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Let’s Table this for Now

I started out behind this morning after dealing with a faulty cat box. I’ve really got to do a full disassembly when the weather’s nice. What a way to spend an afternoon. Before I could even get to work, Heather was already harassing me about my ugly folding table that I scavenged from the stage upstairs. I can’t stand that so much good stuff is being thrown out in the name of renovation. Regardless, I knew I was going to have to find a way to get it home.

I stayed pretty steady all day. I guess I filled myself up on coffee, because I never really got overly hungry for lunch. Summer surprised me with an apple fritter when I got to the junior high, so that and the coffee carried me straight through a working lunch until quitting time. I managed to fit the table into my car and headed to Hubbard to pick up my bike. It was a quick ride home before Summer picked me up to retrieve my car, and then I went to Wendy’s for a cheap dinner. I spent all evening in a level of semi-stress just reading about video cards. Then I ate the other half of a partially fermented kiwi.

Oh the times, they have a-change-d.

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Fever for the Favor

I didn’t have a whole lot going on today at work. A few of the others have caught up pretty close to me in work orders, and I guess it’s because both of my campuses become pretty self-reliant after a while. I ran to Wendy’s to grab a cheap lunch that I ate at home for no particular reason. I think I’m just tired of the grunt work, and I’m looking for something to learn and have fun with again.

After work, I ran straight home to get the bike, and Summer came to get my tire to take to Hubbard ATV. Then Eaddie and I went to pick up Autumn from her color guard practice. We stopped by the Neighborhood Market for a couple loaves of French bread, then went to their house to start up some garlic bread for dinner. When Summer got there, she and I ate some leftover spaghetti while the girls ate a frozen pizza. Then I headed back home for bed.

I’ve got the green glow under my car!

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Home, Sleep Home

I had a headache all night, and I wasn’t sure if it was neck positioning again, or if it was because my new CPAP was blowing at a lower pressure than the overkill I was used to getting on my old machine. I didn’t really wake up much, and I don’t think I really gasped for air in the night, but I definitely worked up a pretty bad headache that just wouldn’t go away until I got up and took a couple naproxen. Having the machine automatically adjust itself may just take some getting used to since my old machine was basically breathing for me.

We were pretty hungry for lunch, so we invited Bác Vân to go with us to Mulan’s. Summer’s heart rate shot up while we were eating, and when we got back home she still wasn’t feeling well enough to do anything, so she took a nap while I did a bunch of laundry. Eventually she had to go home to receive the kids, so I finished up on laundry and then took the bike up to her place to install a couple shower heads. Then we watched an episode of The Office before it got too dark for me to go home. I stopped to fill my tires with air on the way home, and then got sucked into an internet black hole reading up on CPAP forums.

Slow your bankroll.

Adventure Time!

Gauntlet Wars

We had to get up super early this morning to make it to Little Rock for Summer’s run at Conquer the Gauntlet. Somehow we managed to get out the door and all the way there without incident, and we dropped her off in the middle of a huge grassy field where everyone was parking.

I took the girls to Sonic since we were all super hungry. I thought that would have gotten them into better moods, but but it was mostly downhill from there. I had some trouble with the Sonic app ordering again, which I think makes four out of five times that I’ve had an issue with it. This time, I was unable to place my order and was double charged for a $40 refill on my gift card. Fortunately, it looks like customer service will be able to refund me if I give them a call. When we got done eating, we went to the McCain Mall to shop around. The girls started off okay, but things quickly devolved into more or less constant bickering. We had a moment of brief quiet as I picked up a Rocket League blind box pull-back racer car. We even went back to try and recover my decade-old preorder credit without any luck.

We made a quick stop at Dick’s to try and refill my CO2 canisters before heading out to pick Summer up again. It was my first denial for the age of the tanks and how long it’s been since they’d been hydrostatically tested. Summer texted as we were walking out, so we made our way back to the event to pick her up. I called when we got there to find out where to find her, and as soon as I hung up I got a call from a girl I was messaging on the Fbook about a CPAP. She wanted to meet at the McCain Mall at 3, so we got Summer, went to eat a celebratory meal at Red Lobster, and then picked up my new CPAP.

From there we stopped at Sam’s for a few things, and I nearly picked up a box of Coca-Cola syrup before deciding against it until I had more CO2. We stopped by the Dick’s in Conway so I could be denied for that one last time, and then headed home so the girls could go with their father to the county fair. Once they were gone, we headed back to my house to set up my new CPAP and start some laundry.

As soon as Summer flopped down on the bed, she spotted a brown recluse, and then a second just a few seconds later. After a mad dash to strip the bed sheets, I killed a total of half a dozen of them of various sizes. At least the new sheets seem soft. And spider-free.

I can’t even imagine how many of them I’ve swallowed in the night.

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They See Me Enrollin’

Gary and I spent all morning enrolling Chromebooks for CBI classrooms. Then after an overpriced lunch at CJ’s, Amanda and I delivered most of them to the junior high. Zach joined us to install a touch panel at Sequoyah, and that pretty much made the work day. I pulled some more scrap out of the auditorium, but all the good stuff has really already been scrapped, and it still upsets me. I guess I just should have asked sooner.

I went home for a while after work to clean up, and then picked Eaddie up from an after school event. Summer made a big spaghetti dinner in preparation for her Conquer the Gauntlet run tomorrow. Autumn wasn’t having any of it, so some words had to be said. I’m nervous about getting everyone up and around in the morning, particularly because it didn’t seem like anyone showered before bed. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.

Go to sleep doo doo doo doo doo doo.

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That Time I Trolled the Police

I parked in my usual space at Oakland this morning. Unthreatened by unwarranted police force, I couldn’t resist the temptation. I had too many people and too much logic and too much of the law on my side. I had just walked into the office after doing some work when Erica said Sheri was on the phone with him. I didn’t find out until later that he had pulled up behind me and was calling from just outside the building, but Sheri told him to leave me alone because she needed more help dealing with actual real life dangers like speeding and cell phone usage down the street in front of the school. Justice is.. well.. I didn’t go to jail. So, whatever, Beyette.

Zach and I went to Morelos to get some fajitas for lunch. I was super hungry and made a happy plate. Then I spent all afternoon mostly catching up with people at the junior high. I told Kevin about my victory in the morning, and he pulled me into his office to ask what time my confrontation happened the day before. He already had the cameras pulled up for that campus and day, and wanted to see the guy’s stupid face when he tried to intimidate me. It went downhill from “not a fan” pretty fast.

When it was time to leave, I took Eaddie to my parents’ house for some mango soup. I told her it was one of my favorite soups that Mom makes, and she said I say that every time. I asked if I had ever lead her astray, and she sheepishly shook her head and grinned.

Summer went to the football game to see Autumn perform at halftime, and Eaddie and I went back to my house to pick up some things for tomorrow before heading back to their house. This week has gone by fast, and I’m ready to have some time at home. Those cats just can’t keep the place tidy. I don’t know what their deal is.

It’s pretty bad when your own brothers in blue don’t have your back.

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The Day Before I Almost Got Arrested

I started the day off at Oakland, working on a handful of things. The moment that stands out, though, was when I was helping Sheri with some technical issues she was having in a testing room. Erica came by and tapped on the glass and pointed at me, so I came out and was greeted by a uniformed police officer. He informed me that I was parked in a no-parking zone. I corrected him that it was a no-unloading-zone. He said I could finish what I was doing in the testing room before moving my vehicle, so I offered to walk him outside to confirm. He tried getting all tough-guy and said we could do things the hard way if I wanted. He asked to see my ID, but I insisted we should go outside to look first.

When we got outside, John was already there and started telling the officer that maintenance and I park in that area all the time because we are employees that travel and may have to unload equipment or otherwise access areas that are not normally accessed by the public. When we got to my car, I pointed at each word on the sign as I read them aloud slowly. He pointed at the ground behind my vehicle where the old parking spaces had been painted over and re-marked with NO PARKING. I guess he missed the bright yellow school bus that was parked squarely on top of a painted NO PARKING area. He said he was checking all of the schools after complaints about people parking “suspiciously.” Outside of the building I didn’t want to push my luck, so I gave up my ID when he asked again, and then moved to a parking space so he would leave.

Back inside, Mollie said she would make me my own parking space. I insisted it would have to be in the front lawn by the tree, or somewhere else conspicuous and obviously not a parking area. She said that wouldn’t be a problem. After a quick run through Wendy’s for lunch, I ended up at the junior high and told Kevin about my harassment. He knew almost immediately who I was talking to and indicated that he wasn’t a fan of the guy’s attitude either. He even went as far as to tell me I should hang a “TECHNOLOGY PARKING ONLY” sign on top of the no-unloading-zone sign when I park there tomorrow, because he would be on duty again. I think the real problem was that he came into the building without a visitor badge. Office staff should really be trained to take IDs from everyone, even if they’re dressed up like cops. We’ve got to be vigilant with these predators and sexual offenders.

After work, I ran home to tend to the ailing betta. It looked worse off and seemed even less active, but I’ll keep doing what I can. I moved him to a small betta cup with just a little bit of water in it so he wouldn’t have to swim so high to get to the surface for air, but his eyes are clouded over and I’m not sure he’ll eat anything. I’ll feel a lot better if I can get him to eat something.

Summer beat me to my parents’ house for dinner, but they weren’t home anyway. They arrived shortly after I did, and we had dinner and played some more arcade games and foosball. The kids all ate pretty well, and then Summer had to get them home for homework and bedtime. I filled up on gas on the way, and it was pretty much straight to bed since Summer’s neck was out again.

Julie messaged the family late with her own troubles, and I guess all I can really do is hope for the best. Sometimes you’ve just got to make your own fortune.

I’ll give you one guess which one of us has more authority inside this building right now.

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Fishing for Help

I spent all morning back and forth between Oakland and the shop, and only had a few answers to show for it. I’ve got so many work orders to close all at once when these long jobs are finished. Ronda was going to go to lunch with us for $5 salads at Ruby Tuesday, but she ended up meeting Steven instead when our lunch hours didn’t quite mesh. I didn’t make it back to the shop in time to drive, so I met Jason and Allen there.

Most of the afternoon was spent waiting for a fix for PaperCut, and then an hour or so was spent on the phone with the VantageLED folks. The first half hour call I made ended up with me in a queue where I went from the first person in line to being the second person in line, and then I heard someone rattle a phone and hang up on me. The second call got me the resolution I needed, but still no answer for why my emails to tech support never garnered a response. They say there are notes that we were referred to an electrician, but that is both false and an incorrect diagnosis for the problem I’m experiencing.

The fix for PaperCut ended up being an update to the embedded printer software, and then I went to my parents’ house for a bit before deciding to go to the junior high to pick up Jessica’s dying betta. It looked dreadful, and Ronda felt like it was going to die overnight, so I decided to take it home to try and nurse it back to health. I hope it works, selfishly as an I-told-you-so moment. I wish I could impart some empathy and a willingness to properly care for fish, but I guess it’s just too small of a creature for her to care about.

When the girls got out of karate, Summer brought them to my parents’ house and we had most of a Christmas dinner. We didn’t stick around too long though, because the kids had work to do, and I had a fish tank to clean. I guess I’ve done all I can for now. We’ll see how he is tomorrow.

Thank you for holding. All our agents are busy helping more important customers right now.

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Quick Trip to Arcadia

This morning started with an outcry over badge printing. It seemed like just about everyone was affected, but I think Amanda had more trouble than I did. Mine seemed to pick up again after restarting the printers. Then I spent too long fighting with some newer, yet somehow unmanaged iPads. I left a little late for lunch and got a drink and free tots from Sonic, and chili with a free burger for Wendy’s. I ended up eating too much, but paid so little.

The junior high ate up my whole afternoon, and I’ve likely worked myself into another directionless morning tomorrow. Hopefully I get myself on task and close out some more work orders pretty quickly, and I should be able to take the lead.

After work, I took the girls to my parents’ house while Summer went to the gym. We tried waiting a little while for her before we started eating, but once the food was hot, I started the kids on dinner. Somewhere in there, I fired up my old arcade cabinet, and Eaddie and I beat Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Autumn wasn’t having much of it, but at least she ate two hot dogs without too much fuss. She and Summer tried playing some foosball as Eaddie and I finished up.

Too many cookies later, the girls all went home, and I went to my house to spend some time with the cats and clean up a bit before bed.

…back when there were only four elements!

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Fortin’ Around

Summer got up and went to the gym this morning while I got showered and ready to go. We got to my parents’ house right before noon, and we all headed to Fort Smith. We dropped Dad off at the library for the magic club meeting, then the three of us went to a coffee shop and had a white people version of Vietnamese French roast coffee without all the drip gear. Mom and Summer ate cinnamon rolls, and then we went across town so they could get their nails done. I had just dropped them off when they called me back because there weren’t any openings, so we went to Sam’s instead.

When Dad’s meeting was over, we went to pick him up, then went to Red Lobster for dinner. Endless shrimp was a little slow, but we all managed to get our fill. Mom was presented with her live lobster before it was cooked for her, and I was left sort of wishing that more restaurants would do that.

After dinner, we hit up a couple of the oriental food stores before driving home. We considered stopping in Clarksville to cram the girls into the car, but the timing didn’t work out. We got back to town, ran by my house to clean up some things, and eventually found our way to bed.

Bye, Pinchy!