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I could not sleep this morning. I had to drive my sister to the airport this morning. I often make up too early on days I have tasks to do. I was up about 6ish and ordered bagels delivered from Einstein Brothers to the house. Linda and I got going with coffee and bagels by 8ish. We left for Portland International Airport (PDX) at 9:15ish. I dropped Linda off at 10ish, two hours before her flight, and last I heard, she was on her last flight.

I then headed into Portland to check out if the gaming stores or other places I used to hang out were open yet. There was a crash on the highway on my normal fast way out of Portland–an alternate route via a gaming store made sense. None were open until noon, and some are still closed, like The Hair of the Dog bar that has not been open since the first lockdown. I drove across the town and headed home.

I decided to stay home today and work on figures. I am painting my second set of mechs for the board game Scythe. The makers of the game will sell you a spare set of miniatures so I can paint a set while I have another set for playing. I am starting with the Norse (blue) faction.

I also finished the masking on three other factions. I like the bases to retain the original color of the game. This time I am using masking tape. Tamiya masking tape works the best, and I always have some ready for a model or figure painting.

For these figures, I am using the newer painting process. First, I paint the figures black. I then mist the top with white. Next, I dry brush white to make the detail stand out–they look like x-rays. Next, I dilute the paint with a flow enhancer and let it just cover the dark and light. This creates a pre-shaded look that I really like for “working” models. In contrast, the mechs I did for Richard I kept bright and clean. I used no diluted paint and white and gray primers, not black, for these larger models. But, I want these to look like they are in the field. This technique produces the look I am looking for.

Corwin and Susie had Mexican delivered while I went to play our first in-person Dungeons and Dragons game in 14 months. Unfortunately, Corwin could not come yet as he has two more weeks before he is considered fully vaccinated.

It was a bit awkward as we had to remember the story we were playing. Then, we had to get our characters together. After that, we slowly found our way back into the flow of the game. Matt is our Dungeon Master, and he is focused on the fun and the story, which brings this off with lots of laughing and a few surprises.

At one point, Karen, playing our dwarf fighter, learns that her weapon is not magical. I notice I have the Magic Weapon spell. Obviously, we had a plan from 14 months ago. So my wizard, a gnome, makes her weapon magical, and combat goes better after that. I later discovered I had healing potions and used them to bring back Cory’s character twice. Apparently, I had a plan as the backup healer 14 months ago. Cory’s cleric is the main healer.

We had to look up many spell effects and some other basic rules, but we had a nice time and play again in two weeks. We play on Sundays, usually every other one, from 5:30 to 9ish. The group has been meeting for more than ten years.

A nice day. Monday is an official day-off from the big project. I will likely not have to do much on Monday. I did get some emails on some issues and sent replies.

As it is a weekend blog, let stop there!

 

It is nearly the end of Saturday, and I am chatting with friends in India after driving back from the coast with my sister Linda and Susie. I will likely get this out Sunday morning.

I started about 7:30ish, cleaned up the house a bit, did laundry, and tried to get ready for Linda’s short overnight visit.

At 1ish, we started out to find Linda in Corvalis. We went slow and had lunch, and took our time. Linda was about 90 minutes late as they had some carpooling challenges, and Corvallis, where the hotel is, is not near Eugene. It the wrong school (Beavers) home town.

We got going so that we reached the coast at 5:30ish in Newport. Linda was surprised by the stunning beauty of the small coastal range we had to cross. Next, she was not ready for Newport, the home of many of Oregon’s crabbers and fishing fleet. It looks like a cross of the Jaws Amity Island, a tourist boardwalk, and a small harbor for a fishing fleet. There is a seafood joint with fish from right off the boat opposite a Ripley’s Believe it or not.

Linda saw the seals swimming in the harbor. Again, brackish clearer water, which is tough on white sharks. The seals were relaxed.

Linda loved the look of the Newport and will be back someday.

We then headed to Depoe Bay and stopped a few times to watch the Ocean. Today a Pineapple Express was blowing in. It was warm and rainy.

We walked the beaches of Lincoln City and then found German Beer and food at the Auto band 101, a local place we have tried before.

It was a long drive home from there, nearly two hours. The navigation system of Air Volvo did not send us only and Blair Witch Project-like experiences tonight. We got home directly.

It was a great time. But I have to stop. It is very late.

 

This morning I started at 6ish and had a 7:30 meeting with SAP and our leadership on how one of our software products works. It was a PowerPoint given from Germany. Unfortunately, the focus on software versions at the start of the meeting meant that the meeting overran by 15 minutes.

After that, I drove to the coast, taking Air Volvo using navigation. The Siletz Tribe hosted Corwin’s vaccination. Last month we spent the day on the Coast, and Susie and Corwin tried out the Casino. After that, we made it a day trip. Today, I am a bit rushed, and we could not do more than a there and back trip.

The tribe got us in and out in less than thirty minutes. Corwin will be fully vaccinated after the two-week post-second shot of Moderna. Our bubble is now vaccinated!

We then traveled using Air Volvo navigation again to Moe’s for locally made chowder, and Corwin added some oyster shooters. Again, the staff was masked, and social distancing was in place. Most folks had masks when entering the chowder house. However, with the freezing wind and everyone staying apart, outside was not masked.

The food was good and the staff friendly. We were back on the road in less than an hour.

We did walk out on the cold dock and watched the seals playing in the high tide influx into the small bay next to Moe’s. The water is shallow, and the seals were having a good time, and there was no place for Jaws to hide. Unlike most of our seawater, this appeared maybe to mixed with fresh and was very clear. The seals were splashing around, and I assume the fish had few places to hide in the little bay. White sharks would also have to cross a shallow bar only open at high tide, from what I could see. So again, the seals looked relaxed.

We then drove to an easy-to-access beach, and we walked for 15-30 mins. I picked up some shells, as usual, and the sea was loud. We wanted to walk a bit before driving back. We just watch the ocean, the Pacific. It was approaching high tide, so you always keep an eye on the sea–it can kill you, especially for an incoming high tide.

This is my first ever video in a blog!

We then got in Air Volvo, stopped by McDonald’s for the required coffee to keep us awake, and headed back by navigation. At this point, I missed a turn, or Air Volvo was enjoying a Blair Witch moment as we headed north, not east. We then, following navigation, connected with a back road–Little Nestucca River Road, and Corwin was making jokes about banjo music starting, but those stopped as he saw a cliff on his side of the car. About 18 inches, and sometimes less, from Air Volvo having its first solo flight. S-curves and hairpins were broken by larger bends–almost no straightaways. Then, we have headed south again! We had three one-lane bridges; yes, we had to give way on a blind curve onto a one-lane antique bridge and then one more without the blind curve. Finally, connecting an east-bound normal highway.

It was a lovely drive, but nothing we were expecting. The navigation told us it would take an extra hour to get home; we could be in Washington State at that time! That generated more comments about Blair Witch, but we actually beat the clock by 30 minutes (!?). Apparently, we seem to have escaped the fey powers that seemed to be running navigation. We are happy to be back to normal space and time and home.

Actually, It was a pleasure to drive some older roads and see the amazing Pacific rain forest. It was a bright green drive with only occasional moments of panic. It is still good to get home.

But, I could not stop coughing this afternoon. I took some Benedryl and took a long nap. I am feeling better now. It was raining on the coast, no pollen, but it is still a pollen wonderland here back at the Volvo Cave. I do manage to do two loads of laundry.

Mc Donald’s supplied dinner, Happy Meal for Susie with apples, and a two cheeseburger meal that dad and I use to get on visits. I always think of Bob Wild when I have one of those. Miss you, dad!

421 people are reported to have died in the USA from Covid-19. The reports will soon be meaningless as Republican states are soon to stop reporting their numbers.

When The Gates Swing Open is a song, I did not know, but I like this practice version.

 

I am drained today. I was up early, and all the driving yesterday seems to left me tired.

Afraid this will be a boring blog. Sorry!

Work was hours and hours of Zoom meetings. I am double, triple, and worst booked and have to pick the meeting I need to attend. I then multi-task and try to cover the issues that are appearing in email or text in Slack. So it is a constant push to get items done. It is odd to get issues from a meeting I cannot attend because I am in meetings about something else—the life of Nike IT.

I overslept until just after 7 but managed to make my first meetings all dressed and ready. I did take a few breaks as I am so tired it is hard to think clearly.

I also had some caregiving this morning, so that added to the chaos.

I did manage to get a break for noon and went to Wendy’s for chili. I got Susie a small one with a small frosty. I brought it home and took a breaking watching some videos on my Mac.

On this coming Sunday, all the players return to Hell for our in-person gaming. Back to Dungeon and Dragons and our campaign in Hell. We had some emails about restarting today, and it is really nice to again ask questions like, “are we 6th level.” We are all vaccinated (except Corwin, who will play the next game after getting his second shot on Friday). I play a tiny gnome wizard who sees dead people (no, really, it is called “haunted” in the rules).

Due to some frustrating back-peddling of leadership on the project, I do not have tomorrow off, and they have declared a required workday. I have to take Corwin to the coast for his second shot. We were going to make a day of it, but now we will have to minimize the day. I will still take a few moments to walk on a beach and maybe find some good seafood for lunch. But another crazy day. I will have my phone, laptop and be available for calls.

Dinner was KFC. Just is one of my favs and it seemed a good fit when I am so tired.

Tonight we had Theology Pub. Before the pandemic, we would discuss important theological issues while drinking and eating at a local pub. Now we Zooming. Our topic today was Brotherhood. We discussed this, and many thought the word is antiquated and maybe sexist. We believe true Brotherhood is a group that has a shared experience and is bound by an outcome. Thus a social meeting is not this. We also discussed that there are elements of supporting members and the need for compassion. We discussed that there is an element of justice that must also be included in Brotherhood.

424 people are recorded to have died today in the USA from Covid-19.

Brother, sister let me serve you seemed a good choice for today.

I am home after seeing my sister, Linda, down in Eugene. She is a contracting RN nurse and is doing testing and related stuff for the NCAA events. She usually has 16 hour days, but today was a bit shorter, so we could meet for dinner.

We headed to Cafe 440, a place I have only read about on the Internet. It was a bit more basic than I expected. Despite offering standard fare, the food was perfectly executed—the nachos with pulled pork was a dream. Linda had a cob salad with bacon slices to die for. I had a small salad and ordered the chocolate chip bread pudding with chocolate chip whipped cream. A new standard, I think, for how good bread pudding can be.

The drive is one hour forty minutes plus or minus a few. I took the afternoon off to be there for an early dinner. Susie and I traveled by Air Volvo down to Eugene, and we had no events other than having to dodge some “alligators” (huge pieces of semi’s tire all over the road when the truck tire fall apart). I hit one on a trip to driving trip on the old champaign colored Volvo (“the Volvo”) years ago and did over two thousand dollars of damage (the air conditioner was partially destroyed in the old S60 Volvo as the heat exchange is near the bumper). I was glad that Air Volvo and I could avoid the huge bits of tread flying all over the highway. The trip back home was uneventful, with one pit stop for a bio-break.

Work, working just in the morning, was highlighted by a presentation that we did for SAP on the migration software we are using and co-developing with SAP. This is one of those amazing things that the pandemic has made possible. We were lead by the SAP Chief Fashion Product Officer in the UK. I was here in Aloha, Oregon. Another person, Rod, was in Portland. Our other three presenters were in India all at separate locations, including our conversion lead Archana, a Nike employee based in India. We also were doing a live demo. It all worked. Actually, the server for the demo return to working minutes before it was needed, but it was there on time! We got good marks, and the SAP folks were happy and excited by how well it went. I am so happy to help folks show the good work we have been doing.

There were meetings and a few crises of the moment, but the presentation was my focus for today and to see my sister.

A good day.

452 peopled were slain by the virus today in the USA.

I picked this rather exciting version of I Wander I Wonder.