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Hyper Extensionism

I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep last night, but this morning wasn’t too bad once I got home and ready for work. I actually made it in a few minutes early and got to settle in, then spent a good portion of the day helping others as they came through. It was a Carly Rae Jepsen kind of morning, and I was surprised to find a new album waiting for me.

Zach, Gary, and I met Greg at McAlister’s for lunch, and I struggled to get cellular data and their app to cooperate. Eventually I was able to redeem my 30-day tea pass from the free cup day Autumn and I attended, but the subscription never showed up on my account. The girl at the counter took care of me, but I’ll have to see if it shows up on my account tomorrow, or at least next month when I return for the BOGO-next-month deal. It was really the only way the $10 baked potato would be even remotely equitable.

After lunch, I tried digging into a couple of deployments that took up the rest of the day. My phone continued to ding as Travis relayed stories of things he had learned of his wicked ancestors after his mother passed recently. That continued through work and into the evening.

I stopped by the shop to see Summer briefly on the way home, then continued with my final two loads of laundry to complete t-shirts and empty out the new hamper for restructuring. I’ll be glad to get this old floral loveseat out of here. I just wish I had a better place to store my shirts.

Eggscellent.

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Half Day

I slept pretty hard last night, and Summer let me sleep until about 11. We got up and had some leftovers for lunch. Then she got busy cleaning up around the house while I sat around like a spoiled brat. Autumn had gone to work, but she got Eaddie up around noon to help clean up a bit. When she eventually left for the gym, Eaddie and I watched some House.

Autumn got home from work first, and then Summer came home from the gym. We sat around a bit longer until Mom called us over for some phở. Autumn wanted to stay behind and finish up her chores, so the three of us went across town to eat.

Julie showed up after the rest of us had sat down to eat, so we finished up and moved out of the way one by one. We didn’t stick around for very long since Eaddie still had a bit of project work to do as well.

Summer and Autumn both went to bed pretty quickly. Eaddie took a shower late, and then watched an episode of House with me before we both went to bed, less than 12 hours after waking up.

Welcome to the wide world of grate lifters.

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Around the House

Summer kept begging for some Ridgewood Brothers BBQ this morning, so I took a shower and we went downtown to pick up a bunch to bring back home to Eaddie. Autumn was at a Quiz Bowl event, so the three of us ate and then I went home to start some laundry while Summer went to the gym.

After a while, Summer dropped Eaddie off at the fair to hang out with some of her friends, and came to my house. She wasn’t there very long before Autumn called and wanted her to take them out to eat at Chili’s. There was some guise of wanting to talk, but I never heard anything more and assumed it was a con.

When they finished eating, I met Summer at Walmart for a walkabout. I didn’t find anything interesting, but Summer picked up a few things and we headed out. She went to get Eaddie while I took everything up to her house and waited for them to get back.

Autumn went to bed as soon as I got there. I made some leftover tacos, and then graded the newly written apology letters that Autumn left for me. She still had some errors, so I marked them up and left them on the table. When Summer got home with Eaddie, she brought out the ice cream cake we bought and sliced it up for us. No sooner had she put the rest of the cake back in the freezer than she screamed at me for taking her slice. Only I didn’t. She left it on the counter and blamed me for absolutely no reason at all. Now she owes an apology letter too.

We finished the night with a couple episodes of House, which put Summer in a funk about therapy, and made Eaddie sleepy enough to go on to bed. I was bored and restless, but couldn’t do much else. Eventually I made it to bed.

I need help. I want to get better.

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Going for Broke

Thomas and Gary were both out today, and Zach texted me before work to say he was getting donuts and would be late, which meant the shop was extra quiet when I got there. We all gathered for a really relaxed meeting and mostly talked off-topic for a while until a couple groups left to work on some stuff together. I was left in the shop all alone for a while, since Tammy and Kelsea both had a meeting to attend early in the day.

Everyone came back around for lunch, and we went for something completely different – Cracker Barrel. I actually thought I’d eat a pretty light meal just because I never remember getting filled with their portions, but then our waitress brought out cornbread and biscuits and gravy for us all to share. I ended up getting the Friday Fish Fry, which was a pretty good sized plate, too.

After lunch, I had to call Arvest to try and figure out why my mileage check was returned and I was charged an $8 chargeback on my account. The kid I talked to left me on hold for a really long time and then came back completely unable to help. Then I had a quick conference call with Nanoleaf to review something new before running to Oakland to finish up a couple more work orders.

On the way back to the shop, I decided to stop at the physical bank so I could talk to someone face-to-face. He found, as I sort of suspected, that the mobile check deposit had truncated a part of the check numbers, so the system couldn’t complete the transfer. Upon calling someone, they advised him not to negotiate the check because I would need a new one from the school. I argued that, since the first one was only a picture that technically had different numbers on it, then the original check I had given to him was technically a different check and should still be valid. He basically winked and slid the check back to me, and I went on to fight that another day.

When I made it back to the shop after school, I chatted with Tammy a bit until it was time to fill out time sheets and go home. I tried on some more clothes I got in and put together a new hamper, building up an intense headache along the way. That continued to radiate through my entire skull and neck all evening even as I made my way up to Summer’s. I laid in bed with her for a bit, and then got cleaned up for bed so I could crash.

Pain, pain, go away!

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Just Like Being There

I burned most of today fighting with Jazz’s lab again. I just couldn’t get those computers to run the Autodesk deployment. They either had bad cache, or just hadn’t retried the installations, and I ended up having to remote into them one by one to start the installations again. I might as well have just walked into the room and copied the software over from a flash drive.

I met Brody at CiCi’s for lunch, then continued with more of the same in the afternoon. I did get another deployment made for the same lab, but otherwise I didn’t get up to much else. The only thing I felt really good about today was sending something to Gary with a useful suggestion, and then finding out that he actually implemented some changes. Hopefully now we’ll have a bit more clarity when some of our automation scripts don’t work as expected.

After work, I went home to change and then went to visit with Mom. The pool had a bunch more sediment in it again, so I spent quite a while trying to research their new pump model and how it should be set to better filter their water.

When I finally got home, I picked up a little bit but didn’t really get deep into anything. I struggled to wind down very well in spite of how little I slept last night, so hopefully tomorrow isn’t too much of a drag.

I never liked only having one speaker of the house. That’s why I’m always shopping for more.

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What kind of overalls does Mario wear?

I took the car to work today on a whim, and out of nowhere we had a downpour in the afternoon. It wouldn’t have mattered though, since it only rained briefly while I was inside, and everything was basically dry by the time I left.

Jacob spent some time asking questions in my office first thing in the morning, which lasted for much longer than I expected. It went on for so long that my calendar alert went off and reminded me of the CPPC meeting I had completely forgotten about. I ran across the street not really knowing what to expect, but the meeting went pretty well. Judy was mostly running the show again, and had the second draft of the salary schedule ready for us to review. We went through all the columns, or at least by department, and discussed what changes were made and why. I got the impression that almost everyone felt like they were getting a good raise, but it surely won’t be that way. I just don’t know who all is being cut.

The meeting carried on until just before lunch time, and I took Gary and Zach to BFD where we all got the same Lizard Lunch. Evidently I was charged double for the addition of fajita vegetables, which highlights the glaring inconsistency we get there since I never see the owner any more.

The afternoon went by more slowly as I struggled with Autodesk some more. I hardly saw anyone else the rest of the day, except for a brief moment when Thomas came back to ask for help. I was excited to flex my knowledge for him until I realized he just wanted help moving furniture. Kelsea got a new desk delivered from Burris, which must have cost a fortune because we bought it from Burris.

I left a bit late to go home and change. I had to chase Bác Vân down to find a package that was delivered and then scooped up by her and Doug. Then I went to my parents’ house to help vacuum the pool. It was so humid that I was juste absolutely drenched in sweat through the whole process. Mom continued to direct my work while I did my best to ignore her through my earbuds. It was all just sediment that never got stirred up, so I think the new pump just needs to be turned up higher.

After I finished the pool, we went in to clean up some leftovers. Then I got the pump running again and added some shock to the water before heading home. I thought it was going to be a quick night to bed, but Old Navy had me trying on pants and shopping for more deals before I could sleep. The problem with buying all of your jeans at the same time is that they all wear out at the same time.

Denim denim denim!

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Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need

I went straight to Oakland this morning for the first time this year, and got in just a little late. It felt warmer and more humid all day, which had me looking for an escape from my mask more often. I feel like the buildings need to be showing some solidarity with so many people stuck in them all day long without a break.

After running around a while and fixing what I could, I ended up back at the shop until lunch. I didn’t have a whole lot of really pressing stuff to work on, so it was finally a bit more relaxed. Our new guy, Jacob, has started reaching out with questions, but it’s a little odd since I haven’t really worked with him at all yet. He’s always just at the junior high by himself.

I went home for lunch and had some more leftovers, then took some to Summer since she wouldn’t get out for a break. Then it was back to Oakland for a bit longer. As I pulled up, Darla was unloading a big printer from her car, so I helped her bring it into the library. I don’t think she should be allowed to buy those things with any kind of district funds, since she’s one brick wall away from a giant copier, and across the hall from a multifunction color printer. There’s just nobody filtering that kind of stuff from happening, so we’re left stuck trying to decide how much we’ll support it. Imagine that, a lack of accountability.

I ended the day back at the shop, and it was just as quiet as it had been all day. I went home and just stayed in for the night. I was going to go vacuum the pool for my parents, but I thought it was going to rain. It certainly looked that way on the ride home. I guess that’ll be a job for tomorrow then.

But I waaaant it.

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WOOWOO

You just haven’t lived until you’ve been wooped by a big black guy riding a bicycle as you zip past on your Grom. He may have been making fun, but I chose to interpret it as encouraging excitement for how much fun I was having. The weather was much more mellow today, so aside from some time in a mask in the afternoon, it felt pretty good out.

I worked on some stuff at the shop until a group of us went to La Chiquita for lunch. The carnitas were smaller than I remembered, but I was still stuffed. It was nowhere near as much as Gary’s giant prime rib burrito.

After lunch, I went straight to Oakland for a while to close out, or at least investigate as much as I could for closing on the next trip. A large part of that time was spent in the library shuffling through damaged or failing Chromebooks. As the end of the school day approached, I was run off again, and I returned to the shop for the remainder of the day.

When I left work, I stopped by Casey’s for a free drink, then went by the shop to try and see Summer again. She had been in the pit all day, so all I could see at lunch was the top of her head when I stopped by. They were still busy, so I went on home to change.

I took the Grom back out to go see Mom for a bit. She was insistent that I pick up some potato salad that we left when we cooked out for Labor Day. Julie called while I was there, and we chatted for a little bit. Then I eventually made it back home for the evening.

Uno Uno Uno!

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The Grill of My Dreams

I got up this morning and had some more leftovers for breakfast. I thought we might get out to teach Eaddie to ride the Grom after learning that Arkansas raised the engine size limit for 14-15 year old riders, but she didn’t want to get out of bed. Summer and I ended up going to town to do a little deal and grocery shopping for dinner.

I’d been seeing seasonal deals on grills and outdoor stuff, so I really wanted to look around for a new grill. Summer’s propane grill has seen better days, and Mom and Dad have one like my old one that’s missing the right table side of it. We ended up finding a dual-fuel propane/charcoal one with a griddle insert for $150. Then Summer ran into a couple guys she knew from Autozone that marked one down to $100 for us since it was missing the charcoal door handle. I figured I couldn’t beat that, so we took a price tag, picked up our groceries, and checked out. All that was left was to find someone with a truck to haul it home for me.

I dropped Summer off at her house and then went home to clean up. Brody said he could help me with the grill, so I waited around for him to get back with me. I didn’t realize he was out of town, but eventually he came through. When I got back to Walmart, they had closed the garden center door, so I had to find an employee to help me walk the grill through the store and out the front door. Brody got there just after we got outside, so timing was just about perfect. When we got to my house, he took the turn into my street just a bit too fast and tipped the grill over on its front side, but it didn’t look like there was any damage. We got it down and into the garage, and then I was off to Summer’s for dinner.

Summer made chicken and dumplings, and it turned out really great. I ate way too much though, and the heartburn ate away at me the rest of the night. We watched a couple episodes of Modern Family, and then she went to bed and Eaddie and I watched an episode of House to finish up the fifth season. She still can’t believe the show is still so good this many seasons in, and I keep telling her it gets better. It’s one of the few shows I think they did an excellent job of ending without fizzling out.

After that, I headed back home for the evening to rearrange in the garage a bit. I made just enough room to squeeze past the grill until I can find a cover for it to put it under the porch. I guess now I’ll have to find a way to get my old one to my parents’ house, but that shouldn’t be too bad. The new one is huge though. I can’t wait to try it.

Went looking for a hot deal on a grill, and found a grate one. Job well-done.

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Baby Let’s Cruise

I didn’t sleep too late today, and got up to have some leftovers out of the fridge. Autumn was already off to work, so I just hung out until Summer was ready to go to the gym. I went home and finally opened up a bunch of boxes of paper towels and toilet paper that were still in the garage, and then organized a bit inside the house. I’ve been holding on to a lot of cardboard boxes, but I think I’ll actually get rid of some of the oversized ones because they won’t be as useful as I suspect they will be.

The girls all wanted to go to the movies with friends, but of course the two wanted to go to different ones. Autumn’s friends ended up bailing after Summer convinced Noah to go with them, so we sent all the kids to see Free Guy again since Noah hadn’t seen it. At least Eaddie’s boyfriend made it. Since they were all together with Noah, Summer and I split off to watch Jungle Cruise.

The first part of the movie really bored me, I think just because it was very much a kid’s movie with silly physical comedy that I just wasn’t at all into. Eventually the story picked up, but I just couldn’t get into any of the characters. I did like that they made a bunch of corny jokes like the skippers do on the ride at Disney.

After the movie, we all went back to Summer’s for the evening to play some Uno with Noah. Then he and Autumn played a couple infinite rounds of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate before he left. I even squeezed in for a quick round, but it all felt pretty meaningless without any score or time limit.

Once the other two were off to bed, Eaddie and I watched some more House until she got sleepy again. Then it was off to bed.

Reward Juggler