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A Heavy Shadow

We all got up this morning and headed to my parents’ house to meet up with Uncle Giao, Aunt Teresa, Erica, and Nova. They were already there and hanging around the driveway because they thought my parents might not be up yet. I told them Mom probably never went to bed because she had so much cooking to do, and we went on in.

I fired up the grill to get the pork chops cooking, then went to investigate the motorcycle that Uncle Giao brought me. I was a little confused by some paperwork for a 2007 model, but the VIN checked out to be a 2009 Honda VT750C Shadow Aero. I took it out for a ride to the bank for some cash that he ultimately wouldn’t accept, and then to PDQ for some air in the tires. By the time I got back, it was time to cook.

Bâc Ván and Doug eventually showed up, and we all ate an assortment of egg roll salads, pork chops, or phở. At some point the politics started rolling, but Julie hadn’t showed up yet to stoke the fire. When she did finally arrive, the conversations with emotions really took off. I definitely feel like the majority of people are misinformed, on both sides, and I’m starting to think the only way out is for this civilization to fall. I did just recently watch Batman Begins, though.

After a while, everyone headed out and we took the girls back to the house so Summer and I could rearrange the garage. We finally got my giant Kobalt cabinet moved to its rightful home after a quick trip to the shop to borrow the furniture dollies. Then the girls went home to do chores while I started the same.

First, I rode by Allen’s house only to find that nobody was home. Then I got the fire pit cleaned up and prepped for another fire before covering it all up. I took care of some laundry, took a quick shower, and spent some time removing the saddlebags, windshield, and stickers from the Shadow. There’s one enormous one that turns to dust every time I try to peel it off, so I think I’ll have to use a razer blade tomorrow. It could use some TLC, but she’s a smooth ride.

What are you, the mob?

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Daylight’s Burning

We slept in a bit today, and Summer took Autumn out to take care of something at the shop and get some milk for breakfast. Eaddie and I played the Switch while we waited for them to get back, and then we all had some cereal.

I wanted to get home to take care of some things, so I left and waited for the girls to come over. Uncle Giao and the rest of the family came by, so I went outside and talked to them for a while before eventually coming back in to shower.

The girls didn’t show up until the sun was going down, and I had to start the fire pit to cook brats for dinner, so I got absolutely nothing done that I wanted. Summer left before the fire was ready, and took Autumn to the haunted house again. Then we ate when she got back.

By the time we were finishing up, Autumn called for an early ride back home, so Summer picked her up and we all came in to watch Glee. Autumn went to bed really early, and it was a good thing because she missed a really bad Christmas episode. I don’t know what the writers were thinking.

It’s my money, and I want it now!

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On the Subject of Curing Teeth, Calculating Warranties, and Haunting Barns

I took the day off of work so I could get my wellness exam done first thing this morning. Summer came out with me to test my battery, and it predictably tested bad and then failed to start my car, so she had to pull around to jump me. I went home to clean up, then made it to my appointment with plenty of time to spare. Of course I didn’t even leave the waiting room until after my appointment time. I didn’t notice Lori was there until she came back out, and we caught up briefly.

I had a new nurse today. This makes three different people in the last three visits. I liked her quite a bit better just based on brevity alone. I got a new low score on my diastolic blood pressure, so she told me to quit taking my morning amlodipine. Now I’ve got to watch my blood pressure closely again for the next month, but maybe at least I won’t keep getting lightheaded every time I stand up.

The car struggled to start again, but I made it to the shop to pick up Summer, and we went to AutoZone to try and fight for a battery replacement. She went straight to the store manager, and he said he would take care of it, and then said my battery was out of warranty because it was a warranty replacement itself. That made enough sense to me at first, but after some more thought, I don’t think having a prorated warranty discount on this battery should invalidate its own warranty period. He said the original battery was purchased in 2014, and then replaced in 2017 with a prorated discount of $35. I still paid $114 to get a new battery at that point, and the receipt spells out the terms that the battery comes with a 5 year warranty from the date on the receipt. I’ve got another month to fight it, so I’m gonna get my battery.

I took Summer back to work for a while, but then had to jump the car again so I could pick up some breakfast for myself. I didn’t even realize McDonald’s would make a triple McGriddle, but they do, and it was glorious. I barely finished it in the parking lot before it was time to take Summer to her dentist appointment.

The filling of her two chipped teeth barely took any time, and I was surprised that they couldn’t have just taken the time to do it when we originally came in. Maybe it was just in case something else went wrong that would extend the procedure, but it was a pretty painless, quick in and out. The teeth were completely cured and ready for eating as we walked out.

The car wouldn’t start again when we tried to leave, so I called Dad and had him come jump us. Then I dropped Summer off at work and headed home to put the car on the charger. I moved the couch around a bit and did a little cleaning underneath it. I vacuumed out a bunch of spider egg sacks, but I couldn’t tell if they were new or old. It still made me feel better, and I never actually saw any spiders, so I assumed they were old.

I didn’t do a whole lot more before Mom got home from work and wanted to go out to eat, so I picked Summer up after work, then got the girls, and met my parents at New China for their COVID re-opening week. Their buffet was set up a lot less elegant than Mulan’s, but it could have been how many people were there. It just seemed like there was always a mob of people up at the bar, and there weren’t clear directions for people to enter or exit a certain direction. We missed the food though, so it was nice getting to have that brand of Chinese again.

Autumn volunteered for an Explorer’s event in Dardanelle that had her working a haunted house, so we left dinner and went to drop her off. There was no clear entrance or anything, so she and Summer wandered around the property to try and find an adult. It was set up in a barn at the Yell County fairgrounds complex, which was small anyway.

After dropping Autumn off, we went to get gas for both of our cars, then went to our respective homes until Autumn was finished late in the evening. I went to get her, and we got back to their house well after everyone had settled in to bed. At least all the battery charging seemed to help.

Pancake, cheese, sausage, cheese, sausage, bacon, egg, pancake.

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Exit Stage Lift

The Murano nearly didn’t start this morning in the cold, so I knew I’d have to take it in to have the battery checked again. I went on in to work and started the day by hunting down a lamp and the lift to repair the projector in the large band room. Then I piddled on a few different things until lunch. The girls wanted to ride their bikes to the park to do their school work, but ended up just getting lunch and taking it to Summer and then coming back home because it was so cool out.

I ran to Tropical Smoothie for lunch, then had to go to the post office to grab a letter that my mail lady made zero attempt to actually deliver. I stopped by the house to check on the girls, and got some pictures of my old life preservers for Daniel to see if they were “old and dirty” enough to fit in a play they’re doing. When I got back to work, I had a bit more running around to do in the afternoon before wrapping everything up for a long weekend.

Summer got off work right around the time I did, so she took the girls to karate so I could get the Murano to AutoZone. This college kid came out to test the battery, and basically just couldn’t help me because it was reading good at like 85% capacity. The alternator worked, predictably, because after the car runs for a few minutes, the battery has enough juice to crank again for a few hours.

Summer had me run by the shop to get her battery tester so we could test it in the morning after a cold night. Then I went home to clean up before getting the girls home from karate. I made a salad for dinner, then laid on the couch with Summer until bedtime.

“I’ll let the manager know.”
“Sure, buddy.”

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Batman in the Middle

Today was another really quiet day at work. I got down to around 15 work orders, so I really need to be putting some time into some of my older, harder, more complicated ones. I took a break for lunch and came home to make a burrito. I rode the bike back to work, and the afternoon was mostly more of the same. I got a lot of steps in, running around to collect and redistribute microphones.

After work, I came home and waited for the girls to get here. Then we ate a mix of leftovers before Eaddie and I ran to Sonic for half price Blasts. When we got back, I put on The Dark Knight for the evening. I think this was my third watch, and I finally put all of it together in my head. I don’t know why I found it so confusing before, but it just felt so disjointed for some reason. It was a long movie with a lot of plot points, so I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad.

See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.

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Mic Hunt

I stopped by the multipurpose facility first thing this morning to sign back in to a couple of phones. Then I headed on up to my office to play work all day. Evidently it was Prime day, but I’ve never had much luck getting any decent deals. They did have Summer’s Fitbit Versa 2 on sale for the same price I paid last year, but there are two newer models out now, and company reviews haven’t been looking so great. I want to replace the watch she smashed in the bike crash, but I also want to see if anything better will come out.

Lunch actually sounded good around lunch time, so I placed an order at Wendy’s for their Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger. Right about that time, Zach invited me to lunch, so I told him he was too late and went to pick up my food. I really only ordered it because I thought they were open for dine-in, but when I got there, the entire seating area was blocked off. I ended taking my food back to the shop to eat, and then visited with the folks there for a bit afterward.

The afternoon was quiet, so I fired off an email to the high school staff to try and collect unused microphones. I only had a few people respond, even though almost nobody uses those microphones. At the end of the day, it only matters if I can’t get enough to equip the classrooms with the impaired kid anyway.

Summer left work early and took the kids to karate, so I took the extra time to go back to the Neighborhood Market for some more peaches. Then I went to my parents’ house for some fish soup for dinner. I ended up leaving when my sinuses sealed off, and went home to try and be a tiny bit productive before bed. Time weirdly seemed to slow down instead of speed up, but I still couldn’t get much inertia going.

I’d say it’s that time of year, but it always is.

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🍑

Summer took Eaddie to the gym this morning while I got ready for work. Then they picked up Autumn and left just as I was leaving for work. It was a beautiful day out, so I knew I’d be coming home for the bike at lunch time.

I got to sit with a teacher for a while first thing, and actually helped him create some filters and learn how to take advantage of some of Gmail’s more advanced features. It felt really good to make such a difference for him, but sometimes I still don’t understand how more people don’t already know about these things, or take the time to figure them out themselves.

The day went by pretty quickly from there. I ended up taking a late lunch and ate the beef stew Julie gave me the other day. I still felt a little off from the morning, but I pulled myself together and rode back in to work. Overall it was a really quiet day, and I didn’t hear much from anyone else, though I guess that’s pretty typical these days.

After work, I changed clothes and went to get the girls for dinner. We stopped at the Neighborhood Market for some super cheap peaches. I got two big bags for just over three bucks. Then we went to my parents’ house for some more chow mein. Summer met us there as soon as she could get out of work. Then we all went home separately.

I had to run next door to help Bác Vân with a DVD when I got home. Then I spent the rest of the evening cleaning up my email and getting ready for bed.

It looks like a butt.

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Beginning Batman

I got up this morning and picked up some Hardee’s for breakfast. Eaddie had some more school work to do, so she got on that while Summer and I poked around at her car’s tail light. I got to use my electronic probe after a quick reading of the manual, and it’s looking like there really is something breaking continuity inside the housing.

Eventually they left for the gym and to clean up at their house. I went next door to help reteach Bác Vân and Doug how to switch inputs to their VCR and Blu-ray player, and then again to hook up another VCR in the den. When I got back in, I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Then I took a shower before the girls got back for the evening.

Summer brought some chicken, broccoli, and cauliflower to grill, so I threw that together while she and Eaddie went out to ride bikes. Nick dropped Autumn off shortly after the others got back, and just as dinner was finishing up on the grill. The chicken was a bit frozen when I started cooking it, so I think that made it a bit rubbery. Otherwise it was pretty good.

We started the Dark Knight trilogy while we ate, and everyone seemed to really like it. I still think they’re the best DC movies ever made. The trick is going to be finishing the rest of the trilogy in a timely manner.

You see, girls, it’s a time-honored tradition to kiss a boy for no reason and then leave him hanging.

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Are You Shedding Me?

The three of us got up and went to Denny’s for breakfast as a treat. We had what was probably the best service we’d ever had there, but then ran into an awkwardly slow checkout experience. None of the other customers seemed very happy about it, but I don’t know why they were all so surly.

On the way home we rescued a box turtle. Summer didn’t feel well for most of the day, and spent most of it on the couch. I hung the hammocks in case Eaddie wanted to do some school work outside. Then I cleaned out the shed where some animals evidently got in and shredded a bunch of cardboard boxes I had in there. Once it was cleaned out enough, Summer helped me move the kayaks out of the garage, so I’m just a little bit closer to being able to park in there again.

We came back inside to cool down in front of the TV, and when dinner time rolled around, we all agreed on pizza. I had some Papa John’s reward money expiring soon, so I picked that up for dinner and we watched some Glee. Then Eaddie and I ran to Julie’s house because she made some beef stew for us to try. Mom and Dad were there, but we didn’t stay long since Summer was still home on the couch. We watched a bit more TV, and then for some reason everyone went to bed really early.

How do I love thee?

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Dibs

We found out during our morning meeting that Heather resigned at like 7:30 this morning. I immediately called dibs on the junior high campus, about 30% joking. I kind of like my new office, but I miss so much about the junior high. Moving back, I would miss my mile drive to work. There are so many tradeoffs that there’s no real winning for me unless I get an official pay raise.

I stuck around the shop all morning just picking at what work orders and emails I could do remotely. Gary upgraded SCCM, which I thought was going to be much more involved, but it was literally an in-app auto update. I kind of mistakenly suggested Daddy’s Smackin’ Wings for lunch, and five of us ended up walking across the street there for lunch.

The afternoon was quiet, even with taking a trip to the high school to take care of a couple things. I had to get back at the end of the school day to help swap a touch panel at the junior high. We had four people for that though, so I ended up leaving to visit with the library for a minute. Allen let me drive his car back to the shop, which was awesome. I would’ve liked to get on the gas a little more, but I wanted to be respectful of how he drives.

I stopped to visit Summer on the way home, and ended up hanging out there a bit longer than I intended. She was having a pretty exhausting day, and I know she’s ready to be over this week of bad luck. The weekend couldn’t get here fast enough for her.

I spent much of the early evening chatting with Sprint to figure out why my bill went up 26% on a line that I don’t even use. I’ve basically been an idiot for three years and continued to overpay just to keep the first cell phone number I ever had. Autumn went to spend the weekend with her father, so Eaddie came over with Summer for the evening and they watched some TV while I threw together a quick, late dinner before bed.

“…as you are not only a customer but a family member as well.”
– Ella L, Sprint Chat Rep