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Another morning that was not welcome and seemed to sneak up on me. I managed to wake up fifteen minutes early, 5:45AM, and then I was utterly and profoundly asleep after ten minutes, and my alarm blasted me awake. Ugly.

I managed to end the alarm on my iPhone without incident (I did not drop it). I staggered to the kitchen and started the hot water for the French press coffee, and set out an NYC Everything Bagel to start defrosting. I then went and did 25 minutes of exercises and stretches. Next, I toasted the bagel after it spent ten seconds in the microwave so I could cut it in half with ease. And then I started the coffee in the press, liberal, and got a yogurt out of the fridge.

I thus started my morning online after finishing my exercises and stretches; two sets are done in my office as one takes a chair and the other a wall. I am feeling better and stronger. It seems to be working.

After bringing all the laptops to life, I reviewed all the issues from work, email, text, and Slack channels at 6:40ish. Nothing was pressing for me. I then read my own personal email. I ate my breakfast while reading all of this. After that, time burning away fast, I rushed into the shower, got dressed, and headed out.

I put my Nike laptop on a shelf as I put on my coat, and it fell and hit the floor. It appeared undamaged, but later the keyboard was now wave-shaped. I pushed it back in, and after a few ominous snapping sounds, it worked again (except for the ‘Delete’ button, which I was not sure was working before). A tiny bit of plastic did break. Again, it is working, mostly.

The same laptop I had set on the passenger seat today went flying when the emergency breaking happened on TV highway when a driver decided to entirely stop on TV highway before turning right–not a best practice. I was lucky that I was not rear-ended when I suddenly stopped. The laptop was undamaged as it landed on Air Volvo’s floor. It was a hard day for notebook computers!

Returning to the morning, I got aboard Air Volvo and did play connect the school buses for a while, but I did arrive before 8 at Clubhouse. I started my three hours of Zoom meetings at 8:30. I had status meetings and a technical meeting on using a tool to revise some master data and related transactional data. The meetings, no details can be put here, left me a bit disquieted. This was followed by WageWorks denying my medical reimbursement for the same invoice they approved in December. This is a multi-thousand-dollar expense for Susie, and I was expecting it to be approved like it was in December. I contacted HR and have a ticket for them to investigate; I told my boss how unhappy I am and will have to appeal, in writing, WageWork’s decision for Nike to reject my expense. I am pissed and depressed about this. I did not need another fight with another outside company doing medical stuff for Nike. I had Allegiance Senior Care revise the wording in their invoice to allow reimbursement, and one had been approved–frustrating.

Aside: I am daydreaming of sending a copy of my appeal to the CEO of Nike with a cover letter explaining this is not my first time with this kind of shenanigans–but I know that fantasy will not improve my results. But it would be lovely to think that John Donahoe would help and make this process easier.

I left Clubhouse for the day; I had lunch at Serena William’s cafeteria at Nike WHQ and talked about trading company stuff for a while with Scott. I have a salad from the excellent salad bar and enjoy the happy place that is the cafe. I also got my exercise in as I parked Air Volvo at the New York City Garage and walked through all the new campus trails. It is lovely, and I look forward to Thursday’s lunch on campus. Then, I worked in the lobby until Scott found me, and we headed to lunch. It is always a gift to work on campus, even for a few minutes.

After lunch and my long walk across campus, Air Volvo took me across Beaverton to the hummingbird house. There I found Susie in her recliner watching TV. She was delighted to see me. We called her mother on my iPhone, and they chatted for a while on FaceTime. I can only show up for twenty minutes or so on a workday, and that disappointed Susie. She is still used to me being there for hours during Christmas.

My picture-taking did not work that well today. Susie smiled after the photo.

With a kiss, I took Air Volvo back and just managed to get back intact. I connected to work and continued my work on vendor patches (called OSS notes for those who speak SAP). I have everything applied and now need to get them tested. I will attempt to convince the project folks that it is better to get the performance and stability fixes in now instead of waiting for an emergency. It is a matter of priority and resources.

I rested for a bit and decided not to write the appeal to WageWorks/Nike letter tonight. I will likely do better with a night’s sleep. I read some more of the Last Magician–I like it.

I went to get things ready in the kitchen. I froze the rest of the Christmas ham (I seem to have an infinite supply of ham) and finished the rest of the Pork Vindaloo (having to toss a bit as it was getting old–next time, I will freeze it after it initially cools). I put away the clean dishes, ran the dishwasher, and assembled the glassware for Gene and Glenda for the next seat of leftovers. I took out the trash. I am thinking jambalaya for next week and being leftovers.

The kerfuffle that is the speaker voting in the USA House of Representatives continued. I watched some of it, and my prediction that they would nominate the former president (Trump) came true. So far, only one vote for Trump as speaker has been cast, but we will see what Friday brings.

I cannot always handle the pile-on I get sometimes, and today seemed just depressing. Thus, I am drinking a dark-as-death beer in Wildwood Taphouse, and I already feel better. It is like the song “everyone knows your name.” I am writing the blog while enjoying dark beer.

Thanks for reading; sorry, I was grumpy.

My Spacejammer laser-cut wood Dungeons and Dragons scale models showed today. More to follow. Excited to get them.

Going backward, I came to the house at 9ish after choir practice on Wednesday at First United Methodist Church, Beaverton–the church next to the fountain and the park just out of Old Town. There, I do not sing; instead, Zophia, an 11-year-old, plays board games with me while her mother, Dondrea, rehearses with the band and the choir. Today we played Architects of the West Kingdom, in which Zophia was having some trouble, at first, remembering how to play. Finally, she did build a great work in the game, and gameplay started to return to her. I scored crushingly higher, but she did well and would, in the next play, be ready to defeat me. Architects is a worker placement and resource management and, in its final form, after the latest Kickstarter, has many options and directions. It is rated the 87th-best game on Board Game Geek. It uses my fav option, a simple turn structure, and a difficult overall strategy.

Zophia decided to take on the mean board game, Brass: Lancashire, that we last played before the holidays. It was the first game playing in weeks (the holidays and both of us had colds). I brought the newly purchased (and expensive) Iron Clay brand poker chips. Zophia agreed that the poker chips really improved the play of Brass.

The game is mean as you can quickly get in the face of the other player and each move usually reduces the options of your opponents in the game. Also, there are correct choices, and I understand the game well and have my turns planned two or three steps ahead. But, Zophia loves the competition and the complexity with the brain burn–she is starting to see the patterns. The game is the 20th best and is in its new version (originally from 2007) and rated for 14+ years of age, so Zophia loves that she is managing to hold her own at 11! We also managed to own our own part of the board, so we did not slam into each other. Zophia and I managed to get about 3/4 before we ran out of time. I was, at that time, ahead, but Zophia matched me at 27 for the first epoch, excellent, and she would likely have pushed further up the points–she still had a lot of money to spend. I suspect I will be fighting for my life in Brass next Wednesday!

Aside: If you want to do just resource management with little randomness, Brass Lancashire is a good choice. However, this is not a beginner’s game. Brass: Burmington is a kinder version and is the 2nd best game on Board Game Geek. I like the Lancashire version better. Both are fun and recommended; not for beginners!

Before this, I was home. I rested a bit after 4ish; I had physical therapy PT today and was fatigued. I spent the last hours loading vendor patches (OSS notes for those who understand SAP software). I am working on fixes to the master data (MDG again to those who live and breathe SAP software) for performance improvements and vendor-recommended updates for stability. I had created a list of suggestions and received more–I was installing the fixes in our sandbox to validate the application of the fixes. I spent most of the day at work looking at upgrades and patches and applying them.

Before this, as I hinted, I was at PT–my weekly visit–and Michael and Leo had me working on existing and some new exercises. Michael was interested in helping me with my lift for Susie. So he reviewed the best way to keep my back straight and then had me practice with some light weights. Leo then finished with me running through the current exercises. It is an intense hour. I have three more sessions.

Moving back more, I had lunch at McMenamins Oak Hills. I stuck to diet soda but had their curry tuna sandwich–McMenamins make their own beer, and I like their Ruby Ale. McMenamins is a local chain that often buys historical places and turns them into spas, restaurants, and event centers.

I worked, using their Wifi, on the vendor patches, followed along at work, and watched the kerfuffle of the USA House of Representatives not electing a speaker again. I pointed out to the waiter that there were no requirements for being the speaker, and he should put his name in. He ignored me but thought it funny that there were no requirements. So I worked there for about an hour on Nike stuff.

Before this, I visited Susie at the hummingbird house. I had traveled there from work in the morning. I could only stay for about twenty minutes on a workday. So first, we connected to Susie’s mother, who had just finished her hair appointment. So Susie and she has a short chat on FaceTime. Next, as I had some more time, we called Susie’s sister, Barb, who was still at work (a school secretary in Grand Ledge, Michigan), and talked briefly with her. Susie needs some PJs, and Barb might manage that (I have found a few pairs at the house, but most have already migrated to the hummingbird house and, before that, at the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center–we seemed to have lost a few sets now). I will try to bring some I have found, and maybe Barb can find some more.

Susie is always sad when I leave, and the return to work has shortened my visits–making it even harder.

Moving to the early morning, I started at 6AM and began with my exercises after starting the coffee. I spend about twenty-five minutes running through all the stretches and exercises. I then had breakfast, this time pumpkin pie eft over from Christmas dinner (Rev. Anne suggested that warm pumpkin pie is an excellent breakfast–I left mine cold–and I agree it is an ideal breakfast), plus yogurt with liberal coffee.

Waking, the alarm at 6AM was not welcomed with joy and cheers. Regrets and debates about maybe just a few more minutes of sleep were brushed off, and the day started with stoicism and the realization that the weekend was getting closer by the minute–there was hope! The cause of the difficulty was obvious. I was reading the new book from the Smiths for Christmas, The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell, and enjoying it. I did not stop until after midnight. Yes, the morning seemed to come only minutes after I closed my eyes! Good books (Michelle Smith picks excellent ones) are a weakness–I can’t stop sometimes.

I finished Nameless Serenade (The Commissario Ricciardi Mysteries) and loved it. I had predicted the ending, but it was still a great read. I care for the Commissario and all the book’s regulars. I laugh through the book. Recommended (it is number nine, I think, in the series).

Yesterday I received some more stamps for my collection and put them in my album. I am filling the holes here and there. I also have, embarrassedly, purchased two stamps to replace two stamps misplaced in the albums (I have two albums, USA and USA Revenues). I have finally found reasonably priced correct stamps and my Columbians are now nearly completed (the $3 and $4 stamps from 1893 are not filled as the price point for such stamps is out of my budget–but I did find a reasonably priced proof of the $5 and that brings a smile when I turn to 1892–it was the only time I have seen it offered in an auction as a single stamp).

Well, that brings me past 11PM on Wednesday, and I am still blogging. I just finished the pumpkin pie. I will return to the NYC bagels for breakfast (all safely frozen) this coming morning. I am likely going to read too late. I am also blasting my radio–testing it. It is still running after an hour. No unexpected shutdowns, and it is running at 9V 2A power and blasting out old rock. A pleasant end for today.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you don’t mind that my attention wanders a bit on some days.

Today I started at 6AM and did all my excises except riding the stationary bike first thing this morning. I then read my emails, texts, and Slack messages for home and work. I was rushed as I had to be at work at 8AM. I was doing OK initially, but my Nike work account was locked. I had let the password expire, which can only be reset when directly attached to a Nike network. So I closed my work laptop and finished getting dressed.

I had yogurt and a banana for breakfast with liberal coffee that I then put in a travel cup. I managed to find one school bus on the way in, but the traffic was light, and the buses had not quite flooded the areas, so I made good time.

I cleared all the locks on my Nike laptop in twenty minutes of frustrating logging and re-logging as the password change filtered through the Nike network and my Nike iPhone. It took four tries to get the laptop to get the password changed and usable. I did make my Zoom meetings starting at 8:30.

I wear a mask at work, but usually only in small rooms. I am less worried about Covid-19, but RSV and all those particular colds and flu versions I just don’t need. I wash my hands often. I also remember my physical therapy request to stand up every thirty minutes.

Work was a lot of remembering what we do, what we need to do today, and what is upcoming. There were lots of “Happy New Year,” and folks were happy to see each other. After years of pandemic isolation, it is always good to see people!

I headed to Susie’s place in Portland (Tigard), the hummingbird house. The traffic was light, and I witnessed no imaginative driving. When I arrived, Susie was still eating her breakfast. Jennifer, the live-in nursing aide, said Susie was tired and started later.

Susie was delighted to see me, and I sat at the dining table while she had her breakfast. Susie was able to feed herself today. While her freshly made oatmeal cooled, we called Susie’s mother, Leta, and chatted with her for a bit. I held the phone while they chatted and answered many of Leta’s queries. Susie continued to eat. Leta rang off after a bit, and I had to leave as it was a work day. Susie was a bit distressed that my visit was short, but it is what I can manage on a workday.

Susie’s Orchids from The Smiths (plus Jason).

I returned to work after getting a Carl’s Jr. Western burger, a guilty pleasure and listened to Oregon Public Broadcasting on Air Volvo’s radio while eating. They interviewed the gal in charge of the new paid-leave program in Oregon. Anyone working for a usual employee (not Federal or self-employed) now, starting October, gets paid leave. Having been on paid leave for my cancer treatments and caring for Susie from Nike, I am a supporter of giving this same benefit to everyone. The tax is 1%, and I hope it is enough to help folks.

After listening to the radio and eating my burger, I returned to the shoe company and did some admin work for myself and others. I followed along and tried to get back into the flow of things. I left at 3ish and then logged back in at the house in my office there.

After 5ish, I called Rev. Anne Weld-Martin and checked in–her husband is moving from the hospital to a rehabilitation program at a yet-to-be-determined facility. I offered to meet her a Matzalan for Mexican food at the nearby strip mall. She was delighted with a chance to dine out with a friend.

We met at 6:30ish, with me getting their first and enjoying a large margarita (on the rocks with salt) with chips and salsa. We both ordered a Chili Relleno and an enchilada (mine cheese, and her’s meat). We shared a scoop of ice cream for dessert.

Rev. Anne and I talked about the current political kerfuffle in Washington, the Speaker of the House was not elected on the first vote (that has not happened since 1923). We also chatted about how God is not found in the experience but really in the written word and the spoken word. What makes us human, at least what I believe, is writing and reading–we transmit words into the future by writing them and copying them. Anne reminded me that God was not in the wind or the mountain but in the quiet voice. It was a fun chat.

We had a delightful dinner, and we both headed off to do our tasks, me to write this blog and Anne to get some music ready.

Thanks for reading.

And for those who wonder what is wrong with the USA: Goof Gas.

I tried to start the day a bit early, then rolled over and started at 8ish. I wrote the blog the night before. I spent much of the morning organizing my accounts and papers for November and began on December’s accounts. The new year starts with me using my new tax-efficient processes and preparing to try to reclaim money I paid to the various governments. I am hoping that I can reclaim a few months of payments. This level of organization prevents a fault in an audit or a denial of deductions.

While concluding the paperwork, I heard some banging on the house. My neighbor Mike had negotiated to clean my gutters. I was concerned that he under-evaluated the level of effort, and I increased the payment to twice the amount. I was willing to pay a lot to not have to climb on the roof with a hand shovel and empty the goo that is this year’s end leaves!

I drove to the bank, withdrew some cash, and returned and paid Mike. He cleaned up the mess and removed branches from the Japanese Maple that were touching or over the roof. Mike offered to spray for ants and repair my gate, but I demurred as I wanted him to finish what he promised. Mike is not known for being reliable. But today, he did an impeccable job, and I will ask him to fix the gate.

I left Mike to the gutters. I finished the giant scorpion for Dungeons and Dragons. I had reworked a plastic lobster into a monstrous D&D scorpion. I used modeling clay to complete the forms yesterday. I painted the clay and other areas with primer and let that dry. Next, I painted the whole thing, Chaos Black, from a spray can that is Games Workshop brand. After that was mostly try, I over-sprayed straight down with Desert Yellow from a can from Army Painters. This creates a weak 3D look. Once that dried, I painted Nuln Oil straight from the bottle with a large-ish brush. I will stop there, as the figure is just for gaming use.

Aside: This monster is my own creation and is not found in the current rules, but there was one in the previous versions (4E as vermin).

If I wanted the complete look, I would have to cut the claws and arrange them in a triangle shape closer to a scorpion, but the tail, stinger, and color are enough to get the basic idea.

I did all my exercises except for the bike. These are to unlock my lower back and strengthen my knees. There was no pain after the exercises.

When I opened the door to the garage, a cat jumped. Yes, the same cat got itself trapped for days in the garage. I left the door open for it for a while. I checked, and some things were knocked over (cat panic), and it seemed to have escaped again. This is the second time. This cat likes to slide into the garage when I forget to close the door and rest between the furnace and the water heater. Very comfy. I will have to check when I close the garage door, somehow for cats.

I reached Susie before noon (the traffic was more than I expected, but there were no shenanigans), and she was in her chair. I missed the nurse aide’s name for today, but Susie knew her. She got Susie in her wheelchair while I got Susie’s coat. I then loaded Susie into Air Volvo, and Susie was weaker than I was ready for, and I had to stretch to get Susie in the Air Volvo co-pilot seat. My back and legs would later complain.

We headed to Washington Square Mall, the last shopping day of the season. The mall was busy. We found some colorful socks for Susie at Sox Empire (I did not know there was a sock store)–owls and koala bears. Next, we found a red Bugs and Lola Bunny “Happy Year of the Rabbit” t-shirt for Susie. Lastly, we got a large arrangement of flowers to share at the hummingbird house.

While wandering, we called Leta, Susie’s mother, on the iPhone. She was happy to see us out and about in the mall. It was loud, and we had just a short chat. Next, we headed to the food court and hit up the USA-style food place for ice cream, strawberry for Susie, and an All-American hot dog for me.

I reloaded Susie with our loot into AIr Volvo, someone had just pulled in next to us (growl), and I politely asked them to move to the next slot (it was a huge Lexus SUV), so I would have room to load Susie into Air Volvo. They kindly did as I asked. Susie actually started to fall when I began the lift instead of standing, but I was ready, and we had no opportunities for stunts (or worse). It happened again when I unloaded her at the hummingbird house. We will need to consider some standing exercises for Susie soon. Despite the price, I may also ask for PT for her (It is a new year, and all the co-pays and out-of-pocket minimums reset). Strengthening and safety would be the goals to make transfers safer–use has to have goals to get this covered (even partially) by insurance and to have a doc prescribe it.

Susie was sad that I was headed out (I was a bit tired now) and disappointed that our time together was over at 2:30ish. I left with a kiss, and Susie headed to lunch/snack and likely an afternoon nap. I recrossed Beaverton without incident marveling at the traffic for a holiday.

I reached home, Mike was finishing his work, and I started fixing my radio after having some leftover Pork Vindaloo. I removed the blown-out amplifier I killed a week ago by connecting 9V to the power. I managed to unsolder everything without issue–I am always surprised when my skills come back and happy that the chemo did not damage my dexterity and delicate movements.

I broke out the wood backing for the speakers and drilled holes for the new posts to mount the new amp. It uses screw attachments and a standard plug. This makes the look better with the amp mounted on the same board as the speakers and all the wires attached with screw posts. More importantly, I power the amp from the regulated and cap leveled 3.3V, which will prevent another loss.

Everything works and seems a bit more stable. The strange signals from standing are gone, and the radio plays without issue now. Something with the power or wiring has been corrected by my rework. The volume is not as loud at 5V, but it is plenty loud at 3.3V.

I was also looking at a newly purchased device from Sparkfun in Denver: Qduino. This is a tiny microcontroller with built-in recharging and charge measuring hardware on a mini Arduino format. I have some exciting ideas for these.

Mariah has headed to Beaverton again. Tonight Golden Valley Brewery is open. We met in the bar; I had appetizers and a glass of wine. This is followed by coffee and chocolate cake. Mariah has a sandwich and a few beers. Sadly, the NFL game we were watching was stopped–a player collapsed and is in critical condition. The game is postponed.

I returned home, wrote this blog, and looked at some more of the hardware I just received today from Sparkfun- so much fun, so little time!

I also contacted Cowin, wishing him a happy New Year. We are going to start a new D&D game for him and a few folks–The adventure I wrote was originally his request. He should get a shot at it.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to 2023!

I managed to sleep despite the explosions, but I was not asleep until 2AM again.

Because I could not sleep, I put the stamps I bought in 2022 and were delivered so far into my albums. I also located a Christmas present that was in the wrong place. So I placed the new stamps and checked that they matched the description. It was relaxing to follow old habits.

I went to bed again and managed to sleep this time.

I woke at about 7ish, got up, and logged on to Wageworks. I put in the new bill for Susie for reimbursement using 2023 money collected before taxed through my employer, the shoe company. While most folks spent the first moments of 2023 on something less bureaucratic, likely nursing the partying impacts from the night before, I was getting my first expenses covered according to the planning I did to make 2023 more tax efficient. Thus I would have more money to pay the medical bills. I was excited to execute the plans.

Next, I started writing the blog. I wrote a long blog and was done just before the church meeting. I got a shower, shaved, dressed, and was ready for the New Year Zoom-only worship service. Unfortunately, the process faltered, and I never connected.

I next received a text and call from Mariah–lunch in Beaverton was solicited. We agreed to meet at the Golden Valley Brewery, but it was not open today–we adjusted to BJ’s Brewhouse.

We split a full rack of ribs and had a beer to celebrate 2023. Our waiter was Nick, and he was a bit creepy and showed a lack of skill. Katie, another waiter I know at BJ’s, stopped by and was happy to share New Year’s wishes. The food was good, and Mariah had a good talk.

I headed to Susie’s place, the hummingbird house. There was no traffic with me using 26 to 217, but I did notice many of Beaverton’s Finest were everywhere. I did not touch my phone, watched my speed, and was careful not to have a hot yellow at stoplights.

When I arrived, Susie was delighted to see me. We moved to the social activity room, and I set up the screen for a movie. We watched the movie John Wick 3 with Susie nodding off for a few gunfights. We paused the movie called Leta, Susie’s mother, and caught up with her. Susie was up late with Jennifer getting up for the local New Year, so she was tired. I headed out as Susie was getting a late lunch/snack. Susie gave me a 2023 kiss, and I headed home.

I started on the year-end paperwork yesterday and continued. I closed out the paperwork for November, and I am waiting for the bank transactions to pass into Quicken so I can close the year. I already have end-of-year statements for my investments. I am using physical copies and notebooks as I plan to have a CPA and may face IRS audits–so everything is getting printed out, punched, and put in a notebook arranged by month.

Today I made a year-end copy of my files from my Mac unto my new (and expensive) drive. I discovered that the software library (which includes the backups for Quicken) is not being copied (!?). I did a manual copy of the Quicken file.

I made a salad for dinner. I have plenty of ham to add to the salad. I also have olives, pickled beets, croutons, and shredded cheese. It was close to a chef’s salad. I need to hard-boil some eggs for the next one. After the ribs and beer, a light dinner seemed perfect. I did have a slice of the pumpkin pie I made for Christmas–almost gone.

Next, I worked on my model of a monstrous scorpion for Dungeons and Dragons. I got the epoxy modeling clay and finished sculpting the stinger. I let the clay harden, then prime it in black, over-spray in lighter colors, and then finish with some ink to make it more 3D. I have reworked a plastic lobster you see on the walls of restaurants into a giant scorpion.

I then decided to write the blog as I had my cold symptoms back and could not rest. I am not sure what caused my distress, but I wonder if I am allergic to some tea flavors. I used the same tea when I was ill last time. Hmm.

Thanks for reading. Sorry if it seems just a list of items, but that was mostly what today was. Just stuff. Welcome to 2023!