Author: gallopingcow

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Stay In; Go Out

Summer got up fairly early and did some work from home this morning. I was a little slower getting around, and lounged a bit. Eli brought Eaddie some food and I went out to play with the dogs for a while. Summer went to the gym and I ate a burrito for lunch, and then I ended up taking a really late shower.

Eaddie had a game night with some friends, so Summer and I went to New China for dinner. I was too stuffed to do anything else after we left. I should have gone out with the dogs, but Summer and I both fell a little bit sick after that. We ended up laying on the couch together watching dog training videos until she finally got up to go to bed.

Clean up and clean out.

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C-Ya Suckers

I ran late today, but who would even notice? Apparently Barry came by while I was gone yesterday and pushed for Chromebooks to be deployed, obviously without having done any work himself, so Kim was loading devices onto a cart when I got there. They never actually got that done though, and I wasn’t even sure what they were working on. I just did my best to clean up the last few of my things.

It was Kim’s birthday, so I insisted that we take her out to lunch and then visit the Plainview campus. We went to the Junction Cafe but turned around when she saw her ex’s car there, and went to the Superette instead. That was a good choice, because they had a surprisingly good catfish meal deal for Friday. I was mad that she had never told me before, because it was only $11 for three large pieces of fish, fries, slaw, and hushpuppies. It was even freshly cooked and delicious.

After we ate, we went to the old school and rummaged through a bunch of crap just to see what was there. Then we headed back to the office and I continued to clean up my stuff. I ended up forgetting a couple of things, so I may go back, or James could bring them back to town for me.

Eaddie had friends over when I got home, and it wasn’t long before they went to my parents’ house to swim. I walked the dogs over there, but they were about done by the time we got there. I wasn’t terribly impressed with a couple of the girls that showed up last, but they didn’t really seem to fit Eaddie’s usual crowd anyway.

Summer was home when I got back with the dogs, and I sat on the couch with her until she went to bed. I finished my leftover lunch for dinner and eventually got to bed. I’m a free man, so now I just need to figure out what my time is worth for these wildly different salaries I may be offered.

Or maybe I won’t get a choice.

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Instant Offers

I woke up about an hour before my alarm with some stomach pain, which was perfect for a day of travel. I got up and took a shower, but gave myself some time to settle down a bit before leaving town. Summer was working in town, so I brought her a breakfast burrito and then headed to Conway for my first stop.

I really wanted to go to Kohl’s and a couple Home Depots before my interview in North Little Rock, but somehow Kohl’s absorbed every second of my extra lead time. I ended up getting a dog toy, and as I pulled out of the parking lot I realized I needed to get straight to the interview.

The rest of the drive was pretty quiet. I got to the building and sat outside the conference room for a few minutes before they called me in, and it was Randy with four of his guys. I don’t even know what they were doing before they called me in, because nobody else left. The whole process felt like an interview speedrun. They introduced themselves, then I chatted about my time in schools, which actually answered most of their official interview questions. It was a little awkwardly quiet at first, but we eventually got to the laughs and disparaging remarks about K-12 education.

I was done in less than half an hour, and there just happened to be a Home Depot right up the road, so I stopped there to hunt down some clearance Nest thermostats. They had four – one of which was an opened box. I haggled them down from $75 to $60 to clear them out, and then headed to get Ben for lunch.

I thought we might go to Cotham’s, but he chose Three Fold, which was a noodle and dumpling place just a few blocks away. It was a relatively fancy looking place, and though staff was friendly, I found the food to be pretty lackluster. There was zero heat to the “spicy” level, so I should have read the menu and chosen “poison.” I guess the noodles were also supposed to be dry, but they had enough “broth” that I assumed it was a soup with too little of it. The dumplings were bland, and the jelly tea was watered down in an already-tiny cup. The portions were miniscule, especially for $35. I would not go again.

We chatted for a while and then I took Ben back to work. I started to look for other things to do, but then decided to drive up the road to charge a bit at Franklin’s. Unfortunately, the Tesla and the wall outlet were both out of service for some reason. I couldn’t tell if they were disabled or broken, but I couldn’t do anything. Then my plans got derailed again.

Randy texted and asked if I had some time to chat, so I ended up just going back to their office and sitting with him there. He offered the job at $67,145.64 and suggested I complete an associate degree for an 8% bump at the base, but that won’t be worth anything if I don’t stay long-term. With the added drive, I was really hoping to get closer to the $80k mark, but this is still better than nothing. I explained my scattershot applications and week full of other interviews, and he said he wouldn’t hold it against me for taking another opportunity later, so I’m a tentative “yes” until the next board meeting.

By that time, he said traffic was about to get wild, so I started heading home. I stopped in Conway for some Long John Silver’s, and then made it home with about 10% on my battery. It wasn’t a bad day, though I only accomplished about half of what I set out to do. I was relieved to have at least one offer on the table though, so my next step is to complete my Moodle skills test and see where that goes.

Am I that good, or are they just that desperate?

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Fool Me Three Times

Midway through the week, things are still pretty calm. Teachers have been fussing about not having Chromebooks yet, so Kim sorted through handbook agreement forms. I had to give James a quick pep talk on how to keep track of what devices are going out, and I probably should have just let him struggle a bit. Between that and helping with the paraprofessional test, I just felt like I was doing too much.

He ended up leaving early to help his father at a doctor appointment, and of course I was the last one out the door again. I’ll never earn enough for the time I’ve put in there. It was an easy drive home though, and I had to kick Eaddie and her friend out from their duo band practice so I could finally have my remote interview with DeepNet.

The joke was on me, because the chick cancelled on me again at the last minute. I scheduled one more for Monday, but at this point I’m not hopeful. Best case scenario, I can earn some good money in Little Rock and then find a home at Grace if they’ll pay enough.

Summer and I had some leftovers and then walked the dogs around a different path through the neighborhood. Eaddie was out until after dark, but then it was an early night for all of us.

Fool me four times, shame back on you actually. You are picking on a vulnerable man!

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Local Jobs, Diversified

I was early again this morning and thought I’d stop by McDonald’s for a McMuffin. That turned into a short ordeal, and school traffic was pretty unhinged. I guess I just missed all of it yesterday, but I got right into the middle of it today. I still got to work before James though, and we took a walk to find that power had gone out in the core closet, and at least one UPS had died. I helped a bit more than I wanted to with the HVAC because Steven and Toby were having trouble, and James got busy replacing the backup battery.

I left a little bit after lunch so I could make my interview at Grace Manufacturing. It seemed like a really tiny place, but I guess business has been good and they’ve been growing – globally! Their office was the main headquarters, but they had other sites in Mexico, Germany, and the far-off land of Arizona. I thought the interview went really well, and it was super casual. They were smiling a lot, but the job also hadn’t actually been posted, so they were just scouting me out for a future opening around January. I actually suggested they bring out the retiree-to-be so I could talk to him directly, and we all had a pretty good chat. The job actually seemed pretty simple compared to my responsibilities now, so I’m curious to see what the actual pay would be like.

After the 30-minute interview, I headed home to change and then picked up Dad so he could help me get the dogs to the vet. We walked in and got their stitches removed, and then took them back home. Afterward we went back to his house and played with his new drone for a bit. He didn’t get any antennas with his headset, so we just used the controller to play the simulator on his phone instead.

I eventually headed back home to eat some leftovers, and then I took the dogs for a walk. Summer had come home but was in a mood, so I talked with her about her tough day when I got back. It seemed like she just needed to focus her energy less on being sad about it, and more on being mad at other people not living up to the same standard. I could relate.

So many strengths to choose from… I guess being super humble is my greatest.

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Grand.

I got out of the house super early today just in case traffic was awful. There were tons of trees down along the way to work, and the house across from the school had like three trees blown right over. Of course I actually beat everyone to work, but Kim was right behind me to let me into the office. The day went by super fast, but ham and cheese wraps didn’t sound at all appetizing. I ended up taking James to the Junction Cafe for lunch, to needlessly build a little more rapport. I’m just too nice.

The afternoon went by quickly as well, and Kim and James both left at 3:30, which still shocks me. I don’t think he’s worked eight hours yet. I stuck around to get my hours, because I ain’t no cheater. I headed straight home, and Summer had veggies, potatoes, and sausage in the oven. Eaddie had Eli over, and it didn’t take long for me to get generally irritated.

Stilgar chewed the water hose apart, so I spanked him with it. It didn’t stick, because he was right back on it after I went inside. I wasn’t in the mood for company, and there was food rotting in the fridge, so I didn’t eat any of the new food. Summer wound down early, and I took the dogs for a walk to my parents’ house as the sun set. We got home with the last little bit of twilight, and then Dad wanted to come over to update his new DJI FPV drone. Their cable has been out for a few days, and I don’t know if there’s an ETA for repair.

We eventually got the drone updated, and the Roomba suddenly wasn’t fussy about being on my account, so I left it alone. Dad went home, and I wound down as quickly as I could.

It’s complex.

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Cleaning up a Storm

I was surprised at how early I woke up this morning after not getting to sleep until around three, but then I lightly snoozed pretty late to make up for it. Summer went to the gym and then came home to mow the lawn, so I got up and cleaned the kitchen. It had gotten pretty wild, but I managed to get almost every single dish into the dishwasher. I still struggle with not blocking the detergent dispenser though, because it requires such a direct spray to clean it out. A liquid detergent would probably work a lot better, but I hate paying for water.

Eaddie went to church with Eli in the morning, so we didn’t see her until later. Summer eventually finished up and we walked the dogs to my parents’ house for a swim and some leftover pork chops and noodles. They had gone to see the new Deadpool, but got home a little while before a storm rolled in.

Eaddie came over while we were eating, and then we loaded the dogs into the car and got home just as the weather started to get bad. At least one big branch came down nextdoor, and a car alarm went off on the street behind us, but it blew through pretty quickly.

One more week at work, broken up by three interviews. Hoping for something fun.

LFG

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Video Game Movie

I slept in pretty hard today while Summer got up and did some working from home. When I finally got around to snack on some breakfast, she suggested going to Price Break and a movie in the afternoon. Dad said Uncle Giao, Erica, and Nova were in town, so I assembled my arcade stool and we stopped by their house for some lunch first. They were dropping Nova off at Tech, so they didn’t stick around super long.

Eaddie had band stuff all day, so Summer and I made a quick and mostly boring run through Price Break. It was $10 day, and there were a ton of people there rummaging through stuff. I think it’s more fun to find really cheap stuff that hasn’t been picked up yet.

After that, we went to UEC to watch Borderlands. I liked the visual style, but a lot of the CGI was really hoaky, and the story didn’t really grab me. I never really played the games because they weren’t made for mouse and keyboard, so I wasn’t invested in it at all. I was also still pretty exhausted from general stress and the heat, so I had trouble staying awake in the recliner.

Dad gave us their Roomba, so I cleaned it up when we got home, and had it vacuum the living area. I think I’d really like to get a mopping one for the hard floors, because that’s where the dirt ultimately comes from. It did pull a bunch of crap out of the carpet though, so I need to start seriously shopping for a new vacuum cleaner.

Eaddie didn’t get home until super late, and I spent too much time dawdling before bed. The overbearing heat has me lethargic, and is possibly causing anxiety attacks again, because I’ve been having at least one a day for the past few days. I couldn’t think of anything else that could be triggering them, but I hate it.

Park it.

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Oodles and Moodles of Interviews

I was a little frustrated that I beat James to work today, and he still left at the same time as Kim. Even she’s pulling more hours than he is. To think, I could have just not cared this whole time, and just left at the end of school. Denice was in the office all day as well, which was cause for further annoyance.

My big event for the day was a panel interview with Moodle. I tried to prep for it a bit by researching the company, but it really wasn’t necessary at all. They just took turns asking me typical interview questions. I thought it went super well, and I seemed to get a positive response when I closed by asking each of them what change they would personally like to better their job or the company.

In addition to that, I got a request for an interview at the North Little Rock School District. It could potentially pay the most out of everything that’s currently on the table, but would also be the longest drive at just over an hour. I’m not thrilled to commute, but at least it’s a relatively straight shot. I’ll have three total interviews next week, and I expect to get at least a couple offers to choose between.

Eaddie had her final parent marching event for band, so she and Summer were at that after I got home. I ate some more leftovers and then took the dogs for a walk to my parents’ house, since I couldn’t get any life out of my Onewheel. I don’t figure I’ll get a response from them until the middle of next week, which is a bummer. It was one of the hottest, most humid days we’ve seen this year, so I got home absolutely drenched.

I took a shower and then watched some YouTube in the living room with Summer. Eaddie was pretty tired when she got home, so it got pretty quiet pretty fast. I should have gone to bed earlier, but I got trapped looking through more Amazon Vine stuff.

The bottom fell out?

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No, but Maybe

I forgot to grab a banana for work this morning, so I started off hungry. It was pretty quiet, but I still had plenty of time to vent about the surrounding idiocy. I was a bit more helpful today, and it seemed like James was getting into a little bit of a groove. I still don’t know if he’ll stick around, but I guess he is making more than I was. I could see him leaving for Russellville, since he evidently lives just a few blocks away from us.

I did get a call from Grace Manufacturing, which was a bit of a surprise. They turned me down for the job I interviewed for, but liked me well enough to call back because one of their IT guys is retiring in a few months. I laughed a bit that they were actually able to get ahead of that and train someone before he leaves, unlike schools where they just play catch-up forever. I’ll get to have a real interview next week, so I feel like I have a pretty good chance of getting an offer from them. Tomorrow, I’ll have my call with Moodle too, so I really need to study up for that one in the morning.

I was the last one out of the office again, this time messing around with SCCM. I should just leave it, but I also don’t want to make it seem like I didn’t actually have it working. I need to be able to image at least one computer to prove it works before I go.

After work, I took care of the fish and made it home to eat some of the leftover tacos Dad brought over. Then I was pretty quick to take the dogs out for a run. We got to the end of my parents’ street when my Onewheel just died. Luckily I was coming up to a stop, so I just tipped forward and stumbled off of it, but all the lights went out and I could never get it to wake up again. I ended up carrying it, a water bottle, and two bags of poop, all while trying to keep the dogs from pulling me over all the way to their house.

Dad got the DJI FPV drone in, and unboxed it before he had to go water the plants. I had Summer bring my swimsuit over so I could cool off, and we played with the dogs by the pool. Stilgar really wanted in, so I splashed him a bunch to cool him off. Then Summer took everything else home so I could walk the dogs back. It was a struggle, but we made it through the humidity of the evening.

Eaddie got home a little after I did, and spent some time talking to Summer while I wound down for the night. Muad’Dib really doesn’t seem to like the Ol’ Roy that we’ve gotten for them, so I guess I’ll have to keep buying something better.

Pay the bills!