Nobody's perfect all of the time - Prednisone Dreams - CycleBlaze

July 2, 2025

Nobody's perfect all of the time

Or even ever at all, in some cases

I'm really proud of myself.  Ive learned and internalized what are all the unique aspects of our residence here that affects us, so when I come to the front door I mentally know which way it opens so I don't get it wrong half the time and pull first when I should have pushed.  I finally found my way to the dumpsters, a neat trick I had to ask the office manager about when she was in the office.  I know now which side of rhe bike to be on when I open the door.  I know how to set the thermostat and operate the remote for the CD player.  After honing and rejoining our list, I know what's essential when I step out the door depending on what the plan for this particular outing is.  I finally know where all the light switches are and what they control.  I've internalized the layout of the entire flat, so in theory I can find my way around in the dark on my midnight trips to the bathroom, as I've done ever since Rocky and I got hitched because her sleep gets disrupted easily and we're both happier when I'm not the cause.

So in theory I should be able to have a perfect day, homewise - I get neatly and cleanly out the front door with no essentials missing and nothing brought along that I'd meant to leave behind.  And I did it!!  This morning it finally came all together, even though at first I thought I'd forgotten my garmin again even though I hadn't because I forgot which pocket I buried it in and assumed I'd just left it.  Perfect!  And on only day 33 of a 35 day stay.

I've got some work to do yet on that walking in the dark thing though.  Twice in the last three nights I've found myself inside one of the two adjacent closets, confused and anxious and disoriented when I came to a dead end and didn't know where I was.  So at this point I'm doubtful I'll get this one down perfect because we've only got two nights left. 

And then there's always that one niche problem that come up that you couldn't have imagined that shuts you down, like last night when there's suddenly this loud, high pitched whine  in the room that wakes me.  I immediately reach for the remote for the CD player so I can get it to STFU before it awakens Rachael up and I'm in trouble again.

It doesn't work though, because I can't turn the damned thing off.  I punch all the buttons that could be the on/off switch.   Cutting to the chance, it suddenly can't be shut off by the controller for some unknown reason.  It's spinning at very high speed, and the only read option is to throttle it by unplugging it from the wall.  Aah.  I have no idea what that was about, but I'll experiment the next day when no one's around to see if I can figure out what went wrong. 

So, that's it.  Just another snippet of life, in this case banged out in the Little River Cafe, where the plan was to have breakfast at eight, hang out there for an two hours until the Apple Store opens at ten so I can stop in with all three of our iPads and have those local demigods repair all of our connection issues that only they can repair.  Both of us are sick to death of being stymied or frustrated by them, and today's the day.

And beyond that the plan for the whole day is to move on to Pioneer Square to pick up our next rental car at one, and then drive over to Clever Cycles with  Rachael's BF in the hold so I can pick up mine which has been ready for a few days and take hers in with me so they can give it a once over and set an appointment for it so Rocky can have it available to ride in the meantime.  And then I'll walk straight across the street to the other Lucky Lab, the one I never knew existed until Bruce mentioned it at Clinton Street one day, have dinner, and then get the car home by six so Rocky and I can start loading our apartment's full of crap into it in preparation for moving on tomorrow.  A consequential but not so busy day, really.  There's lots of white space in there with a few simple tasks, no problem.

But of course the day goes nothing like the that.  I'll come back to the rest of the day because it's not done yet and just include a few essential details to set the context, the eternal 4-W who, where, what, why.  You already know the who and why, so let's fill in the banks and then publish and move on.  Here's the where of it:

We're here. I like many things about the LRC, including they have a bottomless coffe pot if you're accompanying a food order, and if you're eating in you can pick what you want from the array of individual ceramic mugs, all different. I love this model - it's a green solution with no trash or recycling, and you get to choose your chalice. I see I've made a fitting selection today.
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And then  few things about the phone fill in the lone missing piece:

  1. First (as you can see from that helpful number in the left), even though it was 100% charged when I left home this morning at 6, had the hotspot off as I rode along and stopped for maybe half a dozen photos along the way, recharge alert comes up on the Garmin when I'm rounding the bend at the Sellwood Bridge.  The phone is down to 15% already for some reason, hitch makes no sense to me but it is what it is.  I shut down the phone to preserve the charge and just use the Canon for any stray shots that grab my attention so I'll have enough to read the day's devolting news (and it is refolting - epic scale revolting, but hold that thought and we'll be back with it) while I down my standard eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast.
  2. When I reboot the Android though, it's gone down another 2% even though it's been completely shut down for the two hours it took me to bike the next six miles, because that's what life in the fast lane is all about lately: I'm laughably distractibld, and my sense of time is out the window.  It takes me two full hours to bike six miles on a flat, smooth, nearly empty bike path.  When I cable up the bike outside (and bonk my bean against the bole of the tree as I do it) and then turn to enter the cafe I can see through the windows that it's not yet open.  The door yields when I pull on it though, and yes, they're open.  Have been for a full hour when I arrive yet there's not another customer in the house yet,  wierd.  Maybe it's an ICE raid and they figured this was a good candidate for meeting their daily quota because anyone who'd be in a commie joint like this has just gotta be a criminal one way or another,
  3. So I start doom-scrolling and almost immediately the phone rings. It's fhe ophthalmology nurse, calling to check in and let me know that the unreachable Dr Greenberg, unreachable because he's out of office all week, poked his nose through the slats t pass on two bits of info for me:
  4. First. (First of these two, but fourth in the larger context), he wants to confirm that I've taken my first Tyenne shot (yep, last night) and if so wants to remind us to take it along and carry it properly when we go to England in four weeks.  So that definitely answers one of our most pressing questions.  geeen Light!
  5. And secondly, he fills us in on how slowly this tapering is going to go.  It's going to go real slow, as in he intends to keep me at this hellishly fast 35 mgpd for the next six weeks.somstrap on your seatbelts and keep your helmets handy folks.  It's going to be a long, wild ride before lives return to normal.
  6. When I hang up the phone, it's down to 5%.  It's dead within another two minutes, so my theory is that this hyper fast drsinsgr is because it's in the middle I'd a software upgrade.
  7. A bit frustrating, because I can't access the web to read the news or work on the blog, but I have a plan for me that: I'll work on filtering through photos from the Canon for a bit, and then compose the text for the next post I'm thinking to put up next.
  8. And then I bike straight home, ignoring for the moment several interesting observations and photos noted and taken in the next mile and just bike straight home.
  9. And then I have another good guffaw at my expense because of a few details I forgot that would have made the morning flow more positively:

  1. I forgot that I had Rachael's iPad with me, which can talk to the world, somimdouldmhave been making myself miserable the whole time thee by reading about ICE retention centers in the Everglades, surrounded by alligators so some totally innocent dishwasher isn't tempted to try to flee.
  2. I forgot that we agreed that I'm not going to the app store until after I've gone home to drop off the bike because I don't want to risk leaving it locked up in front of the app store indefinitely.  The plan was always that I was going to go straight home from here to drop off my bike and then get back downtown on the streetcars pick up the new car, and then drive home.  In fact, we'd decided not to take her bike over and bring my bike back today for reasons I'll come back to later.  So we're done here on this one, folks.
  3. Oh.  Except also there's the funny that when I lean over to pull something out of the pannier I rap my helmet on his top tube three or four times in quick succession.  Ha, ha, ha.

Hey Rocky!  Here's another new door opening up for us.  We haven't seen Jacqui since we went migrant, or more probably since the sad day that Jimmy Mack's finally shuttered.  We'll be back on the west coast if not in Portland itself fairly often for drug refueling and office visits.  I'll start watching the tour schedule on her mailing list for possible upcoming concerts we could consider.

  _

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Karen PoretWe are all along for your ride, Scott.. Mr. Toad’s, nor Peter Pan are included.
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2 days ago
Ron SuchanekI've been away from the blog for quite a while. Turns out, raising a puppy is labor-, not to mention, dollar- intensive. Who knew?
Anyway, I'm just getting caught up here and, wow, what a ride. Its been a challenge for me to get a handle on the chronology of events, so I've given up on that and just absorbed as much as I could.
I'm sorry you, and Rachael, are having to endure this ordeal. I hope all continues to be well going forward. And let's all hope Prednisone isn't a gateway drug.
Take care, friend! Hope to see you soon
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2 days ago
Scott AndersonTo Ron SuchanekHey, welcome back! I've been lurking your way too, and was so sorry to see the way your last attempt at the GDR ended up. Have you healed yet?

Remarkably enough, we're gradually realizing there's a terrific future still out there for TA, one that will bring us closer to home more often to manage our needle supply so it will be easier to keep in touch.

We've got a rental car for the last four weeks before we fly back to London, and I've been looking at driving down to Mt Angel for a loop through the flats and foothills before we leave. Maybe I could swing by and see how that puppy is coming along while he's still so young.

Love to you both, and in spite of all the trauma don't worry about us - now anyway, though I get it that I sounded pretty scary for a while there. Probably still do to some! We're figuring it out though and are fine.

On Jul 2, 2025, at 10:10 PM, CycleBlaze wrote:

Hello Scott,

Ron Suchanek posted the following comment in the journal Prednisone Dreams:

I've been away from the blog for quite a while. Turns out, raising a puppy is labor-, not to mention, dollar- intensive. Who knew? Anyway, I'm just getting caught up here and, wow, what a ride. Its been a challenge for me to get a handle on the chronology of events, so I've given up on that and just absorbed as much as I could. I'm sorry you, and Rachael, are having to endure this ordeal. I hope all continues to be well going forward. And let's all hope Prednisone isn't a gateway drug. Take care, friend! Hope to see you soon
Reply to this comment
1 day ago
Karen PoretWell.. guess some of your “ forgetting things” has flown over to me, here in CA..

I walked out of my house yesterday for my last thumb arthritis pt appointment not realizing ( at the time) I had, indeed, left the iPhone sitting in my kitchen.

Panic ensued when I got to the office and was futzing around in my bag to let them know I was there, but the phone wasn’t.

I have not seen the therapist in 3 months and this was to be my very last appointment unless I go the route through our physician, which, as you know, takes forever.

Instead of concentrating and having a good last appointment, all I could think about was the darned phone!

She was kind enough to call it for me, but, then, who would answer? You can’t do the “ find my iPhone” trick, either! 😣

At the almost end of the session, she ☎️ my 🏠 landline 📞 and my husband said “ 👋, yes Karen, your iPhone is here”, without even knowing who was calling 😬..

With our traffic now ( the Murray Bridge is closed for 2 years! Yes, years!!)! everyone drives in the neighborhood and, of course, 💨.. I want to put up a sign that says “ You may be heading home, but we ARE, so drive responsibly”.. Ha! They would not see it because of their speed..

Off my soapbox..
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5 hours ago
Scott AndersonTo Karen PoretThat bridge is closed for two years? That must be so horrible for your community, it makes me think of the poor folks living on Big Sur severed by the latest slide.

The forgetting thing is a caution alright. Rachael and I both have systems, but it's so hard to not be on autopilot and miss a step or set something down in an unusual place and then panic because you're sure you left it somewhere. Old age ain't for sissies, that's for sure.
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3 hours ago
Scott AndersonTo Karen PoretThat bridge is closed for two years? That must be so horrible for your community, it makes me think of the poor folks living on Big Sur severed by the latest slide.

The forgetting thing is a caution alright. Rachael and I both have systems, but it's so hard to not be on autopilot and miss a step or set something down in an unusual place and then panic because you're sure you left it somewhere. Old age ain't for sissies, that's for sure.
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3 hours ago
Karen PoretTo Scott AndersonFirst off..Scott..Are you aware your replies are now being sent twice? I thought it was an oversight the other day to someone else, but realize now, it is still apparent. Not sure if you are hitting “send” twice for “to be sure” frame of mind…but, just sayin’.

Yes, the Murray Street Bridge is “only” a “breather” for traffic beginning at the foot of East Cliff Drive to Seventh Avenue. However, a LOT of traffic beginning on the West side driving south in the afternoons used this one lane ( well, it is two lanes ..one in each direction) However, for some unexplained reason the traffic going northbound is never affected like this. This earthquake retrofit project has been in the works since the early 1990’s…Of course, now that the city population has grown a lot ( too many cars and not enough bicycles!) the timing and costs are horrendous.
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1 hour ago
Scott AndersonTo Karen PoretReally! That's interesting, because I got two identical responses from you. I have a theory in this - it could be related to the fact that we still have technical issues related to buying the new iPad - after FOUR hours in the Apple Store the day before yesterday there are still problems only they can resolve.

Let me know if you also get two emails from this response. I might need Jeff's help repairing whatever is broken here.
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25 minutes ago
Karen PoretTo Scott AndersonOnly One this time! Yay..Now to try and get some sleep with the noise of the fireworks ( safe and INsane, I say) 🙄
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19 minutes ago