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Divide and Make Busy

My back and neck weren’t much better this morning, but I made it through the day. We ended up taking the entire crew to the high school to split up between replacing access points and updating inventory. I lead two groups of two doing inventory while Gary took a couple with him to replace access points. While we accomplished more rooms, I think we overall felt less accomplished overall, just because we know how futile inventory of that nature tends to be.

Four of us went to Linh’s for lunch, and then it was more of the same in the afternoon, right up until quitting time. Then I stopped by the shop to see Summer, who looked like she had been in an oil slick. I didn’t stay for too long, and headed home to clean up before the girls came over.

I had gotten frustrated with my Pixel 2 XL earlier in the day, and got caught up swapping over to my Galaxy S21 Ultra. Once Autumn and Eaddie showed up, we went to my parents’ house for some stir-fry for dinner. Summer was too tired to get out again, so we brought back some for her, and then it was a relatively early night to bed.

Why did that guy have to go and invent ory in the first place?

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Pinch of Spice

We slept in a bit today, and I woke up with some pretty bad pain on my ear and in my back. The ear got better quickly enough, but my back seemed to get worse all day long no matter what I did to try and alleviate the pain. Summer got up and improvised a mashed potato and fried buffalo and teriyaki cauliflower lunch bowl. The girls liked it well enough, but there was no mistaking the cauliflower bits.

I watched The Boondock Saints until the girls were ready to leave the house. Summer took Autumn to the gym, and I took Eaddie home with me so she could ride her bike while I showered. Her ride got rained out after a bit though, and my back was bad enough after the shower that I couldn’t move very well. We were going to go to Walmart for a few more things to make burritos, but let the other two go instead.

When we all got back to the house, Summer and I whipped up dinner really quickly. Then everyone wandered off to their rooms pretty quickly. I went to bed super early, hoping to sleep off the back pain.

And shepherds we shall be.

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Mostly Waisted

I slept in pretty late today after a pretty rough night of sleep. I just tossed and turned for the first hour or two, and then spent the rest of the night bouncing between several really weird dreams. When I did get up, I took a shower while Summer went to the gym. Then we got everyone up to go to Mulan’s for a late lunch.

Dad wanted to uncover the pool, so we went to their house after we ate. The girls took turns vacuuming the pool, and then we came back to the house.

Everyone was pretty exhausted for various reasons. Mine was because I ate waaaaaay too much. I kept trying to doze off in Summer’s lap while she tinkered on her phone. Eventually I got up and we watched Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary, which got Summer in the mood to watch the actual film. We watched it after the documentary, and then it was off to bed.

By Grapthar’s hammer…

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Dismount

I made it in relatively early this morning and wound up on a crew at the middle school to help remove a bunch of old displays for painting the walls behind them. I kept feeling like I had other things to be doing, but I suppose I wasn’t much of a team player last year while I was getting things ready at the high school. I had an inkling of anxiety following me around all day, and ended up panting in the hallway at one point because I just wouldn’t snap out of it. Things got pretty fuzzy for a bit, but once it was over, it was over.

Nearly everyone made it to lunch at Las Palmas, which was good. That definitely made me feel better. Then after lunch I stuck around the office. I think everyone is just working off of the assumption that Thomas will be coming back to reclaim his old position from Ben, which doesn’t make me super happy. What will be, will be.

After work, I went by the shop to see Summer for a bit before going home. Then I picked up some Popeye’s on the way up to her place, not knowing the kids wouldn’t be hungry. We ate and chatted, and then watched some House with Eaddie. When Summer was ready to go to bed, we put on Bo Burnham’s new Netflix special, Inside. We didn’t care for it, but like Summer and her marathons, I felt compelled to finish it.

Boat life would be so much simpler.

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Why so Serious?

I got up extra early this morning so I could make it to my interview with plenty of time to spare. I got the last couple pages I needed from my office, then went across the street to sit and wait by the door until everyone else was ready. The interim superintendent wasn’t there, but it was a panel with Jeff, Justin, Judy, and then Ben for emotional support I guess. He didn’t really ask anything, but he did help elaborate on some things as I answered their questions. For the most part, they stuck to a list of questions Ben wrote for them, which they wouldn’t even know enough about in order to rate my answers.

I wasn’t terribly nervous, but I did decide to go all out with a jacket and tie, and started out by dropping my pirate flag on the desk in front of me. The others were spaced out around the U-shaped conference tables. Justin immediately wanted to hear about why I love cows. From there it was mostly business until my only concluding question for them was whether they would like to see a magic trick. I received an immediate and resounding, “yes,” so I proceeded to unlink two rubber bands to at least one incredulous gasp.

With that out of the way, I went back to the shop and watched as Gary, and then Zach left for their interviews. I felt pretty confident in my own answers until I heard their shared responses. I knew it was a moonshot anyway though, and assumed I would have to rely on Doge to make it to the moon for me instead.

The three of us went to Sam’s for lunch with Josh and his wife. Then I tried to leave my leftovers for Summer, but she wasn’t at the shop at that time. We continued back to work for a slow afternoon while the newbies went to work on projects elsewhere.

Thomas came by to chat with Gary and Zach, and from the sound of things, they’re working to come up with an agreeable number that would bring him back to the district. Time will tell, but hopefully not too much time.

After work, I went by the shop to see Summer for a bit until it was nearly time for her to leave. Then I went home to change and made it up to her house for the evening. She grilled chicken for salads, and then it was an early night to bed after a long day of tickling anxiety for me. I don’t know why I had so much trouble with that today, all well after my interview was over. Breathing exercises haven’t been working to alleviate them, so I guess it’s off to try something else.

Let’s put a smile on that face!

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Dress Rehearsal

I felt exhausted all day again today, and I still don’t know if I’m just not getting enough sleep, or if it’s some kind of internal clock thing that still hasn’t reverted back to this time zone. Fortunately it was pretty quiet at work. Mike was at the high school all day for the virtual conference they were hosting. I spent all day with Brody hunting for Chromebooks. We’re short nearly half of the lease that needs to go back, and I don’t know what we’re going to do. Hopefully we can return some alternate devices.

We decided to try The Gunslingin’ Burger for lunch. I had been once with Allen a while back, and my opinion didn’t change today. It was a pretty good burger, but not worth near what it cost. It would have stung less if the combo meal at least came with a drink, but the girl said they stopped including a drink when too many people chose to bundle with shakes. I guess it never crossed their minds to simply not allow that, and to only include a fountain drink.

In any case, I’m still creeped out by the life-size cross standing in the dining room. Then the chef seems to miss social cues as he lingers to ask how you enjoyed your meal. In most any other environment I wouldn’t take issue, but in this scenario it just kind of makes everyone feel a little uncomfortable. I think at a cheaper price point I would just accept everything else, but this just feels like a lot.

After lunch, I ended up sitting out of any real group work. I tried to do some sleuthing to find the missing devices in any system at all, but didn’t have any luck. I spent the last bit of the day prepping for my interview first thing tomorrow. I think I’ve just decided to go all-in. I want to believe that the three of us have a fighting chance, but a bigger part of me thinks there’s no way they’ll let it happen, so I feel like I have to really do something to stand out.

After work, I ran by Summer’s shop to try and print a better copy of my “blank” page to my résumé. It turned out really well, but I wanted to see if Staples could go full-bleed. Unfortunately they couldn’t, but I perused clearance while I was there. Then I stopped by Taco Bell for a quick dinner on the way home. They were unbelievably slow, and the food seemed really lean, but it tasted alright.

Mom and Dad stopped in while I was putting together my individual packets for tomorrow. Then I video chatted Summer while I picked out a nice outfit for the morning. I hope it pays off.

I suppose you’re all wondering why I called you here today.

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Crying Over Spilled Milk Products

It was a good thing I showered up last night, because I refused to get out of bed this morning. I gave myself another half hour or so, then got up and ready for work. Ben was out, and will be out for quite a bit as he wraps up his last month. Zach had everyone on projects, which involved cutting zip-ties at Crawford, then hunting for leased devices to return from the middle school.

A handful of us went to Slim Chickens for lunch, and I took Eaddie some on the way back to work. Then I spent the rest of the day with Brody trying to find the last of the devices. We took a pretty good bite out of the list, but there’s still a lot to go, and we’re running out of places to look.

After work, I went to my parents’ house to take a family photo to send to Susan after she texted to check up on us today. Maybe not everyone hugs their cab drivers. Maybe that’s the problem with the world.

Mom decided to make phở for dinner, so Summer brought Eaddie over as soon as they were done cleaning up at home. We ate a late dinner, then headed home for the night. I stopped by Dairy Queen with Eaddie on the way, and ended up spilling about half of my shake all over the kitchen floor when I knocked it off the counter. I’m struggling with flat surfaces.

I’ve been exhausted during the day, but I can’t ever seem to get to bed earlier. Something needs to change, but I can’t quite figure out how.

Maybe being the first interview can be a good thing.

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Lagged Day

I slept later than I wanted to this morning, but I needed the rest after such a long two days prior. I’m still surprised I managed to stay up so late with Eaddie. I finally rolled out of bed around 11, and CiCi’s sounded pretty great. We packed the girls up, got Summer’s car from the shop, and went to eat.

After we ate, the girls went home to clean up while I dumped 50 bucks into my gas tank and went home to clean up myself. I didn’t get a whole lot done, but the kitchen looks a lot better. I didn’t even get a shower until after the girls made it home. My schedule may be off enough that I can switch to showering in the evenings, but tomorrow will tell.

I have so much email to excavate, and real mail will start coming in again soon. It’s back to everyday life, except now Summer understands the appeal of life on a sailboat.

At least it’s cooler here, for now.

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AND I WOULD FLY FOUR THOUSAND MILES

I got up around 7 this morning to finish packing everything up to be out by our 10 o’clock checkout. We cleaned up most of the leftover food, including a couple sandwiches for our flight back. Julie called bell services, but we ended up having to send down one or two people at a time after people kept riding the elevator up just to go back down. We said our goodbyes in front of the elevator, and then Summer and I ran into our bellhop on the way down.

We checked our bags in, and then wandered the strip for the few hours we had before our flight. Between a pushy saleswoman with a fire-sale strategy and someone else selling hairy oysters, Summer settled on slicing up food for pearls. We let ourselves get talked into two pieces of jewelry and a third pearl just to take home.

Our last meal on the island was a Japanese place on the resort, which was pretty decent for counter service. Once we had eaten and wrapped up the last of our souvenir shopping, we went to the lobby to wait for Susan. She picked us up a bit earlier than the 5 o’clock we had initially planned, but we felt better with the extra buffer time at the airport. As we got out, she handed us a big bag of goodies as a thank-you gift for our egregious tipping. I gave her a big hug and then figured out a way to re-pack everything to fit into our bags.

The flight back on the 767 was absolutely awesome with the added space and the built-in display in the back of the headrests. We just barely missed the sunset while we were sitting on the tarmac. I watched a couple of movies while we were over the ocean until I caught the sunrise at 37,000 feet. I dozed off a bit a few times, but it didn’t seem too bad. Even Summer stayed up for most of the first flight.

Our second flight was delayed in Houston for about an hour because they had to replace a part. I don’t know if they were being truthful about it being a part for the lavatory, but the flight back was fine. We made up a bunch of time and were only a little late touching down. By then we were pretty hungry and drove across town to Chuy’s for lunch/breakfast/midnight meal.

Loaded up on caffeine, we made it home and dropped Susan’s gift bag for my parents and then picked up Eaddie at her grandparents’ house. As soon as we got to my house, Eaddie took off on her bicycle and Summer passed out in bed. I unpacked and then stayed up watching House with Eaddie on account of how much she missed me, clocking out after roughly 38 waking hours.

ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHA!

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Tropical Mornings

I got out of bed with Summer this morning so I could go out before the sun came up. It was still plenty bright outside because we’re on the wrong side of everything to see a proper sunrise, but it was still really pretty out. We walked along the breakwater and watched surfers go out to sea. Then we walked down the pier to look at the boats. We ran into a couple roosters by a swing in a tree, and then a friendly cat. We even spotted a boat for sale for a cool half million.

Eventually we were hungry enough for breakfast, so we went to CJ’s again to see if they could open on time. They made it pretty close, and the food and service both ended up being pretty good. This week has been pretty successful as far as food goes.

When we got back to the room, we took Dad out to try the pool, which was way too cold in the shade for being on a tropical island. We eventually moved from there to the saltwater lagoon, which was still too cold for Summer. Dad went to rent a stand-up paddleboard while Summer laid in the grass. I just shuffled around the lagoon letting fish nibble at my feet.

Julie eventually made it out with Mom as well, and they had a lad carry out a couple beach chairs and dig a hole for an umbrella. I eventually had my fair share of sun and went in to clean up. I made a sandwich for lunch to clean up some of the food we have left, and then went with Dad and Summer to do some souvenir shopping. I hate gift shopping, and wasn’t terribly impressed with much of anything. At least Summer loaded up for all of her people.

We rested for a bit after shopping, then dressed up for dinner upstairs at Fresco Italian. I was pleasantly surprised by the food, and it was nice to be seated right next to an open window, where outside they were hosting a luau. We split up after dinner and Summer and I walked around a bit more before coming back to the room. I stayed up a bit late to pack as much as I could before bed.

Tropical evenings