Tag: adventure

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Flaxen, Waxen

I woke up feeling much better after feeling sick last night, and got up to bake the breakfast pizza I picked up on Wednesday. I took a slice to Summer while she was in bed and then did the dishes before I started getting ready for our trip.

We didn’t get started until nearly lunch time, so we ran by the old house to feed the fish and grab some water bottles before going to BFD for lunch in Dardanelle. I thought the fajita portion was large, but didn’t realize that I didn’t get the lunch price until after we’d left.

The drive to Hot Springs was quick and uneventful, and we made it just in time to check in at the Hotel Hot Springs. Eaddie was busy doing her own thing, so we didn’t see her at all. We walked the strip a bit as things were closing down. We were too late for the Gangster Museum, but Summer really wanted to go to the Josephine Tussaud Wax Museum. I hadn’t been since I was a kid, and by now I was more interested in the historical stuff they had from the old casinos.

They had a free wine tasting after the tour, and then we walked back to the hotel to use our free drink coupons before dinner. It was pretty late by the time we got out, so our options were limited. We ended up going to A&W, and it was great. Evidently they were under new ownership with a strict fresh-to-order model. It was probably the best fast food burger I’ve ever had, but that may have been the root beer talking. I love A&W.

I took us to Crumbl for some cookies after that, and we got a box of a dozen cookies at over three bucks a piece. They were a little soft and rich for me, but I thought it would be a good treat because of the baking show celebrity around it. I guess it worked, because we got to watch A Knight’s Tale instead of baking shows when we got back to the room for the night.

Time for a deep dive on coffee grinders!

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Server-Client Privilege

I took Summer’s car to work today just to be safe, since she would be working on town. Just as I got to work, I got a very apologetic call from Tulsa Tesla to say that they were sending someone out to bolt my car back together tomorrow.

Apart from that, I kept pretty busy working on SCCM all day. I seemed to be having trouble getting the client installed remotely, and I couldn’t tell whether it was a settings issue, or if I was just being impatient. Hopefully I’ll know more tomorrow after it sits overnight.

Kim brought me some leftover lunch trays again, so I ate while she was at duty. The last part of the day dragged on a bit, and then I headed home to feed fish, see Summer at Superfast, grab some tacos, and then head home to eat.

Eaddie was at robotics a little late, so as soon as I finished eating, I headed out on the Onewheel. I forgot to get more dishwasher detergent, so I rode it to the old house to get that. My legs and feet were burning, but it was a load of fun. I stopped by Gary’s on the way back for a break, but he didn’t answer the door. Then I saved myself from wiping out on a crack in the sidewalk. The streets are way better to ride because of the frequent breaks in concrete.

The girls were home when I finally got back, exhausted from my ride. Everyone wound down pretty quickly, and I thought I’d make it to bed really early, but then I watched the first episode of the newest season of The Daily Show since Jon Stewart is back. I’ve missed him as the host, and I think the world needs him for what this election cycle is going to bring.

Carve away.

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So Long, Dot

We got up early this morning so we could make it to Tulsa early enough to make a day of it. Eaddie didn’t feel great, so she went to school a little late. Summer and I left for my house, then the wash to vacuum out the car. From there, we made it to Ozark to charge and get breakfast at the restaurant inside. It wasn’t bad at all, but I had kind of hoped for better, given my experience at truck stops in the past.

That got us enough juice to get all the way to Tulsa, but we stopped briefly at the Love’s oasis for some energy drinks for ourselves. When we got to downtown Tulsa, we parked right by the Center of the Universe “art piece.” The look on Summer’s face when she finally spoke up enough to hear the echo was priceless. We didn’t stay long though, and went to the nearest supercharger to get some juice before finally just heading straight to the Tesla service center.

I met several new people this time. Blake was working the service counter and contacted the manager, Jess, about my buyback inquiry. He indicated that he had already escalated it internally, and that I should hear something back in a couple weeks. He blamed the weather for the delay in getting the replacement battery pack. After that I met Tam, who introduced himself as a Vietnamese American for some reason after I asked his name. I drove him down the road to try and reproduce the rattle in my passenger door, and of course it really had healed itself. I don’t know if someone heard it and fixed it, if it was changed due to the weather, or maybe someone fixed it on accident somehow. When that was all done, I moved everything over from the loaner and got Summer into the car. She made a comment about my trunk being loud again, so I had Tam check it out while we were there. He didn’t seem to think there were any adjustments they could do, but said they could replace the trunk strut if I wanted to submit for a new service request.

We left after that, and got some dinner at Cheddar’s. I tried their Cajun pasta, which was pretty good. I kind of wished I had stuck with the pot pie though, just because it really is delicious with their croissant crust. Summer really enjoyed her tilapia and shrimp as well. We started home after that, but on a whim I stopped at The Peach Barn after seeing a billboard. Peach ice cream sounded good. They had a cute little store with lots of jarred goods, nuts, fudge, and some other stuff. Then we got a peach sundae, smoothie, and a couple hand pies and fudge to take with us.

The drive home was mostly rainy until we got back to Arkansas. We stopped in Van Buren to charge, and then almost made it home when we got into some heavy traffic with a bunch of trucks, and I took a bunch of gravel to the face a couple of times. I had a few new speckles in the paint, as well as a small surface chip in the windshield, dead center in my vision. Now I’m really hoping the buyback works. If not, I’ll have to raise concerns with the service center due to at least one paint bubble that I think happened due to the freeze while it was in their possession.

We made it home, Summer went to bed, and I pumped the basement out again. Eaddie made it home late after all-region, but went to bed almost immediately after. I was up for a while just wasting time until I went to bed.

Rotten luck.

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Float On

Eaddie left for all-region early this morning. I woke up pretty hungry, so I fried some rice with the veggies from Christmas, and then threw some egg in it. Then I reorganized and moved some stuff around the house and Summer went to the gym. I had a shower and then went out on the Onewheel to get a little bit of time in before the big freeze. I went to my parents’ house first, and then felt comfortable enough with my figure-eights that I decided to go up and around Inglewood on the sidewalk. I saw Joe out canvassing the neighborhood for school board.

All total, I got a little over seven and a half miles in. There were a few places where water was constantly moving across the road, so I kept trying to find new paths to stay dry. I also rode through the new subdivision, and the roads and sidewalks there were all super cheap, sunken in, and generally crappy. Then just as I was getting back home, I was carving pretty deep to try and dry the tire off when I got a really fast wobble that threw me. Luckily I was just in front of the neighbor’s house, so it was a short walk down the driveway. I didn’t injure myself, but I got progressively more sore throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Summer wanted to cook some seafood pasta for dinner for Eaddie and Eli when they got back, so we went to the Neighborhood Market where we ran into my parents again. We picked up what we needed and headed home to see the kids. I had stepped out back to check the murder basement for water, and it had flooded about eight inches up the wall, so Dad came over with some rubber boots to plug in the sump. It worked great, but there wasn’t a port hole for the hose, so I had to keep going back outside to check until it was done.

Everyone ate, and I spent a little more time on the washing machine. I still couldn’t get the pulsator out, so I think I’m just going to have to give up and bolt the thing back down. Not that it matters; that thing’s not going anywhere. I crawled into a heated bed early just to rest from the pain. A lot of it is just soreness in my legs from such a long ride, but it was a lot of fun finally getting a feel for the control of the board. We’ll see how the bruising looks tomorrow.

Alright, already!

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Wheelin’ and Dealin’

I slept in a little bit today after yesterday’s draining ride to Tulsa. I figured I’d try to catch the old work crew at Taco John’s for lunch, so I took a shower and headed over to sit with the maintenance crew while they ate. I forgot my phone, so I tried texting Zach from my watch when they didn’t show. He didn’t get back to me until much later to say that they hadn’t been very regular with Taco Tuesday lately. I ended up getting a few to-go, and took them to Summer at the wash. Then I headed back home to get my phone.

It was nice outside, so I decided to take the Onewheel out for a spin. I made it up the driveway and bailed, then took off down the road feeling pretty sketchy about it. I just couldn’t get my foot placement right, and having shoes on made me less tactile. I made it all the way to my parents’ house without biting the dust though, so I was fairly proud. Dad wasn’t home, so I turned around and headed back to the house and took the car to Rose Drug to pick up a prescription for Summer.

After I got the prescription, Dad was back home and I went over to try putting a little more air in the Onewheel to see if it helped some of my issues in the street. It doesn’t take much to really throw off the feel of the board, so I knocked it back down to just a pound or two above where it started. Then we went for a ride so Dad could try Full Self Driving. By the time we got back, it was about time for Eaddie to get home from school, so I headed to the house. She was only there for a little while though, since she had a short flute lesson.

When Eaddie got back, we went to La Huerta for dinner, and then I dragged her to Lowes to look at what Christmas trees they had left. They were all 75% off, and though I really liked one that only had different temperatures of white lights that twinkled nicely, I let her choose one with a much louder light pattern. We got it home and assembled, and then I spent the evening spreading all the tips while she got ready for bed. Summer got home from work late and kicked back on the couch to watch, and I watched a little YouTube before wrapping up for bed.

Like crumbs stuck to a piece of gum.

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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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“Cheer Up,” My Friends All Say

Today was my first drive in to work straight from the new house. I wasn’t quite early enough to make it to the old house first to feed the fish, so I figured I could take care of them after work. I was fairly productive until lunch time when kids started screaming at the tops of their lungs right outside my door. I really have no idea how I’m expected to get any work done in there, and it made me furious. On top of that, I was constantly up and down at my desk to let visitors in for Denice. Productivity was down in an already ailing department.

I left just a little bit early to get home to change before the concert. Eaddie was wishy-washy about going because her band teacher made an announcement that anybody who didn’t show up to practice couldn’t march at the homecoming game. I told her there was no way they would keep their star performer from marching, and she finally agreed to go with me.

We headed out of town later than I wanted, and stopped in Ozark to charge and get some food. We ran into Alisha and Joshua there, who were also on their way across the state for the concert. They wanted to make it for the gate opening, but we didn’t arrive until The Get Up Kids were near the end of their set. After that, I knew one song by Motion City Soundtrack. I knew the most songs from New Found Glory. The lead singer from The All-American Rejects was super weird, but he kind of made me think of what I might be like if I had lived in the spotlight as long as he had.

Overall, everyone was entertaining. It was a packed house, but we managed to get out in a reasonable amount of time. We stopped in Lowell for a quick charge just long enough to use the restroom and get a drink, and then continued to Ozark where I charged enough to get me to work the next morning. Eaddie slept the whole way home and never got out of the car. I wrapped up quickly once I got home, so I shouldn’t be much shorter on sleep than a typical late night.

There’s a place, somewhere that’s between dream and awake.

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The Loaner

I woke up extra early today and made it home for a quick shower before picking up Dad in the rain. We headed west and stopped in Van Buren to charge before making it the rest of the way to the Tesla Service Center in Tulsa. I didn’t even consider it, but evidently I had the car set to avoid tolls, so we took the long way there and still made it in plenty of time.

We started to drop off the Model Y, but they said it would probably be a multi-day repair anyway, so we could do our test rides first. Dad drove the Model X first and took it around some neighborhoods, getting proper lost in the process. We made it back and I took it for a quick spin, and also got to try Full Self Driving, which was pretty cool. I thought it did a great job, but it wasn’t without faults. When we got back, they let us take a Model S, which I really enjoyed, although I think between them, I’d almost rather have an X and a 3 just because of the size difference. The S would be fun if I needed it for the longer range, but the 3 is sportier and handles a bit better overall just because it isn’t like driving a boat.

Once we got the test rides out of the way, we picked up a loaner vehicle. He brought out an older Model 3 at first, but then took it back when he couldn’t get the screen to work. Then he brought out a Model S, which got me excited. It wasn’t until we got in it that I realized how much of a hunk of junk it was. The wheel wells squeaked, and there were random things wrong everywhere, like a cracked windshield, missing driver vanity mirror, a passenger vanity mirror that was taped in place, and more. Not only that, but there was no way to charge my phone, so I just had to hope it would last the day.

From there, we went to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. Dad enjoyed it, but I found it to be really heavy with the reading, with relatively few exhibits. What they did have were mostly cockpits and engine cutaways. We spent a while covering the floor though, and then went outside to walk through a full size jetliner they had outside. Dad almost tripped and fell down the stairs, but luckily I had my footing and was right behind him with an inertial advantage. I propped him right back up and we continued into the plane.

It wasn’t until we were done that we thought to check the planetarium times. We had to kill nearly an hour before the next show, so we wandered through the gift shop and then back through some simulations we had skipped earlier. Once we got to the planetarium, I wasn’t super impressed with the show. It was probably the weakest one I’ve seen in my memory. The animations weren’t as great, and the first half was just a guy giving a lecture.

We were pretty hungry by the time we left, so we made it into downtown Tulsa to a place called Sisserou’s Caribbean Restaurant & Catering. The food was pretty good, but I expected the flavors to be a little more pronounced with some more heat. We did get some habanero sauce with the bread and butter, which was weird. It was pretty good sauce, but I don’t even know what it would compliment. I did not think it paired well with the crumbly bread, though.

After we ate, we headed right back toward home. We stopped to charge in Van Buren again, and we had trouble getting the charger door open. Luckily I got it unstuck with my finger, so we weren’t stuck without a vehicle. We charged enough to make it to Ozark where we stopped to charge some more. It seemed to be going a bit slower than I expected, so rather than fill up on Tesla’s dime like I wanted, we continued on home.

We visited with Mom for a bit, and then I started towards Summer’s for the night. Along the way, I saw Kyler’s car outside the restaurant and stopped at Ridgewood. Then Grant came out and invited me in for a “family tray” of leftover barbecue from the night. Nobody wanted anything else from it, so they let me have it all. Then they were going to throw out a whole tray of baked beans that they let me take home as well.

Once I got to the house, things were quiet. Summer wound down quickly, and Eaddie made it home from her football game around midnight. She made first chair in a wind ensemble at Tech, so she shared some music with me before bed.

What a piece of junk!

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I’ll Try to Think About the Last Time I Had a Good Time

Eaddie and I had a concert in Little Rock in the evening, so I had to get home to charge up. I grabbed some hot wings on the way home since I’d be there for a little while. I actually didn’t feel great for most of the morning, but it was better once we were in the car.

I picked her up and we headed straight to The Fold: Botanas & Bar in Little Rock. Mitch had taken me there when he was in town, and I thought the girls would really like it. We got the big appetizer to try all the salsas, cheese, and guacamole, and then both got assorted taco plates. I didn’t think it was quite as good as last time, but it was a cute place and we still really enjoyed it.

We had a little bit of time to kill before the concert, so we went by Franklin’s Charging Hub for a little juice and to use the restrooms. Then we headed to the Simmons Bank Arena and parked on the south side parking lot. It didn’t seem like a very big crowd, and we got into the building really quickly. We found our seats, and then went back up for some shirts.

They had the upper bowl completely closed off, and there were still empty seats left. I was surprised, especially for $25 tickets. Simple Plan was up first, and I felt kind of bad about how low-energy the crowd was behaving. I’m not one to get up and dance, and I prefer to sit in the seats I paid for, but you could just tell that people were there for different bands. On the other hand, there was a group of girls across the aisle from us that appeared to leave after Sum 41.

We were surprised by how many small children were in attendance. There was a pretty big family with several small children seated right in front of us, and when before The Offspring came on, they had a blimp with a camera and then several other cameras taking videos of the crowd. After a kiss cam, they had a bird cam, and several of the kids were being encouraged by their parents to flip off the cameras, much to the delight of the crowd.

Overall we had mixed feelings about the concert. All three bands struggled with low vocals, and it was difficult to hear what any of them were singing. The rest of the music was just blaring, which didn’t help. We did get to witness some crowd surfing and a mosh pit, as well as The Offspring stopping for a moment due to an injury in the crowd.

After the concert, we made the quickest getaway we’ve ever had at the arena. There was no waiting at all to get out of the parking lot, and then the roads were clear right by us, all the way out of town. We decided to stop at Waffle House in Conway for a late night dinner, since Eaddie hadn’t been to one recently enough to remember. The staff was loud, friendly, and attentive until they started getting really busy with other concert-goers. We both really enjoyed our food, and then we made it home in good time to go straight to bed.

I’m sick of always hearing “act your age!”

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Three Early Five Me

Julie finally fell asleep last night after screaming at me for an hour about how early she had to get up. I showered at night so I could just jump out of bed at 3:15, giving me 45 minutes to do any last-minute packing, and then we were off to the airport. There wasn’t really any traffic because of how early it was, and we ended up waiting at the gate for a couple hours before boarding. The trip back to Fayetteville was even faster than the trip up, at about an hour and 15 minutes.

We got to the car and headed toward home, stopping at a Sam’s Club and then a Vietnamese place called TyPHOon for lunch. The phở was pretty good, but the bánh mì was really lean on filling. From there, we made it to Ozark so Dad could take over driving from Julie. I just played my Steam Deck the entire way.

Once home, I unpacked and decompressed for just a little while before heading up to Summer’s. Eaddie has been driving herself around in the Murano, so I guess I’ll be taking the Model 3 up there overnight now. I should be able to charge up fast enough in the morning while I shower, to keep up with my usage throughout the day.

Summer made a turkey breast in the slow cooker, along with mashed potatoes and broccoli salad. I ended up taking over the gravy, which turned out super salty from saving all of the drippings. I kept trying to fall asleep after that, so I popped an iron pill and went to bed early.

Oh, man.