Blog

I am without sleep after flying all night to Detroit, where I have a connection to Boston in a few hours. I could have had better connections, but it seemed short connections or hours, and I picked the sure thing of a later connection. The sun is rising over DTW as I write this.

Only Chick-fil-A has coffee, and I am not that desperate.  It also has long lines. The Qdoba spicy breakfast bowl was my choice. I talked to Deborah, who is also starting her day. It is good to be in Detroit again, even for just a few hours.

All flights are packed, and the airport is busy, but security in PDX was light late Saturday night. I had no events. I was in seat F, which means my unhearing ear is towards everyone. I was not able to speak with my seatmates except for a few words shouted when I turned my head to hear.

Sunday started with me rising at 7ish to freshly made coffee (I had gotten the assembly done the night before and pushed the correct button to enable the alarm to make coffee). It was a church day, and I started writing the blog with a loose time box since church isn’t until 11. I wrote the story on Saturday and published the next installment of the blog soon after. I showered and then assembled my luggage for my trip. I had a late evening trip. I had to pull a sweater and a pair of pants from the bag to make things fit. Those were moved to my carry-on. Now dressed and packed, I was ready for church. I boarded Air VW the Gray (which I had charged for an hour during the day, thinking I was taking it to PDX and leaving it there for a week). I would get it back into the 80s.

I ushered at church. Dondrea was preaching, adding a bit of Southern Baptist flavor to the service. The music was familiar, and it was stuff we had sung at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Dondrea, recalling the sermon we heard in Atlanta: there are things we need and things we want, and we get them mixed up. That we also confuse the chaos of the world with what is important, love, and, though she did not use this word, clarity.

Much of the flooring for the refresh is now in place, and it looks marvelous. The rest of the floor is this holiday week!

(an idea?)

I head home, drop the tie, and nap. I do get some chicken from Popeyes for lunch. I talk to Dondrea and take an Uber to the church for the Charge Conference meeting. Dondrea will take me to Matt’s and PDX later.

We have a quick, mandatory, but prefunctory meeting on money, positions, and membership. We have no controversies, and it is quickly done. We had to find a room as the refresh is mixing up room usage. It will be grand when it is completed early next year!

Dondrea takes me a bit early to Matt’s place. The other players appear, and Matt cooks us burgers before the game. We are playing Dungeons & Dragons 2024 and are 7th level. We are reworking an old AD&D adventure set in Egypt and a fantasy complex in a pyramid. I have the original, but remember it was not a favorite.

We are enjoying it, and Matt has his 3D stuff out for this. Matt informs us that we’re on the same track as the other players (he has multiple groups playing the same stuff), but we, unlike them, manage to backtrack and fight more creatures from these missed locations. I can see Matt trying not to laugh at us. Still, it was fun, and we are slowly figuring things out.

It reaches 8:30ish, and my ride is already here. We wish each other happy holidays. Matt and my fellow players all got a pencil from the Carter Presidential Library (Niki got a sticker from the King Center). Dondrea takes me to the airport, and we are caught in traffic at PDX. I get dropped off, and soon the usual processes are followed, and no mistakes (leaving my phone at the bag tagging stations) or searches (my suspenders get me searched, but my bag is good). And soon I am at the bar getting a beer. I was watching a YouTube video and realized I had closed the bar. It closes at 10. I get a smile from the bartender as I say, “That’s a good way to start a trip; closing a bar!”

I watched the new Superman movie, nodding off a few times. I liked it the first time, and I like it again. Recommended.

That takes us to the next day. I landed in Detroit and found my next flight. But then I was offered $$$ to give up my seat…I did.

But that adventure is ongoing while I write this. More in the next blog! I really appreciate all the help from Delta with this process, an unexpected adventure!

Thanks for reading!

I rose after seven to coffee that I had assembled before. This time, the clock was right on the coffee maker. I pushed the button, and ‘poof’, coffee in the morning. Later, I learned that the Charge Conference is at 4 on Sunday, which means I cannot make it. I am traveling on Sunday, and with church, meetings, and Dungeons & Dragons at Matt’s place, I was not going to be able to pack or prepare on Sunday for the late flight.

The morning is spent writing the blog, remembering Friday. I also strip the bed and start laundry in The Machine. I run the dishwasher and will run a short load on Sunday. I have been back for only five days before traveling on Sunday. The house is not messy (well, it still looks like a gaming and a bookstore exploded, but it is clean-ish). I find the croissant from La Provence and have one with my coffee.

I finish the blog before ten and post it. I do the usual tasks in Quicken to get a near-real-time view of my finances. I book the 80K loss (unrealized) in my IRA, more than reversing my gains for the last six months. I will not comment on the chaos that is the current administration and the insane, made-up promises of AI that is causing massive, mostly inexplicable growth (and then reverses).

I will need to build an AI robot that just rolls its eyes all the time. I just can’t keep up with the stupidity. An AI BS detector sounds like a good idea. Except, of late, I am not sure I could find a counterexample in the news; that is, there is no BS-free news. How can one train an AI without good data? I may have to synthesize data from the 1970s CBS News with Walter Cronkite. Hmmm.

Returning to the story of Saturday. I reheat the tacos I had for dinner a few nights before. Not great but still OK. I talk to Deborah, and we text back and forth. We haven’t seen each other since October. I will return to the Greater Detroit Area on Christmas. We miss each other.

I write more adventure, assemble that document into 26 pages, and drop some good ideas from the 2014 4E version to create a 5E one-sitting adventure. It will finally be finished late Saturday night with 26 pages and just under 13,000 words. I like to write everything out and all the ‘fluff’ text; when I DM games, I want to focus on the players rather than on the adventure. Nothing off-the-cuff for me; the players can find plenty of that without me. I also let players defeat my challenges and only blink when something is easily overcome. I applaud, but usually, there is something in there that will be hard for them. I mix my monsters, environmental hazards, and traps so I don’t repeat. Usually, a few will startle the players.

I finish the laundry and put it away later. I make the bed. I find figures and ship models for playing in New Hampshire, including WW1 and WW2 ship models (tiny) and rules to recreate some battles. Maybe we can do Dogger’s Bank (WW1) and then switch the ships to what the Imperial Germans should have retained. We will see.

I manage to get more clothing in and, as everything fits, remember to bring T-shirts to go under the dress shirts. Now that looks full!

I make a salami and Swiss sandwich and finish the leftover curry chicken from last night. I cut the sandwich into quarters and little squares. Susie’s style. I like mini sandwiches too. I eat that as I continue to get the adventure together and watch some YouTube videos for a break: ShipHappens, Battleship New Jersey, Battleship Texas, and Drachinifel.

Off in Air VW, the Gray charged to 100%. And yes, I remember to unplug it before trying to put it in reverse, but I appreciate the engineering that makes it impossible to drive when plugged in. The collision alarm and the unplug-before-reverse are features I am sorry to report I use too often.

It is dark, very dark, and it takes all 40 minutes to reach Richard’s place. Kathleen is out, and we are playing lighter-efficiency race games instead, Formaggio. In this one, we are cheese handlers, and we must use cheese to gain various point-gaining options. Most are then blocked from the other players. This is the second in the cheese series and is freely mixable, Richard told me, with the first, Fromage. I like it and it is easy to learn, but choices are difficult. I landed in the middle of the scores and saw Richard avoid giving me any points. We play again, and I miss my previous score by 10 points, which sends me to my usual bottom score. Still, it was fun and plays in under 40 minutes. An excellent game and one I could play at the church.

Hot Streak is a party game with figures running a race from cards that are shared, and then bets are taken. The players add more cards (helping or hurting the racers), bets are made, and the race is done again. I won by luck (I also bet first). Sometimes I slide by Richard, and he was surprised.

We chatted for a bit, and then I headed home early. The Oregon mist made the lights glow, and the bridge was less scary in the dark, foggy air. Portland is lovely in the damp mist at night.

I love the rain, mist, and the Pacific Northwest. Especially at night in my silent EV, looking at the lights, and playing alternative rock music. The trip seems brief tonight.

It was hard to concentrate while playing the games because I had packing, writing, and church-stuff on my mind. I had resigned and then been told my resignation was rejected and that they needed me to retain my position in the church, and I am still not sure I should relent. Math, computers, AI, and writing are calling me. My soul seeks solace in the worlds of equations, concrete mathematics, programming AI (and code-breaking, hacking), gaming, and writing stories. But we will see.

I finish the adventure, get half the packing done, and snack on peanut butter toast. I read The Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes, not canon but still good, and it makes me want to write more Sherlock Holmes stories; in my version, Holmes and Watson are versions of Chatbots. Hmmm.

I sleep as I start to nod off. What happens is that I blink, but my eyes stay shut, and I still read a story. My mind is now drifting off into its own sleeping version, thinking it is reading. I wake and put the book away. I am soon sleeping. I woke around 6:30, finally (with one day until I travel), reached Pacific Coast time. Ugh.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am tired and know that I put the next travel day as Sunday, but still, it is going to push me hard to be ready. Sunday is packed with events, and Saturday is not free either. I will have to pack and prepare between gaming, church, church meetings, and so on. Still, I look forward to seeing Susie’s family in New Hampshire and playing some games. This will be only 11 days of travel with one all-nighter. I will make it work, I think. I am planning to bring figures and material for Dungeons & Dragons, too.

I rise at 6:30 and watch the gray turn to orange and then to grey-white. Later, the clouds and fog will burn away. I see the squirrels bouncing around in the apple tree, looking for the few remaining apples. I also think they are collecting a few soft leaves for their nest. Wet and cold are coming (and visits now).

I write the blog, but I am time-boxed and do not complete it. I will complete it later in the afternoon. I am showered and soon dressed and ready. I do not start the laundry, as Saturday better suits my travel schedule. I board Air VW the Gray and notice the 60% charge. I should charge it (and later I remember to plug it in at night — when electrical usage is reduced in the Pacific Northwest).

Note: Unless needed for essential reasons, it is irresponsible to charge cars during peak usage. While the charging process is about the same as an electric dryer running for four hours (it will not crash the Grid as some FOX News and other commentators claim). To be green, it is best to get power when the Grid is coasting on easy-to-source power. I also agree with my conservative friends that getting an electric car powered by coal is making things worse, and a well-maintained older-model lead sled is a better choice. Most of the costs for petroleum infrastructure are sunk.

I travel to my 9:20 appointment and smile as I am repeatedly stopped by school buses picking up small boys and girls, with an occasional parent watching and waving. I nod to a parent, and she smiles. No ICE, no protests that these kids are not proper people or citizens, just smiles and waves, and the rush to get the best seats on a yellow school bus. An American moment for ‘We the People.’

I remember being small once, as I was a former little boy, and, while I would not do it over again, there is some appeal to being small and having everything a mystery again. Maybe some time on swings and playing with Matchbox cars again in the dirt. But you can’t go back.

Instead, I am an adult, off to a doctor’s appointment, hoping nothing new has gone wrong. I get praise for a normal A1C and a smile from my doctor, who also loves American Southern food, especially New Orleans’ version. The extra 8 pounds are not commented on. We agree not to experiment with weight loss drugs at this time (I qualify for it). There is a new issue, and an ultrasound of a mass under my jaw is ordered. I will fit it in before my insurance changes. Doc is happy that I managed to find ObamaCare insurance that keeps him as my provider. Back in six months, and the test results will be checked online.

I give Doc and my nurse a sticker from the King Center in Atlanta. They love them. I head, as I usually do, to the bar at La Provence at the Cedar Mills Mall. Demitri is my bartender, and we remember each other and chat here and there about making drinks based on what I learned in New Orleans. I have the hash and a croissant. I also ordered two to-go for my remaining mornings in Oregon.

I put aside the blog and work on the Dungeons & Dragons adventure for a week away in New Hampshire. I edit and assemble the last section of the original 2014 4E version into my document (yes, I have soft copies of almost everything I write) and begin to transform it into 5E and a one-shot adventure.

(Notice the bacon in a glass; that is for Bloody Marys–booze and breakfast in a glass. I did coffee.)

I enjoy my breakfast/lunch and get further on my writing. I do daydream that I will hire an artist to tidy up the look, make a lovely map, and sell it for pay-what-you-want on Drive-thru-RPG. But that is a hope for the future. I am not looking for money, but to share the story.

I return home, get the mail, and try to find my way again. I finally finished the blog, but I’m having trouble finding focus. I am tired and still full of tears from the Civil Rights trip, Susie’s birthday, troubles in Washington, and just being alone. Corwin pops in for a while, and we chat. I give him some cash for carrying caring for the house while I am away again (the typo was funny; I left it). He leaves, and I talk to Deborah for a while. We decide to watch some more of the second season of Matlock. We have the cameras on, and that makes us both feel better as we miss each other, and it will not be until Christmas that we will be together. We say goodnight, but neither wants to end the call.

I do the dishes and assemble coffee (and there is coffee this morning!). I do more editing on the adventure, but instead of working late, I rest and read. I feel better, and soon sleep comes, and I disappear into my covers and dreams. The dreams are forgotten, but I felt happy. I must have been wandering through one of the various dream worlds with friends and family (many of which are only found in dreams now). I wake at the time for morning on the East Coast and then sleep until West Coast time.

Thanks for reading!

Well, the scale says a few more pounds, growl. I will return to the two-beer-a-week plan and back to salads. It was fun while it lasted, but I can feel the extra weight slowing me down.

Thursday ended with me going to bed early because I’m still confused about time. Also, the calzone for dinner was excellent. It was Susie’s birthday, and I bought Susie’s drinks (ginger ale and whiskey/bourbon, or an Old Fashion with two cherries) at Theology Pub at Cedar Mills McMinimens. We had about fifteen. We talked about what brings us joy, as it was our tenth anniversary of holding Theology Pub and had survived online versions during the Pandemic Years. We were always happy to meet in person, and now it gives us particular joy to be together. Pastor Ken was there for this one to celebrate ten years. We did have one person online from Utah.

After this, I went home, wrote one more encounter for my Dungeons & Dragons by copying the 2014 into my new version, and then revising it to match the new 5E version and moving the encounters from third level to ninth/eighth for a large group of seventh-level adventurers I plan to have on the Friday after Thanksgiving in New Hampshire. I am relieved that the 2014 writing is easily fitting (though I have to abandon the 4E items).

I will have to drop the intermediate section of the adventure and move to the ending, as this is planned as a one-sit-down adventure. A challenge for me as a writer and DM. I have all 5E core books next to me while I write, looking for treasure and monsters to use. I only bend a few rules. The new 5E version already has 10,000 words.

I curl up in my blankets and soon sleep. I wake often, think it is late, and discover it has only been 30 minutes; jet lag! I manage to sleep in starts and stops, with now-forgotten dreams of wandering through some fantasy world in my dream space.

Thursday started with me rising at 7:30 and reheating the coffee that had been mistakenly made not at 7 in the morning but at 7 last night. I have now corrected the time on the coffee machine. There is hope for the next morning (no, I forgot to push the timer button after assembling on Thursday night).

I have a banana and toast with peanut butter while I write the blog. I recall in the blog that it is Susie’s birthday. I complete the blog and then head to Cedar Mills McMinimens (yes, again) for my weekly meeting with Scott. I am only a few minutes late. We talk about travel, my trip and experience, and Scott’s new travel plans. We avoid talking about investments as the markets are flailing; Scott and I can live off of interest alone, if required.

I have a burger as I am hungry. I am slightly distracted by an event at the church that cannot be discussed here, as I serve on the SPRC (for those who do not speak Methodist, this is the HR committee). Scott and I will meet again after my return from New Hampshire.

I visit the church and see that the construction work is proceeding according to plan. I then leave and later have more issues related to the SPRC. Frustrated and unhappy (details cannot be shared here), I return home, rest, and try to sleep. I am tempted to stay there, but it is Susie’s birthday and also Theology Pub’s tenth anniversary. I choose to move past the issues as best as I can and head to Cedar Mills McMinimens for the meeting.

Stephani is our waiter, and she handles the task well. We talk about joy, and slowly the discomfort fades, and there are some tears with the first sip of ginger and bourbon, Susie’s favorite, but the night goes by pleasantly.

Thanks for reading.

I rose later after waking for the sunrise and rolling over. I was experiencing (enjoying?) jet lag as my body (and mind) began adjusting to the 3-hour time difference. And I have the unenviable possibility of having reached normality in time to be in New Hampshire and experience the three-hour change in reverse on Sunday-Monday.

I rose, and the coffee was not made despite being set up the day before. I am quite awake in the morning. I drag in the early evening. The winter light is affecting me. I sit under bright lights. Here in Oregon, we have had an unusual set of sunny winter days; my roses are still blooming with the bonus sunlight. It helps too.

Laundry is completed using The Machine on Wednesday (the first load completed on Tuesday), with each load taking a couple of hours and then extending. I manage to get the stuff out when it is ready to be hung. Dress shirts and pants are best pulled while warm and slightly damp to finish drying on hangers and thus avoid wrinkles. The Machine is a so-called Intelligent Appliance, my first, and it sends me updates to my phone and emails. And while I have doubts about the intelligence needed to process laundry, it manages to complete all my clothing, and I put it all away. My closet and dressers are stuffed. It is a good feeling to finish the trip (trips are done when the last bill is paid and the laundry is done and put away).

For those keeping track, I have purchased my air flight for Christmas. Flying to Detroit on 25Dec, arriving in the evening, and returning to Oregon on 6Jan, arriving midday. I am headed to New Hampshire via Logan in Boston late 23Nov (this Sunday!), staying in Merrimack. I will spend the last two days, starting 1Dec, on my own exploring Boston (including JFK Library) and returning to Oregon 3Dec in the evening.

I have too much coffee and am soon a bit shaky. I did have a breakfast of cheese, toast, and lunch meats—sort of a European breakfast. Again, symptoms of jet lag. I find the other half of the fantastic Reuben sandwich I had in Portland, and that brings the hunger and over-coffee’d status under control. Yikes!

I pay bills, and get through the bills and transfers. I write the blog. It is a busy morning.

I watch some more Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and like it. But this one has one sad moment, which reminds me that Susie’s birthday is 11/20/1962. More tears for this day. Many days have tears. Grief does not end, nor is it really mitigated by time. It is.

Susie’s favorite Carmina Burana is performed by the Oregon Symphony in Portland on her birthday. She would have loved it. And here is one of her favorite songs, we used to clap to this: here. And here is the less famous beer song (wait for it…’ beer, beer, beer’): here. We would sing this one, the chorus. Some fun memories for a birthday!

I took a short trip in Air VW the Gray to mail some items for Deborah from the trip and a postcard to Mom Wild.

I am dragging and sad. It is too early for dinner, but I am hungry. So I cook, rushing nothing. I make tacos. I use the low-sodium seasoning pack (I have a jar of salsa I forgot I could use instead) as I scramble a pound of hamber, now defrosted, mostly by running water over it (thanks, Steve, for the non-stick pan). I bake the shells loaded with slightly overpriced, spicy, locally made Mexican-style cheese. Yes, American Midwesterns, we do our own cheese here on the West Coast.

I make enough for three, but leave about 1/2. I love old family-made tacos. I watch the YouTube channel on destroyer-class ship construction from Drachinifel. I manage to stop and put the remaining away in containers (thanks, Gene and Glenda, for those).

I grab my laptop and board the Air VW the Gray and head into heavy Beaverton Traffic to McMenamins Cedar Hills. They are busy for a Wednesday. It is also dark already.

There, I had a dark beer to match the dark sky, then coffee and their surprise dessert (which was surprisingly good and pretty), and arranged with the manager for Theology Pub to have a room on Thursday (tomorrow, at that point). I find it best to be there and have something when asking for a room.

I also discovered my bartender played D&D, but with the crowd we had, we had little time to chat. I brought my laptop and completed the first level of my adventure for next week. I am reworking a 2014 4E adventure for Dungeons & Dragons into a 5E single-sitting adventure. I am happy to see that the 2024 text and even some of the encounters can be easily upgraded to 9th-level 5E without much change. Grammarly finds many typos and makes it easy to rework. I cleared the level and am ready for the next, and even left one encounter almost unchanged.

I am still sad, and it is dark. Deborah and I chat, and I read her my fluff text (the pre-written descriptions that I write for myself and maybe someone else if these ever get published), and that makes me smile, and she likes it I feel better and nap in my chair, and finally rise to get to bed. I sleep, wake, sleep, and jet lag continues.

Thanks for reading!