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Hey You Guize!

It was just above freezing this morning, but fortunately a clear drive home. I had to take extra care getting ready, to layer my costumes well. I was to dress up as Amanda, but I wanted a less niche and more casual outfit underneath, so I had my usual Dracula t-shirt on. Then I donned some skinny jeans, cow socks, house shoes, a blue zip-up hoodie, wet hair parted on the right, hole-punched red dot stickers for gauged ears, Red Bull, and a flask of lighter fluid to complete the look. When I got to work, I got a few chuckles, but I don’t think most of them truly appreciated how much effort I put into the ensemble.

We didn’t actually have a meeting other than to see each others costumes, so I headed on to the high school for real work. There, I ran into Doug as he was helping Misty bring some things into the greenhouse. Then I immediately changed out of my skinny jeans into some slim ones that felt suddenly very loosey goosey. I fixed a couple other things pretty quickly, and then mulled around the laptops a bit more.

I was going to stop by the shop to see if I could find a lunch partner for something a little lighter than usual. I had gotten stuck by the D&R Railroad when Ben called to see what I was eating, and we decided to meet up at Linhs. We had a really good chat over some really good food as we usually do, and then it was back to work. I decided to end the school day by blaring Thriller as the final bell rang and kids flooded into the hallways. Again, I felt like not many truly appreciated what I was doing there. The workday ended on a higher note as I was able to recover my bricked touch panel by installing the correct firmware.

When I got home, I shed all the extra clothes and tried to make sense of my evening. The girls had gone out to eat for dinner and weren’t doing anything for Halloween. Summer was working out and would have to start prepping some chili for work tomorrow. Suzanne was going to come visit and meet the family, but wasn’t certain of the time or whether she’d be able to join us for an actual meal that was up to me to produce. I ended up picking up some Taco Villa on the way up to Summer’s, and we ate as she ran around the kitchen all evening.

Suzanne eventually showed up with a gift of some fresh sourdough bread that she had labored over all afternoon, and we sat and chatted for quite a while. I do miss the days of being able to stay up and do that for longer, but hopefully this time of year will allow for more of that.

This hammock itches inconveniently.

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Constructing the Shittiest Laptops

It was really slow this morning, so I broke down and started pulling good parts off of any laptops I had in for service. Then I put all the broken, shattered, wet, and otherwise malfunctioning parts back together to make the shittiest, grossest laptops for shipment back to Lenovo for repairs. My Safelite appointment got moved to the afternoon, so I went to Wendy’s for lunch with Allen. Then we went to the middle school for some ice cream cake Charlotte got for one of her employee’s birthday.

Just as we finished up there, Safelite called and I headed to my parents’ house so we could have the repair done in the garage. Luckily it started to rain quite a bit just after I got there, so I made the right call. The repair didn’t take all that long, and though the crack is still very visible, at least now I don’t have to worry so much about it spreading. I went to the shop for a little while to check out some toothpaste Oreos that Melinda brought. I think Gary was the only one to be had with that prank. I wish I had gone to get some regular Oreos before I got there, so I could pretend to eat and enjoy them in front of her.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the high school working on a few work orders that had come in. Then I managed to brick a Newline touch panel on the way out, which kept me there a bit late. By the time I finished up, I had to go get Eaddie from her activities. We went back to my house for a little bit before heading up to her house.

I started cooking some of the last of the chicken for salads and then we all pretty well called it a night.

Quiet contemplation over Gravity

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Rocket Legs

Today was cool and drizzly, and it crept along just like you’d expect a cold, drizzly day to creep. I got a few little things done in the morning and thought I might start messing with the 1:1 laptops a bit in the afternoon. Brice sent us a picture of a Mac ‘N Cheeseburger from Ruby Tuesday, so he, Allen, and I decided to go try it out for only a fiver. Our server was a guy I’d seen around town a lot, and I think he worked at the call center for a little while back in the day. He was nice enough, but it felt like it took him forever to take our super simple orders. Luckily the food came out super fast, and though it didn’t look nearly as good as the picture, it did taste pretty good. I still think it’s hard to argue it against a $5 combo deal at Wendy’s though.

I went by the shop for a little bit after lunch just to catch up on things, then went back to the high school. Dad confirmed that insurance would cover my windshield chip, so I set up an appointment online with Safelite. I had only just submitted the form when my phone rang with a lady calling to confirm the insurance information. Just a couple minutes after that, a local guy called to reschedule my appointment for tomorrow morning since everyone in the area had already left for the day. With that taken care of, I wrapped up the day swapping parts on some laptops. The district won’t make any self-maintainer money from it, but they couldn’t anyway since I don’t have the certifications required by the program. Frankly this way is less wasteful anyway, so I’ll put in the extra effort to save the planet a bit.

Eaddie rode the bus to me since Autumn went home with a fever today. I took her home so I could change, then dropped her off at karate while I went to eat with my parents. Neither lunch or dinner left me feeling totally satisfied today, but I filled up on some water rather than eat more. The hunger came back well before bedtime. When I got back home, I cleaned up a bit and then sat down to play some Rocket League with Josh for a bit. I hadn’t played in a super long time and was using my Xbox Elite Wireless Controller that I hate, but I made it work and didn’t flail around too horribly. Aerials were rough and pointless, but I scored a goal or two.

Maybe time to do some future shopping.

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So Im-Portent

It was supposed to be clear today, and only a little bit cooler. Instead, I ended up riding to work in a drizzle that lasted into the afternoon. The sign went out again, and it took me a couple trips to realize it was the GFCI outlet again. Nobody said anything about lunch, so I just went home and spent my hour there with my shrimp over some frozen chicken sliders. They could’ve been worse.

The afternoon went by pretty quickly too, and at least it wasn’t drizzling any more. I ran to get some gas before going home, and spent a whopping $1.75 to fill up the Grom. Summer picked up the girls from school and dropped them off at my house, so I got changed and then took them home. Summer had a roast cooking all day, so I made some rice and tried to get the girls fed before she got home from the gym.

Nothing significant to report.

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Taco Boat It

I slept in as long as I could this morning, then laid around all day in various levels of discomfort. When I finally got us up and ready to go back to my house in the middle of the afternoon, I decided to stop by Harbor Freight to use a couple coupons, and then I took Summer to her car and went inside to clean myself up. She went to get stuff for taco salads, and made dinner for the two of us since the girls were going to dinner with their father.

I was pretty sluggish at home too, but eventually got back up to their house, and we had these tiny little flour tortilla boats that weren’t quite cooked. They didn’t have the satisfying crunch of a taco, nor were they as compact and convenient as a burrito. I broiled some quick nachos in the oven to spice things up a bit.

The girls came home as we were watching Parks and Rec, and then we watched a John Mulaney special while the girls finished chores before bed.

Burnout Season

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Magic Screams 2019

Summer went to get the girls this morning after spending the night with friends, and I went home to clean up and get ready for our trip to Magic Springs. We left right around lunch time and headed down to Hot Springs to meet Ronda, Steven, and Maleea at Outback Steakhouse. We got behind some pretty slow traffic for the majority of the trip, so we ended up getting there quite a bit after them. The service was pretty great when we did get there though, and it was pretty funny how much bread we were going through.

After we ate, we headed to the park. Along the way, something flew up over the car ahead of us and gave me a pretty big chip in the windshield. I’ll have to get that fixed immediately so it doesn’t get worse. The park was fun, and Summer let us talk her into riding all the roller coasters. Eaddie really enjoyed them, and she and Maleea had a good time together. I couldn’t fit into the restraints for the X-Coaster, so Summer ended up riding that one without me. At the end of it all, our last wait was a ridiculously slow, short line for the bumper cars. They only had six cars, and hardly anyone doubled up.

Steven wanted to treat some of Ronda’s family to dinner, so gathered up the convoy and headed to Rod’s Pizza Cellar. We got there not long before closing, but the service was great there too, and the pizza was amazing. We got a 17″ spinach bacon alfredo that was by far our favorite at the table. It was the perfect end to a great day. On the way out of town, we stopped for some more spring water. The drive back home had me exhausted, but we made it in one piece past dozens of deer by the road. Now I’m excited to go again in the summer.

3 spoopy 5 me!

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Creative Methods of Procrastination

We didn’t have much of a meeting again this morning. I thought I was going to be sent off on my own to just work at the high school, but then Allen showed enough ineptitude that I took the opportunity to ride around with him for a while. He took me to the high school to take care of one urgent matter, and then we rode out to London to take a look at some audio equipment for a student. That was more or less a bust, but it got us nearly to lunch by the time we got back.

I suggested The 3D Cafe since I think I was the only person that had eaten there before. As we sat down I got an ocular migraine, so I just kind of quietly sat and ate whatever I could get stuck to my fork. I had the taco salad that seemed to be mostly grilled onions. I did get a piece of Allen’s fish that was pretty good. Out of three visits, I’ve been served chips and salsa one time, which was particularly odd to me because the table right next to us got some while we didn’t. The food was decent, but our server only came by like once after he got us settled in with our meals.

After lunch I went to the high school to work on some things. I wrapped up a really late day working on a stupid badge printer that kept me occupied for about three hours, then went home until Summer finished up with her day. I did get a worm trap in the mail, so I set it up hoping to catch some of the little guys that have taken over my shrimp tank.

On the way up to Summer’s, I got some chips and white cheddar bites from Zaxby’s to go along with whatever leftovers we could find for dinner. She showed up just after I did, and we ate and then watched a couple webisodes of some BSG stuff. Next up will be the TV movie Razer, which I wish we could have watched in order, but I guess this is fine too.

Why are computers awful?

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Dropping the Count

I woke up feeling so exhausted today, and it kind of followed me for most of it. I was sluggish getting in to work, but managed to get quite a bit done in spite of it. I got some things started at the high school first, then went to the shop for another Jamf call. This time we actually got things working, but not before realizing I had broken something else last week. Fortunately it didn’t seem too difficult for Zach and Gary to fix, and I don’t think it was entirely my fault to begin with anyway.

Zach wanted to go to Morelos, so he, Gary, Allen, and I met Heather there for lunch. Then I went back to the high school to wrap up the afternoon. I got called to the office for advice on how to handle a disciplinary issue, which was interesting. I had to laugh when it ended up being something that we don’t even really punish employees for doing. At the end of the day, I took a little time and contacted Sceptre for the TV I got Summer. I had someone on the phone so fast that I didn’t even get hold music. It literally just rang through. The guy had me email pictures to their customer service email, and I had a response within a few hours to contact Walmart for help since Sceptre only does technical support for our particular ONN TV.

I went home to change and ended up nearly falling asleep. Mom had been fussing about me not coming to clean up some leftovers, so I headed over there and cleaned up a bunch of stuff for spring rolls. Then I came back home and got cleaned up for a super duper early bedtime.

I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter… I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me.

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Battlestar Finaléctica

This morning felt warm enough to allow a ride in to work, but it did bite the hands a bit. I forgot my breakfast at home, so I had half a Soylent instead. Unfortunately it didn’t give me as much pep as I expected, and I sort of dallied most of the day. I did get a fair amount accomplished, but my priorities were definitely askew. Having a taste for solid food in the morning left me feeling Wendy’s, so when Allen suggested it himself, I was all in. I ran into Kelsey as I was walking back to the bike, and we chatted for just a second outside. Then I went back to the shop for a bit.

The afternoon brought me back to the high school where I fiddled a bit more between getting things done. Summer left work early with the poison ivy itches, so I had kid duty. I ran home to change, then called Clint to chat on the way to get Autumn. I hadn’t talked to him in quite a while and figured it was time to check in. After Autumn, we had to wait a while for Eaddie. When she did finally come out, she walked right past us and we had to pull back around and yell at her.

Summer grilled some chicken and put together a zucchini, tomato, onion, and mozzarella salad on my suggestion, and it turned out really great. It even felt a bit light, and I really held myself back with only one little chicken thigh. Afterward the girls went to their rooms to hang out while Summer and I watched the last two episodes of Battlestar Galactica. I feel like we missed out on some of the suspense of having to wait between episodes, and I was surprised at how much of it I had forgotten or mis-remembered. It was a great watch though, and I was excited to hear of the show’s reboot next year.

You know it doesn’t like that name.

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On Free Hosting

Yesterday I showed up at work expecting a meeting and didn’t get one, and instead spent my day being productive with Brice. Today I did not expect much of a meeting, but everyone was at the shop and Jason was in a talking mood. He didn’t have any actual team-related meeting stuff to say though, and he basically talked about things with individual techs while the rest of us sat around staring at one another.

I stuck around the shop all morning, accomplished a few things that needed to be done, and then spent a considerable time trying to make my email signature look better for the Gmail app dark mode that was recently activated for my phone. It’s been a minor annoyance seeing so many emails come in expecting a white background, and I didn’t want mine to be one of those for anyone else sporting dark mode.

Just before lunch, I decided to go to the high school to get some laptops for Jason to take to central office. Zach was headed that way to look at some doors, so we just rode together. I got a couple more things done, and then we met back at the shop. He, Allen, and I convinced Gary to come along with us to Ruby Tuesday for $5 salads. The food was really good today, and Gary got a really good looking quesadilla. He seems to eat a whole lot of those. Ronda came strolling in with a crew from the junior high as well.

After lunch, I had a call with Jamf about my iPad Pro again. This was the second or third tier of support, and the guy was super friendly and super helpful, though we still didn’t get the issue completely resolved before we were let off work at 3:30. I got home closer to 4 and trimmed the shrimp tank some more. I wanted to sit down and play some games again, but I just kind of zoned out watching the tank. It really has become my zen place.

When Summer got home, I left to get some gas and met the girls at their house for dinner. The girls went to bed pretty early, and then Summer and I watched two more episodes of Battlestar Galactica. With only two more left to watch, I’ll have to dig into the extra content that was added to that universe over the years. I know there are a bunch of webisodes as well as a couple really long special features.

To end the evening, I sat down to write this blog entry when I found my site had been turned off again for overuse of system resources. That still doesn’t seem possible, but I figured I’d gotten enough out of 000webhost for free. I don’t mind so much upgrading to some paid hosting, even for a do-nothing site that I maintain for my own entertainment. The migration to Hostinger was relatively smooth, and at a buck a month it’s really not bad for a four-year term.

The shape of dreams half-remembered. Slip the surly bonds of Earth and touch the face of perfection.