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Slush Puppies

It was still snowing when we got up this morning, and we had over a foot of snow on the ground. The dogs were loving it, so we knew we had to get outside with them. Summer made waffles, and then we got bundled up to take the dogs out for a walk.

It actually wasn’t that cold outside, and I started sweating pretty quickly. I felt more comfortable with just a short sleeve shirt on, and definitely didn’t need all the heated gear I loaded up with. When we first got out of the fence, I made the mistake of letting the dogs run off without their leash. I thought they’d be good, but then they heard children playing down the street and had to run and tackle them. We got them back and tied them up, then made the walk to my parents’ house to visit.

Dad brought out his camera and took a bunch of pictures of everyone. I was constantly having to pull the dogs back during our walk, so I got tired of wrangling them and just wanted to sit down for a bit. We got back home and the girls started building a snowman in the driveway. I ended up putting the dogs away, and then Eaddie announced that she had lost her phone. The most frustrating part about that was the utter lack of urgency she had about it. I started to head in, and then we all came in and I made Eaddie get online to try and find her phone with her iCloud account. That actually worked, and luckily she found it at the end of the driveway.

Summer started making tomato soup, and we had that and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Afterward, Eaddie went to her room and Summer and I watched Superman: The Movie. After that was over, I flipped through the TV for a bit and landed on The Flash, which I think was more fun as a casual movie at home than a serious movie in the theater. We got nearly halfway through when Summer went to bed, so I started wrapping things up myself.

Rest

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Chilly Dogs

I got up when Summer went to work, but Eaddie and I were both out of school. I finished up some turkey soup and then started to get cleaned up so I could take the dogs out for a run. I ended up having a pretty bad time and had to rest in a bath for a while after Summer got home. Nobody said anything to me, and by the time I got out, there was already snow on the ground, so I couldn’t ride the Onewheel without making a big mess.

I went outside to play with the dogs for a little bit, who seemed to be having a great time in the snow. I had to get their heated water bowl out since their other one froze solid. Hopefully they don’t chew up the power cord.

Michael called me for some help with some cheap drone he was trying to fix by updating firmware. There wasn’t anything I could do for him, but he talked to me for a little while. The girls were both in the living room doing some work on their laptops, so I went to Sonic to get some chili dogs. The roads were already bad enough that I got a little bit sideways in the road, but I made it. The driveway up into the Sonic lot was really bad though, and I was surprised they didn’t do more to clean it up if they were going to stay open for a while.

I got home and we ate, and then we started watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It started out a bit slower than I liked, but I’ve seen so many funny clips and it’s been on my watch list for so long, that I just have to devote some time to consume all of it. After that, I watched the first episode of Creature Commandos and then the first episode of Dune: Prophecy. Summer wanted to watch Nate Bargatze’s new Netflix special, so we watched that, but I started to fall asleep near the end.

Nothing we watched really satisfied me, and I hadn’t felt very good for most of the day. I think getting out earlier with the dogs might have helped, but we’ll have ice for the next several days though. I guess we’re just going to shelter in place, but maybe we’ll get the dogs out for a manual walk tomorrow.

Pressed foods tomorrow.

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Breakfats

I was even earlier to work today, and was craving food. Randy and Maggie showed up feeling similarly, so Maggie ordered us some pancakes from BJ’s and I went to pick it up. I gave her some of my pancake, but then she gave me her biscuit and gravy, and a bunch of grits, so I was stuffed after that. Lunch time came around and Kyle and Javier actually wanted to eat, so we all went to Sweet Poppa’s with Jim and I just tried to find something small to eat so I could be social.

Just after we got seated, some guy came in waving a dollar bill asking if anyone had a couple more bucks so he could get some food. I don’t know what made me bite, but I ended up going to the counter and ordering him some food. After I sat back down, he came over and asked for some extra cash, but I wasn’t as quick to oblige on account of paying more for his food than my own.

I charged the car after work using one of the new no-name chargers I got from Amazon Vine. It seemed to work great. The cable just wasn’t long enough for me to use it at home. We still don’t have a 14-50 outlet out there, so I couldn’t try the other charger I brought.

The afternoon dragged on forever, but we got the news that they were closing school for the remainder of the week and Randy said to bring our laptops home just in case, but not to do any work. I finally left and stopped in Conway to Supercharge, then visited with Summer at the wash briefly before heading home.

The dogs needed a walk, but I felt sick to the stomach, so I didn’t get to take them out until after sundown. We made it quick as the temperature dropped, stopping briefly to see Dad before making it home. Summer was there when we got back, and she got ready for bed while I opened up some Vine stuff. I laid down with her for a while after that because I wasn’t feeling great, and I started to fall asleep. I felt a little more sick, and I was exhausted, so I tried to wrap things up for bed.

Eaddie got home kind of late, but we sent her back out for some milk. She’ll be out of school for the rest of the week as well, so I wanted to finally be able to make some waffles for us.

Like Minnie Black Pearl

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No Charge

I slept a lot better last night, but time is still an issue. I got out the door and made it to work fairly early, and it was a mostly dull day. I brought my new heated leather desk mat, so my hands were warm while the temperature outside stayed super low. Lunch time came and went, and I finally went to pick up food by myself. I got fries from McDonald’s, which is consistently the worst McDonald’s I’ve ever visited. Then I picked up a sandwich from Arby’s, which has traditionally been pretty good, but was cold and lackluster today.

The afternoon dragged on a bit, especially considering how late I took my lunch. I left a few minutes early since I spent most of my lunch at my desk. Then I supercharged in Conway before making it home to take the dogs out. Eaddie had some friends over to practice their instruments for All Region, but they were mostly done by the time we got back. It was so cold out, that Stilgar had to play on the ice in the pond.

I got a couple more travel car chargers in from Amazon Vine, but one of them wasn’t long enough to go from the nearest outlet to my charge port, and the other was a replacement for one that I couldn’t get to work. The new one wouldn’t work either, but did at least seem to try harder. I’ll have to reach out to the manufacturer to see if I can figure out what’s wrong, or else just return both of them.

I ate some leftovers, and then Summer got home and wound down for bed pretty quickly. Eaddie seemed to be taking some time to relax and worked on some Lego for a while in her room. I got a load of laundry done and made it to bed before 10, which I thought was a pretty good accomplishment, and that made me sad.

Being an adult is awful.

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FOMO Anxiety

I burned up all of my Vine orders pretty quickly yesterday on accident, so when a very specific Model 3 accessory just happened to become available after I had been pining after one, I was unable to order it. I don’t know how much of my anxiety that caused last night, but I couldn’t sleep at all. I ended up waking up right around two when the counter reset, and of course it was gone.

My alarm eventually went off and I got going for work. It was cold out, but the car had been preconditioning for a little while and was nice and toasty. I assume it was the crosswinds that caused it to howl down the interstate, because I don’t remember that happening at all the day we got it. It was a very eerie sound, especially to my groggy, sleep-deprived ears. I got to work in plenty of time, passing Randy just before we got to the exit. There was less fanfare than I expected when I got there. It almost seemed to mirror my own experience, but that was fine.

The morning went by pretty quickly, but not much how I expected it to. Things were quieter, possibly because kids weren’t back yet, though we’re several miles from the nearest campus with actual students. I got a text from Cici’s that they were doing their early week deal, and we actually had several takers. Maggie and I met Randy, Kyle, and Jim there. Jim said it wasn’t really pizza, but I countered that for $5, it didn’t have to be as long as it was the right shape.

I actually kept kind of busy in the afternoon, and of the three of us in the office, I was the first one out at the end of the day. I stopped to supercharge more than I needed to make the trip, since the electricity was free. There was a guy there that appeared to be working on the equipment, which I assumed was why it was quite a bit slower than it should have been.

Summer was making some kind of stuffed peppers for dinner when I got home. I took the dogs for a quick run before it got dark, and then Eaddie and Eli came to eat. I messed with some more accessories for both cars, got Summer’s tires aired up again, and then tried to start settling down quickly. I’d felt high-anxiety all day, and was ready for some sleep.

Find Calm

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Too Early; Too Late

I didn’t sleep in very late today, but I meant to get moving a little bit earlier in preparation for going back to work. Summer was up with some coffee. I had some turkey soup and got sucked into Vine shopping. Eaddie eventually got up around noon and went to church, then brought Eli back home with her.

I took a shower, and after a while, Summer said she was feeling so bad that she was concerned and wanted to go to the doctor. I got her loaded up and we went to the Conway Regional clinic to see the evening nurse. Mondalisa was there to give us a hard time, but we got in and out reasonably quickly. Summer had an inner ear infection, so we ran to Walgreens to fill her prescription before heading home.

I took the dogs out for a run in the cold before it got too dark. Stilgar didn’t seem to mind, and still wanted to sit in the pond water. We did a couple loops and made it to my parents’ house to see if they still had roast beef going for dinner. I made it home, then Summer and I went over to eat relatively quickly so we could get back home and wind down for bed.

Summer had been doing laundry all day, so I finally got to start a load myself as I finished up the rest of my evening chores. I wanted to go to bed about an hour earlier, but I didn’t make bad time. Hopefully I sleep well and have an easy start in the morning.

Bummer, lost pick.

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Hot Drinks and Pie

Summer was hurting pretty bad today, but she got up and spent the day on the couch. I had more energy, but my back was hurting pretty bad all day. Eaddie left around noon to go practice with her quintet in Fort Smith. I made Summer some Theraflu and hot tea throughout the day, and spent some more time cleaning things up out of the fridge. I got a Lectron level 1 charger in, and was able to get my car charging within minutes, unlike the “Very Van” brand one I tried yesterday.

The day went by quickly, and it was cloudy and cold all day, so I had to make it a point to take the dogs out. We had a pretty good run, visited my parents, and I played with them a little more than I’ve been able to all week. When we got back to the house, some door-knocking kid from Brightspeed came by and talked to me. He had a lot to share about his skateboard injury, but he wanted to try the Onewheel. He couldn’t sell me on a new ISP, but the price does seem to be getting more competitive. I wouldn’t mind having a proper public IP, but I really haven’t needed one for anything I’ve had time to do lately.

Once I got back inside, I ordered a pizza from Little Caesar’s, then went to get it. The new Model 3 still feels a little surreal because of the timing and how I went about ordering it. I bought it on much more of a whim than the last one, but I guess I need to settle in on it. It hasn’t helped that I just haven’t felt good enough to take it out on a drive anywhere. This next week of commuting to work again will get me back into that routine.

Eaddie got home just as we finished eating, and had some pizza herself. Then everyone started to settle in to bed. I was up late with a bit of a belly ache, but hopefully I’ll feel a little more motivated when I get back into work and get my routine going again.

Too much pie.

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Down Girl

Summer went to work this morning, but ended up coming home early as her illness progressed rapidly. Eaddie left early to spend the day with friends, and I got a ton of Vine deliveries at like three or four different times throughout the day. One of them was a big door sill protector kit for the Model 3, so I got the driver side installed without a terrible amount of trouble.

I cleaned up a bunch more leftovers before taking a shower and running the dogs. Right out of the driveway, one of the neighbors had her dog off-leash, so that stopped the boys dead in their tracks for a big sniff. Her little guy was feisty, and she kept complaining about him, but I was overall fairly proud of mine for just standing there and sniffing back quietly.

When we got to the end of my parents’ street, a car stopped for us and it was Melissa, the old custodian from Two Rivers. I think she said she was picking up her grandson for a movie or something, so I caught up with her for a moment and shared stories about how we were both screwed out of money at that school. Then we finally made our way around to see Dad before heading home for dinner. I still wasn’t feeling great, but needed to be productive around the house. I cleaned up quite a bit in my office and the kitchen. Two of the Vine deliveries were EV chargers. One I couldn’t test without a dryer outlet, and the other didn’t appear to work, so I filed for an exchange.

Eaddie got home pretty late after a good day out. Summer was in bed all day watching TV. I got a message from Diana that her poor cat, Jasper died suddenly from kidney failure. She just can’t catch a break.

I’ve got so much more to do, all while spinning my waking schedule around for work. I mustn’t forget laundry, or else I won’t have anything to wear.

Big bills here. Bigger bills coming.

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Thornsday Cleanout

I was jarred awake this morning when Maggie called around eight to ask if I was coming in to work. Maybe she was worried, because I’m always there around seven, but I told them I wasn’t going back for just two days this week. I got out of bed then, since Summer had to go to work anyway. Even Eaddie got up and took a shower, but then she left with friends. I warmed up a plate of some hot turkey, twice-baked potato, and sour dressing instead of going out to eat like I had imagined all night long.

I felt pretty bad all day, and started to fall asleep in the afternoon, but made myself take a shower and take the dogs out for a long run. We caught my parents just as they got back from somewhere, and then we came home so I could clean up the kitchen.

I had spent all day in my head, mad and frustrated with the girls and our living situation, and their habits around the house. I was glad to have the kitchen finished when Summer got home, but she reeked of gasoline. Eaddie got home and mostly stayed in her room as usual, and I dawdled a while longer before making it to bed. My nerves and anxiety were shot.

Ya hya chouhada!

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Buffalo Weak Wings

I was starving for some hot, good food this morning, so I announced that to Eaddie when she finally left her room, and we got out of the house to find something to eat. I was between Chinese or Mexican. She chose Mexican. The new place I drove to was closed, so we ended up going in to Buffalo Wild Wings. I hadn’t even realized they were open again, but the parking lot was full and the music inside was turned up to eleven.

The service was pretty poor. Our server only came by the table once after bringing our food, and that was to drop off some napkins and waters. The cheese curds were good, but the chicken was overcooked with dark, dry breading, and very little sauce. The chicken was really small, too. Overall, the whole meal left us feeling very dry in the mouth. The atmosphere was also terrible. The audio for the TV channel kept cutting out constantly, so the constant barrage of advertisements we were forced to hear at maximum volume was even more jarring than it would be otherwise. We did not want a club atmosphere for lunch on a Wednesday.

After we ate, we headed back to the house and I got the garage cleaned up so I could park the new Model 3 inside. Eaddie helped me deliver the Shadow and the R1 to Kevin’s hangar. On our second trip, we spotted Julie at their big hangar, so I stopped in to see her briefly before going back home.

Eaddie left to go to the park, and I took the dogs on a quick run before moving the last of the stuff out of the garage. I finished just in time to park inside before Summer made it home. She was visibly beat from her day, so she took a bath and went to bed. Eaddie wasn’t out much past dark, and I was still feeling pretty awful, so I made it to bed super early.

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