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I felt like myself again and was excited that the day was mine. My head all but explodes with all the options that I can do. I won’t rush to get ready, take Air Volvo to the office, and then sit in the window and do hours of meetings with my camera on and off. I wrote the blog the night before, so my sunny, bright morning had no plans. I received the email that my fourth Howard story was published. The day is mine.

Breakfast was yogurt and liberal coffee. I was soon dressed. I changed my bandage, and the incision in my belly was weeping still. It seems a little worse.

I have a doctor’s visit and hearing test in the morning, so I shower, dress, bandage, and board Air Volvo. The office is in the pavilion next to St. Vincent Hospital. It is a busy Wednesday, and I park on the 4th floor. The elevator doors can’t close; they try repeatedly to close, and all of us in the elevator have to take the stairs. I stay with one man who has some medical issues. We manage the steps and are safe.

I arrive early and wait about an hour before they test my hearing. As expected, my hearing is gone on my left side, and my right side is unchanged. Good. I wait again and finally get about ten minutes with my surgeon. I need new antibiotics and a cream to work on the surface issues, and I should be checked in two weeks. Of course, if it gets worse, get to an Urgent Care or ER. I ask the doctor to explain the changes on the poster of the inner ear on the wall. A bone was removed, as was the inner ear. A metal plate fills in the space where the bone was removed.

I drive across Beaverton and pass by Nike WHQ. I still feel ambivalent, but I hope to overcome that. I miss walking the garden-like campus and having a salad at the various cafes.

I stopped at a Thai place and got mussaman curry with beef to go. While there, I got an email that my prescription was ready at Walgreens (wow!). Air Volvo heads there next, and I get my two prescriptions without waiting (wow!). Air Volvo gets me home, and my new non-stick pads and less painful medical tape have also been delivered (Amazon). Besides enjoying an excellent curry (careful to chew and swallow), I rebandage it with a new cream, nonstick pads, and tape that is less painful to remove and take my antibiotics. The nonstick pads, I learned, let the blood through, and I need two to avoid having blood on my shirt (today, I just happen to be wearing a red t-shirt). I bought 100 so I can manage it. I also have a box of tape rolls.

Once the wound closes, I am cleared to start swimming. I plan to join a gym in July to help me lose weight and get my A1C back to normal. The swim club across from Nike will give me a free day in July to try them out. Also, I believe I can join Nike’s pool for something like $20 a month. I will see what works for me.

Mariah wants to meet for an early happy-hour dinner in Portland, and Corwin will join me after work at Air Volvo. I was hopeful that June 19th would be a light-traffic day. Better than usual, but still a 45-minute trip. We are outside at Hopworks off of Powell. We talk and laugh often. I have not seen Mariah for weeks. I have an excellent pilsner and a salad with salmon (local salmon, so not that overly fishy stuff, but the excellent firm stuff we catch here).

The trip back to the Volvo Cave is not memorable, and it is quick. Corwin heads out to the gym, and I watch another Dark Sail episode (XXV). The storyline seems to be twisted and losing logic. More naked scenes, Starz’s version of pirates, after all, were at first distracting but actually are used to move the story forward, which surprises me to see some excellent writing. I will have to watch the next one.

I work out a plot point in my head for my Holmes and Watson chatbot story. With Holmes and Watson moving to the public domain, I wanted to write an AI story with these characters. I just did not have something for them to do in the story, but I think I have something to finish the first short story.

To that point, I am not sure I will return to Howard to write a new story or even try something longer than a short story. My interests are turning to AI and computers from Lovecraftian horror. I am also always interested in writing or updating my Dungeons and Dragons adventures to 5E, the current iteration of the rules. I enjoy designing and then playing what I write. Seldom do I get to play one more than once, even when I write everything out, but still, I like to write them. Now that my time is mine, I will see if I can get some players at a gaming store to try one out. I have one first level (beginner) that I am converting from 4E, and my recent creation of “When Your Heart’s Desire is Offered” for advanced players (10th level or tier 2) is 26 pages with no art or maps.

And my Python programming desires led me to order a new device: Arduino Alvik. This is a micro-Python device from the Arduino family (I ordered it for $140 from Arduino’s website with free shipping, a whopping huge price for Arduino products that knock-offs can be less than $20). This device is more of a kit and more directed to kids. It is Lego-friendly, but it might make a fun presentation for the Hillsboro Python and Machine Learning meet-up.  More to come.

With dreams of Holmes and Python robots, I fell asleep resting on my blankets as the house was still warm. I did have to prove hydration once just before sunrise, and then I climbed under the blankets as the house cooled.

Thanks for reading.

I woke after sunrise and found myself happy and well-rested. I had no endless proof of hydration during the night and had slept well. I rolled over for a bit and slept a few minutes more. While there was still some pain and the incision on my belly was still weeping, I did feel fine and more like myself.

I found my way to the kitchen in my PJs, made liberal coffee in my French press, and decided to fry a hamburger patty for breakfast for something different and full of protein. I don’t need the usual carbohydrates-stuffed food in the morning. I wrote the blog, cooked, and then ate my patty, and was multitasking. I choked on the patty when my dry mouth seemed to want to swallow without chewing. It was a terrible few seconds, but I managed to swallow as the patty broke up. My heart was pounding, and it took over a few minutes to recover. I am being very careful now. I have also bit the side of my mouth a few times today.

I talked to PT, who came this morning, about it, and I will forgo a swallow test unless it happens again. I have been attentive, and if I am eating, then that has my whole attention now. When I was struggling to breathe, I was thinking how ironic it would be if I made it this far to be felled by a burger patty. I will not make that mistake again!

My lawn company came on Tuesday, and they got my OK to cut back my old apple tree, which was hanging down to the ground. They also cut back most of the roses in the backyard. There is plenty of summer left for more roses, and most are constantly or repeat-blooming. I will see if the Bourban rose, an 1865 version, will bloom again–I think it repeats in the fall.

I finished the blog, dressed, and was ready for PT. I picked a dress shirt and my sweater vest for today. I wanted something nicer today. PT noticed my blood pressure was still up (I attribute that to the close call). PT agrees to also forgo the stationary bike while I still have issues with my wound. We did go over my usual exercises, which I have continued this week. PT also suggested some vision-balance items to try. I will give them a shot. I will likely graduate from PT next week as I am no longer homebound. I had Home Health while I was recovering.

After PT, I reheated the Jambalaya from a few days ago (no seafood, but with extra veggies) and had it for lunch. It is rice and tiny cuts of meat. No swallowing issues there!

I collected my three three-piece suits (grey, black, and blue) and put them in Air Volvo. The suits have traveled far with me, and it is time to get them all cleaned and pressed. I try to have one fresh, one still good, and one for the cleaners. But there have been too many parties and traveling, so all of them are in today. I also had a repaired button on one. Just been having too much fun!

Aside: The suits were about forty pounds ago, so they may need to be replaced soon.

I next head to The 649 in Air Volvo, having brought my laptop with me. Stephen is opening today, and I have a Japanese-style rice beer (at a dollar discount) and happy hour-priced pretzel and cheese dip. There, I edit the last of the finished Howard stories I plan to publish this go. A gentleman asked me what I was doing, and I showed him the DriveThru Fiction website and explained a bit about the process. He is an older guy, and I can see he struggles to follow, but I try to help. He seems to be interested in writing but does not know how to start. I cannot help much, as I, too, am new to all of this. He moves on. I return to editing and rewrites.

This last story is the final Howard story I completed when we (Susie, Corwin, and I) returned from having Christmas in Amsterdam in 2019. We had left Europe with the infection we would know as COVID-19 entered Europe from the same airport we flew back from. We may have walked by the zero-case.

At The 649, I received an email stating that Susie’s Quilt had been delivered. I worked until I finished editing and formatting the story. I paid the bill and then headed home in an Air Volvo. I got the quilt from the mailbox, which surprised me that it fit. However, I remember how small my rug was when packed tight, and I soon had the quilt spread out on a bed. It is fantastic.

I will send the quilt to Leta later this week. I think it should go into Susie’s family.

I have spinach and cheese Greek-style pie for dinner while Corwin cooks some burgers for himself. I then publish the fourth Howard story, again charging a pay-what-you-want fee, which includes free. It will take a day for it to be approved.

I was thinking of another movie tonight, but I will see if I can catch it earlier tomorrow and see if anyone will join me. I want to see Fall Guy and the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movie before they leave the theaters.

I am writing the blog tonight because I have a 10:45 hearing appointment and then an 11:15 appointment with my hearing surgeon. He got my message about the weeping wound and will look at that, too.

Thanks for reading!

I was up early after having a dream about Susie and started to write the blog about 6ish. (Today, I slept all night and woke after sunrise at 6, rolled over, and did not wake until after 7.) I wrote the blog all morning and received notifications that my Howard story was approved. I was now an official publisher of content for DriveThruRPG, and if you visit there, you will see my Howard stories as new titles!

Aside: Here is a link to my best story, I think. You may purchase it for what you want to pay, with a recommended $1. You can search for AlohaWild on DriveThruRPG Fiction to see them all. It is worth a buck, and the other stories are good, too.

While writing the blog, I added Howard in Florida, which was approved in minutes. I had prepared everything the day before, waiting for the first approval to ensure I had not missed a step and I needed to take some additional action I was unaware of.

I made a NYC bagel with cream cheese (thanks, Joyce) for breakfast. To finish, I also included liberal coffee from my French Press and a banana. Jack has suggested I switch to a salt substitute, which is high in potassium (and also slightly radioactive), to help improve my potassium numbers. I will pick some up next time I am shopping. Thanks, Jack!

I finished writing and publishing the blog. I then completed the alignment of a third Howard story and added it to my collection. It took longer to approve and was not added until Monday afternoon.

I reheated my messy lasagne from a few nights ago for lunch, did many dishes, stripped my bed, and put that in The Machine. The Bedding wash and dry option still shows the infinite dry times, and I will check that out later now that I have reproduced the issue. I am not having issues with the other settings after carefully removing all the lint from the filters and the inside of The Machine. It may be that Bedding requires you to pull it out.

I also remove some dishes from the frig that are long gone and get those pans and plates in the dishwasher, too.

My belly incision is weeping a small amount, and I sent a message to Doc about having it looked at on Wednesday. Selfishly, I want it all done to start swimming and other good-for-you things in July. I have a free pass to a local gym and swim place coming in July. I want all the extra holes gone by then!

I set all of my Howard stories in DriveThruRPG Fiction to pay what you want, with recommended prices of about 10 cents a page. I am interested in getting some reviews, hopefully positive, and then money (but one can daydream of selling a million for a buck each). I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that folks will take, read, enjoy, and recommend them.

I need a distraction. So I make dinner. I was going to make a North African-style meal of spiced chicken and couscous and a wonderful sauce I bought, but I spotted a bag of stuffing and thought, or I can make something simple. So it is salt and pepper baked chicken thighs (boneless and skinless) with stuffing with roasted pecans. I added some broccoli (I only have frozen). Simple, but good. I did have three chicken thighs and two helpings of stuffing. There is enough for another meal or two (or one for Corwin). I packed it away, and it is now next to yesterday’s dinner.

My mouth is dry on the left side, and my tastes are off as if part of my tongue no longer works. My left eye seems to be working better, but it still needs drops during the day. My blinking still does not work right. The problems seem to be shrinking in size. I think the nerves are returning to my face and mouth.

I apologize to my friends who often go to the movies. I decided at the last minute to catch a movie, so I went to Regal Evergreen alone and watched a most excellent Mad Max-style movie: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. This is an excellent movie, and I highly recommend it if you like the last one. This is a reworking of the previous movie’s storyline, Fury Road, starting from the beginning and reaching the next movie. During the credits, parts of the Fury Road were played to show the continuation of the story. I was amazed to see how the movie recreated the previous storyline, filled it with events, and then took us forward.

I was fine driving back at 12:30 AM and was in bed soon after making my bed in clean bedding. I slept well.

Thanks for reading.

I woke up this Monday with a dream. Susie and I were wandering some huge building, trying to find our way, a usual theme of my dreams. Usually, we get separated, and then I am never able to find my way back to Susie and have to go forward, hoping that Susie will meet me at home. Tonight is different.

In this dream, as I find my way back, Susie has laid down on the bed, wrapped herself in a blanket, gone to sleep, and then wakes to tell me she is tired. I am frustrated and head out to find our way. I turn and look at the building. Susie is walking poorly out of the building in a red silk robe with tiger stripes. She fell flat, and I ran to help, upset that Susie did not wait for me and was likely hurt. But Susie was not hurt. Susie then does various moves you would see in a gymnastic act, smiling and bouncing off the ground, spins, and somehow assembles a wheelchair out of her robe and sits down with a smile. She then makes it all disappear and appears to float over the ground. An audience member appears, laughing and smiling at the act. Susie makes the wheelchair appear again and sits. I reach Susie, hop on the back of the now reappeared wheelchair, and wave to the thrilled crowd. I hear Susie laughing at me and maybe an “I love you, Mikey.” Susie directs us onto the roads, going the wrong way, getting a reaction from me, and the dream ends. I wake, and it is 6ish, and sunrise just lights the room with Susie’s laugh still echoing in my mind.

Before this dream, going backward, at 2ish, all the lights in the bedroom go on (I use Amazon devices to control some of the lights). I ordered the bedroom lights off, “Echo bedroom lights off.” A few minutes go by, and they come back on. And then again. I order the lights to be dim, and that works. Then the lights turn on full power. That never happens. I am slightly creeped out but not scared. I checked with Corwin, and he did not change the lights by accident. The light switch works as it cuts power to the lights. I sleep and then dream of Susie’s show.

Before this, I again did not shower but changed the bandage on my belly incision, and there was some bleeding, but not much. I have a meeting with the surgeon on the 19th, just a few days. I will monitor it and change the bandage regularly.

My head on the left side is a bit sore, too. It stings along the incision sometimes. No bleeding or other issues. I am taking over-the-counter painkillers again to keep comfortable.

Before this, I was reading and eating corn chips with salsa. I had a craving for chips, so I got some on the way home at Safeway. I finished H.P. Lovecraft’s long 140+ page story, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, and while it is too long and uses impossible words, I did like it. It is strange to see short sentences and clear descriptions from Lovecraft.

Before this, I was at Matt V’s house eating one of his delicious meat hamburgers (he corrected me by saying that he serves meat burgers, not plant-based ones, for Keto). Today, he made grilled onions to add to the burgers. We met (Scott, Karyn, Mackers, and I) for another 5E Spell Jaming Dungeons and Dragons game, and this was the big finish as we launched the attack to save the known universe (in a fantasy role-playing game, why would you go for some less). Of course, one of our allies turned on our enormous fleet, and our plans were in tatters. We rush to take out the leader of the bad guys, and soon, we are fighting a long battle with the wizards. It was a harsh fight for us, not because Matt V (our DM) was especially cruel, but because we are not good at stopping wizards (not having any in our group). My evil cleric spends much of his spells dispelling other spells and blasting.

We overcame, and in the next game, in two weeks, we will try to reach the leader and save the known universe. It was fun, and I got to do a few evil deeds that Kayrn put an end to (she plays a good character and our leader). We are also happy to learn that our existing characters will move on to the next challenge, saving (as you likely can guess, dear reader) the multi-verse.

Before this, I had lunch at BJ’s Brewhouse. I had spicy peanut chicken with soba noodles and a beer. There, I sat at the bar and watched some of the US Open with the bartender, Nic. This year, Father’s Day was light, and the staff was bored. I had my laptop and revised another Howard story into my new format. I have two more to get ready. I am waiting for the first approval before adding more (I got approved and published this Monday!).

Before lunch, I was at First United Methodist Church of Beaverton. Jack Cone was giving the sermon, and he said as he started his sermon that he was glad it was so cold, as folks would think he was cold and not shaking from nerves. Jack covered the talent story of the New Testament and called on us to be stewards of the earth. He called out the existential threat of CO2 and the impact it is having on warming the earth. He made a call to action, saying that we Americans are good at fixing and making things. As Jack sees it, God has given us an opportunity to fix the air and to return all the carbon back to the earth, and Americans, with our crazy building and technology creation, can do this; it is what we do. Jack believes that God has let us just use the earth and the air until now, but now we must learn to control it, fix it, and make it work for us. Jack calls it an erector set that God gave us, and we must learn how to use it. Jack proposes that we immediately start pulling CO2 from the air, as that will give us time to adjust and find the best solutions. He does not propose to drop gas engines, for example, but to find the balance while gaining time by slowing, stopping, or reversing the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Jack is a professional voice actor and former radio personality. His voice is smooth and slides with just enough emotion to show that he cares about the subject but is not beating you up. He lands his sermon with the right mix of call and information. It was an excellent Christian call for stewardship of the air: Find our service here.

I rose late, and since I had written the blog the night before, I went slow and had coffee, yogurt, and a banana for breakfast. Sleep was broken by an endless, so it seemed to me, proof of hydration. I showered and changed my bandage and soon was in my sweater vest and pride tie for church.

Aside: It is cold here with some rain, clouds, and temperatures even into the forties at night. More April than June. But usually, June is wet and warm. So, the rest of the country is burning and under heat domes, and we are turning back on the heat!

And that is about it for Sunday; thanks for reading.

I had trouble getting started on Saturday morning, and it seemed to get harder as I went on. I finally rose at nearly 8:30 and found my way to some liberal coffee, Equal Exchange, in my French Press. I only had one cup. I added a yogurt and a banana to go with the coffee while I was writing the blog for Friday. With the surprising bleeding from my incision in my belly, I had left the bandage on from the Urgent Care in place instead of showering at night. I try to prevent exposure to pollen in my sleeping by showering at night and then getting into bed. Today, I was reducing intervention on my incision by leaving everything alone overnight.

Everything was fine, and I was able to shower without issue. The bandages had only a little blood, and the blood from the night before was dry. I washed, trying to keep the area dry, but I still got it a little wet. It had no problem, and I was able to cover it, and there were no more issues.

But I was tired, and everything hurt. I had not fallen and bruised myself, but I felt like I had. My legs were sore, and my head ached. Yikes! I wish I had been at the party and dancing my body was reflecting back to me. It must have been a good time!

I made a beef and cheddar sandwich with Thousand Island dressing, cole slaw, and a big dill pickle. My mouth is still too dry from the loss of nerve control (little saliva), and it is a chore to eat. I still enjoyed the sandwich. I think the nerve problem is getting better but improving very slowly.

I am tired of being tired and decided to actually do some work. I started editing and assembling one of my Howard stories, “Howard’s Lockdown.” I plan to publish them in DriveThruRPG Fiction, something Matt V suggested while we traveled together. I have generated AI-based art to decorate the 7,000+ word short story. I am both excited and scared, as this is releasing something I wrote, and I would be disappointed if it was not well received. I start doing the final work and start looking at what else I need. I need a cover, descriptions, and even images of the cover. I look at what others have published, and I am not able to do that. However, I noticed one group of fiction that closely aligns with mine, Delta-Green, uses a template with just some changes. That I might do. I use, of all things, MS Word to generate a cover, and I am able to revise it to fit what I think is a good look for Howard’s stories.

I spent hours adding art, creating a cover, and writing descriptive texts. I also captured an image of the cover. I used all of this after creating an account for publishing. It took me three tries to get everything good, but soon, I had my first publication. I then set it to be visible to the public. I received a response to expect approval or corrections in the next three days! Yipe!

My emotions swing from happy to terrified. What if nobody ever buys it (20 cents a page)? What if people hate it? And then I am so happy to have it out there. Publish, go forward, and write more. That is what I do. I will do this!

I decided not to head to Richard’s today to play board games. Even with the easy tasks I am doing, I am tired, and I am unsure that a 10 p.m. drive back from Portland is a good idea. Also, I would like the bleeding issue to be another day in the past before I put the seatbelt on for more than a few minutes.

I stopped all the exercises, too. I did bleed after the first day of using the stationary bike. I will pick them up slowly again starting on Sunday. There is no reason to make another visit to Urgent Care if only to learn that my pants rub my incision while I peddle!

I began preparing the longest Howard story, the 11,000+ word “Howard in Florida,” the same way. I kept the cover art and updated the text to match the new story. I generated some art using Davinci AI to make images that matched a few moments in the story. Soon, I have a new 21-page document ready to add to my publications. When the first one is approved, I will quickly add to the Howard stories.

I make a veggie and sausage Jambalaya from a box mix. No seafood, as I forgot to get some last time. I followed my usual process, cut up a pepper (an orange one I got just for the color) with an equal amount of onion and celery (known as The Trinity), and added garlic (The Pope). This I let cook while I slice up various smoked and spicy sausages and add them. I add 14 oz crushed tomatoes and a matching amount of diced from a can. I let that cook for a while on a fast simmer. I add fresh green beans as I always like rice dishes with fresh green beans. I pour the spices and rice from a box, add hot water, and cover it. I wash bok choy and add this in the last ten minutes just to add even more greens. I need to raise my potassium level, so I am adding greens to everything.

I might have had three bowls, but at least there were lots of veggies! After the thrush, I still had trouble tasting the food, and it tasted mostly like sharp spices to me. But it was still good.  I rested after cooking for an hour.

Corwin and I decided we needed ice cream and headed to Salt and Straw in Beaverton. I had no trouble driving there, and parking was the usual insanity. Soon, we were in a line outside the door. While waiting, I met Jatin from my last group at Nike, MDG Engineering. He took a picture of us and sent it to everyone on MDG. We chatted and then talked more after we had our ice cream. I had the chocolate stout flavor.

Jatin introduced us to his wife and family. It was nice to chat. I promised to be available when the MDG team wants to meet somewhere or just to say hello. It is always good to see the excellent software engineers at Nike; Jatin is one of the best.

After that, Corwin and I took Air Volvo home. There, I started the blog early as church is at 10:30 on Sunday, which makes it difficult to be ready on time and write the blog. I was also excited to show my publication work. Another adventure and thing for me to learn: DriveThroughRPG Fiction!

Thanks for reading.