused on the usual morning tasks of updating Quicken, reading email (mostly deleting), and getting news updates. I use Semafor for some of that and the New York Times. I like the way the NYT writes its stories, and its copy editing is world-class. I find I think better and write better reading the NYT. I understand the Atlantic is also good, and I used to buy it and read it before.

My IRA balance is headed up after the various restarts of the USA-Iran-Israel war. I called US Bank, and they have cashed out of tech and moved more into bonds, expecting an interest rate cut, which will make existing bonds more valuable. I had noticed that the rubber-band-like balance of my IRA account had improved and was heading higher (the lows no longer reverse the highs).

I wrote the blog for much of the morning. Having a banana for breakfast and the rest of my sandwich, a Monte Cristo, for breakfast while I wrote. I also chatted wth Deborah throughout the morning. She finished the plans for our trip next week, and I collected hotel options for each. She checked them and agreed to most of them. I prefer IHG Express for the price and quality. As it is tourist season, I will have to pay a premium for some nights (I booked them all on Thursday morning).

I heard from my niece Emma that they were on their way to Oregon today (they missed the time zone change and arrived sooner than they expected). I talked to Dondrea and Z. She had a cold, and it would be best, with Emma inbound and me flying soon, to skip it and avoid the chance of catching their colds.

(A clear day on TV Highway)

Mariah surprised me by connecting to meet for an early dinner at 3:30, and Emma suggested 6. Two dinners for me! I headed, just to move around, to Powell’s in Air VW the Gray. I found a Brain Puzzle Dungeon book at the bookstore that you play with a pencil and a candy bar. Next door, at City Home, I found a “Beaverton” light that I got for Emma as a welcoming gift. With my purchases, I took the EV back home and grabbed the magnets, President Reagan, and the image of Emperor Vespasian from a reproduction coin from the Reagan Presidential Museum and the Getty Villa, respectively. I headed then to BJ’s Brewhouse and was there around 3:30 and soon Eric, my usual server in the bar area, appeared (he was just starting his day).

Eric and I both mused about the lovely day, the appearance of Mt Hood out of the clouds and now dominating our skies, and maybe we both should have picked something else besides a bar today. But, instead of planning an escape, I ordered an Old Fashioned, and soon Mariah joined me. We talked work (hers), finances, and possible travel dates to meet (Early Nov in Atlanta and possibly Mariah finding her way to NOLA for a weekend in September).

We parted with Mariah, deciding to wait out the traffic with another drink, and I headed to meet Emma, Greg, and Ashley. I found Emma’s apartment just off TV Highway, a short walk from MAX. The U-Haul trailer was nearly empty. My days of carrying things are gone, especially up steps (my balance is difficult after the brain surgery), and I watched and waited. It is a great one-bedroom apartment, not new, but updated with a nice balcony. A large living room, a galley kitchen, and a nice bathroom. No clothing machines, but mine are available to Emma. Parking spots are numbered, and I sinned by using one, then had to move my car. I then illegally parked in front of a trash bin because I knew it would not be emptied today, and I would be there for less than an hour.

Greg’s car developed a brake problem today, and he had an appointment with a nearby Firestone to have it corrected. Greg and Ashley start their return on Friday. I collected the Michigan people into the EV and, looking a bit worn, decided that Cedar Hills McMennans, and soon we had a table half in and half outside, enjoying various items. Nobody had a fail, McMennans has improved of late, and the drinks were good. We enjoyed the time together, and Greg got a bottle of gin to take home, the McMennans brand.

We did a short driving tour of the area. A bit of Nike WHQ (mostly closed for the night) and Beaverton. We covered a few places, and then I dropped them off. They will spend Thursday wandering the area by public transit, and we will likely have breakfast together on Friday.

I returned home, read more role-playing games material, and worked on some travel information for Brazil. Time slipped away, and soon I was to bed early. I woke with leg pain and seemed unsettled most of the night. Dreams, all forgotten, also filled the night.

Thanks for reading!

I rose after 7, near 8. Deborah sent a text concerned that I was ill or something. No, just enjoying the snuggling. Usually it is winter when I start to sleep in, but I do remember my first summer of retirement, and I often woke closer to 9 than 8. Part of the gift of being retired.

I am now less than a week from traveling to Michigan for 13 days: July 13-25. I have to pack!

But it is another morning, and I start it like most, finding the kitchen, which has not moved, and making coffee, liberal Fair Trade, and then returning to my office with a cup and starting the usual morning routine.

I always start with Quicken and check my balance at US Bank via their app on my phone (the IRA balance does not update). I find nothing suspicious, and it is far easier to invest a few minutes every day than to try to update and check everything once it accumulates. It also gives me a sense of control over my finances.

With the strangeness of the Iran-USA-Israel war and AI’s weird impact on Wall Street (which seems to be the same money traveling from one company to the next and not real profits), my IRA balance has run up again. It appears that the downs are now less than the ups, and it is creeping up.

I have moderate-to-aggressive index and Mutual Fund investments managed for a fee by U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Extremely low-cost securities, but a usual fee for active management. Many securities, when purchased by individuals, have much higher costs, but when purchased by an institution, have near-zero costs. Interesting, I did not understand that Wall Street punishes the individual or retail market with higher fees.

I am showing an 8% YTD return, but that is after withdrawals. That is as good as I could hope for. I have a sustained positive balance after living expenses so far. Also, Social Security payments have started, and I was surprised how much easier it is now that I have income. The obvious, I know, but still it was a surprise.

With the exception of a church meeting at 7, I had no plans. I talked to Deborah on and off all day. I also heard from Emma, my niece, a few times, who is now headed to Beaverton to live. She will be here with friends (and two cats) on Wednesday evening. Emma has an apartment, has sent a box of her stuff, and starts her Master’s in the fall.

I wrote until about 10:30, published my story about my Monday experiences, and then showered and all of that. I planned to visit the AAA office. I wanted to see if they could book the flights or at least have a recommendation for flights to Brazil in November. I boarded Air VW the Gray and headed across Beaverton. I discovered more hole installations and was surprised that lunchtime was a good time to close a lane on TV Highway, but soon I passed that and saw lots of cones, but nothing was going on.

Aside: I have imagined leading a group that just drives around the greater Beaverton area, putting up cones or taking them down. Likely thieving the Beaverton City cones and reusing them (not sure Beaverton would notice; they have so many). I could create imaginative traffic patterns. But it is just a dream; I have not done that. What you see, dear local readers, is from the local municipalities, not a bunch of traffic terrorists led by an ironic mastermind. I did not do this. I digress.

I walked into the AAA office, saw there were charging stations (hmmm), with my upgraded membership (restored yesterday), got a passport photo (after four attempts), and left my biz card, asking if they could do a nine-person air to and from Brazil. Later, Holly from AAA Travel called and said they could accommodate up to 9 people and would look into the flights. I received a plan later in the evening that worked.

While I was in the area, I had lunch at La Provence at the former Raccoon Lodge location. There is no longer a bar, and I am seated at a two-person table. My server, Audrey, and I agreed that a Monte Cristo sandwich would be good, but she would talk to the kitchen to ensure it was cooked all the way through (I have had cold ones before; ick!). I read my book while I waited for my lunch. My sandwich arrived after a wait, and everything was perfect, and I was drinking iced tea. I ate 3/4 of the sandwich and carried the rest home for Wednesday’s breakfast.

I stop by the aquarium to look at the fish. They have a freshwater stingray, and it’s wonderful to watch. The school of large white angelfish follows one of the staff. They know who feeds them. While I miss having fish, I don’t miss the mess and deaths (the likelihood of a fish dying in my tank is a function of its price and beauty; ugly, cheap fish live forever). Freshwater crabs are interesting, and there seems to be a huge collection of freshwater shrimp now for micro aquariums (multiple colors and sizes, with the usual prices doubling for color and size). I notice that 2 grand will get you a nice starter marine tank, I smile, and a walk-out with just a memory.

I return home, and after some more strange results on my Apple TV streaming service (I don’t have cable, as I reported before), I watch Switzerland and Colombia play for an extended period without a score. A shoot-off followed, something I had not seen in years, and Columbia was eliminated by missing twice to Switzerland’s one failure. I had a cold burger and some coleslaw for dinner, leftovers from M@ and Nikki’s July 4th party.

Aside: I could see that both teams’ play was better than that of the eliminated teams  (including USA) I watched. The passing, the slow aggression, and the lightning-fast strikes. But defense was there, applying pressure, and many shots went astray or into the goalie. I suspect there will be more shoot-outs in the next round!

I sent travel updates to Gordon G in Brazil and others, worked on my plan to run a Call of Cthulhu game at a local gaming store, and read more of my book.

The church meeting followed, and that took 90 minutes. Details cannot be covered here. It will be another church adventure for me. More to follow.

I read more and made a cup of tea (which I would regret later), including locating my New Orleans setting for Call of Cthulhu (CoC, and yes, I played NOLA before even seeing it). My thought is to start with a comic-book version of NOLA, focusing on cosmic horror. I read one adventure I got a few years ago and the oldish NOLA supplement for CoC.

It was a process-heavy day, and soon my mind wanted sleep, but my body was not tired (not enough walking and caffeine). I rose, made a slice of toast, took some ibuprofen to counter the caffeine (it works for me), and returned to bed. I dream bright, but now-forgotten dreams of travel and processes. I woke for a moment at sunrise, blinked, and it was 7:30.

Thanks for reading!