I had most of the day to myself at work, so I’m almost done with all of my lab work. I can feel the crunch coming before school, though, so I’ll need to stay on task next week to make sure the group stuff goes as smoothly as possible.

For lunch, we went to Steve’s Snack Shack for some Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. I had Steve’s Steak Sandwich, which was awesome, though cumbersome to eat. I didn’t manage to get a picture of it, so I guess that means I’ll have to go back.

After work, Johnny called to confirm we were meeting up with Josh. Josh apparently didn’t accept the plans as confirmed and had his friend Chris over, so Johnny came to my house instead and we went to Dardanelle for a taco truck and mangonada. I’ve had better food from there, but the mangonada was delicious. Josh eventually came over, and we goofed around on YouTube for a while until Johnny left. Josh left shortly thereafter, and I ended up going to sleep relatively early for the weekend.

Too tired to blog? Get outta here!

It was more cable pulling at work today. I got a bit frustrated with some of the team for lack of participation and attitudes. Physical labor seems to really put all of those guys on edge. I was tired yesterday, but still in high spirits. Everyone else just turned sour.

I forgot that Mom had planned to make spring rolls after work, so I ended up eating a bunch of leftovers at home. Dad called earlier and said he spotted a server rack in a dumpster at work, so we went to check it out. We had to climb a ladder to get inside the dumpster, then lift the rack and all the side panels up and out of it. Somehow we managed to haul it home successfully. It’s a bit shorter than the one I wanted to take from work, but it has all of the sides and doors, plus it’s ready to use immediately unlike the ones at work.

Hopefully tomorrow’s a lighter day at work and I can spend some time in my own buildings.

And I’m just a little bit closer to turning all of this money into heat.

I got to spend all day catching up in my own buildings by myself, which means I got a lot done. All the teachers are starting to come back around, which seems only to serve as an annoyance to some of the guys I work with. I get really sick of their attitudes. I enjoyed seeing people again.

For lunch, it was just Dale and me at Arby’s. I tried out their new Triple Thick Brown Sugar Bacon BLT. The flavor was a bit too far on the sweet side for me. The bacon seemed overcooked and drenched in sauce/maple sugar glaze. Also there just wasn’t very much bacon on the sandwich. It could even have used a bit more tomato and lettuce. It was just overall a bit too saucy.

After work, I went to my parents’ house for some leftovers, then came home to a load of laundry and some Battlegrounds with Jack, Clint, and Johnny. I had my best game yet, which was nice.

Mood: Forlorn

Wake up. Shit. Shower. Blow dry. Brush. Brush. Dress. Work.

It’s just another one of those long, inconsequential days.

I had surprisingly good Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch with Jason. Chicken wasn’t dry or over-sauced. Probably paid too much though. It wasn’t as hot outside as it has been. I dropped off an Amazon return at the UPS box, then came home and played a couple rounds of Overwatch before spending a couple hours on support chat with HTC to replace my phone before the warranty ends. Then it was Battlegrounds when Josh and Johnny got back on.

This is working so I can afford to keep working.

I finished up some laundry today while watching Avengers: Age of Ultron. I remember seeing this movie late after its release at the Carmike theater in Fort Smith with Jack and Nichole. It’s a pretty cheap theater to begin with, but we watched the movie on one of their worst screens to boot. I was already upset that I didn’t catch it in 3D, so I remember getting up from the movie a couple times for bathroom breaks or snacks. I figured I’d be sure to catch it in 3D once it released on Blu-Ray. I finally got to watch it, but I need to take the plunge on a nice OLED 3D TV for myself. I just feel guilty because of how much money I spent last month.

Josh asked me out for a late lunch/dinner, but I had forgotten my parents planned to grill steaks, so I had to back out of dinner with Josh. When I got to my parents’ house, Dad had grilled a few steaks but left some for me to grill. It wouldn’t have been that much of a problem, except all of the charcoal had been used up and I basically had to restart the grill from scratch to get anything cooked. Then after I ate, Mom came in and fussed at us for not having grilled some squash and zucchini she bought. I told her I normally only grill squash like that because it’s something you can grill and not necessarily because it’s something I enjoy grilling, or that even tastes better on the grill.

She packed me a huge bowl of fruit, and I headed home to pick up some eggrolls from Bác Vân, and then I settled in with some Battlegrounds with Johnny and Josh. Jack eventually came on and we played a couple rounds together before bedtime.

That’s what you get for eating dirt, you idiot!

Today, my family would get together to celebrate a joint birthday dinner for my sister and Bác Vân.

I started off playing a bit of Overwatch this morning until I had to start getting ready. Jesica stopped by to visit for just a bit before I was supposed to leave, and gave me the biggest, most intentional hugs I’ve ever received from her. It was a hilarious role reversal.

After only a few minutes, I showed her out so I could take Bác Vân to meet the rest of my family at Linh Vietnamese Cuisine. Dinner conversation ranged from a murder most fowl, to how to purposefully deface my parents’ own cemetery plots as a strategy to sell them back to the cemetery, to my father’s retirement and whether to opt for survivor benefits. I suggested he remarry a significantly younger and healthier heiress as to draw the benefits for an unnaturally long time. I’m sure that’s never been done before.

After dinner, I went home for a little while before going next door to hang Bác Vân’s new 49″ LG TV with the articulating mount I bought her. I was surprised to find one defective part and four screws that were too short to follow the provided directions, but we improvised and powered through the install. My parents forgot to pack the power cable with the TV, so I had to run over to their house to retrieve it, but I eventually got her sorted.

I waited up all night for someone to show up for some gaming as promised, but for the third night in a row, I was left to my own devices.

My hands have been a bit tender since drinking last night, and I’ve no idea why.

Perhaps it’s Death.

I’m in such a state of fury, shock, horror, disbelief, and frustration. I missed out on the duck yesterday because I was sick. I went out this morning before work to feed it, and I couldn’t find it anywhere. After giving up on chasing it around the pen, I went in to get some food for it. On the way back with food, I discovered it. The bill. Just the bill. Something had ripped my duckling apart. Completely destroyed it. Literally only its mouth was left in my lawn. I’ve never seen anything like a cat do something like that, so I’m assuming it was a raccoon or something. No feathers, no bones. Just a beak.

I trudged through work. Ate Brick Oven. Went home at 4. Played some Overwatch. Listened to some Linkin Park.

Fuckin’ duck, man. Nothing like nature to remind you how savage and unforgiving the world is.

Just like some predator to make a meal of my duck and then stick me with the bill.

I woke up still holding on to the fever from last night, so I called in to work for at least a half day. After going back to sleep, I didn’t wake up until well after lunchtime, so I let them know I’d be taking off the rest of the day as well.

I couldn’t kick the fever all day, but I managed to call Suddenlink to complain about my rate. I went from $94 for 100Mb and telephone service to $54 for 200Mb service and no telephone. I call that a win.

Late in the evening, I called Brandie to see how her mom’s doing. Apparently she’s been in the hospital after a multiple bypass, compounded by diabetic issues. She says she’s doing relatively well, but still has to get through therapy to regain some independence.

I’m just now starting to feel better, so hopefully some sleep will get me back to normal for the morning.

Ain’t goin’ to work, no way!

As if by clockwork, I came down with a fever and body aches this afternoon. This is exactly 31 days after I thought I had contracted avian flu from the duck. At first I thought it was the Ci-Ci’s, but this mess is more sinister.

I came home after work and burned up under the covers for a few hours, trying to sweat it out like last time. I think the fever’s still here, along with the aches and ringing ears as though I’ve returned from a war zone.

Speaking of war, I tried playing a single, short-lived game of Battlegrounds with Jack and Josh. That hurt too much, so now I’m back to bed.

‘Til the very next day…