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I woke at 7 and rolled over a few times. I first checked that I did not have a meeting with leadership and HR. No meeting. No layoff for me. All morning, we all were constantly checked for meetings that herald your layoff. Three managers were let go in our group this morning, two I have known for years and friends. My boss, Brad, called a meeting in the later morning to let us know about the four people let go from our group and to tell us that it was over. We were the survivors. The reasons are unclear for those folks that were laid off.

It was a terrible day, and everyone was stressed and emotional. We are also getting some information on the re-org part of the mess. It feels like they are just making it up as we go. I will not be critical of the folks trying to make this work, as they don’t deserve that. Layoffs are awful.

I looked forward to lunch. I made a roast beef sandwich. I heated the meat in the microwave. I spread Thousand Island dressing on the bread. I carefully packed coleslaw on the now-protected bread. I stacked the beef on the other slice and added a few slices of cold-sliced cheddar cheese. I carefully placed the cheese and beef side of the sandwich on top of the coleslaw. I cut the sandwich with a large sharp knife. It was a wonderful sandwich.

I did more meetings, including some that were dominated by talk about the layoffs.

Corwin was ready after 1PM, and I let him pilot Air Volvo to warm up, his words, across Beaverton. He hit the curb with the back wheel a few times. He pulled out in front cars when making a left turn. It was surprisingly both terrifying and lucky–no damage and Beaverton’s Finest was elsewhere. We finally found the place, and Corwin parked.

I read Analog: Science Fiction & Fact magazine, March/April issue, a new favorite, and I have a two-year subscription (printed) now. I am amazed at how good the editorials and stories are. I finished the Novelette Enough while waiting for Corwin. I could not stop reading. It was excellent. I will look at it again to see how the narrative was structured–so good! I am reading A Long Journey Into Light, which is also excellent.

Corwin passed his driving test. I piloted now and took Air Volvo to the DMV so Corwin could turn in his passing papers for a license. The DMV was busy, so I got quite far in my reading SciFi. Corwin had a paper that was not a license. He failed the vision test. Corwin needs glasses, and this likely explains the trouble he has had concentrating and reading. We tried to find a drop-in place, but Corwin now has an appointment on Monday. I will cover that unexpected cost to get Corwin on the road ($99 for the exam and then the glasses); it is my honor to help change Corwin’s life by enabling him to find more work in food delivery and other like work.

Off to Shack Shack to celebrate, and Corwin gets an excellent custard shake, a double burger, and spicy fries. I had my usual single avocado and bacon burger with fries and a Diet Coke. I did the 4PM check-in meeting, which was a sharing session with our boss Brad, who called it a BYOB and was drinking a beer, while Air Volvo returned us to the Volvo Cave. We all were relieved that the layoffs were over now for us.

I laid down briefly and woke 15 minutes late for our stand-up meeting. I did my last meeting and then rushed out of the house after buying tickets for the movie Wonka. Joan S and I planned to do Jewish Christmas by watching a movie on Christmas Day, but the theaters were packed. We finally got to do that today. Wonka was a wonderful musical that fit a previous age except the sound and special effects are better. There were many hints to the 1970s Gene Wilder movie and Anne. I was laughing with Joan for much of the movie. It was delightful. Hugh Grant, who reportedly hated the role as an oopa lompa, does a perfect grumpy and intense one. Must see.

Joan and I headed our ways after a light hug, and I was soon here at the Volvo Cave writing this blog. I remembered to put out the trash for Friday.

Going backward, we played the board game Scythe again while the choir and the band practiced. Our last play was with three players, adding Andrew the the game of Z and myself. We started first by playing with Sean, who could play for about twenty minutes, and then reset for Andrew when Sean started to practice with the church band. Z and I don’t mind playing a partial game.  Z was leaning as we played, and the additional restarts were helping Z understand which moves were better. In the last iteration, we almost finished a whole game, with me placing five stars of the six needed to end the game. We ran the final game scoring, and I won far ahead of Z, who was far ahead of Andrew.

Z and I did play a whole to two-person game starting at 6:30. Z is blue, the Norse faction which spreads out fast and can use lakes, and is recorded as the most-winning faction. I am black, Saxony, the more aggressive faction, and on the opposite side of the board. Z played better in this game and won a few stars before I accelerated placing stars and ended the game. The game has a tendency to end abruptly; your plans are never quite finished.

Scythe is a 4X game and thus has a strong competitive feel. Combat, while existing in the game, is simple and does not eliminate units but drives them back to their home base. The game is about efficiency and flexibly reacting to changes and events on the game board, mostly caused by other player’s actions.

Scythe was released in 2016 on a huge Kickstarter and was one of my first crowd-funded games (the others were Bloodrage and Vindication–I got lucky to first do some excellent games). It was a huge success, and add-ons and a campaign game were to follow. I have also upgraded the components and painted the figures and mechs. Actually, I have painted three sets of figures and traded them for unpainted sets. I bought a spare set of plastic pieces that I paint and trade including the campaign pieces. My friends Richard and Cody now have painted figures for their copy of the game. Richard has the campaign figures painted, too. Richard hosted my first and only completed campaign game.

Before the games at First United Methodist in Beaverton during choir practice, I was making dinner. I defrosted and then grilled three pounds of chicken thighs. I used sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and Middle Eastern seasoning on the chicken. I heat couscous sauce from a jar, Tibar. I cook couscous by cooking about a teaspoon of gram masala with almond slices and dried cranberries in butter. I then toast the couscous grain in this until the butter is all absorbed and the hot grain is browning. I remove it from the heat, add boiling hot water, and cover. Easy! To assemble, put the couscous in the bottom of a bowl, pour some sauce over it, put some chicken on top, and splash with just a bit of the sauce.

Dinner was great, and I broke my calorie count for the day with a second bowl. So good.

The rest of the day was less memorable as it was about work and not getting let go. My boss held a 4PM BYOB Zoom meeting to hang out and share for a bit. There is no formal information, and we speculated that tomorrow, they may move on to our level or not. The process seems to be top-down.

I started at 7 and did the usual meetings, read designs, and approved fixes for production. I followed along all day, waiting for the shoe to drop, but nothing. Just fixes and designs. I did read some code and made a few suggestions for more documentation in the code.

So, I think I will stop there and see what Thursday brings. I am also tired tonight.

Susie’s daffodil is open! I planted one for her to see every spring.

Thanks for reading!

Today is the 68th day since I learned I have a brain tumor. It is benign and slow-growing but must be removed before it becomes a threat. Surgery, quite intense, will be on 20 May 2024.

Susie’s service is on 23 March 2024, at 4 PM, at First United Methodist Church in Beaverton.

Susie’s Michigan service is on 18 May 2024 at Grace United Methodist Church, Lansing, at 2PM.

Today, I learned a good friend’s story with Nike ended, as did for the leader of our department. I am sure other friends and important people in my work days are gone. I would not presume to tell their story here, but I will grieve with them. More grief.

I found myself stressed a bit by the layoffs and reading the news. I am overeating. My calory count is over 2,000 today, I am sure. I will try to do those things that help. Reading, Writing. Cooking. Gaming. Hmmm, none of that loses weight. Maybe walking, too.

The day started at 7ish, and I rolled over to 7:30 but finally rose and put on my slippers and robe. I made liberal Equal Exchange coffee this morning. I had cooked steel-cut oats for oatmeal yesterday and used the microwave to reheat the leftovers. I add some brown sugar, walnut pieces, and dried cranberries to this. Excellent. I also had a banana. My potassium is low, so I keep eating them.

My first meeting is with Europe folks and Michael G online from the hospital. His daughter is ill. We talk about the project and layoffs. I have a few more meetings, and poof, it is time for lunch. Time runs away for me today.

I find the sliced roast beef for a sandwich. I add sliced cheddar. All this I heat in a non-stick pan with butter. I cover the pan and add water. The water becomes hot steam, which cooks the meat and cheese in the sandwich. The trick is to not soak the bread. This makes a beautiful sandwich; Susie loved it when I would make her a sandwich. I always miss her when I make a sandwich and think I should be making two.

It is a decadent sandwich with coleslaw and a pickle on the side. I started rewatching the now-aging show House, Season 6, one of my favorite years while cooking and eating my sandwich. It is so good.

I returned to work and did a few more meetings. My boss, Brad, called a meeting, and he said in the meeting invite, “It is not one of those kinds of meetings.” That made me laugh. He covered the exit of our department head and other changes. Folks are shell-shocked as many have never done this before at an American company and certainly not at Nike. Brad, Rajani, and I tried to reassure people, and they looked and sounded on the Zoom call somewhat better at the finish.

I cooked a new recipe from The New York Times, Cheesy baked pasta and sausage. I used hot and spicy Italian-style sausage and reduced the salt a bit, but other than that, I followed the recipe. I made mock Ricotta cheese as I forgot to get it (mix sour cream and cottage cheese). Corwin said it was good, and this finished ruining my calorie count, especially the second bowl. Excellent.

I also read a piece on Justice AAlito’sattack on gay marriage and that called for a bowl of potato chips. I will avoid reading politics for a while! I can’t afford the frustration and the calories!

I read and rested. Next, I headed out into the dark and rain to the strip mall. I bought some supplies at Michael’s as part of Z’s birthday gift. More on that later. I will be missing gaming on Saturday night to head over to ZZ’sto to get her gift for her 13th birthday. Yay!

I then sat down at Barnes & Noble to write and found a few magazines I always read: Analog, Fine Scale Modeler, and UK-based Practical Electronics. I skipped the taphouses as I could not afford the calories. Beer will wait until after surgery. I can hear the call of baked goods, but I can resist them. I can.

Thanks for reading.

Here is my Lental Rose returning.

Here is Susie’s daffodil.

 

Some days are forgettable, and most of Monday was, except for dinner. I rose with my alarm and just was not ready to start. I rolled over and did not summon the strength to find my robe and slippers and wear them until 7:30. It was a work-from-home week. The shoe company sent all the WHQ IT people to work from home for this layoff-filled week. It was a quiet work day, with me approving a few items and reading many. I also did a meeting on replacing one of the ancient computer systems and helped connect folks.

I was cleaned up and dressed in the morning around 10ish, and I headed out for a few chores. My suits needed to be cleaned from the spilled drinks and smells of vampire haunts in New Orleans. I also had my flashy vests cleaned too. So I drove to Beaverton proper to the cleaners, dropped the clothing off, and will pick it up on Friday. I spent the rest of the morning buying groceries at Safeway and putting them away. I bought a roasted chicken for lunch. I had that with cole slaw and some dill pickles.

I stripped the bed and washed the covering, sheets, and towels. I also washed the dress shirts I forgot about from the trip to New Orleans.

As I said, it was an unmemorable day of the usual tasks. I contacted Dondrea and texted to ask if she and Z wanted dinner. It went back and forth, but they decided to have dinner with me–a lot was going on. I selected the food cart park in Beaverton to allow more choices.

We met there; I, being early, sat outside and wrote for a while. It was cold and freezing in the fifteen minutes I waited. I forgot my hat today (?!), so I was extra cold. Dondrea was dreaming of gumbo, but that store was closed on President’sPresident’she ramen place was open. We each had a bowl. Dondrea went for spicy, Z for medium, and I was told to take regular (funny!). We found a place inside to sit, out of the wind and the sprinkles. We chatted and enjoyed excellent broth and perfect noodles.

And that is about all. Thanks for reading.

Susie’s service is on 23 March 2024, at 4 PM, at First United Methodist Church in Beaverton.

Susie’s Michigan service is on 18 May 2024 at Grace United Methodist Church, Lansing, at 2PM.

Going backward, I just rose from a nap after Corwin piloted Air Volvo to Hood River and back. We found and took the Bridge of the Gods and WA 14 back to Vancouver. The bridge is unique in our area; a previous private toll bridge that was purchased from a catalog and assembled over the Columbia River. It is now a state Park and still a toll bridge, $3 to cross. WA 14 is a two-lane road that, at some points, seems to be glued to the Columbia Gorge, and Corwin got to test his driving skills and Air Volvo’s handling. No mishaps, and I only thought one guardrail seemed too close. We left 14 to I-5 and returned through Portland over another high bridge, though the tunnel (Corwin does not like tunnels, and this one is short), and back to Beaverton. We arrived home with no losses.

Moving further back, after lunch with Rev.Dr. Wayne and Rev. Anne Weld-martin at Reedville Cafe, I returned home. Lunch was shrimp and local crab meat on a salad. I helped Wayne a few times as he had trouble with mobility. Anne and I talked some on Susie’s Concert coming up in just over a month.

At the house, I waited for Corwin to be ready. As we are traveling in the Gorge, I put my coat in the cargo hold–Oregon is less civilized than some folks think. It is best to be prepared. Corwin took the pilot seat, and I was in First Class (Biz Class is found in the back seats). Corwin had trouble with the steering at first and overran a curb, scaring me good (and possibly requiring a re-alignment in the future); he managed to handle the sensitive power steering after that. Air Volvo goes where you put it. It is not manual!

Corwin navigated Beaverton Traffic without issue except for being frustrated by the slow and extra-legal driving. The lane changes have to be watched for. I had to give some instructions on approaching some turns and lights. Oregonians make it harder to drive in traffic as there are no patterns to apply. In NYC, you assume everyone is angry, and you need to go with authority. In LA, you know they are all there to kill you, and you need to not show fear, and signaling is a sign of weakness. In Oregon, the cars trade lanes without warning, and there is no logic, just lemmings.

The transition to highways and highway driving was the practice Corwin needed. We took the advanced class for Corwin and did the tunnel and then the bridge, which is also a suspended highway. After that, we made the various connections to I-84, and Corwin watched as our fellow drivers would change lanes two at a time or fly across the highway to an exit with only a few feet for each move. Speeds randomly decreased to the speed limit minus five to ten over.

Corwin enjoyed I-84 as he flew Air Volvo at 100 mph a few times but discovered that the sensitive steering of Air Volvo is less enjoyable at high speeds–SUVs are not meant for racing. Most times, Corwin had us flowing with traffic, the imaginative lane-changing stopped in the Columbia Gorge, Corwin’s speed slowed, and we practiced better lane changes under 80 mph. I asked Corwin to keep it under 80, as the handling of our XC60 Volvo is not that good at higher speeds.

We had one complaint from Air Volvo, and it told Corwin to stop it, literally telling him to pay attention and get a coffee when he had trouble with high speed and a curve with a car in the other lane. We heard the trolly car bell, the collision avoidance warning, and it moved the wheel back, to Corwin’s surprise. The Volvo’s version of a raised eyebrow. No loss except Corwin’s amazement to be dressed down Air Volvo. I just smiled, and Corwin drove less like a video game.

I texted Dondrea that I would take Z driving when it was time, and Dondrea jumped at that. Wild’s Volvo Piloting School opening soon!

We arrived without any more comment from Air Volvo in Hood River. There, we parked Air Volvo and found Trillium Café was open and would to make us dinner a bit early before they closed at 4PM. I have been going to this edgy bar for years, and their food is good. I like the Wild Things mural and the games to play. Susie and I used to take Air Volvo to Hood River for fun and get a bite there for years.

At the cafe, I had a club sandwich with just a few fries to taste, and Corwin finished one quarter for me. Corwin had the mac and cheese with bits of meatloaf liberally sprinkled on top. Yes, it is that kind of food. I had ordered a BLT, but somehow, that got switched to the sandwich I almost ordered, The Club–an excellent change. My beer was good and would make the next challenge easier, Washington State’s curvy roads and a see-through bridge, The Bridge of the Gods.

Aside: The Bridge of the Gods is a local native American legend, and the physical bridge here is worthy of a Google search.

After a fine repast, we stopped by Waucoma Bookstore, and I finally bought a copy of Emily Wilson’s transition of The Odyssey by Homer. I have been meaning to reread Homer, and now a new translation is getting high marks in the press. From reviewing my newly purchased copy, the notes and glossary are already worth the $40 price. The bookseller joked that I needed to buy more to help with his rent payments. He agreed with my selection and loved this version. We both agreed that The Odyssey is more approachable than The Illiad. It is always nice to find a friendly bookstore.

Corwin and I reboarded Air Volvo and soon were headed to The Bridge of the Gods.

Moving back to the start of the day, I rose at 7:30ish. I had woken up with an ache in my leg and had to rise at 6ish to take some painkillers. I started writing and raced to be done in time for church. By 10AM, I had a decent story with the text mostly fixed. Published. I cleaned up and dressed, a Gay-pride tie under my blue sweater.

I sat next to Wayne at church. The church’s choir is growing and sounded good today. In the past, the choir has almost outnumbered the congregation. It is not unusual; it is a Methodist thing. I watched Dondrea, a former television journalist and communication director for a large local insurance corporation, handle the service with fantastic aplomb. Her open body language, smile, and her hand wrapping her hair behind her ear as she reads over the mic are so easy and professional that it was fun to watch her work.

The sermon, also by Dondrea, was about the newly minted apostle Paul in Acts 25:1-25 being unjustly accused. Dondrea tied this to the history of journalism, Joe McCarthy, and other dark histories of the USA from the Communist Scare. She pointed out how exposing the injustice and demanding it to halt is part of the American Experience. It is our responsibility, according to Dondrea, to evaluate any doubts about some people, more so for people who hold other political views and stick to facts. Rumors and gossip are not truth. In the end, “do good.”

After the service, Dondrea, Z, and I talked about dinner on Monday or Tuesday if they can fit in.

And that takes me full circle. I hope you enjoyed the story. I did stay calm while riding with Corwin. He will try for his license on Thursday.