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Indian Police

I woke up in a bit of a daze this morning, low on sleep after nightmares about Muad’Dib getting out of the back yard. I jumped right into getting cleaned up for our trip, the girls and I all went out to say goodbye to one super excited puppy, and we made our way to the Courtyard just over the interstate to meet everyone that was driving up in the convoy.

Eli rode with us, and the trip went really smoothly. We stopped to charge and snack in the Jonesboro Kum & Go. When we got to Miner, MO, the others stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. The charger was too far away for us to walk though, so we left the kids and Summer and I took our food to eat in the car while it charged. We got the kids back and made it to Salem, MO where a super excited Cybertruck owner walked out of the adjacent Subway and made a beeline straight for me. He shook my hand and we chatted for a while before he left to head the opposite direction. We went into the restaurant for a quick break and some cookies, then got to Terre Haute to leave Eli with his family.

The girls and I charged just up the road, then made it to Indianapolis where we went straight to Fogo de Chão for a nice dinner just blocks away from the hotel and convention center. The girls were hesitant until we got there, and then their eyes lit up as spears of fire-roasted meats danced by our table. The food was super good and it was a fun experience, but we filled up super fast and it wasn’t a great value in spite of the variety. I probably wouldn’t go again, only because of the price.

We walked back to the car and finally found our hotel, parked in the underground garage, and checked into our room. Eaddie’s roommates got back from dinner and I walked her upstairs to meet up with them, then headed back for bed after a long day of travel.

Brazilian Beasts

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Goulashes

It was a rough night, but I still woke up early to check on Muad’Dib. He had his head down all day, and it broke my heart how depressed he looked. I almost wished he had gone too, just for the sake of not being alone with whatever trauma he witnessed. He just hasn’t been right since we lost Stilgar, and I feel similarly. I tried to go back to bed for a while, but just laid awake with my mind rolling.

I eventually got around and spent some time outside with him before getting cleaned up to go for a run. I had been slowly organizing my thoughts for our Indianapolis trip, and needed to visit Dad to see what he had planned for taking care of Muad’Dib. We rode straight over to their house to visit, and then I took him backwards around the basin trail. He did great off-leash until we encountered a young guy spraying something on his lawn. Evidently he had an infant in a car seat in his garage floor, and Muad’Dib made a beeline for the kid as soon as it started crying. I ended up having to zap him multiple times to stop him dead in his tracks right by the guy, and I apologized profusely as I grabbed his leash and took him back to the road.

We got back home and I had a burrito for a late lunch and then paid my stack of medical bills. Eaddie came home and ate some of those leftovers with some Fritos as well, and then thought I should cook something with the extra macaroni that Summer made the other day. I eventually got back out of the house, washed my car again, then went to the Neighborhood Market for some hamburger meat and a bunch of snacks for our trip.

I ended up making a sort of goulash I found online, but with a twist of Rotel instead of diced tomatoes. I let Muad’Dib hang out with me in the kitchen while I cooked, and he was a super good boy. The girls were thrilled when they saw him inside, but I told them he couldn’t stay, especially while he was still dirty and untrained. The goulash was super easy, and the girls really liked it. It made a big pot of food, so we’ll have something to eat as soon as we get home.

The girls packed up and I took Muad’Dib for a quick night run back to visit Dad. Then I packed once we got back home. The girls went to bed super early as usual, and I just did what I could and powered through an anxiety attack.

As in the best it is.

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The Breakdown

I got up this morning to an empty house and checked on Muad’Dib. I didn’t have any messages about Stilgar, so I got showered and took the Pathfinder to visit Animal Control to see if they picked him up. In hindsight I guess I could have called again, but I was desperately hoping I’d get to bring him home. As soon as I got into the car, I saw how filthy it was from all of Eaddie’s junk in the passenger seat, center console, back seat, and trunk. There was crap everywhere, and the gas tank was empty to boot. I wasn’t even sure I’d make it to the shelter, so I turned around and went to Casey’s for some gas first. I redeemed a birthday donut and ate that in the parking lot, then made my way to the shelter.

The two ladies that were working said they hadn’t picked up anything like Stilgar, but immediately knew of him when I mentioned that Nancy had called 911 the day before. They said they had a couple people call about them killing cats, and that one of them, presumably the man, threatened to shoot them if they came around again. I think I knew it all along when Muad’Dib showed up by himself, but it really sank in when I got home and found the “final warning” door tag they had just left on our front door before I drove over.

I brought the leashes in from the car and had an absolute screaming fit before going outside to hold Muad’Dib. He hadn’t been eating, but he would take a few kibbles out of my hand if I offered them. We went out riding around to look for Stilgar, but didn’t hear a thing in the neighborhood. It was almost eerily quiet. We went all the way up Inglewood and visited the bank so I could pay Dad back for writing my sales tax check to the DMV. I realized I didn’t have my wallet once I got to the window, so we had to ride back home to get that, then made it back to the bank.

We waited longer the second time, but eventually got the cash and rode back to my parents’ house to give the money to Dad. That was when I realized they shorted me by 95 cents. We got back home and I got Muad’Dib situated in the backyard. Then I changed clothes and decided to take some returns to The UPS Store and then wash my car before going back to the bank for a third time.

The UPS Store visit was short and sweet since I took care of all the re-taping at home. The car wash was mostly out of soap, so it was a short wash. As I sprayed the side of my car, I noticed a fleck of white appear on the driver side rocker panel. Paint had actually flaked right off under relatively light pressure. I suspect they’ll try to deny it under warranty, but I feel like it’s worth pressing. Finally, I made it all the way back across town to get my missing 95 cents, and took Aaron for a ride in the new Model 3. I took him to our house since he had driven down Inglewood anyway. After I dropped him off, I went by the Neighborhood Market to get some hamburger meat to make tacos and clean up the veggies we still had at home.

I was unboxing Vine deliveries when Summer came home, and I was nearly shaking from the confrontation I knew we were about to have. Then she hit me with, “Why have you been ignoring me?” “I’ve been exhausted and in a tremendous amount of pain from riding 25 miles looking for my dog.” “You’ve been ignoring me all week.” I trembled as I yelled at her to leave me alone, and had another screaming fit in the laundry room after she slammed the back door going out to see our one remaining dog.

I eventually gathered myself enough to try and talk to her, but then after nearly eight years, she finally felt something strongly enough to yell at me. She was mad that “everything was her fault.” Ironically, that was precisely why I was mad as well. Of course she was wrong, but of course I wasn’t going to give her a list of all the stupid things she’s done on a daily basis to make my life more difficult at best, no matter how many times she asked me to name something. It was mutually assured destruction.

I had to clean myself up and went back outside to hold Muad’Dib, but knocked on the door to tell Summer she could come out too. She had calmed down and wanted to go to the gym, but I told her I had stuff to make burritos and that I hadn’t eaten anything all day. Then I asked her the question that’s been buzzing in my head for weeks: Did she book a hotel in Indianapolis with car charging?

“I don’t know.”

Eaddie got home just as Summer left for the gym, and we talked for a while as I cooked. We both ate, and then I had to go back to the store to get some Theraflu for my parents. Everyone was pretty much off to bed by the time I got home for the night, and I was up late stewing in my head for the next few hours.

Broke the Bank

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Stilgone

I didn’t get to bed until nearly four o’clock last night, and I awoke around 9:30 to a text from Dad that his neighbor Nancy had called 911 to alert animal control about the dogs again. Seconds later, Summer walked in and said she had been driving around looking for the past half hour looking for them before coming back to wake me. I immediately took off on the Onewheel while Summer went back out in the Tesla.

I had ridden about 14 miles when Mom called to say they were there, so I sped back to their house to find Summer and Dad with Muad’Dib. Stilgar was nowhere to be found, and Muad’Dib had blood on his front-left leg, and walked with a bit of a limp. I took him home slowly, calling for Stilgar along the way, but we never found him.

I had to take a break after that to charge the Onewheel, so I cooked a couple eggs to eat with the mushy rice that Summer made a couple weeks ago. Then I had to rush through a shower so we could make it to Tech for Eaddie’s send-off concert. It was just their two Indianapolis groups having a practice concert, and then we went straight back home so I could ride around some more while Summer went to the gym.

Muad’Dib and I went all over the neighborhood, and I let him go off-leash with the hopes that he would lead me somewhere. He behaved super well, but was slow, and I felt like he knew he was in trouble. Between that outing and then going out again after dark, we totaled nearly 24 miles but still could never find any sign of Stilgar.

The girls spent all night doing laundry after that. Summer got into her feelings at the gym, but I didn’t have the time or patience to deal with her. I did what I could to try and find Stilgar, and we’ll just have to hope I find him at Animal Control tomorrow, but I just couldn’t imagine only one of them getting picked up because they go everywhere together.

That’s a dome light.

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Killswitch Triggered

Summer left early this morning for a run in Danville, and Eaddie got up shortly after I did, then left for some band assessment event. I felt a little rough from my meds again, but it wasn’t terrible. I got out to check on the dogs, and it sounded like they were gone. Summer got home just as I was getting dressed to go find them. Then I rode about nine miles all around the neighborhood before I finally found them on my second trip to my parents’ house. I kept listening for barking dogs, but hardly heard anything anywhere, and nobody I encountered had seen anything. We got home and I ended up tying Stilgar up and putting the shock collar on Muad’Dib. I think Stilgar just had too much fur for it to work on him.

After that, I took a shower and got ready to leave town. I washed my car first since it was covered in spots from being washed, sprinkled upon, and then dusted. Then I headed toward Fayetteville for Brandon’s birthday event. I stopped to charge in Ozark, then made it up to the Northwest Arkansas Mall to charge outside Dillard’s for a few minutes while I waited for everyone else to show up at Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza and Taproom.

The mall was quite busy in most areas, but there were definitely dead spots too. Dillard’s had a surprising number of people, and there were a couple interesting stores inside. The food court seemed like the busiest area even though it was a little between lunch and dinner time.

I got to the restaurant just moments before Brandon, Diana, Ryan, Aaron, and Alma. I didn’t know what to think about the place, but it was their first time as well. It looked like it was a part of a fancy apartment complex, but it may have just adjacent coincidentally. It was a neat looking establishment though. We found a couple of tiny sofas and sat around a coffee table thing before getting any food. They had a wall of beers and wines that were all self-serve, and we had to go get an RFID bracelet that let us tap to pour. I really liked everything I tried, and the pizza wasn’t bad either, though it was all pretty pricey.

It was a great time catching up, but we had to get down the road to the concert at JJ’s Live. Aaron and Alma weren’t going, so we bid them farewell and I ended up driving the other three to the venue. We parked across the street at Target and walked over where it was a relatively easy entrance to a pretty packed floor. It was a very industrial chic with a catwalk balcony overhead. We were late enough that we completely missed Frozen Soul, but we stood near the back of the floor for Fit for a King and got to see their whole set. By the end I was sweating pretty hard and went to the concession stand to get some water.

While standing in line, I started to feel faint like I did at the school’s self-care fair. I ended up taking a knee right in line a couple of times, and finally got to the point where I turned to the guys behind me and let them know I thought I was having blood pressure issues. I asked them to help me get some water while I walked to the wall and had a seat on a flat dolly. They mentioned a nearby EMT, then reported the venue was out of water bottles, but the bartender poured her water into a cup of ice and gave that to me. Then I asked the guys to go ahead and get the EMT just to have him check my blood pressure.

That was when I met Hunter, the 22-year-old, patchwork tattooed, chatty EMT. I had a giggle to myself at his little Kilroy tattoo. He was super friendly and did his best to get my BP, pulse, and oxygen levels while I was sitting there. It was hard for him to hear, but he thought I was right around 120, which was unexpected. After sitting through all of that, I felt good enough to walk outside while he accompanied me to find a chair. It got super cold, super fast.

I texted the group and stayed outside for all of Kublai Khan TX’s set, but from what I heard, they would have been way too hard for me anyway. Diana came out to find me outside between sets, and then we went back inside for Killswitch Engage. I definitely liked them the most, but most of it was still too hard for my liking. We weren’t close to the stage at all, but it was still too much of a packed floor for me. I thought I was going to feel bad again at one point, but kept drinking water out of the sink until I felt fine.

After the show, we made it to the car really quickly and I dropped Brandon, Diana, and Ryan off at their car. Then I made it back to Ozark for a charge, break, and snack. I got home well after midnight and wrapped up quickly for bed.

Hydrate.

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Call Me Now for Your Free Reading!

I was even earlier to work today, and pulled in right behind Kyle. He was still having trouble installing Features on Demand, but didn’t stick around very long. It was mostly Gary, Maggie, and me in the office all day. All of the guys called me several times for help, totaling 19 calls by the end of the day. I left to get McDonald’s for lunch and had my best experience at that location by far. The food was all really hot and fresh for once.

The afternoon went by quickly since I took lunch so late, and just as I was trying to leave I got an email from our HVAC guy because we broke his access to the old server when we finally got Windstream to forward the address to the new server. Kyle ended up calling to find out it wasn’t critical, so we went home.

I stopped for a while to charge before making it home through awful traffic again. Eaddie and her friend Autumn were there, but left while Summer worked on the couch. I took the dogs out for a long run to Ridgewood hoping for some barbecue, and had to stop at Kroger when I found an abandoned cart on the bike trail behind the building. When we got to the entrance, we spotted Mia and Aimee selling Girl Scout cookies. While we were talking to them, Mom and Dad walked out with some groceries.

We made it to the restaurant, but they were completely packed. I briefly saw Grant run outside, so I yelled at him and we left. We came through the basin for another bath, then went to my parents’ house and then home. The dogs did pretty well overall, but Stilgar pulled the leash quite a bit.

I wanted to clean up some mashed potatoes and coleslaw, so I went to KFC to pick up some chicken. Summer and I ate and then she went to bed. Eaddie came home pretty late and went straight to bed. I got there eventually.

You can’t fool Miss Cleo!

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Networking Chops

I made up quite a bit of time on the way to work this morning, but there wasn’t anything going on. I helped Kyle set up some server tools before he left, then ended up working on sleuthing a DNS issue for most of the day. Our representative that was supposed to set up our new Alerton HVAC system on the server I spun up several months ago was still having trouble getting it to work, and I figured it was because she didn’t realize she was still talking to the old server. Even Randy seemed to get caught up in a separate SSL issue, but I think I had it pegged from the get-go.

I ended up going down the road for lunch on my own and decided to finally try the fried chicken, along with the catfish, at Louisiana Fried Chicken. The food is always pretty decent, but every time I walk in there, I swear it’s a front for the drug cartel. I was the only one eating there, and I think maybe two cars came through the drive-through. A couple people walked in but left without ordering, and another group of four or so people picked up some food. The staff is always nice, but you’re not going to win any awards for old fried chicken kept under an open-air heat lamp.

The afternoon felt the most successful after Randy took me to central office to help with a couple issues. I got to present myself a little more loosely after having a little more face time with some of the staff there, and I finally conveyed our DNS issue to Randy in a way that he understood. We got back to the office and casually finished out the day.

I stopped to charge on the way home and decided to redeem my free Grand Slam at the Denny’s there. It was quiet, and service was quick. I got in and out in just enough time to get about a 50% charge, then made it home to run the dogs.

Dad called earlier in the morning and said they had gotten out and over to his house again. He walked them home and then took them out for another walk in the afternoon, but I was frustrated with them when we got home and we took a pretty stern walk. We stopped to see him, then encountered Mom as we were riding home. She caught up to me and asked about going out to eat, but neither of the girls were home.

Summer got home from work and the gym as I was finishing up my Vine shipments, and then Eaddie got home a little later and said we forgot her robotics banquet to which Summer had RSVPed. I live and die by my calendar for exactly that reason, and it upsets me when they fail after I push them to do the same. They caught up for a bit before bed, and then I wrapped up my own things as quickly as I could.

This is obviously a front.

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Twinning

It was super gusty and windy all day today. I stopped by Starbucks for my free birthday drink and made it to work reasonably close to starting time, and was surprised to see Randy there after the board meeting last night. There wasn’t much more drama than last time, and the cuts are off to the personnel committees to approve now. Several of us caught up for a while, and I helped Jim prepare for our impending shutdown of remote desktop services on our servers.

Our Logical Front sales rep wanted to meet, but ran a little late and pushed into our lunch, but we eventually made it to Skinny J’s where Kyle, Jay, and Jim were waiting for us. Maggie drove herself so she could pick up a chocolate meringue pie for Jim on our shared birthday, but I rode with Randy to check out his new RAV4. Food was good as usual, but I was stuffed by the time we left.

The afternoon went by fairly quickly after that. Maggie and a couple other ladies I hadn’t met before brought the pie as a surprise, and we all had a slice of that. When we finally left, I fought traffic to get to Conway to charge, and then fought even more to get home. The dogs and I had a good run to see my parents, and then made it back home where Eli had come over for a while, and both girls were actually home together.

I opened up a few Vine packages and took out the recycling and trash, which was a bit of a chore, but I got it all to fit. Summer went to bed pretty early, and I made it nearly on time.

Un-

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Driverless

After being overcast all day yesterday, it finally rained most of today. I brought some leftover pizza to work, which prompted Randy and Kyle to want pizza for lunch. Things were fairly quiet most of the day, in preparation for another heated board meeting about budget cuts in the evening. I helped Gary and Charles image a couple laptops, but had to figure out why they didn’t seem to have the right RAID drivers.

The car drove Maggie, Charles, and me to Larry’s for lunch, which was super good. We got there right as they opened, and they somehow maintained a flow of fresh pies that was enough to feed a growing dining room. Then the afternoon was a lights-off kind of day until quitting time.

I stopped for nearly a full charge on the way home since I’d be losing my free supercharging by the end of the month. Then I took the dogs for a good backwards walk where we went up the hill, down to see Dad, and then through the slightly-flooded basin trail. Summer was home when we made it back, and the boys got hot dogs and dinner while I tinkered with some old Vine stuff that had been sitting around for a while.

Summer went to bed, Eaddie got home pretty late, and I tried to go to bed early so I could try and get some extra birthday treats in the morning.

Pizza, pizza!

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Problems with Gravity

Randy showed up with his new RAV4 today, unexpectedly early after ordering it only a week ago. The guys were outside looking at it when I showed up, but we all went in when I got there. There was a bit of catching up since he and Jim had been gone all week, so things were pretty relaxed. I actually got some work done, rebuilding the Adobe roster sync, and fixing a couple of other things as they came to me.

Jimmy was there in the morning, but Maggie got a call a little while later that he had fallen. She and Randy took off to check on him, and evidently he just passed out for about half a minute. Luckily one of the security folks saw him and they ran out to take care of him, but the doctor said he can’t drive until he has someone check out his heart.

I ended up taking lunch by myself, so I picked up a $4 ghost pepper chicken sandwich from Popeye’s, and some free fries with purchase of cheddar tots from Burger King. I was worried after getting relatively poor service from both places, but all of the food was absolutely spot-on, so I couldn’t be mad. They can ignore my presence all day as long as they hand me a piping hot bag of food.

The afternoon went by kind of slowly after that. I made it to Conway for a quick charge, then got home so I could run the dogs. It was overcast and dark all day, so it got pretty chilly while we were out. The dogs did well though, so they got hot dogs with their dinner and I tried to clean up some leftovers. I got a bit frustrated with how much old food hasn’t been touched, and then I accidentally knocked one of Summer’s coffee mugs off the counter and shattered it. I don’t know why they’re both so bad about keeping that area tidy, but they’re just incapable of organizing anything. It all just goes everywhere. Eaddie’s stuff just goes in the floor, and I’m tired of being the bad guy about ever saying anything.

I spent the rest of the evening unpacking Vine orders since a bunch of them arrived today. The recycle dumpster is already crammed pretty full, and I’ve got a bunch more cardboard to load up. At least some of the novelty is starting to wear off, so my ordering has slowed down a little bit. I still hate when I miss something really good, though.

Retail Therapy Problems