Category: The DayBook

Not a lot of progress on the origami project today. But, I did finish up a bunch of the flowers that I prefolded on the boat. Should have them all done by COB Thursday. Then I will spring into action making wreaths. 

This evening I am going out to eat with a couple of friends from work. Work that I have hopefully retired from. 

And. Got my reservation to Kona. American has the slickest connection that lands me in Kona in the daytime. That matters to me. Most flights from the east coast arrive in Kona around midnight. That works if you a going into a hotel. Not so good for a rental.  Haven’t got the return set yet. 

Noticed on my calendar doctor and dentist appointments in the near future. Hate the doctor. I am always sure that some essential part has crapped out. And, I am not sure I need to know. 

And, I have a strange Zoom tomorrow with marketing at Intuit. They be curious about how the elderly approach “estate issues”. I told them that they aren’t going to sell me anything. I finally got my stuff sorted. We’ll see. I have done things like this for other companies. I think I am on some list of Old Persons Who Understand Technology To Talk To. 

Finished up a prototype wreath today. And, I talked to one of the residents who is the Queen of  Crafts about what glue to use. My eyes glazed over. She handed me a tube and said. Wear gloves, work on aluminum foil, and run the exhaust fan. Or use a glue gun. Neither of those options works for me. I used pins for my prototypes. And I think I’ll go with pins. 

Each wreath and these are small wreathes requires between 35 and 45 flowers.  I might have enough flowers for 6 or 7.

Plan B. Make a crane wreath to come up with 10 wreaths. Folks can always use a little good luck. Some folks may even opt for longevity.  

I wonder why I start these projects. Once begun, one has to finish. 

The Building has a charitable foundation that does some good things. Once a year, the residents have an Art and Craft sale. Proceeds to the foundation. My origami partner and I decided to make some origami to try to sell. Neither of us is too sure that anyone will actually pay money for scraps of paper.

But, what the heck? What else do I have to do between now and October 10? (The sale is on October 11). And, I did a lot of preprocessing while I was on the boat.

The Twilight Zone

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On my little walk early this morning, I realized that I am now older than Carlton was when he died. And what exactly has he missed? Well, he would say a lot of tennis, AA, and sex. But, I am not so sure about that… Except for AA. He missed the death of his oldest friend. His long-time tennis opponent’s struggle with ALS. He missed The Orange Lord’s first term. He missed Covid. He missed the having to get a cell phone. Remember, the man was a complete Luddite. He missed being terrified of the prospect of a 2nd term for The Orange Lord. 

So, if I don’t make it through the night,  what exactly will I miss?

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Have time for some more origami setup and prep before dinner.

Staying on track with my plan to get away from The Building, I went for a couple-mile stroll along Four Mile Run this morning. I’m also planning on cooking my own dinner tonight, so if I don’t enjoy it, I have only myself to blame.

Finished up all the work that wasn’t done because I was away today. And, I got annoyed at Alaska Airlines. While I was in the process of selecting my seats for my trip to Kona, they raised the price by 23%. Needless to say, I didn’t complete the reservation — they already had my credit card number — and I doubt that I’ll be flying Alaska. It’s not that I can’t afford the new price; it’s the principle. And, living where I do, I have plenty of choices of airlines.

Gotta start on a large origami effort—making wreaths for a craft sale.

Today’s adventure was plowing through 30+ days of emails. I just started with the newest and plugged on until they were all attended to. I didn’t save any for later.  At my age, later is now. 

This took all day. Tomorrow, I will attack the financial stuff and hopefully, by Sunday, I’ll be all caught up.

Gratitude

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At dinner, the friendship was great, the booze was generous, and the coffee was hot.  For these blessings I am grateful. 

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Tonight I had dinner with my friends. I got a box of “fake” Nanaimo bars in Vancouver to share. Well, they couldn’t be Nanaimo bars. I bought them in Vancouver. If anyone is curious. This is what Wikipedia has to say about Nanaimo bars.

But, wait. This doesn’t look like the neighborhood. Well, that’s what’s beautiful. 

Carlton used to say: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result was insane.  

I have been hoping The Asylum would “improve” if I just complained nicely. Well, it didn’t happen. I was simply being ignored by management while annoying my friends. So, it’s time for a new plan. The Asylum where I expected to be cared for in my dotage has gone all corporate. It is now just a slightly run-down 40-year-old rental with decent security. With a poor restaurant in the lobby. And someone on duty who might call an ambulance. That’s it.  I guess they are doing the best they can, but their best isn’t hacking it for me.

So, starting from this point. I am going to work on “acceptance” and keeping my mouth shut unless my opinion is sought. That’s going to be really hard. 

Positive (I hope)  steps I am going to take are eating fewer meals in the poor restaurant. And getting away from the building. Get on the bus. Go somewhere.  Anywhere. Frequently. 

After 8 years, this is no longer The Asylum. (Theasarus ASYLUM: refuge, sanctuary, shelter, safety, safe keeping, protection, security, immunity; haven, safe haven, retreat, sanctum, harbor, port in a storm, oasis; safe house, fastness, hideaway, hideout, bolthole, foxhole, hiding place, den.) It’s simply The Building.

OK. That’s it. On the the next thing. 

Trying to figure out what to do with all of my photos. I don’t even know how many there are.  That will be a project for Hawai’i. 

Gratitude

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Grateful for an absolutely wonderful adventure. It wasn’t a trip. It certainly wasn’t a vacation. It was an adventure.

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Brain still a little foggy today. So, I didn’t challenge it. I got the laundry done and everything is unpacked and I am good to go again. In 7 weeks or so. To Hawai’i.

Rolled back into the Asylum at about 3 PM this afternoon. Let’s just say that I am here. 

I’ll get myself sorted out some time tomorrow. I hope.

Heading for a very early night. 

Should be getting on the Capitol Limited in 30 minutes or so.  Back at The Asylum before dinner tomorrow. I should lay low and not be out and about for a couple of days. Sort of a vague attempt to not bring COVID into the asylum. Nevermind that COVID seems to be loose in the asylum already.

Critters:  Lots of white pelicans, about a dozen sandhill cranes, 2 bald eagles. 

The train is not too far behind schedule. The food is good and the people are interesting. 

The critter count: lots of cattle, some horses, a few sheep and five pronghorns. Maybe a deer will show up.  

So far so good. The bus ride was fine. I almost finished my origami project on the ride. The train left on time. I have dinner reservations at 6:30. Because breakfast was a long time ago.

I have good cell service at this instant so, I
Fine will stop now and post. Mountains coming soon.

Had a fine Amtrak dinner with interesting folks. And am now tucked up in bed.

I love Vancouver.

What’s not to love about Vancouver? For no apparent reason, I’ll be on the bus heading towards home. Tomorrow 11:30am.