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Saturday, I spent most of the day playing board games. The games require me to forget everything and focus on the mechanics, positions, and status that make board games work. It is not the rules or the need to win in what is a created contest, but the execution of fascinating procedures and the immersive nature of the difficult games. While I neither own nor know most board games that I play at other folks’ homes, there are some I know well enough (and own a copy) to plan play two or more turns ahead, and thus I enjoy them more. Now monster-complex and crazy art and graphic games, for example, Weather Machine, is a struggle as the game’s flow is hard to understand, but I still enjoy the strange mechanics. It is a thrill to find that I can play them and not totally fail against my expert gaming opponents (who eat these things up and have a dozen more plays than I have). I scored much better last game by asking for help, following the process rigorously (others were rushing), and reading the more obscure iconography (the game is so complex each player gets a little handbook!). Richard and I talked, and we are not sure we need another Vital Lacerda (designer for Weather Machine and Lisboa) in our collections. Richard calls these brain burners, and he says they take dozen of plays with various numbers of players to learn all the subtle design elements.

Aside: Wargames (some now looking more like board games) simulate a military (historical, fictional, or SciFi) or political situation. Often wargames are just two-player and are immersive and try to get the players to relive the critical decisions of battle and try to recreate or do better than the actual events. I enjoy getting out my tiny battleships and refighting the Battle of the Denmark Straits (Hood vs. Bismark). We are moving away from the inaccurate but playable model of the 1960-80 and now have more exciting games. Solo wargames allow for the recreation of historical events without asking one player to have a disadvantage or strait-jacket rules to force historical alignment. There is good stuff out there!

Starting the narrative, I started the morning at 7ish as I had a status meeting at 8:30 which lasted only a few minutes. Rajani strongly urged me to skip the rest for the weekend, and I aligned with that. While waiting for the meeting, I made breakfast (a banana and a cup of yogurt with fruit) and liberal coffee, Equal Exchange, and ate it while listening for anything for any issues assigned to our team or myself (nope).

While I was in the office, a healthy-looking squirrel calming walked into my best tulips, reached up, bit the flower off the stem, and then daintily picked off the petals from the blossom and consumed them. Then, seeing another flower, the squirrel dropped its current repast and pulled down another one. I banged at the window; I might be willing to feed a squirrel a tulip, but I would not have a gourmet squirrel try each one!

Aside: Today was Naked Gardening Day, and apparently, here it is celebrated (I did not participate), and I knew it best to now stop at a nursery today for squirrel repellent (made from an editable oil, rotten eggs, and cayenne pepper).

After considering squirrel-directed corrective action, I dressed and did some coding on my radio project. I might be able to read the transmission of the song and other information sent by the radio station inside of the music. I also mixed some extra acrylic and poured the tiny amount into the mold that had flowed onto the table instead of staying in the mold. I would say that I have learned much about clay molding and acrylic casting. A small level is needed, and you must mold it into how you plan to pour the new item. The clay hardens in less than ten minutes and is completely done in an hour. That means you need to get the clay into a tiny bit fast and apply it fast. My mold (which I destroyed getting the cast out) has issues, and the Dremel will have to be used in a few places, but still, it looks good (after the other acrylic dried and filled in the missed bits. I have used other materials (liquid rubber and then a heated dry material) for making model parts, which is easier if you want to replace a lost gun on a ship model, but to make clear cool-looking stuff, the acrylic is the way to go. But, if you are going to light it, the glitter will just look like black bits in the acrylic when the lights are on, which surprised me.

Returning to our story, I then packed up and headed to see Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. It was dry today but grey and overcast, 64F (18C). I cut some flowers for her from the house, including some apparently delicious tulips, so Susie and the folks at hummingbird house could enjoy them. In addition, I included apple blossoms; the historical apple tree (from the original farmstead) is still going (it fell when the soil was so wet the tree roots could not hold up a massive load of apples that year, but we were able to trim it back into a good tree).

Susie was delighted to have more flowers and a visitor, but she was disappointed that I would stay for only a short time. We could not afford me to catch her cold. Mask on the whole time, and no close contact. Like Covid-19 all over again!

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and had a friendly chat. I then found the Kentucky Derby on TV for Susie. Sadly, I headed out as I needed to curtail my exposure to Susie’s cold. She was still coughing.

I headed to Rogue Brewery in Portland. The only event was me looking at a sign “Long Load” and missing that the lane was ending and the semi needed my place. I quickly accelerated and got out of the way. I am sure the trucker thought Air Volvo was flown by an idiot. I was fascinated by the three loads connected; oops. The area was busy, but I found parking off SE 9th Street. I was expecting nudity, but instead, folks were dressed in flashy formal wear for a Kentucky Derby party.

Evan arrived a bit later, I had my first beer just after noon, and the place was busy but not packed. I found our usual inside table (I wiped raindrops from the box of my copy of the board game Concordia) and ate a recommended special grilled cheese (it was ok) while Evan started setting up Concordia. We spill into two tables to play, which does not bother folks there.

Soon we were heads-down on Concordia, the staff at Rogue were happy to welcome regulars playing games, with me wanting to not repeat the crushing I had from Evan’s last play. The setup for cities and, to some degree, cards are random, so this invites some strange initial conditions. However, this board looked like the usual random setup (nothing extreme), and we were playing the usual board–no special rules other than including Forum.

The game went its usual seesawing of buying cards and building trade posts in cities, with Evan heading in one direction and myself headed in another. I acquired the metal and food cards, with Evan getting the others. I used the cards to build up and get my colonists out, making it easier to expand (in the last game, I failed at both tasks). This sent me into a fast build mode and the ability to acquire cards as needed, thus giving me the game by more than ten points (I built all my trading posts and ended the game). Better!

We played the short game (for two players who know the game), Wingspan with the European and Asia add-on that I would recommend,  twice, with me winning both games. It was the usual victory; I just got the bird cards I needed. I have also learned that balance is good, and I build the first row (food) first to two birds as soon as I can and then build the last row (bird cards). I try to find birds that gain food or tucked cards in the first row as you often play that row. I played to match the round goals to at least score and tie or better. Again, more straightforward in a two-person game. Fun.

After that, I paid the bill and headed to Richard’s. Shawn and I played Weather Machine, Ricard was surprised by my request, and I got a lot of help to remember all the mechanics. We found repeatedly we had to redo something because we did not adhere to the game process (all printed on the board in iconography that takes me a while to follow), but we enjoyed the game. Richard won with me, surprisingly ahead of Shawn. I also took the Noble Prize (the first scientist to run the corrective weather machine three times) in the game, a first for me.

We then tried Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition (cooperative version). It was late, and we rushed through it. I like this rework of the well-loved original Terraforming Mars board game, and the cooperative version was fascinating. Again, it was late, and I arrived home after 1AM. I crawled into bed after taking my meds and slept in.

In the backyard, we have a new bird, a Western Tanager. The jays are gone, likely forced into higher altitudes by the heat, and I was missing them. When I moved here in 1996, the Scrub Jays were everywhere, but we also had days of 12F, which were long in the past.

Thank you for reading. Sorry, it is so long. I took the whole morning writing.

I am freezing tonight and sneezing. I am sad. I watched a Nova special on Saving the Right Whales, which made me quite sad. I slept for a bit and then woke up with a start.

I decided to write. I noticed the writing, rereading, is a bit staccato today, sorry. My regular writing voice only appears here and there (it almost reads like a PowerPoint Presentation).

My day started, as usual, for Fridays, working from home and sleeping into 7AM. I was up and making liberal coffee soon after, having been awakened by my alarm. I slept to my alarm, suggesting I was tired or ill. It was going to be a tough start, but I had no hint of Susie’s terrible cold (just allergies controlled to some degree by taking prescription Singulair at night).

I did the ninety minutes of Zoom status meetings for our project. We approach the first code drop to production, and the project shows some of the stress of coming to the end of testing and actually going live with the software. I usually find it boring as we are on our third practice. You just have to install this stuff and move to the next code drop.

I spent Friday following along and helping with a few crises of the moment. Fridays are quieter as India is asleep and starting their weekend. So it was a calm Friday.

I skipped my exercises after completing a set on Thursday and my Physical Therapy appointment. My legs were stiff, and my back was sore from all the workouts. Breakfast was coffee, a banana, and a cup of yogurt with fruit. Lunch was reheated goulash I made a few days ago.

I enjoyed a presentation, yet-another Zoom meeting, on the future inventory model for Nike and how that will work after next year. It will start out small, but assuming the design will not need too many tweaks, it should be a real innovation when fully implemented (sorry, no details here). I don’t have many meetings on the core systems as I focus on master data and emitting data to downstream systems. However, it was nice to see my skills and knowledge are still working.

This morning my colon decided to empty. I had enough warning for the first load, but I decided to rest and read for a moment, and I was right. I managed to sequence everything without incident, but it was a rush to the bathroom! Glad I had not decided to board Air Volvo until I was sure my colon was done. I am trying to learn new habits since the surgery to remove the tumor and part of my large colon.

Next, after lunch and watching some YouTube videos, I took Air Volvo to Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. It was dry today but grey and overcast, 64F (18C). Again, the trip across Beaverton was without incident or apparent lawbreaking by me.

Susie was awake and feeling better today. She could talk and seemed more awake. Jennifer, the nursing aide for the weekdays, had picked out the movie Speed, and Susie was enjoying it. I put it on pause while we called Leta. Leta was pleased that Susie looked better and was more responsive. Leta was enjoying the warm and sunny weather in Michigan and had sat on her new deck (not quite finished, but usable) in a lawn chair. She had to wear a hat to avoid sunburn–quite a change in the weather in Michigan (snow last week)!

I only stayed for a short time, and Susie was disappointed to have me leave so soon, but we both agreed that until she was better, I should limit my exposure to the cold she has.

I returned to the Volvo cave by way of Salt & Straw Ice Cream in Beaverton. I had coffee and nuts flavor. I would recommend it. The line was not long when I started, but out the door when I got my cone. It took me now time as I had only a few people in front of me. I was surprised folks would stand there and sample all the ice cream, but that is a thing at Salt & Straw. I put on my mask in the line; folks do not keep their distance in lines and are not wearing masks. I am less worried about Covid-19 than the cold and flu being shared of late!

Once at the Volvo Cave, I finished my day with two Zoom meetings for the shoe company. I then made a pork chop for dinner with couscous and steamed corn. I made the chop by frying it in butter and finishing in a hot oven (350F), but this time I put taco spices on it for Cinco De Mayo. It was more like a pork steak than a chop. I split up the remaining chops into individual bags and froze them. I watched the aforementioned Nova episode and cried for the whales while enjoying my repast.

I was also sad for Susie; she has been ill every month. I hope things settle.

The mail contained yet-another bill from my colonoscopy, $114 for lab work after insurance payments. In addition, I have a request for $80 for anesthesia, also after insurance. Just frustrating.

I feel better about it now that I have spent some time writing. Becoming a witness and not a participant when writing the blog is an interesting release. The sadness lifts, and I feel like I have done something by writing these 800+ words.

 

Thursday is the last hard day where I have to get going early and be in the office for Zoom meetings by 8. I woke with my alarm again, a surprise after a dream-filled night. I cannot recall the dreams, but I know there were many, and none were scary–nightmares wake me, and it is hard to sleep again after waking in terror. Despite all the horror films with Eric and friends in my Highschool days, and the H.P. Lovecraft and cosmic books and films I have read or seen recently, my dreams are B-movie horror with Vampires, ghosts, and cheap scares or suffocation from being buried alive (asthma attacks while sleep makes for very nasty dreams)–nothing that would scare most folks. However, I have harvested some ideas from my dreams for better home-grown Dungeons and Dragons adventures. I wrote a whole adventure where you use the ventilation system to invade a complex–quite different than the usual dark hallways!

Returning back to the narrative, I did all my exercises at 6ish after getting coffee started. I then made liberal coffee using a French Press to go with a banana and a yogurt cup with fruit. I then read the updates from email, Slack channel updates, and news reports to be prepared for starting my day. Next, I rushed through a shower, dressed (in a dress shirt), and then headed out with flowers for Susie and cold meds left the Volvo Cave in Air Volvo from yesterday’s run to the pharmacy.

The morning at the office started with good-mornings and welcome-backs, and comments about getting better. I thanked everyone for their support and then started hours of Zoom meetings. I also had a few crises of the moment and tasks and electronic paper for software issues–not interesting, but the morning was over soon. I then headed out for Physical therapy with Michael at Bethany Therapeutic Associates. The rains returned, and I had failed to wear a coat or a hat today. I was soon quite damp with the heat in the cabin of Air Volvo.

A few minutes early for my noon appointment, I dried out in the heat. I parked a short distance from the facility and quickly crossed the door without much dampness. Michael and I discussed my progress (now checking in every three weeks), which is good, and I am seeing improvements. I did complain about my new back issues where I get considerable pain from standing long enough to make dinner–something new. Michael added more exercises to help my back, involving pulling bands with my arms. He showed them to me, and then an associate took over–a young gal who was in school and hoped to be a practitioner. She told me how she loves the work. I always ask the new folks about themselves and how they became involved in PT. I took new bands and instructions with me.

Lunch was at the Bethany Public House, and I sat in the bar. The bartender got me a Diet Coke and a bowl of their cowboy chili. It is a perfect lunch after a light but intense workout.

I headed to Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. I stopped and got gas at $4.09 a gallon (remember there is no sales tax in Oregon when comparing prices), which is the credit price. I am disappointed to see gas prices slowly rise again. There is no reason for this increase from a supply or demand viewpoint other than the petroleum industry forcing us to underwrite their stock buybacks and executive compensation. In all other sectors, their products are getting cheaper and often better as they mature. Only the energy sector seems to keep charging more and more. But, I digress, sorry (we will see if I leave that in).

I finally reached Susie and gave Jennifer, the weekday nurse aide, the cold supplies for Susie and the house (hopefully, we won’t need much of it), and then found Susie in her room resting. Susie stays in her room most of the day to control the spread of the cold. Susie is still unable to feed herself, is a choking risk, could inhale the food into her lungs (serious bad news if that happens again), and could fall out of the wheelchair. So Susie eats alone at the table with Jennifer all the time and not in her room.

Susie was asleep and took a moment to wake. She was delighted to have me visit, even for a few minutes. Susie loved the flowers that would go in her room for her to see while staying there most of the time. We did call Leta on my iPhone and used FaceTime so everyone could see each other. Leta was happy that Susie could talk again, awake and looking much better. It was an excellent short time together.

I left and returned to work in the pouring rain, our typical May weather (I call May and June the hose-down months). The traffic was heavy there and back to work with folks going fast, unusual, and dangerous in the rains. I managed to not connect with anyone, but Beaverton’s Finest was out dealing with those who discovered that roads after days of no rain are slick with it rains. Yikes!

The rest of the day went by fast, and my boss told me that my Nike laptop was old enough to replace, so I requested a new one–Lord have mercy on my soul. Maybe it will go fine this time.

Work finished with a 4:30 status meeting, and I headed out. I met Dondrea and Z at Hillsboro Swagat Indian Cuisine. This was my delayed birthday dinner. I ordered the tandoori platter, Dondrea the Lamb Vindaloo, and Z had a chicken biryani. We shared all the food. We ordered a lot of naan to go with it all. Z loved the thin cracker-like Papadum bread. One of my favorites too. The small sides (we ordered dinners for two sets), biryani, and vindaloo went home with Dondrea and Z, plus the leftover naan. We finished with some chia, unsweetened.

Z and Dondrea had a gift for me for my 59th birthday, a modern rose bush in a container. I will have to find a place for it. I could always use another rose. Thanks!

After hugs, we headed on our separate ways, with Z facing homework tonight. I had to write this blog. I also put out the trash waving to my neighbors, doing the same thing.

Thanks for reading. May 4th be with you!

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Today started with me not being sick. I was concerned that I would catch the really nasty cold that Susie was suffering through. But this morning, I was fine and worked from home. I did not want to give the cold to others if I caught it from Susie. So far, so good. I do have hints of something, but it could be allergies.

So I started at 6AM and managed to get moving. It was a night of dreams, and seemed to have been busy all night. But I finally found my focus and started. I got toast with less sugar jam and a banana after finishing my light set of exercises and stretches. It seemed more challenging today, and I was breathing header, but I still completed them.

I did the initial email, Slack channel, and news reading, then dressed and popped into the shower. Yes, I put on a dress shirt, even at home. An L.L. Bean grey-blue Oxford. I was ready before 8 for my first meeting drinking a mug of the Equal Exchange’s morning bled, certified fair trade, pure liberal in a cup, and packed and shipped from Portland, Oregon. What could be a more liberal brew (until the AOC starts to sell coffee).

The news was horrible. Mass shootings. Russia claimed the Ukrainians used drones to attack Putin’s residence, the stock market dropped another 200 hundred points, and there were more Tucker stories (just stop finding new Tweets). I just was numb to the news by the end of today.

I spent the morning working and covering some crises of the moment. Quite a few started to pop up. Lunch was here before I knew it. I called Jennifer at the hummingbird house, and Susie was not well. She had spilled her milk and could not feed herself today. She was leaning when she sat, showing the stroke damage. When Susie is tired, the stroke damage is more pronounced, and she can fall right out of the wheelchair.

Jennifer called me on her cell, and I did FaceTime with Susie for a few minutes. Susie could barely talk and looked exhausted. I only spoke to her for a few minutes as it was hard for her to talk and stay awake.

I made lunch from leftover pasta and sausage a few days ago. I watched some YouTube videos while I ate. More on Battleship Texas and its repairs.

I checked at work and was between things, so I headed across Beaverton to RiteAid to get some cold stuff for Susie (I will bring it over on Thursday) and brought my list of things I forgot to buy more groceries at Basics Market. Air Volvo made the round trip without incident. After putting them away, I returned to the office and finished my day with one more Zoom meeting.

It was a hot sunny day. I received my redwood twig (using the word sapling is going too far for the tiny thing). I will plant it when the weather cools a bit. It did rain for a few minutes in the evening.

Next, I made a roast beef sandwich with cheddar cheese. I heat butter in a non-stick pan (thanks, Steve W). I put the sandwich together with good sliced roast beef (I got it at Safeway), add two cheese slices, and fry in the butter. Flip with care twice. Get a lid that fits and pour water on the hot pan and steam the sandwich, trying to not get water on the sandwich. Flip again to dry out a bit, and then remove the steaming hot sandwich from the pan and cut it in half or quarters. The water boils hotter than 220F and instantly cooks the sandwich.

I had that with the end of the pickles in the old jar (I have more) and some potato salad. Perfect.

I also got my new stamp albums together today. I even added some of my beer stamps to the album. I am happy with it (it does not have Scott Numbers for the stamps, but I can make it work). The heavy paper and page protectors make the album as large as my US book (just paper one-sided pages).

I have about six beer stamps and will likely collect more. I have wine and newspaper stamps for which I do not have an album. I will probably acquire those in the future from the same source. I like these (even missing the Scott Numbers)–from StampParaphernalia.com. They only do US and Canada stamps.

I rest and then head to First United Methodist Church to meet Dondrea and Z for a board game. Z and I agreed to do Scythe, a 4x and thus a very competitive game set in an alternative steampunk world where the world wars did not happen. Z surprised me by remembering much of the process, but as we have not played it often, she did not have a strategy down. I spent most of the game developing efficient processes that drove a score of 51, and I won by twenty. Z was beginning to figure out the game, but it then ended. I remember when it was newer to me and having the same experience. She is ready for another game.

(You can see I was yellow against Z’s white. I ended the game in combat, and you can see the combat wheels are still out)

We played a few games of Azul, the tile game, and then it was time to leave.

I headed home after making plans to have dinner with Z and Dondrea–Indian Food on Thursday!

I am writing the blog at my office. Thanks for reading.

 

Today it will be a brief story as I am tired. I made dinner. A German goulash from beef that took a few hours to complete. I had a few bowls, but most of the stew-like goulash will be ready to reheat for leftovers. I watched Nova while cooking; I have subscribed to the year. Weathering the Future and Chasing Carbon Zero were excellent, and I recommend them.

Moving backward, I returned to the Volvo Cave after visiting Susie. Susie has a bad cold or flu, and I have what I hope are allergy symptoms, so I left work to not spread the cold/flu to my co-workers. I should be sick in the morning if I will catch it or worse, on Thursday morning. If I am fine on Thursday, I will return to the office.

I saw Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. She comes out for meals but stays in her room to avoid spreading the cold to other residents. Jennifer, the weekday nurse aide, was concerned that I could catch the infection from Susie. I wore my mask the whole time there for a short visit and kept my distance (no kiss goodbye). We did call Leta, Susie’s mother, on my iPhone to see each other on FaceTime. Then, Susie started to fall asleep, and we rang off. I stayed a bit longer, and Susie, knowing I was there, and so she was safe, just slept. She understood that I had to return to work and might not be there on Wednesday if either of us got worse.

Susie’s pain is controlled.

I had lunch before visiting, a sandwich (average) at Jimmy’s John. I ate it while reading the news on my iPhone.

Work was full of meetings with some bonus meetings or extensions to meetings. We are having a few crises of the moment, and my ability to accept mediocrity has been tested today. I managed to not say or send any messages reacting to the predictable events for today at work. It was a day to not let events damage your calm.

I did my usual start on Tuesday with 6AM exercises and stretches, the complete set. I had a banana and toast with low-sugar jam plus liberal coffee. I rushed through emails, Slack channel updates, and news to prepare for my day. While on call 7/24, I work the 8AM-4PM shift.

I had left the new lawn chair in the backyard, and the lawn folks are on Tuesday. So I went to the backyard in my robe and slipper to retrieve it. I pushed on it to fold, and it suddenly popped closed; I staggered, now barefoot, in the 51F (10.5C) grass. I managed to not scream, picked up my slippers, grabbed the chair, and carried them into the house, noticing that the deck was not warmer than the grass.

I was glad that nobody witnessed that. I was not going to mention it, but I remember Snoopy had a like problem with a lawn chair. I will have shoes on next time or wait until it is warmer!

So I am tired and sneezing. I have body aches. Ugh. I will sleep soon!

Thanks for reading!