Blog

I am at Wildwood, having a dark beer and chatting with friends. The election results are all over the map and, thus, going as I expected. It appears to me this election, like most, is about local candidates and not national politics–this is always true for two-year elections. Only new presidents bring party members in with them, and that will be two years from now.

Returning to the narrative, the noises from the storm woke me and made me dream that there was someone in the house. This sent me into a nightmare after nightmare. I woke every hour, getting up once to try to feel safer with the lights on. Finally, I managed to sleep a few hours at the end of the morning.

I struggled to have breakfast, a banana and a bagel with cream cheese with liberal coffee. But, frankly, I would be damned if I was going to let nightmares force me to call in sick. I climbed into Air Volvo, showered, shaved, dressed, and ready to be a corporate warrior. I did wear the wrong hat, but only I knew that. I have a spare that Corwin used to use in the rain, but he left it at the house. I grabbed that one in error. I was at work in time for the first 8AM meeting.

When offered to join my master data support collages for more coffee, yes! We still have free coffee until 10AM from the program’s leadership. I even did the stairs, getting slightly winded on the way back. I have to pull myself up with my arms. My legs and muscle timing have been off since the chemotherapy (I got a call tonight and physical therapy has my referral, and I need to schedule my visits–I just have to fit that in now).

I started on some PowerPoint for new work I am beginning for the master data folks and me. Time to architect new things. I worked on those all day, finally sharing them late afternoon.

I did slip out to see Susie in the late morning. It was a sunny but cold day today. We could actually see blue! Susie was ready for me when I got there, just having finished her breakfast. Jennifer bundled Susie in a blanket, and off we went outside to the park. Susie was cold the whole time but was happy to see Metzger park again.

We then returned to the hummingbird house and used the social room to call Barb, Susie’s sister, who is visiting in a  few weeks, and then Leta, Susie’s mother. Barb was happy to chat, and we discussed some gifts for Susie’s birthday (20Nov1962). Next, we spoke with Leta, who was in her car, not driving while talking to us. Soon we said goodbye to them, and I had to return to work.

On the way back, I stopped by Carls Jr. and had a guilty pleasure of a Western Burger. It was good. I finished up and left work a bit early–the lack of sleep catching up with me. However, I did log in from home and followed along.

I took a short nap after 4PM and then made dinner. First, I fried a porkchop in butter and seasonings. Then, I heated some corn in butter and pepper. I also made a salad having chopped extra carrots and celery last time–so that was easy this time.

I ate this while watching the election news. So far, I am not the governor-elect of Oregon by write-in (I forgot to even vote for myself). But it is still early.

Thanks for reading. I am hopeful that I will sleep tonight and not dream such unpleasant dreams.

Monday started dark and rainy, with the time change starting to impact my sleep and my ability to get started. I work at 4AM, 5AM, and 6AM, finally getting going with the sun (or less dark, as there is little sign of the sun in winter in the Pacific Northwest). I was dragging and started trying to get organized on a work-from-home Monday. I soon discovered my work reimbursement account denied some payments and wanted a refund of a pile of money. I was collecting a list of transactions for my taxes and found the issue had been waiting for some time. I did this transaction while covering $12,000-$16,000 medical bills for Susie a month, and thousands for me for chemotherapy and surgery, and taking chemotherapy–not a surprise that something was wrong–it was a crazy time.

Online, I have agreed to repay it and had the money pulled from my checking, but I have requested a new copy of the medical records so I can resubmit it later. This was my ambulance ride after my chemotherapy infusion reaction in the parking lot in March 2022, and there is some irony that this, being the only emergency for myself, was denied. I will resubmit when I have better records–all requested today.

I also noticed my checks are running out, and my order was lost (a nice person at US Bank sent me a replacement) No fraud, so I suspect I may have tossed them as junk mail, or they just got lost (looking like junk mail). Finally, one of my prescriptions was rejected, and I had quite a chat by messaging doc about that–I went to pick it up after visiting Susie, and it was not filled. Growl. I need to check with the pharmacy while they reject the prescription–crazy. So I will go with Manic Monday for today.

Additionally, I have linked my accounts in 401K, but it still does not recognize the bank. There is a note that it takes ten days to acknowledge a new bank account. So that is nearly December! Back to Manic!

I did manage to do some work and follow along at the shoe company, but I seemed to be getting sidetracked all day.

The wind is back, as it is winter now, and the rains are going sideways, but at least the river of rain has stopped, and we just have the Oregon mist. I took Air Volvo to see Susie today, and there was no slipping as the all-wheel drive hunts for a wheel that is not underwater. Last week the tires spun a bit when I pressed the gas from all the water. However, air Volvo’s good tires and excellent suspension makes it stick to the road like glue, even on a wet road. I managed to not meet any police people or cause any photo ops while driving–that I am aware of.

When I reached the hummingbird house, Susie was in her recliner chair and looking comfortable. She was feeling better, and her glasses were clean and were not slipping down her nose–better. Yesterday, we had to cut church short as Susie was uncomfortable and needed to rest (and other things). Today, Susie was fine, and we chatted with Leta, Susan’s mother, who was a Panera in Lansing, Michigan finishing her lunch. Susie and Leta talked on my iPhone using FaceTime. But soon, I needed to return to work (at home) and kissed Susie goodbye. She was sad to have me leave so soon–but said she would be fine. It is always hard to leave.

I stopped by the Rite Aid as I said to not get my prescription. The store floor is all marked up, and the shelves are messy. It is just homely and rundown. It was also overwhelmed when our Rite Aid was closed, and this store received all the work from our local store. Prescriptions can take a week, and lines are long some days.

I stopped by the Stir Crazy Kitchen near the Volvo Cave and got some Chinese/American food: Almond Chicken and Wonton Soup. I had to wait ten minutes for a to-go order. While waiting, I saw a few pickups from various drivers. Apparently, Grubhub and like services are still taking orders from folks working from home.

I returned to the chaos that was my Monday and tried to get some work and progress. I took a break, ate my lunch, and watched YouTube videos once it cooled a bit. I enjoy Drachinifel‘s channel on warship history–highly recommended but be warned, he goes into extreme detail. I also like Backpacking Brunette‘s channel on living in Mexico as she covers interesting ideas about living in Mexico and how to make it work–just a daydream for me. Her work is well done, and she covers how to make a living as a writer and Internet blogger while living in Mexico–just daydreaming. Ocean LIner Designer is also recommended for those who cannot get enough information on RMS Titanic and other famous Ocean Liners. And more daydreaming can always be found at Gentleman’s Gazette, which covers vintage men’s wear (and even some current stuff). These channels always make me smile, and I learn so much. Most correct errors you will find online, and in Wikipedia–very interesting to me that Wikipedia and other sources are just wrong–these are the true experts. Highly recommended.

After that, I continued to work and just continued with constant interruptions. I made the mistake of getting the mail, and next, I was on the phone; yes, you can guess more medical bills from the past coming to haunt me. After a quick call to North Carolina, I finally got copies of the invoices via email that I had requested for months and paid the bills after having to create an online account to pay the bills. No more checks for these (which is good as the ordered new checks, as I covered above, are missing).

Finally, the day comes to an end, and I rest for a bit; Mariah, now with a new, less cool but likely safer car in the rain (now she has a Honda Civic in cool blue with darkened windows–like the kind that gets rebuilt in particular car movie for racing), texts and we meet at the Golden Valley Brewery in Beaverton. We have the special: short ribs with mashed and veggies. I have a calming glass of wine–excellent local stuff. Mariah matches me. I do finish with coffee. Destressing happens.

We head out, Mariah to her new digs in Portland and me back to the Volvo Cave. There I finally write today’s blog (this) and start laundry.

I will spend some more time tonight downloading bank statements from the past to get a better picture of the year’s first four months. Tough months with me in cancer treatments. I must find copies of the bills for some of the medical stuff.

I was informed by Grammarly that I am on my 200th week of writing. Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

These are just events for today’s story.

Susie was ready for me when I got to the hummingbird house. The time change made everyone early on Sunday morning. Susie was uncomfortable after I got her in Air Volvo and headed to church a few minutes away in Old Town Beaverton. Susie told me to keep going, and I got her in the church, but then I had to take her to the lady’s room.

I had to pick her up and help her. It was tough on her and me. When I got Susie back to the church service, I was winded and covered in sweat. Susie was still not feeling right, and after a short stay at church, I loaded Susie in Air Volvo and got her back safely to the hummingbird house. At hummingbird house, Anassa could help, and I kissed Susie goodbye–Susie was sad to see me go, but she said she would be fine. I called later, and Susie improved and was sleeping. It was a minor issue that we will monitor.

I returned home, grabbed some chicken from Popeyes on the way back, and started painting and making terrain for Dungeons and Dragons tonight. I am DMing tonight as we wind down our Witchlight campaign. Matt, our usual DM, took my drunken monk character, and I started running an adventure I wrote.

Before playing on Sunday night, I cut some mummy figures I bought and made custom creatures that appear to be climbing out of ashes or muck. Next, I assembled and painted some giant plastic scorpion models. I also painted a few mummies and rebased a few older metal figures I have collected over the years. Next, I sprayed the new mummies white and the scorpion models bone color. I then hand-painted some ink paints (like a wood stain) to give them a 3D look. Finally, I added a bit of green ink to the scorpions to make them less boring.

I took some foam and cut the surface to less regular by running a knife over the surface. I then smeared a texturing paint on the surface. I put the oven on warm and placed the boards inside to help the paint dry. One foam board overheated and warped and was ruined. One came out perfect. I could then paint it with desert yellow Army Painter primer. It looked good.

This took the whole afternoon. I headed out for dinner at McMenamins and had a curry tuna sandwich for an early dinner. I had their Ruby beer with it. I reread part of my adventure and was ready to play.

We play Dungeons and Dragons at Cory’s house at 5:30 on two Sundays a month–Cory lost his legs, so it is best to play where he is comfortable. I packed my stuff to take to Cory’s and used my laptop with my adventure on it. We played a few encounters of my new adventure. I was finding my way again; I had not DMed for Dungeons Dragons in person for at least four years.

I think everyone had a good time and it was fun trying out my ideas.

Returning to reflect on the morning, Susie was disappointed with a short day together, but we managed to handle a complex problem and get her better and safe. So it was a win, and Susie is better now.

Sorry for the short blog, but I am tired as I have done much today.

Thanks for reading!

As is my usual practice, I am writing the Saturday blog on Sunday morning. It is a times change night (for the USA), and also Saturday was Guy Fawkes Day which I only know from a favorite movie: V for Vendetta. Now that we are beyond Halloween, the USA will change time which is very unpopular and will likely stop in the future. California has not agreed to stop the change, but the other Western states have, but until all agree, we will continue with the time changes. California, Oregon, and Washington align most time and drug policies (or lack thereof).

As usual, the pain in my right leg is better after I asked the doctor to get me some help; Physical Therapy for me. I have to work on scheduling all the medical stuff next week. My arm still hurts from the Pneumovax shot on Thursday–that is one wicked shot. But bacteria pneumonia is terrible, so I will endure some discomfort.

Going backward, I went to bed at about 11ish (actually 10PM after the change). I had trouble sleeping, but not as bad as the previous days. I watched a movie to relax after hours of paperwork on HBOMAX: See How They Run. It was a goofy British comedy set in the 1950s and a who-done-it. The accents get me a bit, but I enjoyed this insane film based on making a movie on Agatha Christie’s Mouse Trap.

I had a dinner of Triscuit crackers and some cheese spread, pub cheese. I had a large lunch and spent the evening sitting and pushing paper; nothing to work up an appetite.

Before this, instead of playing exciting and new board games with Richard and friends, I stayed home and did five hours of paperwork until I could not see straight. I had rushed the last two Saturdays, and I felt a bit manic and exhausted after that. So today, I would go slower and start to prepare for a tricky tax process and complex tax-efficient plan for next year.

I managed to work on paperwork from the late afternoon until 9ish. I have every transaction from August through October properly booked in Quicken, and paper copies of these transactions are hole-punched and placed in a notebook. This includes pay stubs from Nike, bank statements, investment statements, and summaries printed–all punched and literally booked. I have all of this done from May 2022. I still need to identify all the medical expenses from Jan-Apr and payments and reimbursements from my medical spending account to exclude from my write-off of medical expenses. I also need paper records to prove this, as I am likely facing an audit as the IRS will want proof. But I needed to finish the last few months before taking on the first third of 2022. Done!

My taxes will be done by a local CPA this year! I need paper for everything. A printed spreadsheet of the medical expenses by month with types is yet to be done and is required. Susie and I used to run our household like this; it is familiar.

I have also connected all the accounts, including the new bank for transfers and loans, into Quicken. I plan to execute a loan from my 401K next week once the bank account is official (it takes three biz days) and I have a checkbook for it. This loan will not 1) increase my income, 2) the loan will not increase my tax liability, 3) while debt, it is not official debt and is not reported to credit agencies, 4) and I can sell stock to pay it off if needed. Every day I can see the transactions (401K and IRA balances are manually maintained).

But I broke even last month. Even with the substantial medical expenses, I could eke out a profit. I have paid off Air Volvo, eliminated over-priced cable services, slowed costs at the house as it is just me now, no capital improvements in the house, and, sadly, have not gone on any expensive trips. This has me breaking even. Better.

Enough on paperwork–you, dear reader, have likely fallen asleep by now.

Before this and a trip to Office Depot for more notebooks, I spent the late morning and early afternoon with Susie. The river of rain had stopped, but the temperature was still in the high 40s and low 50s (10-12C) with Oregon mist and light rain. Not go-outside weather for Susie in a wheelchair. Off to Washington Square Mall, only minutes from the Humminbird house.

We enjoyed the slightly over-warm mall and made two circles inside the mall. I parked near Macy’s in the lower parking garage, out of the rain, and reached the doors without a short exposure to the shower. I do not have a handicapped sign for Air Volvo; all the spaces are used now, so I just looked for extra space out in the parking lot. I unload Susie into her wheelchair and then travel to the entrance without much trouble.

We found a Micky and Mini Mouse Advent Calendar for Susie to use in Hummingbird House. The staff can open a door with her each day as she starts her day. We found a cool t-shirt for her. We discovered that the cut flower stand had moved from the mall’s center; Santa is moving in next week, and the flower place is now by the cooking store–excellent. We looked at Christmas items and picked out a gift for David and Michelle Smith; Susie was happy to do some Christmas shopping.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, from a bench in the mall. Leta and Susie had a friendly chat, and Susie seemed more animated today. She was weak, and her help getting in and out of Air Volvo was small but still there. Jennifer, the weekly nursing aide, is having Susie work on this a bit. It was an excellent time and felt like the old days, shopping in the mall.

We met Evan in the mall just as we were wrapping up. On the way out, we saw that Lens Crafters in Macy’s was not busy, and a heavily tattooed gal, Qunicy, repaired Susie’s glasses. Susie fell some months back and damaged her glasses–Quincy was able to make them like new again. I bought a glasses cleaning kit from Quincy, and she gave me her biz card. I gave her a good review later that evening.

Evan headed to Beaverton to meet me for lunch, and I took Susie back to the hummingbird house. Jennifer was happy to see Susie loaded with loot and with fixed glasses. Finally, Susie was ready for some lunch and maybe a nap. I kissed her goodbye.

I managed to drop off my ballot in the box in Beaverton: Voting is done! I crossed Beaverton with no incidents, but I saw some creative use of lane changing, all at slow speeds.

Parking was difficult as Saturday is the fabulous Farmer’s Market in Beaverton Old Town. However, I managed to find a spot four blocks away. The sky had cleared (just for a while), and it was a pleasant walk.

Top Burmese Bistro Royale was my selection for lunch. We were inside, and their robots deliver your food (really) and drinks. Evan and I shared some Golden Samosas, and then I had their beef curry (a small bowl) with pita bread. The beef in the curry is marinated in yogurt. I had to try that; excellent with a good balance of salt and spices–the meaty taste was not lost in the noise of spices. Perfect. Evan tried noodle items that he made disappear and tried my curry too. I could barely finish the little bowl!

I said goodbye to Evan and headed off to my hours of paperwork.

Moving to the morning, I slept until nearly 8ish and had cereal with sliced banana and milk with liberal coffee. I wrote the blog for Friday, did the dishes, finished the laundry, and collected the mail. I tried to keep everything low-key.

I took Air Volvo to the local Shell station and watched as the gas price slipped to $5.09 (and lower in other places). I watched them change the sign while I was filling up.

Aside: Here is PBS’s report:

For example, ExxonMobil pulled in nearly $20 billion in profit. Chevron took in more than $11 billion, Shell $9.5 billion, BP over eight billion. And, today, the world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, reported making $42 billion this quarter.

I have nothing more to say to people who tell me it is the government’s fault that gas prices are high and that we should not tax oil companies. Those profits are for the previous quarter. It is not a supply issue but a price policy (if it was a supply issue, the gains would not be there–you can sell what you don’t have). Growl! Snap! Angry words here.

Well, I hate to end on an oil comment, but that brings us to my story’s end for Saturday. The rains are calming for Saturday, but Sunday will be wet, and Monday could be slushy (snow!). My grass is almost green again. I have a bag of grass seed for some areas I wish to return to grass (my lawn service seems to love edging too much), but at the moment, I think the seed would float away. So it might have to wait until summer!

The tulips are buried in gooey muck, but being from Holland stock, I suspect that is normal for them. The bloom on Mister Lincoln was beaten off the rose by the rain! Yes, it is back to normal here!

Thanks for reading.

As usual for Fridays, I am writing this Saturday morning. For two nights in a row, I have not slept well. I am late to get to sleep, wake up a few times, and then early to rise. I hope it will get better soon.

Friday started as usual as a work-from-home day. Less typical was the bad headache and the lack of sleep. I had some vaxs on Thursday, which made me feel feverish, and I could not sleep. I think I managed a few hours of sleep. This made the morning a hard start. But it is overcast, and a river of moisture is pointed at Oregon (the skies are gray and dark), and there is no chance of the sun interrupting my vampire moment.

We have sheets of sideways rain all day and night, about three inches (7.5cm) of rain in 24 hours. Flash floods, flooded streets, and some overflowing gutters are just the norm for a river of rain. The ground, parched and cracked, drinks deep, as do my grass, trees, and roses. Water is everywhere now. There is a chance of slush next week as we crash from a season of fires and drought into leaves filling our drains and flooding into freezing with snow and ice. Just a routine change of seasons in Oregon!

I was reading and following along on Friday at work. I wrote some ideas about handling some issues, and these thoughts, having to be shared, take some time to organize and get down in words that can be easily shared.

I traveled through the slippery wet, windy mess that is a river of rain, and my tires even spun a bit on Air Volvo at intersections as they tried to grip the road–a lot of wet. Air Volvo is a four-wheel drive with automatic wheel selection. So it will still move when the front wheels struggle for friction as the rear wheels push the vehicle.

I get cold easily, and my coat and hat are wet soon. Air Volvo turns off when idle, and that stops the hot air. So when traveling through the constant stop lights in Beaverton (I did not cross over Coopers Mountain in a river of rain), my heat goes on and off. A bit disconcerting. The seat warmers seem to stay on.

I reach Susie without incident, the streets filling with water, and the flash floods are still in the future. Susie is in her recliner in the shared living room. The room has been reorganized to allow another resident to view the TV better. I like it. I get a winged hair next to Susie, which is better.

Susie is thrilled to see me, and we quickly call her mother, Leta, who takes the call sitting in her car. Leta was headed out but stopped to chat. We talk about the election and various health issues. Now that I have met with the doc, we can plan joint days of lab work. Susie still is not sleeping well, but she is eating better–it is a focus for her now. Jennifer now tries to get Susie’s help when getting into the wheelchair or out; this is more exercise for Susie. This, too, is a focus for Susie. Finally, I have to return to work at home and soon get a kiss and head out.

Beaverton is starting to look damp as I cross it, and water is running fast down my street. I check, and the pond is full again, but not high. All the drains are running. When the rain is heavy, my gutters drip from overflow, but not too bad. The standing water soon disappears–Oregon is drinking deep.

Breakfast was cereal with milk, and lunch was a homemade salad and reheated pizza. I watch while eating lunch the rest of a second look at the last Doctor Who special: The Power of the Doctor. I liked it better, but I still find the fading in and out of black strange–there are no commercials on the version I watch.

I continue reading, researching, and writing a few thoughts to share for Friday of work-at-home work for the shoe company. The rain is sideways and heavy, and I feel at 4ish, it is time to start the weekend.

For next year, I need to avoid increasing my compensation by selling stock as that will increase the amount of medical expenses excluded from being written off. Instead, I am arranging to borrow from my 401K next year to cover Susie’s $8,000 in medical costs a month. This will allow me to reserve the stock and other compensation for later use. I have maxed out the medical reimbursement account for next year. I can then use the 401K contribution to further reduce my income. This should allow me to breach the Trump SALT tax changes, write off the medical expenses, and get a large amount of my taxes, both federal and state, and that should, with hope, get me enough money back to help cover Susie’s expenses in the following years.

The paperwork to track every medical expense is non-trivial. I also have to open a checking account in my name; all the money is in Susie’s name, and all the debt is recorded in my name. I have to transfer the 401K loan cash to an account in my name or use paper checks (!). I have thus opened a banking account in my eTrade account.

Aside: Years ago, and at the time quite cutting edge, Nike opened eTrade accounts for employees for their 401K and stock transactions. Nike provided classes and training on using these newfangled online trading accounts in the 1990s. The shoe company has moved to Fidelity, leaving me with a personal eTrade account. I use this as my trading and now banking account as it is no longer associated with my employer, perfect. However, I have complained that Fidelity is giving the advice to use their products and that the advice is from commissioned sales teams; I do not like this.

I have canceled my game playing on Saturday as I have too much paperwork to do this weekend (preparing for yearend and my tax efficiency changes), and the house needs some cleaning. So a boring wet weekend–but boring is good. I do plan to make Dungeons and Dragons on Sunday night.

I was tired of my own company and headed out. I bought tickets to The Addams Family musical put on by the Lovegood Company (I had never heard of them before); I saw the poster at Powell’s in Beaverton and decided to try it. For dinner, I stopped by BJ’s Brewhouse and had an excellent red ale and soba noodles with spicier chicken than I had expected. Mo, one of my usual waiters in the bar, convinced me to have an over-the-top cookie dessert. I think I ruined my good rating on my diabetes!

The show, high school and college folks, was well done, and I liked how they did a minimum prop usage. However, they did not swing or get that much into the music, which, as a church production, would be asking too much. Later, I learned the church, I won’t name it here, is known for its lack of tolerance and a solid anti-gay marriage stance. Too bad, it was a good start. But here is the original cast version of the first song: Be an Addams or Die.

Afterward, I returned home, read a bit, and voted. Oregon has a mail-only ballot system. The state mails you a ballot; you fill it in over about a month and return it by mail or drop it off. I had to do some research on a few names I did not recognize and had only one hard decision deciding to go with a biologist over a local farmer for a soil position. I decided to vote for the gun control item as it is the people’s will and should be respected–we will see. I thought I should not tell people how to manage their guns, but then I decided that folks need to learn to respect elections and voted for it–sorry, gun folks. I also voted to remove the ability to enslave people in Oregon–The USA constitution still allows for the enslavement of criminals–should not happen! I also voted against having a state representative/senator who misses ten votes from being banned from running again–that is why we have elections, and I would not like to confuse that. I try not to cover politics here, but these were part of my voting experience, which I wanted to share. It took me a few days to decide on some of these issues, with 114 being the hardest issue (the gun control item) to decide.

I went to bed after voting and tried to sleep. But, unfortunately, I had another night where rest was hard to find.

Thanks for reading.