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Depresso

We got up this morning, and I had hoped to get out of the house to do some things. We watched some coffee videos on YouTube, and then I went out to replace the wheelbarrow tire. Summer went to the gym and I played with the espresso machine. When she got back, she and Eaddie left to go shopping. I wanted to go too, but they didn’t want me along because I would drag out their “quick stop.” They ended up taking a while, which upset me as I milled around the house and tried to clean, arrange, and organize randomly.

It was such a nice day out, but by the time they were fussy and hungry, it had started to get chilly out. I grilled some brats and we ate dinner, and then it was more random cleaning and organizing until bed.

Zero adventures today.

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No Snek

Eaddie was at a robotics tournament all day, so Summer and I hung out at the house all morning. She watched TV and took several calls for work, and I deployed a bunch of water leak sensors that were just delivered. While doing so, I discovered a leak of something under Eaddie’s sink. It felt like something more than water, but it may have just pulled something off of some of the bottles that were under there. The entire cabinet was crammed full of junk, and I just didn’t understand why they were collecting partially-used bottles of crap.

After cleaning that up and having a shower, we went to my parents’ house to eat some leftovers before going shopping. I wanted to find a drain auger that would be a little less cumbersome than Dad’s giant, exposed, metal snake. Unfortunately Harbor Freight was completely out of them. Walmart had a smaller one for more money, but we decided to just wait until Harbor Freight restocked on Monday.

We picked up an espresso machine on a deep clearance, a localized Russellville version of Monopoly, and some food to grill, and then headed home. Summer watched more TV and I did some laundry. Eaddie got home a bit late, and we didn’t see much of her. I started the first episode of The Orville with Summer, and then just dilly-dallied for a while longer before bed.

Predictably okay.

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It’s Electric

The workday went by in a flash. We had a few people in and out of the office, but I mostly kept my head down and read a bunch of Microsoft documentation. Eventually I’ll have to turn that learning into practice, but for now I’m enjoying the peace.

I went straight home after work and unboxed my Onewheel to get it charging before we went to Conway for Eaddie’s concert at UCA. It was a really small crowd in a fairly small auditorium. They didn’t turn the house lights down at all, so everyone just sat there in the bright light the entire time. The music was great though, and the clinician seemed really cool. It was over and done with in no time.

Eaddie rode the bus home since they had already eaten, so Summer and I drove across town to try LongHorn Steakhouse. Their online reservation system said it may be a 45-55 minute wait, but we were queued for about an hour before they called us in. We just sat in the car until then. They were crowded inside, and the hostess that sat us was really awkward. The service was fine, and the food was decent, though a little bland. It would have been a fine meal for no wait, but I couldn’t imagine why anyone would wait more than ten minutes for a table.

We made it back home and I rode the Onewheel around the house for just a couple minutes before everyone went to bed. I was up a while longer just because I kept getting distracted. Hopefully we can get the sink fixed tomorrow.

ThreeEV

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Drained

My watch has been struggling with the Tessie app, and I don’t know if it can get any better. I may just have to uninstall it for now. It barely lasts eight hours any more, and though it’s been convenient to unlock the cars, it’s less convenient to have a dead watch three times a day.

It rained the entire day, but the temperature was pretty warm. The workday went by pretty quickly as I jumped from project to project, never really accomplishing much of anything. After work, I went to feed the fish before heading home. Summer was home early, but Eaddie was out late for band. I changed and went to my parents’ house for dinner, and then Dad came back with me to look at the bathroom sink.

We tore everything up trying to get into the P trap, and of course it was completely clear. It still puzzles me that the drain stopped so suddenly, and we didn’t have what we needed to clean it up and put it back together, so it’ll be at least a three-day project.

Clean it up.

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That’s a Lye

Traffic was bad in Dardanelle this morning, so I just barely squeaked into work on time. They did some more testing first thing in the morning, and then I had to spend some time deciphering the audio mixer in the auditorium. We had a big lunch because the cafeteria had extra fajitas, but they weren’t very good. I barely got started on it when FedEx showed up with another lab of desktop computers. Those will be in the way for the foreseeable future.

I ended up staying a bit late just because I felt like I made some progress in figuring out the sound system. Then I went to feed the fish and wash my car before heading home. The bathroom sink completely stopped up this morning, out of the blue, so I poured some boiling water down the drain, hoping that would help.

Failing that, I went to my parents’ house and ate some turkey soup before returning home with some lye and a plastic drain weasel. The drain didn’t budge, so I let it sit overnight. Summer fell asleep really early after working late, and Eaddie spent all night practicing flute before going to sleep. I fought with Arvest’s mortgage site for a while before giving up. I swear the “make a payment” button only appears at certain times of the day, and it’s a load of crap. I went to bed frustrated, but before midnight, which was an accomplishment all on its own.

Shut up and take my money. No, seriously. Take it. You stupid bank.

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Taco Twiceday

I was a little bit late to work this morning after fighting with the garage door. Somehow the sensor on Summer’s side of the garage got knocked about 45 degrees off. I thought maybe she got the charge cable tangled up, but yet she was able to close the garage when she left before me, so I don’t know what happened. Maybe it just slowly vibrated out of alignment.

Kids were back today, but it was pretty quiet aside from some ACT testing they did around lunch time. I wished it had been a bit louder outside, like it normally is, since Blake was in there and could have seen how ridiculous it is that I’m expected to work on the other side of that door.

The afternoon dragged on again, and I had to down a Red Bull to make it to quitting time. I went to feed the fish, and then picked up some Taco John’s on the way home. Eaddie was still at school, but Summer wanted some. Eaddie made it home after we finished eating, so I went back out to pick up the vacuum cleaner that Dad fixed, and then got her some tacos.

I really tried to get to bed a bit earlier, but it just didn’t happen. It’s been easy to get distracted by just about anything lately. These short days are killing me.

We have to go lower!

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TenWheels

We had a PD day at work, but Russellville kids were back in school. They had a speaker there in the morning, so they kept coming to get me to fix audio issues. I didn’t actually fix anything myself, but I guess they felt better having me around. Eaddie called and said the Murano smelled like something was burning, but the temperature gauge looked okay. She said nothing seemed wrong otherwise, so I told her to take it easy and listen and smell for bad things on the way to school. Hopefully it was just the heater while she was defrosting.

Kim went to the doctor for a couple hours in the middle of the day, and then brought Taco Bell back for us since the cafeteria was closed. The afternoon dragged on, and I didn’t feel like I accomplished anything at all. I did order a Onewheel while they were still on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I talked myself into getting the biggest, fastest one, which may have been a mistake. I just thought my extra weight would benefit from the extra power, and aftermarket prices seemed to hold pretty well. I couldn’t tell if that was true for the higher-end models, but the idea isn’t to sell it anyway.

After work, I went to feed the fish. Eaddie wanted 50-cent corn dogs, and Summer was home from work really early, so I stopped at Sonic on the way home. Eaddie and I ate a couple dogs, and then I went to my parents’ house by myself since they both had work or homework to do. Dad and I grazed over leftovers and I left pretty stuffed.

The girls were both wound down by the time I got back home, so I spent a little more money and eventually made it to bed.

These are expensive months.

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Holiday Crash

Eaddie nearly stayed up all night, but was probably the most spry of any of us all day. I did my best not to sleep too late, and made Summer a coffee when she got up. They went for a quick shopping trip while I had a shower, and then we all went to my parents’ house to eat some leftovers. Julie and Kevin showed up to do the same, and then we took Eaddie home to rake leaves while Summer and I went to the old house to get my wheelbarrow.

It had a bad tire, so we went to Lowe’s to shop around, and then Harbor Freight to pick up a replacement wheel. It was dark by the time we got back to the house, and we all sat around waiting for my parents to call for dinner. Summer and I watched the first episode of Secret Invasion, and I didn’t much love it, but I think the universe is just getting too big for me to wrap my head around it.

Once my parents had some sweet potato and shrimp ready, we went to eat pretty quickly before coming home to get ready for bed. Eaddie left her purse there, so Dad walked it over to us, and then it was off to sleep before going back to work.

Not completely opposed to the Whataplane.

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Ready for Takeoff

I got up early today so we could go hiking on Petit Jean with Tom, Angela, Brandan, and Nikolle. They brought Cutie along as well, and she really enjoyed running around outside. I thought Eaddie was going as well, but she stayed home and slept instead. Summer and I met the others at the Cedar Falls Overlook. That was barely a walk at all, and then we went to the lodge for a restroom break before going to the Bear Cave Trail. That was more climbing than walking, but I think they had fun. Our last stop was the gravesite, and I let Tom drive the Model 3. We weren’t there long before we had to get back to town because Uncle Rick’s family made it into the airport.

I raced home with Summer and had Eaddie load the Model Y for us so we could do a quick swap and go. We loaded up some food and went to get some ice, and met everyone at the airport. Julie rented a big room there where everyone could sit and eat, but everyone eventually spread out across the whole building and outside, particularly while Kevin was giving airplane rides.

I finally got to go flying with him, and it was exactly what I had imagined. I’ve always wanted to fly, but never put any effort into it. The regulations and formalities just sort of made it less fun, which was sort of the same way I felt about ham radio. We flew along the river toward Petit Jean, which was way faster than driving earlier that morning. We scared some birds, skated on some water, and got eye-level with a buddy of his that had flown to a sandbar for a night of camping. I got to fly while we climbed for a while, and then he took over for a couple maneuvers before we landed.

I was the last one in the air, so I got to see the beautiful sunset. The girls had left earlier because Summer was feeling sick and Eaddie wanted to go to the movies with some friends, so they didn’t get to see any of it. I also got brave enough to try out Kevin’s Onewheel, and did way better than I expected. I tripped up trying to get off a couple times, but didn’t fall until I had already ridden around with a little bit of speed. When I did finally fall, I think it was because I was trying to start out on a slightly sloped surface.

Dad finished up the night at the airport with a short magic show, and then everyone helped us load up to go home. Julie and Kevin locked up at the airport, and my parents and I waited for everyone else to make it back to their house to pack some food for their trip home. Then once they left, Dad took me home.

Summer was in bed, and Eaddie and Eli were at the house watching TV, so I showed them a clip from my flight before going to the office to research Onewheels and EUCs. It was tempting to order one at Black Friday prices, but I don’t guess I’d really have much occasion to ride one. It really was fun, though.

The Need for Speed!

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Hostgiving

Summer got up this morning and started prepping her food for hosting Thanksgiving. The fireplace kit I ordered came in a day late, but just in time for us to put it together and get wood loaded onto it. Kevin called just as I was finishing up, and I met him at the old house to load up the old sofa to bring to the new house. Since he had room in the truck, I also had him dump the old mattress I still had in the garage.

We unloaded the sofa really quickly, and Eaddie vacuumed so we could get it placed in the sunroom. I got a fire going, and people eventually started showing up. All of the out-of-towners came in first, so we had to rush everyone else. Mom and Dad brought Doug, and then Julie and Kevin showed up with most of the hot food.

It was a really great time, and we clearly had way more usable room to spread out than if we had been at my parents’ house. We did have one chaotic moment with a flooded bathroom, so I spent some time mopping up in there, but it was still a great first time to host a big family event.

Once everyone had enough socialization for the day, the girls and I cleaned up the kitchen and dining areas and settled in for the night. They did a really great job getting everything clean in a really short amount of time. I felt like I hit a brick wall, but still dawdled a bit before making it to bed.

That was a lot of potatoes.