Author: alohawild

I rose early at 6, showered and all that, and then headed down to the lobby for breakfast. There, I found a slightly better-than-industrial complementary breakfast. The place was busy; I ate and then wrote until about 10ish and closed the breakfast. I published the blog, read my email, and updated my transactions in Quicken. I paid some of my bills and checked to see if they had cleared.

Boring, I know. Today was a work-like day, starting with registration at 4:30, followed by dinner with Cat at Junior’s in Manhattan’s theater district. I returned to my room (which would not be made up until after 4), wrote a card to Mom Wild, and worked on some church paperwork. I was in my room until near noon.

I took my Strand Bookstore red bag, put my laptop and other items I might use at the convention, and headed out. I mailed the card (one for Deborah, too, and Dondrea and Z got one written a bit later). Despite the modern email-everything world we live in, a physical card is still something special when sent by snail mail.

I wandered to Fresh Meadows on the other side of the highway, using the underpass, and soon was looking at local joints for lunch. I decided that pizza was low risk. I asked the clerk what was good, and he was at a loss. The cook showed me two plain pizzas, and I decided they were good as-is, with just cheese. I tried a slice with a can of Diet Pepsi for less than $10. Two Brothers Pizza (since 1963) was an old-school NY pizza place where the cook and customers would discuss their annual ticket sales, likely for baseball. I learned that the cook had been doing this since 1982, and we talked about dough and how he has to change his plans based on temperature and humidity. He showed me that he was keeping dough in small containers to keep it cool today.

With enough lunch in me, the pizza was more filling than I expected. I continued walking and walked the circle that is set in the middle of the Fresh Meadows apartments. I found a Starbucks, got an iced coffee, and it was hot and humid. There were no seats remaining inside (the AC was fantastic), and I went outside and got a table with some shade. I looked at the local real estate with prices 30% higher than Beaverton, and some just insane for mansions and whole apartment buildings.

I worked more on my novel and found myself in tears as one of the characters ended its story. I have not written a story like this, and there is some emotion attached to it. I hope it is good. I also have some rewrites to make that story work better.

It was hot, and my laptop was getting warm. I headed back to the hotel, unloaded my bag, and just grabbed my printed ticket for the 2600 Hope_16 conference. I walked back to the bus stop and soon took a short bus trip to St. John’s University.

I had tried this on Wednesday and was comfortable with the trip and walk. I did miss the Q Kosher shop and a pickle shop (!?) on my last visit. Soon I saw a truck unloading, and as often happens at gaming conventions, I noticed that things were behind. I helped unload a bit. Because of my balance issue from the brain surgery removing my balance in my left ear, I try to avoid walking and not seeing the horizon, so carrying and moving are no longer something I do much. I helped out a bit, holding doors open and pushing some things.

I met a few folks like me waiting for badges. Lindsey and Anton got me my badge, and soon I was talking to many first-time convention attendees. I would not tap phones, but instead wrote out my information. I am going analog and have a hand-written plan for the first two days of the conference.

It was nice to hang out for a while, but soon it was time to head to Manhattan again. I found the correct bus, waited only ten minutes, and got a seat. The bus was full, but not packed, by the time we reached the E Train. I was headed to the western part of the island, and that meant I needed a different train. I learned from Cat that the F Train is good too, and it’s only a few blocks away. I took the wrong way out of the subway and ended up a block from F.

I walked around the area. I was an hour early. I found a few places had changed names and saw that Chess, a favorite musical that deals with the Cold War, represented as the game of chess, is being brought back in October. I will have to make a quick visit for that with Deborah. More to come on that.

Cat and I had a lovely dinner with too much food. We both had the pastrami Reuben sandwich and shared a cheesecake covered in strawberries. Sort of a mix of pie and cheesecake–a caloric disaster. Our waiter was terrific and helped us pick these items.

Cat and I caught up; it has been more than a year since we last met. I shared pictures from Iceland and Deborah and me at various waterfalls and sites in Reykjavik. Cat will visit the West Coast this Friday. Next, she is off to Oregon with her sister and brother-in-law to see the Smiths. We might connect there.

It was great to connect, and we rode the F Train back until Cat’s stop. I then continued on to East, where I even connected with my bus late and found my way back to Queens and Fresh Meadows. I walked back to the hotel and all was fine. I was soon asleep. I woke up, feeling jet-lagged, which suggested it was too early to sleep. I looked at my retirement plans for a while, but I was sleepy again after midnight, and I eventually fell asleep before 1. The morning and my alarm seemed too early when it went off on Friday morning.

While I was on the train and bus, I did connect to the Zoom Theology Pub in Oregon, and my friend in Oregon got to see me bounce around in NY. I spoke a few times during the meeting and continued for a while after arriving at my hotel room.

Thanks for reading.

(The photos are higher resolution than I usually use)

Wednesday had me in bed early after a thunderstorm finished out in the area, including a severe storm warning. I had walked over 14,000 steps, including many stairs that fill the subway system of NYC. I took a shower only after the storms were done. Being grounded in a shower in a building is not a good plan in a thunderstorm, and it is no fun if the power goes out. I had nodded off during the storm and spent some time chatting with Deborah.

I was not expecting to sleep, and was out until 1ish, woke up, rolled over, and welcomed the sunrise on Thursday morning (when I am writing this). And now that the ending is done, let me return to my day (in the soundtrack in my mind, there should be some dramatic music, Frank singing, followed by something borrowed from a Gotham animation).

I was awake with some broken sleep from the usual hotel noises waking me with sunrise. I was up and texting Deborah, who rises early, around 6. I showered, dressed, and all that, and went downstairs to have the complimentary breakfast, which is better than the usual industrial breakfast. There, I wrote the previous day’s blog and finished some work for the church. I find it easier, when traveling, to work in noisy and busy places. The energy helps you accomplish your goals.

A card for Mom Wild was left with the front desk to mail. I found an old-school mailbox a few steps from the hotel, which I will use now. I left my laptop (and my phone battery, oops) in the room and headed out. I had changed shirts as my coffee lid leaked, and I ended up washing that shirt in the sink for another day to wear.

Wearing my lighter white hat, I brought it as it was going to be sunny and 80°F/27°C+ (and it is a hackers’ convention), I headed out to find buses and subway trains to connect me to my destinations. I have updated my iPhone to accept payment without needing a click and face scan for the bus and subway fare readers.

I found the bus stop using the map app, boarded the correct one, and almost missed the stop as I was missing part of the name, but my phone said leave the bus now. St. John University reminded me of Central Michigan when I started there (it had grown over the years), and I soon got lost. I had to visit the Hope website using my iPhone to locate their online reworked university map to help me find my way. I located the buildings and halls and was soon surrounded by new students. It was orientation day for new freshmen. I took a picture with the school’s emblem, which was conveniently set out for new students to take selfies. The school store (I wanted to get a notebook) was not open yet.

I then waited fifteen minutes in the hot sun for my bus to the F train. The AC was good on the bus, and I got a seat. Soon, the bus was standing room only. I got the W train, and it stopped on every stop, it seemed. I had to switch to the F and soon was out in Manhattan! I was not far from MoMA and found the line. I spent $30+ for a ticket and soon took the escalators to the top and found Starry Night, which I missed seeing last time (the area was closed). The painting was enjoying selfies with folks five deep to get their chance to get that ‘been-there-done-that’ photo. I got a picture by holding my phone up. Later, I waited and then got to the front row, just looking at it. Trying to learn it. By my head, folks held their phones for that perfect shot. I just stood still and looked as countless phones appeared on the side of my vision.

I walked through the art, stopping at pieces that caught my attention. I remember many of the items from my art history class textbook. It was a pleasure to just walk and look; the place was packed.

But Terrace 5 was open, and I requested a table and was escorted to a balcony-like space over the museum garden. Maradith, my waiter, agreed that the lemonade and their prosciutto ham, mint, and melon lunch was perfect for the 80°F+ with no breeze terrace.

I walked all the floors and saw many things I knew and might have missed some, but still I enjoyed the wandering. There was an excellent display of world-changing designs, including even a simple espresso maker. I found stickers and postcards in the gift store.

I had no plans, but soon walked by Radio City Music Hall and learned that the next tour was in thirty minutes. I walked the area for twenty minutes, enjoying taking pictures and sitting a few times (it was hot). Soon I was in the well AC’d Radio City Music Hall lobby and enjoyed walking the main floors and then the Roxy rooms from the original owner, who used to live there. We met a Rockette; there were only three of us for this tour.

We did not get a stage tour and could not take photos as a show was being set up. Next time. Still, it was a short and enjoyable tour. The couple with me were from the UK and were spending a week in the city.

I found the Q line and took it downtown to the Washington Square area, and soon found The Strand bookstore again. More postcards, a few gifts acquired, and a bag. Next, Max Brenner’s for an early dinner of a burger and a chocolate shake to die for.

I reach Washington Square and pay $10 to play chess with five minutes on my clock. I ran out of time and lost. Still, it was fun, and my opponent did stop with the easy win and only got me in check once. I will have to play more. More chess has been on my mind, but I never get to it. It started to sprinkle, and I was the last game for the night, I suspect. I forgot his name, but he was polite and was happy when I blocked him from an easy win.

Now, after 5, it was time to make my Escape from NY. Back to the subway and Q to F trains and out of NYC. But the bus has a long line, and the sprinkles turn into rain. Ugh. I decide on an Uber, but it takes twenty minutes in the traffic to reach me (there are closed roads), and I watch two buses come and go. Finally, it shows (and I am charged 14 cents for making it wait thirty seconds, hmmm). The trip is quick, but as we reach the area of my hotel, a blacked out SUV flies by, barly missed getting hit as it ignores a traffic light, spins out of control on the recently wetted roads, does a 180, and stops just beside a fire hydrant that I thougth was going to do a Hollywood like scene for us. The SUV driver, momentarily stunned, then drove off. My Uber is undamaged, and the driver calms and gets me safely to my hotel.

With that, I reach my room, and the storm starts to darken the sky, and the flashes are followed by immediate bangs of thunder. Deborah, on a call, reminds me how thunderstorms work, as we don’t get them often in Oregon.

And that takes us full circle!

Thanks for reading.

I finally fell asleep in my hotel in NY by 9. But the noise, hotels are full of new sounds, that take a while to accept, woke me, and the time difference made sleep difficult. But I did finally get some sleep, and 6:30 seemed to arrive early and unbidden.

(looking a bit tired)

Dinner was at the local Applebee’s because it was easy to find and didn’t require much energy. I was too tired to try out something new. My waiter, Lilly, was from the area, living with her parents, and seemed too young to be serving me. I had a chicken and cheese offering that I have had better versions of, but it has been years since I last ate at an Applebee’s. But the salsa was wicked and wonderful, and the cheese was sharp and fresh. Maybe it was good, actually, as I think back. The gin and tonic was perfect.

The Fairfield Inn is expensive, as are all hotels in this area, and it seems to have added another $500 to the price I was quoted for the week I am here. Something to check at checkout. Hmmm. The room was not bad, though smaller than my last recent hotel, which charged less. But again, we are an hour from Manhattan.

I arrived at the hotel after walking for five minutes, rolling my bags past bird feed for pigeons, a dive bar (recommended by the hacker community for late drinks), and getting used to large urban areas again. I took the Q30 bus for forty-five minutes with my bags next to me after the friendly driver helped me. I did not have auto-accept on my phone for scanning the equipment here (fixed now). The bus was clean and quiet. The usual don’t-make-eye-contact NY ride.

(Sorry, got my finger in photo; yes, those steps)

To reach the bus, I had to walk around and find the bus station off the Jamaica AirTrain stop. I had to get down from the platform before that. The escalator and elevators were not working, and thus I carried my bags down the stairs. It was a lot of stairs. I just thought, welcome to the NYC area, where stairs are everywhere. I got help with the payment because the phone was not in the correct settings, as I mentioned earlier.

I found the train on my second pass, thinking it was different from the airport train, but it turned out to be the same. To find the train, I first had to find my bags. I got my steps as my arrival gate at JFK was at the extreme end, and the baggage claim was at the other end. Also, it took my plane forty minutes to reach the gate, open the door, and unload to my point, seat 31A, so I could deplane. Thus, I reached the Q30 bus at 5 local time and at the hotel around 6 local time.

I had decided not to take a taxi and instead use public transit. I am early retired and have no income other than my investments. Time to be more frugal! It is also fun, new adventures and things to learn.

Before all of this, I would usually wake up at 4AM at my hotel in PDX, get dressed, and head out. I had done some swimming and showered again before bed. My skin was all itchy, and I had trouble sleeping. It was a hard start when the alarm rang.

On my shuttle was a forest fire-fighting crew from northern Michigan, and apparently, there is an annual meeting here in Oregon for them. I wished them well, thanked them for their help, and hoped they would return for the next meeting. Fire season is starting in Oregon.

(PDX carpet shot, a thing for us)

The plane, an Airbus, was the usual one, and I watched a movie, nodding off a few times. I brought my own noise-reducing plug-in earbuds. I can only hear from one ear, and I put all the movies on CC. To hear all the words I have to turn up the volume too load so I would rather hear/read. I do this at home now too. Part of the cost of being alive.

(The uptown, I think)

I had breakfast at my usual place, Grassa, and they had a JFK sandwich, and an egg with bacon sandwich, which was terrific. Lunch was a cookie and coffee on the plane, which was fine.

(yes, very Portland, there are more cocktail options than food)

One awful moment on the Airbus, two folks took very long in two of the three bathrooms on the plane. I was in a line six deep, and there was another line at the other bathroom. Yikes! I waited ten minutes or more until the line started to move. Finally, everything returned to normal.

And that is what I remember for Tuesday, thanks for reading!

 

 

I ended Monday alone in my hotel, Holiday Inn Express, at PDX, off the MAX line that ends one stop later at PDX. Corwin had dropped off in Air VW the Gray after a long hour+ trip in Monday’s Rush hour, starting at 3 for us. I checked in, and then we did a meat festival at Famous Dave’s, which did not mind charging me a premium for the meal. I think that was the last visit there.

Before sleeping, I tried out the pool (and was stiff this morning from that) and water walked and discovered I can, with a push off from the wall, swim the length of the pool underwater, something new for me. I met Sue and Rich from LA (Orange County) at the pool. Their son, visiting from Japan, wanted to visit Portland, and they had covered the coast, too. Canon Beach was packed, and they could not even park for an hour, meaning they only got to see the beach for a few minutes. Still, they seemed to have enjoyed their visit. Rich does financials for a military supplier using SAP, which got a smile from me.

The rest of the day, this will be a very short blog, was a blur of packing, laundry, and collecting items. I forgot to add more biz cards to my wallet. I could have used a USB A to C cable, but I managed with my single plug to get my laptop, phone, and spare battery all fully charged.

I did two loads of laundry, stripping and remaking the bed (clean and new sheets for my late return on next Tuesday), and ran the dishwasher for a 1/2 load. Even with temperatures reaching 100°F (38°C), I got out and watered the roses, the newly planted pomegranate tree, and other bushes. I fertilized the orchids in the house and filled their evaporation trays to keep them happy. I ran some water through them (they cannot stand in water) to get them even happier. Corwin will check on the house. I closed up my suitcase and loaded up my carry-on Nike Gym bag. I remembered to get razors, toothpaste, and cookies (I always carry some).

I also forgot to print out my ticket for Hope_16, but did that at the hotel.

I woke up around 7, found the coffee was done, and wrote the blog. I then popped out in Air VW the Gray and got stamps, supplies for the trip, and breakfast at McDonald’s. Later, I would pop out again and have lunch at Happy Panda. There was too much food on Monday. I will have to be more careful.

I connected with Corwin around 2, and he came by and showered (it was a hot day and the AC failed at the place he works), and then we headed to PDX with my stuff in the cargo hold. Corwin drove. The EV is a dream to drive (except for its strange starting and gearshift, where the windshield wiper control is usually at).

Thanks for reading.

Sunday disappeared in a rush of things. I rose at 8, and the coffee was waiting for me. This is a local roast I picked up at the veggie stand at the 185th and TV Highway corner. I have to grind it myself. It is bitter and reminds me of all the things we liberals have yet to finish. Justice with compassion is not something you always find in the USA or the world.

I started the blog, but today was church, and I spent time with Deborah. I did not finish the blog before I had to dress and leave for church. There I ushered and had a run-in with a homeless guy who nearly tripped without his cane, he blamed me for that (he left in a pew), and accused me of trying to kill him to anyone who would listen. I stayed back; he is harmless. My presence was causing him to react, and so I left after the service to calm him down.

Pastor Ken delivered the sermon, covering more of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. I consider the text to be splattered with blood as it has been used to justify denying science, philosophy, history, and even to force convert people; I don’t teach it. Ken explains that he sees the connection to such horrors as the Destruction of the Great Alexander Library, but he thinks it is wrong and that the Letter to Colossians should not be used to justify such horrors. Paul, in his studies, is not anti-intellectual but is defending the Faith from the Greek Philosophers at the time who denied any divine influence over the world. In Ken’s understanding, Paul is not anti-intellectual or denying history, but saying that we need to remember that the divine is part of our world.

Ken also reminded us that Methodists were more laity-driven in the past and that the focus on program and preachers is new and may not be serving us well. Before, the focus was on learning, serving, and well, the method. Now it is a polished music program, excellent sermons, and a feeling of well-being, not service. Ken suggests we have lost something and should return to service, focusing less on programs and polished services.

I found lunch at the Lake Oswego Grill in Beaverton and had a Monte Cristo that was excellent; this was part of their Sunday brunch menu. I finished the blog there and stuck to iced tea. I do not need the extra calories or the nap from a beer. Air VW the Gray got me home, and I spent some time reading, organizing the house, and starting to pack.

It was over 95°F (35°C) and I watered the roses and cut some for M@’s wife, Niki. I try to bring some roses from my collection when we play Dungeons & Dragons. The roses faded somewhat after being cut, but still were good when I got them there in the early evening.

The gaming was excellent, and the whole group was there. We surprised the DM, M@, by quickly sliding through a few parts of his planned adventures. We are an untraditional mix of character types, and we have followed a more hit-and-run tactic seen in the original version of Dungeons & Dragons. Get the loot and run.

We finished at 9, and I was soon home. I read for a while, did some more packing, and went to bed. I had trouble sleeping. Waking for proof of hydration and leg cramps. I drank some water with one of the packets in it, and that stopped most of the issues.

Thanks for reading.