July 23--The day not much happened

I forgot to post yesterday, probably because it was just a normal day where we went out walking along the creek, had some noodles, came home and did stuff. I used to think of this type of day as boring, but now I recognize them as oases between the various trials and tribulations that make up a good part of life. Now I savor them. There's always another storm on the horizon.



I spent the afternoon finishing my coursework for my summer session and writing up a summary for my advisor. I reported 52 hours of "billable hours", which she was pleased with. The next semester starts in about 3 1/2 weeks, and I will have to do some stuff between now and then to prepare for it.

Same thing goes for work. I still have a bunch of stuff to do there to before the semester starts. I will go in Wednesday and knock some of it out.

Last night I put together our trip to Oregon for next week. I love planning trips, and thinking about what we will do along the way. We will spend a couple days in Portland, then head down the coast, and return home a week later. I have made trips similar to this many times, and the landscape is like an old friend. I made sure to include Malida's favorite Oregon Coast sushi restaurant into the plan.

July 24--The Rover

Today I drove to the city of Stockton to take advantage of another Ingress farm that was still up. Much of it was along the Stockton waterfront, where I had not been for many years. Stockton had a rough go of it during the economic downturn, and it still shows. Lots of empty buildings in an area that in any other city would be thriving.

The last time I was in that part of Stockton was in the early 1990s to see a baseball game. There is a minor league stadium near the waterfront. I thoroughly enjoyed that game and always meant to go back, but I never did.

I wandered around for a while and played Ingress. I didn't think to take pictures other than one of what is supposed to be a happy rock, but when I look at it now, it seems to be screaming in terror.



I stopped at a place I know for lunch on the way back, and it was just about perfect. After I got home I did some chores, and in the evening sat in the back yard as the delta breeze kicked in and cooled off the temperatures.

I am in the thick of my Hardy Boys book. The thing I notice most about the older (and longer) versions, are that the descriptions of the boys' lives are richer. The author spends a couple pages describing their preparations for a camping trip, and the excitement that builds as the trip gets closer. I remember why I liked these books as a kid.