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I’ll Be Your Pilot Today

I slept in just a hair this morning since our appointment with the lawyer was an hour after I normally get to work. I thought I was going to be late, but I ended up arriving first, just before Mom and Dad. It took more time for him to write down their names than anything else, because he immediately told us he didn’t do, or even recommend what we were asking about. Julie showed up at the tail end of it, and then we left to go discuss things amongst ourselves at their house.

Things went predictably, with seemingly no real personal growth for anyone. The aggravating thing is that Julie and I actually agreed on the financials, which was the important part of the conversation. I had previously suggested speaking to an accountant, and I think we should have done that first, because we really need someone to just crunch the numbers first, because the problem we’re trying to solve is almost entirely math. The legal stuff is already in order.

After Julie left, they wanted to look at homes and land for sale the old fashioned way, so Mom had me drive them around while they looked through neighborhoods. That took us at least a couple hours, plus a stop at my house for a bathroom break. Bác Vân came out and talked with us for a little bit, and then we continued on up the other mountain.

Dad and I got pretty hungry after a while, and he suggested CiCi’s. We never could tell how hungry Mom was, but she went along with it. For such a late lunch, the food was hardly fresh, so I had them make a supreme on top of spinach for us. Then we went to Lowe’s so Dad could pick up an order and we could walk around a little bit.

When I got them back home, Mom wanted to review some cars, so we poked around YouTube for a bit. Then I finally made it home and tried to do a bit of picking up. The evening went by pretty quickly, but I got a few things filed and put away. I also got the guest bathroom measured and modeled, so now I can print them both out and write in some measurements to order some tile. Next up will be deciding on fixtures.

The vast majority of the world doesn’t care about your issues. Live accordingly.

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Elementary, My Dear

Thomas and Zach were both out today, so Gary had to run the show without screaming at anyone. Most everyone had work orders they could tend to, and he was stressing over emails from central office, so I helped with what I could. I had to get a couple computers set up for new hires to fill out background check information, but I’m not sure what they asked for was really the best implementation. I don’t suppose I’m paid to make those kinds of decisions though.

Gary, Kyle, and I went to Foodies for lunch, and I don’t think Rob recognized me, which is fine because I don’t guess we know each other very well anyway. I went light with a gyro and no side, but Gary gave me the last of his fries that he didn’t want to finish.

I went by Oakland for a while in the afternoon and took care of some stuff there for the first time in a really long time. The few people I encountered there were super happy to see me, or perhaps just to see anyone there to help. Then I made it back to the shop for quitting time. Tammy was there a bit late waiting for her ride, so I stuck it out with her and helped move some files around for Kayla, who took her prior duties at the high school.

Once she left, I went to my parents’ house to finish the fish soup, and we had more conversations with feelings. I don’t know why people get so excitable. Back home, Summer was exhausted from a long day at work and went to bed early.

Just hatch a chicken.

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I Watched, I Let it Burn

Gary actually had me join him for some higher level systems stuff today, but what it really turned into was some babysitting while a guy from Pure Storage came and replaced the controllers in our drive array. It was still cool to be a part of it, and while we were in the main server room, I initiated a quick cleanup of some of the trash that had been neglected over time. It ended up taking through lunch, so I grabbed a Soylent for Gary while we waited. Greg ended up bringing him food, but I wasn’t really hungry enough to eat out and decided to stick with the bagel and kiwis I had brought.

I spent the afternoon in the office just picking at random things until it was time to go. Then I got some gas for the R1 and stopped by AT&T to check on Kevin. We chatted for a bit since they were pretty dead, and then I went on to the shop to see Summer.

When she got off work, we went to my parents’ house for leftover fish soup, and then stayed to chat while Dad brought out some stereo slides. I told him I thought we should get out the slide projector sometime this winter so the girls could come cuddle up on the couch and have a look at some real history; the important stuff – not that boring stuff they teach you in school.

Autumn got home shortly after we did, and Summer and I watched some YouTube. Bác Vân stopped by with some bánh bao that they made at Linhs, but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as Mom’s. Then it was off to bed.

I don’t care! I love it!

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Perfect Plating

Brody and I went up to sign our contracts this morning, and he was paid more than double this month for some reason. Our new payroll lady didn’t have any real answers for him, but if it was me, I would have just kept the money on the front end and let them skip my last check. I got a pretty big bump compared to every other year because of the 3.5% increase to the base pay across the board. Inflation in action.

After that, we spent the whole day at the junior high again, first with RCVA laptops, and then finishing up two of the rooms that had display changes. We had to wait on a couple of the laptops to image, and then we delivered them to the RCVA office where the only two ladies there were both in VR goggles for some goddamn reason??? It’s for the children, I’m sure.

Sara joined a big group of us for lunch at Western Sizzlin, and I tried going lighter than usual. It still wasn’t exactly healthy, but I didn’t leave feeling like I needed to be popped. Then it was a long afternoon finishing up Brody’s last two rooms. For the first time, I managed to fit two HDMI keystones into a wall plate for a super clean install in Mickey’s room.

We were both super sapped all afternoon for some reason, and I don’t think it was the food. We were just tired and didn’t want to move. As soon as quitting time rolled around, I rode across town for gas, then to see Summer briefly in the pit. Then I went home to wait for her before going to my parents’ house for dinner.

Mom had bún bò Huế ready when we got there, so we ate and I showed them the quick 3D model I built of the master bathroom. I suppose it left a lot to be desired, but looking at it through a lens of what I’m hoping to do, having the visual representation of the space really helped me make some decisions on the space.

When we got back home, Summer watched an episode of Master Chef and then dove straight into bed. I didn’t do much more, but waited up for Autumn to get home from a late night at work.

Methinks he doth prestige too hard.

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Shuffleopolis

We spent all day at the junior high, swapping touch panels for TVs and relocating displays to different rooms. I peeled off of that crew to make some more flash drives for RCVA laptops, and eventually started that imaging process as well. I hate to say it, but it was nice to be on a crew without Josh for once so I felt like I had a little bit of control over the herd. I had answers for their questions, and we got things done correctly and efficiently.

Thomas and I went to Taco Villa to pick up lunch for four of us and we ate in the break room, and then I went right back to the junior high until quitting time. Then I ran by the shop to see Summer before going home to change and then to my parents’ house for some fish soup.

I didn’t stick around long and came back home to try and be a little bit productive again. I’ve suffered from a complete lack of motivation lately, but the next couple days should be just a smidge cooler. Hopefully that helps. I did manage to sketch a 3D model of one of the bathrooms, so hopefully that helps, and I’m not just being extra.

Real sketchy.

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One Many

Today was pretty well burned, making another mostly wasted weekend. I didn’t feel great for most of the afternoon, but made it up to Summer’s for some leftover spaghetti. Autumn wanted to play Monopoly, and I think it was the fastest game I’ve ever experienced. We tried playing Catan afterward, but I’ve overall been pretty disappointed in that game since I got it. Maybe it was because I read too much into the hype, but I find myself just not caring about it at all.

I eventually ended up back home to try and complete at least one task for the day. I emptied most of the dishwasher and cleaned up some sauces in the fridge.

I guess that’ll have to do.

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Gotta Get Away

I got up early and ran straight home to clean up before going back to pick up Summer and Eaddie. We had to run by Summer’s shop to print Eaddie’s itinerary before we could leave, but then we were off to Little Rock. We made it with plenty of time, but they only let one of us go through security to the gate, so Summer went in while I sat on a bench outside just out of the rain. Fortunately it felt pretty nice out, and I had my earbuds on me.

Once the plane took off, Summer came back down and I took her to a place called Lakewood Fish & Seafood House to cheer her up. Watching Eaddie take off hit her a lot harder than she expected, so that pretty well set the tone for the day. At least everything we ate today was delicious. The stuffed crabs and seafood chowder were probably our favorites. The crab claws were odd, tasty, and overall left me a bit hungry.

After we ate, we walked all around McCain Mall and basically just felt sad about the state of retail in America. The nostalgia is all but gone. Even GameStop was uncharacteristically empty. JCPenney felt like a ghost town in areas. None of it made me happy.

I took us to Best Buy next, which again only served to kill time. They had zero deals, so we left and went to Sam’s Club. By that time I felt like I was just dragging a corpse around, so I picked up a couple things and we headed toward home. We had spent enough time out that we were both hungry again, so we stopped in Conway and ate at Bulgogi, which was excellent.

It rained all day long, but we eventually made it home, and Summer went straight to bed just as Eaddie landed in Milwaukee. I knew she could handle it.

I still kind of just want a steak.

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You’re Living a Lie!

We had our first conference room meeting this morning, and got a glimpse of some of the structural changes we’ll be seeing soon. A part of that change is that Greg and I will basically report directly to Gary as a part of an Engineering team, and Zach will lead the others on an Operations team. For the time being, we’ll also have to pick up some elementaries until we can get an additional tech or two, so I’ll be the primary contact for Oakland again, which is fine by me.

I spent most of the rest of the day to myself, except for when Renee really wanted some help buying some in-game currency on her phone. I was successful with my task sequence for the virtual academy devices, which was the big task of the day. I ran by the junior high to pick up a few things, and made it back to the shop as it really started pouring down rain.

Summer wanted to get lunch, so I picked her up after I got off and we went to La Huerta. I had forgotten how they made their taco salads like an enormous taco instead of a bowl, and actually prefer it. Maybe I can get them into the work rotation.

When I got back home, Dad’s vapor barrier materials had arrived, so I dragged them in out of the rain until he could come get them. Then I did some laundry until it was time to get Summer for our evening with John, Melissa, and Travis.

I ran a little late, but we still beat John and Melissa. Travis had set up a game of Candy Land with some extra Dungeons & Dragons monsters and a sheet of rules for our drinking game. We were the only ones that actually brought anything to drink, so it was “nasty beer” and Irish car bombs all night aside from the rum and Diet Mountain Dew that Travis had around.

We enjoyed the first game well enough, and things just got sloppier from there for most everyone. Travis broke out Cards Against Humanity for a bit, and then spent far too long fumbling around for Guitar Hero on an old Wii system that required disassembling most of an entertainment area in his room. In the end, I was really the only one sober enough to play the guitar anyway. My eyes were burning really badly from the smoke by that time, so I tried to get us out of there. Everyone protested, and then I was stood outside with Travis for several minutes as he lamented.

Eventually I got the urgency of leaving across, and we made it home where Summer went straight to bed and I stayed up with Eaddie getting her prepared for her flight the next morning.

No one can make you.

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Slow Return to the Cinematic Universe

I pretty much worked with Kyle all day today, finally running some cable at Dwight in the morning, and then shuffling devices at junior high in the afternoon. We only had to make one trip back to the shop, but we ended up with a pretty clean install.

Everyone really wanted Fat Daddy’s for lunch, so I followed along and had an overpriced chili dog. It looked pretty gross with everything added on it, but tasted fine except for the cheese dip, which was just a bit too much. There wasn’t enough chili, and the coleslaw made the whole thing cold in the middle.

After lunch, I ran by The UPS Store and paid for our lease shipment finally. Then I tried to track down a single missing device that I’m pretty sure was dead out of the box at the junior high. I couldn’t find it after a couple rounds through the building, so hopefully it turns up sooner than later.

When I left work, I went home for a bit and waited on Summer to get back from Conway so we could use my BOGO coupon at CiCi’s. Then we met the girls at UEC for Black Widow. I was a bit uncomfortable for most of the movie, and ultra disappointed that we missed it in 3D. I guess all the movies rushing to release now after being held back due to the pandemic are pressuring theaters to run everything through really quickly. I got pretty stressed over it, and ended up disappointed in the theater as usual, from the stuff hanging in front of the screen and casting shadows, to the loud air conditioner, to the sound of the auditorium next door. At least the size of Auditorium 8 was better than I had remembered.

The movie was enjoyable enough, but did feel really lackluster after the prior movies, and even all of the Disney+ series. It felt more like a formality of passing the Black Widow baton than anything else. What I’m really looking forward to is more Loki.

It’s no “Falcon and Arm Guy.”

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Call of Doody

I had a pretty rough start this morning, but thought things might turn around eventually. We spent all morning at the junior high building tech tubs full of old laptops for summer school, which only lasts a couple weeks. We finished just in time to make it back to the shop before lunch, and Ben was there to join us.

We all went to CJ’s, which was pretty packed, so we ended up parking down the hill in the 40 club lot. Lunch was pretty good, but it was crowded and loud, and their sound system kept cutting out, which made the music annoying.

As soon as we got back to the shop, I split my pants and had to run home to change. By the time I made it back, everyone had headed to the middle school to set up an alternative learning environment room. We had enough people in the room that it felt a bit crowded, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Kyle and I ended up splitting off from Josh, who couldn’t keep track of the parts he needed, to do some work at Dwight before the day was up. We didn’t finish, but quitting time is quitting time. After a quick run home, I went to see Summer for an oil change. Then it was up to her house for dinner.

I prepped some veggies for grilling to eat alongside the pork she had in the slow cooker, and it came out pretty good. We ate as soon as she got home from the gym, then watched the last episode of Loki before I headed back home to clean up before bed.

Eggie wegs! I would like to smash ’em!