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So I had to start my morning a bit early as I had a check-up this morning, about 10:20ish. I was early, about 7:30ish, and just read emails and was lazy. I finally got dressed and went to see the doc. It was almost lunchtime when I got home.

Evan came over to play a game. We packed the board Vindication in Air Volvo and headed out. We discovered that The 649 Taphouse opens at 3PM. That would not work, but there is a good Mexican place there, Tapatio; since we were in the area, we had lunch. You can find both places in the Farmington Village strip mall near the end of 185th in Aloha. The food was good.

We then headed to Wildwood Taphouse to play games; we knew they were open. As usual, I opened a tab and asked permission to play a board game. They were not very busy; the newish bartender was interested in Vindication. We explain some of the game’s features to her.

Evan tried a new power we had not seen before. He pulled one of the new relics from the recent changes and used it to eliminate game-end triggers! Something I have never noticed before, and it made for a strange ride. The longest Vindication game ever!

I managed to pull all the cool traits, and, remembering many losses to Evan, I kept added traits. The traits added more and more powers to my character.

Both of us Vindicated, and Evan dropped that game end trigger! I just kept adding on more and more and more cards. I lost two people to the Monsters! I have never lost two in a row! Evan got the evil doppelganger trait that let him replace my control of regions but only gain one honor point instead of two. Soon I had to get them back. We traded some regions three or four times!

Evan and I both agree that Evan should have let the game end sooner. I just racked up 50+ more points than he did from the long run, but he did get a stunning 32 points for region control.

Had I not gone on a binge of trait buying and picked up the Vision proficiency tile and increased my speed to max (getting that secret quest filled), I would not have stopped him. It was an excellent plan to run the game long. I just kept running my engines in traits to keep ahead. The monsters also gave me the courage mastery, but I still bought the proficiency to stop him sliding in on me. Again, I was playing a lot of defense.

We have never run Vindication this long or this hard in a two-person game. I have never had so many companions and other cards. The game held up; we did not see any funky rules issues. It played well, and we were both happy with the game. I was happy I managed to be defense enough.

Also, at Wildwood Taphouse, I saw Jim Vander Velden and his wife. He likes the beer and the people there, and we bumped elbows and were happy to see each other. Jim retired from Nike more years ago than we would want to admit and has been fully retired for seven years.

We paid the bill and headed back after playing a few rounds of the game Skull. An easy-to-learn bluffing game Will taught me, and I always have in the car. Recommended!

I then returned home, picked up Susie, and we drove to Sherwood. I have an early DMV appointment there, and I wanted to find it today. It was a good idea as it is behind some buildings and quite small. We then drove to a small park to see where the Pickle Ball courts are located. Evan plays.

We saw that the Spaghetti Factory had opened in Sherwood as we were driving. Thus dinner was in the bar of the newly opened (only open for two weeks) restaurant. We had drinks and dinner. It was lovely. Our bartender seemed quite taken with us and very helpful. It was a great time.

Susie finally got a properly made Southern Comfort Manhattan on the rocks with a cherry. I think it is the first one since 2019!

24,097 people were vaccinated yesterday in Oregon. Hopefully, these numbers will increase as it takes time to post the final counts.

915 people died today from Covid-19 in the USA.

I picked the Russian version of We Will Meet Again. We have done it before, but it seemed a good fit for today.

I started the morning at about 7:30ish and did not dress until 11:30 this morning. Susie had her driver picking her up at 9 to take her to Zerida for hair, nails, toes, and so on. I got Susie rallying at 8ish, and she was ready and off without incident.

I spent the morning not doing very much and reading more Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta’s War books. I could not put the last one done and finished it about 1AM last night. I read the next one, I read it years ago, and I still like it. More characters are entering the story who were in the background before. It is hard to put down.

Nobody joined me for lunch, so I decided to try a sit-down lunch at BJ’s Brewhouse. I sat at a small table in the bar with my Mac. I had not been back in the bar since 2019! I ordered my fav red ale and peanut chicken soba noodles.

Soccer was on the screen—the USA Women’s team against France. I watched two goals! Rapinoe and Morgan got a goal each, both heroes of the Olympics. Suddenly, it felt like the world was back. I was watching amazing USA soccer in a bar! I nearly cried… I was so happy. France scored no goals.

I picked up a full rack of ribs to go. Susie and Corwin split that for dinner tonight. I used to visit BJ’s on Saturday and watch soccer and get a to-go order of ribs.

Everyone had lunch when I got back. Corwin was making baked eggs with ham, and Susie had her fav of McDonald’s Happy Meal with apples.

I went back to reading and then, when I hit my face with the Kindle, decided to take a nap. I was back up in an hour or so.

Schwann’s Stephanie showed today, and I restock the freezer. Also, my lawn service is on Tuesday. I appreciate the new look, but then my allergies are out of control, which could not have helped!

I ordered a nice leather Samsomsite bag with the gift card from Leta, Susie’s mother, sent me for my birthday this Friday. I always wanted a nice leather bag for my laptop and books. Thanks, Leta!

I was reading the next story in the series in Vatta’s War. I find them hard to put down.

I reheated the Chinese Food from yesterday while Susie and Corwin had ribs. I asked for just one to try. Corwin sent me the official recipe for their sauce.

19,831 people were vaccinated yesterday in Oregon. This number may increase as the counts are revised upward.

819 people died from the virus in the USA today.

There is an amazing crescent moon tonight here in Oregon. Just a sliver of a moon. It is Ramadan. So we will do the call to prayer for tonight for our Islamic friends waiting for sunset each night.

I managed to sleep to 7:15ish this morning and then was up making coffee and signing back to work on my day off. I checked my out-of-office was still working and then did my last week’s timesheet. After that, I noticed that my one meeting at 8:30 was now at 9:30. So I just read the email and made coffee, and waited a bit.

I had my meeting, with no video, at 9:30, still drinking coffee and going slow. We align on actions to take, and then I was free. This is a critical issue for scheduling resources and is going old school. We all hoped for something more modern, but we are headed to using a solution older than some developers!

I watch the next Star Wars movie for the first half, The Force Awakens. I decided to do all of them.

I then went back to painting and started the never-ending; at least, it feels like when you do it, touch-up and fine detail painting. These larger figures seem to go on forever. I managed to finish three of the first faction during the day and will do more tonight. I hope to finish the first faction today.

Nobody was ready, so I went to the Reedville Cafe and had poached eggs over hash for lunch. Yes, breakfast for lunch. I had reheated the stew I made a few days ago for breakfast. I figure I would just switch lunch and breakfast; it is my day off.

I am also reading Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta services. More space opera. I like this one better than the previous one, and I always enjoy Elizabeth Moon’s books. Recommended Space Opera, and there is a new Vatta story coming out!

I also recovered my Indiana Jones hat again. I had left it at The Rock Pizza yesterday. The N95 masks I have now require you to put the mask over your head. Thus, I took off my hat and forgot it. The manager had it for me, and I drove over in the perfect weather and got the hat. I was wearing my pith helmet today.

BTW: The pith helmet is #2, and the Indiana Jones hat is number four or five. I just buy the same hat when I finally lose one. The new Mac will upgrade the same files from my previous mac. I think it is number four or five.

Tonight, being Monday, was Dungeons and Dragons on Roll20. My laptop is stressed by all the browser windows opened to play. An extra monitor only makes it worse. I had to start over three times. I am looking forward to the new laptop as the M1 Apple is known to handle browser loads better. 

Despite the challenges, we did have a good time, and I damaged some of the adventurers playing all the bad guys and Dungeon Master and host of the game. I scared them a bit. The two hours just went by fast—the usual super powerful undead brought on the hurt for a bit. Details are spoilers, but I can tell you that the players are very organized now and take looking for undead, demons, devils, and traps with more seriousness. Healing is also checked, and protection spells in place.

Dinner was Happy Panda delivered food. It was one of Susie’s fav, Chicken with Cashews. I had the silly sweet but somehow workable tonight Sweet and Sour Pork and Orange Chicken. I had to run Roll20; I ordered out.

17,823 people were vaccinated in Oregon yesterday. Hopefully, these numbers will go up as more data is collected over the next 72 hours.

460 people died from the virus today.

I thought I found a new version of Rock of Ages, but this is Kaza Mwendo sung by the Rock of Ages choir. Still good! I am still looking for a translation.

I managed to get going 9ish this morning, and the joint pain was just reduced to some pain in my left side. I damaged that leg years ago, and I may have strained it when the right side was not working right. I am not tired or having chills, so it looks like the side effects of Moderna are done.

I still started the morning by finished the last Star Wars movie in the series, my fav of the three, Revenge of the Sith. The bad guys get all the best lines in this one. The movie’s first crash scene is so fun and perfect at an IMAX screen if you ever get the chance.

Susie was up early and had Eggo waffles with peanut butter. I warmed up some ham in the oven and had 1/2 can of peaches with it.

I also reimaged a Mac I have had in a closet for years. I could not use it as it was not powerful enough and had too small of a hard drive. I spent the morning and a bit of the afternoon remember how to rebuild a Mac. I finally got it all to work. Mariah is taking the Mac, and I hope she can find it useful.

I then went back to figure painting and started more on the next faction and primed the next faction’s figures. I will only do three at once as I can get them back to Richard to start playing the game while I paint the rest.

I am also painting a druid for Dondra’s daughter Zophia, and it is getting further along. I will also get back to the Scythe figures I am painting too.

I also have a speaker project I want to work on. And then there are those Raspberry Pi Projects I was working on…So many good things to do!

I put up the USA flag again. It looks nice to have one back.

I had a few caregiving moments today as Susie was a bit confused today. She fell, more like suddenly sat on the floor while putting away laundry that she suddenly decided need to get done. We got through all of it, and Susie was not hurt.

Despite the confusion, we, Susie, Corwin, and I, met Mariah at The Rock pizza. Susie was having trouble getting in and out of the car and walking. But I figure it was better to have her try and succeed than to skip it. It all worked out, and Susie ate 1/2 her pizza and 1/2 her diet Coke (no drinks for her tonight). Mariah got her new (well, newish) Mac. I had a meatball sub and a beer.

While still a bit confused, we came home, and Susie is now watching TV and seems OK.

Not a perfect day, but we will take it! I am on paid time off (PTO) all next week. I have to show for a meeting at 8:30 and do my timesheet in the morning, but I hope to be free for a week after that. It is my first non-caregiving week-long break since returning from Amsterdam in 2019.

22,729 people were vaccinated yesterday in Oregon, including Susie. This number will likely increase as it takes 72 hours to collect and post all the counts. Oregon has completely vaccinated 21% of the state, and 1/3 of the state has had at least one vaccination.

276 people died today from Covid-19 in the USA. It was announced today that the US government is also paying to help pay for the burial costs of people who died from Covid-19.

I picked this when it showed in my selections for YouTube: Laudate Dominum.

 

The Covid-19 Moderna shot made getting going this morning hard. My hip and knee feel like I walked miles and miles. I am also drained. I am cold all the time.

Despite all the pain and discomfort, Susie got going in time for me to drive her to Nike WHQ LA Garage for her shot. We had no events and managed to complete the process, drive-through, in about 45 minutes.

We got home, and I rested a bit. The pain was worse from sitting in the car. We got back into Air Volvo with Corwin this time and had Mexican dinner. I had a middle-sized Margarita on the rocks with salt along with dinner. This reduced the pain. Susie had a small one.

We returned home. I forgot I had a call with Knowledge Mavins–I just had too much to worry about. Susie took a long nap, and I watch the last of the Star Wars movie on Diskey+, The Phantom Menance. The ending is better.

I then had chills and had the dreams of someone ill, waking dreams. I got much worse, and I could not get warm. I was shaking for a bit. I fell asleep again, but with waking dreams. When I could not sleep, I would read an old fav I left for today: The Adept by Fritz Leiber. It is a long story and is highly recommended if you like Swords and Sorcery.

Corwin saw me wincing from walking and have to lean on a chair and instead made chicken salad sandwiches for dinner for me.

I then sat and watched the next Star Wars movie, The Attack of the Clones. This is the worsted acted of the movies. I detest the terrible acting and directing, and writing, but the storyline works for me. I really like the cloners and Count Dokus, who can’t love Sir Lee being bad again!

I did not do any painting as I was unsure having my legs bent for hours was a good idea. I will hope to return to them on Sunday morning.

So a quiet night. Susie has had only light side effects.

30,069 people, including me, were vaccinated in Oregon yesterday. This number may be increased as it takes a while to get all the counts in. April 8th was revised up to a record 46,343 vaccinations! Our best day for Oregon.

Infection rates are increasing in Oregon as bars are open, and schools have restarted. Some counties will likely reconsider and will lockdown again. Our county, Washington, is not increasing.

One I can sing, Here I Am Lord, was a good fit for today.