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Pool’s Open!

It was just about perfect bike weather today. We spent the morning cleaning some equipment at the high school, and it was incredible to see all the additions since I graduated. There are several areas that are completely unrecognizable. The old darkroom was taken out, and there are big science labs with tons of new equipment in its place.

After work, Mom made bánh xèo for dinner. Dad and I uncovered the pool before we ate, and then I left to pick up a laptop for my sister. Once I got home, I stayed up too late playing games before bed.

I’ve gotta get this under control.

Google wants me to reminisce about a NEW company picnic:

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Great Aunt? No, Best Aunt.

Today was more busy-work mixed with hanging some new equipment. We walked to Madame Wu’s for lunch, where I received an ill-appropriate fortune. The afternoons are guiltily slow, but I tried to stay useful and busy.

After work, Bác Vân called me to offer some fresh eggrolls.

Then Jesica called to let me know she got a job offer at Arvest in Fort Smith. I hope she loves it.

I sure could use some of that motivation stuff.

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Netflix and Chill: Bloodline Season 3

After work, Jesica came over and we started watching the third season of Bloodline. When she left, I finished the second season of Master of None. Life was of little interest beyond that today.

Your relationship probably wasn’t gonna be this magical fantasy that’s in your head. It was probably gonna be a shit show.

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Nappy Sundays

Dad asked me to come help them uncover the pool this morning, but the rain beat us to it. I took an afternoon nap after I got back home. Normally naps ruin my sleep pattern for the rest of the evening, but I guess getting progressively less sleep every night last week and into the weekend finally caught up to me and I’m ready for bed again after some laundry and Master of None. Back to work in the morning to see what new projects we can accomplish.

Buona notte.

Adventure Time!

Michael² and the Soggy Silver Dollar

I didn’t sleep much last night, which is usual for a stay away from home. I stir at the first peek of light from the sun through the curtains, and from there it’s go-time. The breakfast at Branson’s Best Motel was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, Michael and I had miscommunicated our breakfast plans, so we each ended up going down separately to eat. Then it was on to the park.

We parked and waited for the bus for a while, but then decided to walk up the hill to the park. Out of shape as I am, I must have shed about 20 pounds in sweat. Once we got into the park, it felt pretty awesome. I’d never been, and didn’t realize how much tree coverage there was. Everywhere you went, you had shade and the cool breeze over water fixtures. I had always been told that it was mostly gift shops, but it really didn’t seem out of line from what I would expect in any theme park.

We rode a couple of the coasters, a pendulum ride, and a log flume where I got absolutely drenched. Afterword we found lunch in the form of some delicious skillet potatoes and sausage. I had just finished my food when the downpour came. It didn’t rain for super long, but the hills in the park made for several heavy streams of water running down the walkways that filled my shoes. The rain was heavy enough to penetrate my backpack as well, so I convinced him it was time to leave before we got hit by another wave of the rain.

The sky cleared up enough for us to stop by Andy’s Frozen Custard where we had a couple delicious strawberry and blackberry shortcakes. As we sat there, a couple missionary-type guys stopped by to quiz us on spirituality. Given the conversations Michael and I had been having, I took the bait and had a fair conversation with strangers. They had us pick out pictures that could represent how we felt about different things, and I expected there to be some sort of story attached to them, but they insisted it was just there as a conversation starter. When it was all said and done, I ended up feeling about the same way I expected. They were there to stir up conversations about faith, and remained grounded in righteous vindication. I could only hope to inspire them to think freely and to challenge everything.

By then, it was time to come home. We tried to stop by Mack’s Pines for dinner, but ultimately ended up at CJ’s Butcher Boy Burgers back in town. I had a grilled cheese, which was surprisingly good considering it was cheese between two inside-out hamburger buns. Once back home, Michael came in to check out my home theater experience. I think he left impressed.

Yeah they was dancin’ and singin’ and movin’ to the groovin’.

Adventure Time!

Vetted in Branson

Today was a pretty busy day at work. We spent most of the morning cleaning out lab computers, and then transported some laptop carts to my elementary for summer school. We got to leave a bit early, which gave me a bit of extra time to prepare for Branson.

Michael picked me up in his bright red Corvette, and we headed up Highway 7 through some spectacular weather. It was hot all day, but after a short rain, the air was perfect, and the mountains made it even better. On the way, we got onto the subject of religion, and were able to have a looong but civil conversation. We ended up talking on the subject on into the night over cobbler in the motel lobby.

Tomorrow, it’s Silver Dollar City.

An authentic, American adventure.

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I’mma let the bass take me away.

Last night was probably the worst night of sleep I’ve had all week. I don’t know what’s going on the past several days. I just haven’t been feeling so smurfy.

It was more Minecraft tutoring at work today. There’s a lot going on, but I still often feel like I’m not doing enough in spite of how tired I feel. It was a short week thanks to Memorial Day on Monday, but this weekend is looking to be pretty packed.

After work, my new Polk Audio PSW505 subwoofer came in and I cleaned up enough space to set up my JBL Studio 530 bookshelf speakers on my computer desk. What I didn’t know was that the sub can’t actually power the speakers, because the speaker connections are just pass-through connections and aren’t actually amplified. I wanted to complete a 2.1 setup for the bedroom, but now I’m having to split the signal between my old computer speakers and the sub, which is a nerdy way to say I have relatively low quality audio with some killer bass.

I thought Michael and I were going to Silver Dollar City on Saturday, but he mentioned leaving after I get off work tomorrow and staying the night. I’ve got to get the house straightened up before we go. Then I may take the new kayak out on Sunday, or possibly even go to Magic Springs with Jesica. I guess I can always sleep when I’m dead.

Take me far away, away from here.

Boats 'N Hoes

Well How aBoat That

Today was relatively relaxed for me, which was a little surprising. I had quite a bit of time to myself to complete a project at work, and they fed us leftover “heavy hors d’oeuvres” from a farewell party for our superintendent last week. After work was when the real fun began.

I picked up Jesica, and we went to Conway to buy a kayak. I decided on the Pelican Maverick 120x, which is a 12-foot recreational kayak over the slightly more expensive Field and Stream. I wasn’t super keen on the camo color, and if there’s anything I’ll do less than kayak, it’s fish while I’m in a kayak. I got the kayak and paddle along with a neat rack mount for the car, and strapped everything down for the ride home.

We stopped by MarketPlace Grill for dinner on the way back, and had an awesome “angry s’mores fudge dip” for dessert. The shrimp street tacos were good, but the salted caramel graham crackers really stole the show. I may have had to pay a $3 upcharge, but the inspiration to make this at home was priceless. It really was delectable.

I made it home in one piece thanks to my expert knotsmanship, but unfortunately the kayak didn’t fit under my garage opening and I had to take everything down before I could park. Still in one piece, but it’s obvious I’m going to have to come up with a better storage solution sooner than later.

No, the freeze dried ice cream will not suddenly get cold when you open the package.

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One down, X to go?

Hardly any kids were at school today, even at the elementary level.

I remember always getting perfect attendance growing up. I remember because I got a certificate for a free personal pan pizza from Mazzio’s and some tokens for Shotgun Sam’s arcade, and Dad and I would have a guy’s night out. It was one of the few things we ever did alone together, and I always had so much fun. Both Mazzio’s and the arcade are long gone now. Las Palmas took the place of the restaurant, but I’m not sure what’s in the building where Shotgun Sam’s was. I remember there used to be a seating area on a raised platform in the middle of the restaurant. One of my favorite games at the arcade was a light-gun shooter with little mechanical aliens that would slowly start chomping toward you. As you shot them, they would jump backward, and you got tickets based on how long you lasted before an alien got to you.

Having to do summer projects still hasn’t completely sunk in for me yet. All I’ve really known is just supporting staff, so I hope it really is as fun as I’ve psyched myself up for it to me. I have a few things I know I need to get done for myself, but then I have no idea what takes priority.

After work, I stopped by AT&T and visited with Kevin since I had to get gas from that side of town. From there, a train had stopped across the road home, so I took a detour around town. Allen called with a broken freezer and wanted to store some food, so he and Kristin brought over a couple bags full of deer and other stuff. On the way to meet them, I stopped and rescued a pretty good sized box turtle from the middle of the busy road. I finally got to show off my sound system and home automation a bit, but they had to leave to finish cleaning up the mess at his place.

Brandie called to talk for a while, and I spent most of the night shopping for kayaks, because I don’t have enough hobbies. I may just go get one tomorrow after work.

What’s the point of a makeup snow day if over 80% of the students aren’t even there?

Let it Ride

Ben Hur, Done That

I finally got a bike ride in this weekend. I met Michael at his place, and we rode out toward Lake Atkins before deciding to swing up north and make a loop back down south. It was a super clear day, and just a little warmer than I would have preferred. I didn’t realize it then, but my arms got quite a bit of color from being out in the sun.

We stopped in Tilly for a break, and then again at the Rotary Ann Overlook before coming back to town and stopping by Tropical Smoothie to cool down. I had never been before, and I guess I’m okay with the kale being in my drink instead of garnishing my buffet. We got to talking about photography somehow, and I taught him about the rule of thirds. I guess I take it for granted, having been immersed in some form of photography my entire life. As one of the foundations of composition, it was neat to see it really click for him.

Tomorrow is the last day of school, which is weird because it’s basically just a makeup snow day. It really snuck up on me. I hear now it’s go-time.

The largest consumer of kale before 2013 was Pizza Hut.