UPDATE and I made it to work and back today!

UPDATE: I worked today from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., without needing a nap, dining on tidbits of cheese and crackers and fruit at my desk while I kept working--four hours means you don't qualify for a lunch hour, but I certainly didn't need one, and I know beyond any doubt that I'm not ready for however many hours you need to work to qualify for a lunch hour. I rode the bus to work with one transfer and not too far to walk from that last bus to the office. I rode the streetcar--boarding it right in front of the office, then transferred to the bus for the last leg of the home-bound commute. When I got off the bus two and a half blocks from home, I walked straight into Subway and got a six inch tuna on wheat with lettuce and tomato, a individual-sized bag of chips, and a cup of Coca-Cola. I walked on home, sat down in my apartment, and ate all of that Subway stuff. Now I'm ready to make an effort to stay awake until bed time and do it all over again tomorrow. Well, not the Subway part probably. I need to cook something to eat, but I'm not sure I'll have the energy this evening. We'll see. Thanks for every single prayer--I felt each one!



When I got off the bus at NE Couch and NE MLK to transfer to another bus for the rest of the work-bound commute, I saw the progress that has been made in building these two. I just read online that the one on the left will be 21 stories tall and is named Yard, not the Yard, just Yard. I'm not very happy about the changes in the view, nor am I happy about what the apartments in these two are likely to cost. Too many people are no longer able to live in inner Portland unless they have high-paying jobs. I believe that the city commissioners have dropped the ball about affordable housing in Portland. Shame on them.



Here's a short video that shows how the taller building on the left looked on June 10. Oh, well. I hope the building turns out to be not as ugly as lots of those which are being built in Portland's residential neighborhoods, also with crazy high rents, things like $1400 for a 570 square foot studio!



Not happy to be missing the Big Pink, I walked down to the corner for a look across the Burnside Bridge and took this photo to show you what we're missing.



Here's how I looked right after I arrived at the office today. Ready to go! I'm holding up my bus pass which we get for free--the best perk I've ever had--with its brand new 2016 sticker. The 2015 one expired today, so I'm thankful that I got to go back to work today early enough to get it before signing in at work.

National Train Day, May 10, 2014 - two photos of a hug and the resulting joy, plus a bit about my personal joy

The hug. In the space between Union Station and the tracks, the Oregon Zoo's Titus the Tiger handed out hugs to all who approached.



That single hug sent this little girl over the moon. Such joy!

By the way, I'm sure that you've noticed I've been gone. In fact, I've been off my game to one degree or another since May 13. My repetitive refrain, spoken only in my mind: Allergies, get the behind me!

Finally, I say finally, I believe I have won! My energy levels returning to normal, my eyes not itchy and/or watery, my left ear just about completely unstopped, I no longer have to take allergy pills regularly because of whatever is blooming, pollinating, blowing through the air. And I no longer have to worry about busting out in ugly sneezing fits that always, always, always happen when allergies impact my body, and I feel the slightest chill. Ask anyone who has heard a sneezing fit of mine--they'll tell you just how ugly they are.

While in my work cube I endured and sneezed until the fit ended, miserable among a few co-workers, but I recognized that I needed a method to keep me from sneezing among a larger crowd on the homebound bus, once the air conditioning came into use in June. When I waited at the bus stop, I knew as the sun shone on me and my backpack that I'd be sweaty, warm, the perfect prey for chilled air. The only thing that saved me on those after-work commutes was my rather voluminous black rectangular scarf which, before I stepped onto the bus, I tented over my head and shoulders, hiding my arms and hands. I sat down and held my backpack on my lap and carefully kept the scarf in place. As long as I remained covered until I stepped off the bus once I reached the stop near my building, I didn't sneeze. And let me tell you, I felt joy every single time I made it without a sneezing fit. Real joy.