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Avengers: Girl Power

We got up this morning and headed to Little Rock for lunch and an IMAX showing of Endgame. Our first stop was at Sam’s to pick up a bag of rice for Summer’s mom, and then we went to Chuy’s to eat. The food was amazing as usual, but looking back it was probably too expensive to be taking all of those youngsters. They end up ordering cheaply made food and not enjoying the value of the more expensive dishes, but everything there is a bit higher anyway. I’d love to go to happy hour at some point without them though.

After we ate, we went to The Promenade At Chenal to walk the food off a bit. We never even made it to any of the stores, and just did one loop around the area. We did make a couple stops at some benches to rest, kill some time, and take a few pictures. I made Summer mad because I wouldn’t pose with her in front of a concrete LOVE sculpture, but I didn’t like having to get someone out in the street for a proper angle. I did take a couple from behind that could be mirrored, but by that time nobody would really cooperate anyway.

The kids walked on ahead to the theater, so Summer and I went on in even though we were over half an hour early. The entire process was ticketless, which was kind of a bummer for me because I like keeping them as a sort of souvenir. My glasses were dirty too, but they washed well in the sink. The kids got some small popcorns and drinks, and we made our way to our seats. All of my bladder training paid off, and I made it through to at least the start of the regular credits.

Endgame was an amazing movie. It was constantly full of emotion. I thought there were some moments that could have been shortened a bit to shave some precious seconds off of the total film length, but I was pretty happy with the screen time that the characters got. I wasn’t a fan of Captain Flythroughyourships, and I was surprised to see her get a lesbian haircut in the middle of the movie. I also didn’t really care for the girl-power moment. I’m all for powerful female characters, but we already had some that we killed off. What happened here was too forced. In the end, I thought they did a fantastic job of bringing the story to a close. I’m interested to see where Spider-Man goes from here.

We weren’t really hungry after the movie, so we headed home to drop Noah off, and then we watched some Parks and Rec until bedtime.

I am Iron Man.

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Planted Fitness

Summer had her RussVegas Half Marathon this morning. I had delusions of getting the girls out early enough to eat breakfast and cheer her on, but we weren’t up in time for West Main Donuts, and Hardee’s evidently closed due to a fire. We ended up getting some Burger King to go and made it downtown, parked, and walked toward the finish line just in time to meet Summer at the last turn toward the finish. She didn’t see us and I didn’t have my camera up to take a picture, but she looked to be in significantly better shape than pretty much any other run I’ve seen her participate in.

We walked toward Old Bank and sat at a table just outside for a while to eat our breakfast. I ran inside for a moment to say hello to Ryan and told him we were going to come in for a Quiz Bowl watch party for the high school team on AETN. Nobody around him had heard anything about it, but eventually we meandered in and ultimately filled up a room with maybe 50 people. The girls picked mostly a bunch of snack food to eat, and I had some “street tacos” that were good, but not what I would consider deserving of the “street” title. I’m only just remembering that I forgot my leftover cheese dip on the table when we left.

Summer took Autumn back home, and Eaddie and I went to my house so I could clean up a bit. Evidently the litter box took off on its own and left wet litter, so I had to spend most of my time cleaning up after that. She watched TV until I was ready to go, and we went back to their house so I could swap Eaddie for Autumn. I had to take her to her grandparents’ house to mow the lawn, and then I went to my parents’ house and helped Dad plant the baby raspberry bushes. I really hope they make it, but I also secretly wish they were blackberries.

It started to rain a bit, and Autumn finished with her mowing. I went to get her, then Noah, and we went to Lowe’s to scope out the promotion they were running. You could basically get free money to use in store today only by texting a word to their promotion number. I had everyone and then some try for me, but I never found anyone with more than $5. Autumn and Noah were pretty restless and agitated that I kept them there as long as I did, so we grabbed some snacks for (mostly) free and went back to their house.

Some of us were getting hungry, so I made a game plan and loaded everyone up. We went to my house so I could measure the toilet seat. Then I tried unnecessarily to switch Noah’s phone service to a different device so I could get his coupon code. I didn’t realize he was able to get the response but unable to view the web page, so in the end I just had him forward the text to me. Then we went back with all five codes and picked up a new toilet seat and four bags of Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics™ All Purpose Container Mix, which I’m hoping is their new name for Miracle-Gro Organic Potting Mix. I wanted to use it to plant my aquariums and also not murder my fish. Time will tell.

We finally made it out of the store just a little bit before closing time, and went to my parents’ house for dinner. Autumn ate boring ham and steamed rice, and the rest of us had bún bò Huế. After dinner, I tried to troubleshoot my parents’ first generation Chromecast. It would show video during the boot process, but then go to a black screen after the “G” logo. The online support just had me submit a feedback report, so we’ll see what happens.

With the whole troupe exhausted, we headed back to their house for the evening. I couldn’t resist a huge glass of water before bed, but I think tomorrow will have to be mostly dry to make it through Endgame.

Peaches come from a can! They were put there by a man in a factory downtown.

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Tutti Flutti

My blood pressure started off better today, but by the afternoon it had gone right back to where it always is. It’s a little bit frustrating because I can’t tell any difference in how I feel at all.

We didn’t have a team meeting or any group projects today due to testing, so I started the day with a Paradise donut someone had brought in to the office at Oakland. Then I was made to run across town for a non-issue and piddled around there until lunch time. Zach, Jason, Brice, and I went to Brick Oven and actually made it back to work in time, which was a true Christmas miracle.

After lunch, I ran around with Zach to try and help fix some doors at the middle school before heading back to the junior high to wrap up my day. When I finally left, I went straight to my parents’ house to wait for Mom and have dinner. On the way, I called and talked to Julie for a bit about her flute because Eaddie’s been having trouble with hers. She said Mom and Dad still had her original one at the house, and that we could try it out. Summer dropped Autumn off at her parents’ house and then came over with Eaddie. It took some coaxing, but she eventually played the flute a bit and found that it was more or less in pretty good condition. It could use a good polish, but otherwise it played well.

When Mom finally got home, we all had some spaghetti. I made Summer a big bowl so she could carb up for her race tomorrow, and then we shared a big bowl of peach cobbler before heading out. Summer went to get Autumn and take her home while Eaddie and I headed back to my house for a bit. On the way, I remembered to stop by Oakland to pick up some raspberry plants that Tammy had brought for me. It was late and dark, so I was worried about leaving the rest there, so I brought them all back to my parents’ house for Dad to put in a vase until they could be planted.

Back at my house, Eaddie watched a couple episodes of Parks and Rec on her own to catch up while I cleaned up and got ready to go back to their house. I wanted to try and get breakfast with the girls in the morning while Summer was at her race, but Summer said something about a fire at the Hardee’s on that side of town. We have other options though.

Summer was already in bed when we got there. Eaddie practiced the flute a bit more before bed, and I played a couple of quick, dominating games of Overwatch with Clint, Johnny, Jack, and Aaron before I passed out myself.

Oh yeah, I feel the burn.

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More Carrots Than Sticks

Somehow I got suckered into checking a cart full of Chromebooks for settings the classroom full of kids had changed. I asked the teacher to make sure the kids weren’t doing this in the future, and she asked me to tell them so myself. I guess I’m a teacher now. Where do I sign up for appreciation week?

I spent most of the day at the junior high for a change, and kept moderately busy. I wanted to try Whatta-Burger for lunch, and I think Dale agreed, but there was a huge line when I got there. Brice kind of pushed to go somewhere else, so I offered Wendy’s and met him there. I’m still not sure where Dale ended up going. There was a pretty good line at Wendy’s too, and it probably moved just about as fast, but I know for a fact that Whatta-Burger wouldn’t have been worth the wait. A strawberry shake probably would have improved my mood a bit though.

Evidently we had some kind of internet trouble near the end of the day, so I ended up having to kill quite a bit of time until Autumn finished with color guard. Summer took a sick day and met with Kelsey for some insurance advice before picking up Eaddie for karate. It was my job to get Autumn there, and then take them both home at the end of the day.

I ran home and worked on the aquariums a little bit, got the girls, and headed up to their house for dinner. Summer’s rice cooker quit working, so she stir fried some dry ramen noodles with the chicken and vegetables instead. It turned out really awesome, but could have used some peppers for heat. I managed to cook the half-soaked rice in a regular pot over the stove, and it turned out alright too, which I accepted as a great success.

Autumn was a jerk about dinner and very nearly turned things very dark, but through quiet persistence we defeated her ugly attitude. Eaddie watched an episode of Parks and Recreation with Summer and me, and then I headed home for the evening.

And it wasn’t my intention to be filthy rich.

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Just a Splash of Kool-Aid

I tried to take today pretty easy since I’ve been over-monitoring my blood pressure the past couple days. Luckily this time of year it’s easy to do that, but I’m not looking forward to a hot summer. We all went out to Brangus for lunch so Ben could treat Heather for administrative professionals day. I told her I didn’t need an artificial holiday to remind me how much we love her. Besides, I thought the day was for actual administrators, which also doesn’t include sysadmins.

Allen provided a cellphone photograph of a CD for Gary to whitelist the software. I don’t think I have to explain to anyone else that this is not how that works.

After work, I ran home and did some water changes before dressing up for dinner. Then I made my way to Summer’s in the rain to pick up everyone. One of the guys from her new company wanted to take us all out for dinner at Brangus so we could meet his family and get to know a little more about what she’s getting in to. They’re definitely coming in swinging, and it makes sense that there’s so much money in what they’re doing because it’s more about a service than a product. I’m excited for her, and I hope it works out as well as she believes. There’s always more money in sales, no matter what field you’re in.

Back home, Summer went to bed sick, and I played a couple rounds of Overwatch with Clint and Johnny before bed.

The puns will practically write themselves.

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HIGH SCORE

I tried taking it kind of easy today, but it didn’t seem to help. I’m close to executing a strict Soylent diet. I wanted to ride the bike today, but was too afraid of how I might handle my medication. One of the first things I encountered this morning was a SMART board that a substitute had written on with a dry erase marker. It did not erase. Technology is hard, and I had a headache for pretty much the rest of the day.

Allen ended up taking me to Pizza Hut for lunch, where I was going to use a free P’zone coupon, but we both ended up getting the buffet and I took the P’zone to Summer. Gary and I chatted for quite a while after lunch about various work things, and then I had to go to the junior high for esports practice. I had Chrystal check my blood pressure first, since I had taken my first pill at lunch. To our surprise, I got a new high score of 190/110. I’m definitely dying.

I went to my parents’ house after work for bún bò Huế, which ended up taking longer to prepare than I expected. I tried to relax there as much as I could, and then ended up going home for an early bedtime.

I’m gonna be so mad if I die before “Endgame.”

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Roller Coaster! Of Blooooooood. (say what?)

The Catapult Health Clinic was at the middle school today, and I had my visit scheduled first thing in the morning. They seemed to be running a little slow, so it took me a few minutes to get in, but it wasn’t any worse than going to my doctor’s office. The difference is that they had me do all the paperwork right there with them while they sampled my blood. That’s about the time that shit got cray.

My first blood pressure reading was 188/122. I’ve never paid particular attention to those goals, so for me it was business as usual. The second reading was 170/111, which was more than 10 points off of the first reading, so I got a third at 186/127. That’s when a different nurse came over with an alarmed look on his face. He called the first girl back over and asked what they should do, and she replied that the video chat nurse would probably just talk to me about it. After a brief wait to go behind the video chat curtain, a nurse practitioner video chatted with me and brought up a warning/disclaimer to call my doctor immediately.

I went to Oakland to do some work and told the girls about my experience, so Leslie took my blood pressure again at 183/114. Nearly an hour later, I had relaxed it down to 174/114. I was less concerned, but already coerced into calling my doctor. I could have gone in right at lunch time, but I was already hangry at that point, so I scheduled a visit for 2 in the afternoon and went with a big group to lunch at Western Sizzlin where I had an incredibly unhealthy salad. It could have been better.

After lunch, the doctor visit went relatively well. They had renovated most of the building, and pretty well removed my old doctor’s name and replaced pretty much every comfort of familiarity. I hated watching the reel of healthcare advertisements in the lobby. At least everything else looked cleaner and less dingy than before. The first nurse got my blood pressure at 160/90 in both arms and said it wasn’t that bad, and blamed the high numbers on the auto-cuffs we had used all morning. A short wait later, the ARNP came in and basically said the same, but then followed that she was prescribing some low dosage blood pressure medication. I’ve officially made it to the stage in life where I’m kept artificially alive. Also, I have ringworm.

I went straight back to the junior high after my visit was over, and had Chrystal take my blood pressure again. She had a manual cuff like the doctor’s office, and came up with 182/110, which served only to confuse me more. Convinced that Death was following me around, I continued on with the rest of my day. Summer left to go to the gym, and I took the girls to Walgreens to pick up my prescriptions before going to my parents’ house for dinner.

My parents seemed not to be too concerned with me getting medication, and leftovers were good. All I had left to do was research my new drugs.

Until I got home.

Bulk item pickup day apparently didn’t include tires or televisions, so both were left in my front lawn. The CRT TV chassis appeared to be split open, so of course it fell completely apart as soon as I touched it. The glass immediately shattered, half on the grass and half on my driveway. I would have preferred to sweep it off of only the driveway, but that would have left me feeling less defeated. My new, concerned neighbor laughed at my response that I was okay, but contemplating life.

We’ll try again tomorrow.

Blood pressure’s like a roller coaster baby, baby. I’m gonna die.

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I Could Chair Less

I haven’t been able to sleep in much this weekend for some reason. I don’t know if it’s just too bright outside or if it’s because of the head cold, but it’s been tiring and annoying feeling so drained. Summer headed home to get her chores done while I spent all morning preparing potatoes to bake in the afternoon.

The girls came home all gross, cranky, and uncooperative because they were tired and apparently good personal hygiene is out of fashion. The twice baked potatoes ended up taking me quite a bit longer to make than I expected too, but I still had them finished right as the girls walked in the door. We made it to my parent’s house about an hour late, so everyone had already started eating without us. The girls weren’t very hungry anyway since they ate with their dad, but Summer and I filled up.

Julie made keto food and said she made cauliflower rice. It was cauliflower, and I don’t get why these people have to call it by the wrong name. I guess if I eliminated a food group, I’d be a little crazy too. As they were leaving, Mr. Houston said he moved in next door, so that will be new I guess. Nobody stuck around for very long after dinner, and we weren’t an exception. Summer and I had to get back to move some furniture out of my house.

Bulk item pickup comes twice a year, and I refused to miss it this time around. I set calendar reminders for both Summer and myself, and we planned to move at least one couch out of the house. We ended up moving three. I no longer have a huge amount of seating, but it seems like nobody comes around these days anyway. It was nice to get rid of so much stuff all at once. Random scrappers came by and picked up two lawn mowers as quickly as I put them out. The rest I suppose will sit until morning. I’ll probably continue to feel guilty about trashing old shoes and boots for the rest of my life, but it made Summer feel better. I really should have cleaned them up and donated them, but it hadn’t happened in this many years, so I guess it was just as well for them to be thrown away.

Cleaning the cat box has become a total nightmare, and I had to do a load of laundry before bed. I guess change will feel better eventually, but right now it’s hard not to feel a little jarred.

Sofa, so good.

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Mow, Mow, Mow your Moat

We got up this morning at a pretty reasonable hour and finished the first season of Battlestar Galactica. Afterward, my parents came by and discussed getting rid of my Fieros, much to my annoyance. I guess it would ultimately probably be best, but I do miss driving them, and I can’t shake the feeling that I should have them fixed up again.

Once my parents left, Summer went to the gym and Bác Vân helped me with some yard work. We trimmed a bunch of branches and cleaned up the front yard so Summer could mow when she got back. It was pretty soggy in some places, but we got it all done and the yard looks a lot better. I’ll have to clear a bunch of brush in the back, but hopefully that won’t be too terrible. The mower seems to do a great job of mulching, and the single battery lasted almost exactly long enough to do both the front and back of the house. I’m sure when it’s thicker, I’ll probably have to bring out the second battery, but for now I’m very pleased.

After all that yard work was done, we came in to shower and then met my parents at Kroger to use some fuel points before going to New China for dinner. Nearly my entire body cramped up from all of the yard work, but I managed to work them out well enough to go eat. When we finished there, we went to Walmart to pick up some things for Easter dinner tomorrow, and then wandered around the store for a while to hunt for deals. We picked up a couple snow scrapers for just pennies, so I call it a win.

Summer went to bed pretty much as soon as we got home, and I played some Overwatch with Clint until bedtime.

…and some Sour Patch Kids and a Coke can!

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Tiny Dancers

Jason didn’t have any projects again for us this week, so after a long, chatty meeting, I went to Oakland to visit for a while before lunch. When I got back to the shop, Jason had me go to central office to run a short line with for him. As we left, several people commented things like, “did you get it fixed?” Jason responded that we had to come back with a tone generator to find a line he had lost, and I added, “why do things in one visit when two will do?” Cindy came back with, “well Jason’s already been here twice already!”

Zach had offered up Western Sizzlin, Stoby’s, or Fat Daddy’s in London as choices for lunch, and because the people I work with have boring, predictable taste, we went to Fat Daddy’s. I tried to slyly load up with Gary, Zach, and Heather, but Gary misstepped and ended up with Heather and Brice while Zach and I drove together and everyone else went with Jason. At least they had expanded their menu to more closely resemble the one downtown, so I got a barbecue burrito. It didn’t seem quite as good as I remembered it, and the menu was misleading in its description of ingredients. That place frustrates me near endlessly.

After lunch, I spent some time at the junior high and visited with Ronda. I had to tell her about the plans for next year, and we discussed getting together over the summer. I think a group vacation could be lots of fun.

When I got home from work, I played enough Overwatch to get another loot box before Summer got here. Then I went to check out the dance at Oakland for a little bit. It was a pretty cool setup they had going on, and most everyone seemed to be having quite a bit of fun. I spent some time backstage with Michael as he played DJ on his iPad.

I didn’t stay super long though, since I was tired from working sickly all week long. I headed back home and warmed up some freezer burned dinner that I had gotten from Zach, and then Summer and I watched Battlestar Galactica until bedtime. I noticed the guys were online, but they were in their last game of Overwatch. They agreed to play one more with me before bed.

The devil you know…