Tag: anger management

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Trapped Beef

I tried to get up at a reasonable time this morning and made coffee for Summer and myself. She hadn’t fully disassembled the steam wand previously, so it was clogged and had to be cleaned. Irritations kept compounding, and I eventually found myself hiding in my office all day. I did come out to fry some rice and egg for lunch, and cleaned up the brats along with that. Summer didn’t feel well all day, and slept on the couch for some of the afternoon.

I cleaned the ceiling in the shower and then milled around the house for a while. I eventually left and picked up some dinner for us both at Arby’s. Eaddie decided to stay in Clarksville for one more night, so Summer and I settled in and watched X-Men: First Class. Then she went to sleep.

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Be Cool

I saw that the cafeteria was having macaroni and cheese as an entree today, so I stopped by Burger King for some croissants instead. I ended up getting to work a little late after following a bunch of really slow people, but Kenny was the only one fussing about anything right off the bat. He couldn’t access our old camera system, and evidently the server never properly powered back on after our surge last week.

I also called Roy’s early in the morning so we could get someone out to look at the air conditioner. I was surprised at how quickly I got a call back, and Summer was with Eaddie at the dentist, so I had to call Dad. I didn’t specify, so he accidentally went to the old house and I got a call when the tech arrived and nobody was home. Dad and Summer got to the house right about the same time, and luckily the tech found a hidden C wire that he could connect without having to run a whole new wire. Unfortunately it was the Nest thermostat at fault again.

The rest of the day was pretty hectic with teachers constantly coming in for me to sign off on their technology inventory. At least this year I had lists of Chromebooks to send back to them. Several kids were also in and out to borrow or return devices, because nobody seems capable of the responsibility of bringing them to class every day.

After work, I headed to the old house and pulled the thermostat off the wall again to see if it would work with the new C wire at the new house. It reported the same error, so I figured it was the backplate that had actually failed. Summer was doing some work from home, so I went back to the old house to get the newer backplate and swapped the entire system out. That got the system working, so the new house cooled down pretty quickly.

I spent about 45 minutes on chat with Nest support to try and file a warranty claim, but was told repeatedly that a 2-year warranty that started on May 30th had ended on May 4th. Unable to escalate to a live supervisor, I settled for a followup contact. Then I figured the air unit at the old house was completely replaced since I had gotten the new thermostat, so I took a trip back to see if the old thermostat and backplate would work with the new HVAC unit. Unfortunately it really was dead.

I picked up some Taco Villa for dinner on the way back home. Summer and I ate alone since Eaddie was out all night again. It felt much better inside, even at 80 degrees.

I mean, Stealth Grey looks fine.

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Logic Puzzles

They must be training someone new at McDonald’s, because I was late to work again because it took way too long to get through the line. My reward was not having to wait in line for a 7 Brew Sweet & Salty that the school had “catered” in big, pre-brewed dispensers. I forgot about the donuts in the office, and then I had to figure out the gym sound system on wheels so they could have graduation rehearsal. Barry nearly had a heart attack when I insinuated that I may not be available the next evening for graduation.

In the end, whoever rolled the thing out there didn’t plug it in all the way. It took a real IT genius to figure that one out. I got the sound running, but there were still adjustments to be made and speakers to be balanced. For the time being, they were happy with what they had. My price keeps going up when I see how much I’m overcompensating for the ignorance of others. The bar is just too low.

I had some leftover barbecue for lunch and then ducked out early so I could be there for at least part of graduation. TCW was supposed to come run fiber into the house anyway, so I made it home just in time to meet Tony.

It didn’t take long for me to realize he just wanted a super easy install. Evidently they already trenched the fiber to the side of the house, and it was his job to get it inside. He kept wanting to go around the outside of the house, or poke the fiber through a hole in the vents that go under the house. His drill bit ended up being too short to make it through a layer of brick, followed by cinder block. Dad had stopped by for some silicone to fix his rain gauge, and I ended up having him crawl under the house to try and drill outward so we could meet him halfway. Tony called another kid for backup, but he didn’t have a longer bit either. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after Dad started drilling that the kid even attempted to drill a new hole, and then immediately quit because he didn’t want to deface the brick trying to get into the mortar joint.

We ended up not getting new internet, and we’ll wait for them to come back with a proper sized bit. Leonard’s had 24-inch bits available all day long, but I guess they weren’t authorized to make that purchase. It’ll help them in the future, and I couldn’t believe they didn’t have one in the first place.

After the guys from TCW left, I got a call from Bitec to schedule an interview over a video call. I was a little surprised how quickly they called, and couldn’t even remember the details of the job listing. Looking back, it wasn’t very detailed at all, and seemed like a bunch of generic IT-related stuff, but at more than twice my current salary.

Dad pedaled home, and eventually Summer got home herself. Eaddie was out all night for band awards, but we didn’t go. I had been wound up enough all day, and then aggravated a blood vessel in my foot, so I sat down on the couch for a while. I eventually moved to the computer, and then bed.

Things are harder when you’re an idiot.

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I Need a Vacation

I had to go in early again today for testing, though nobody needed me. It was super slow and quiet, aside from Kim. I’ve been feeling the burnout as time runs out to sign next year’s contract, but it looks like Green Bay is hiring for a different position. I don’t know if one of the others left, or if this may be a new position. I’ll need to reach out to Gary to see if he’d like to talk about it.

I left after my requisite eight hours and made it to the old house to feed the fish. Then I got home and Eaddie was getting ready for some band concert that I guess wasn’t open to the public, or at least we weren’t attending. I changed clothes so I could go out on the Onewheel for the first time since my big wreck. It was much more difficult to accelerate since I was still feeling so much pain in my arm. I was constantly afraid of nosediving.

My only plan was to go to Arby’s for a free sandwich, but I stopped by my parents’ house to visit with them first. Julie and Kevin were there for dinner, and I had a little bowl of some sort of taco cornbread casserole that Dad made. I stayed a while just to visit since Julie was there, but then she started talking about a show on Netflix, and Dad mentioned having trouble watching it on the TV. For some reason, Julie was immediately triggered and started yelling at me progressively louder about sponging off of them and letting them pay for a service that they “couldn’t even use” until I finally snapped back at her. Every single person there just sat in silence while she continued to berate me for being a worthless parasite, so I just left.

I slowly rode across town and had to stop behind the forestry service to sob on a park bench for a little while. I only fell down in the street once along the way, at a super slow speed on a super small bump. My wheel just spun up and spat me out, so I laid in the middle of the intersection in defeat.

After pulling myself together downtown, I continued to Arby’s the long way, because I was pretty sure every law enforcement officer in the county was blocking off Detroit under the bridge. I never could see what was going on, but they were there the entire time I rode across town, ate a roast beef sandwich, and rode back home.

Summer made it home after a rough day of her own, and went to bed. Eaddie got home late from her concert and went to bed. I took some blood pressure medicine, and went to bed.

I change my mind. I’d rather plan a vacation.

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Print Nightmare

We struggled with printers all day after my driver snafu yesterday. Whether it was trouble printing in color, or retrieving jobs, there was always something wrong. My only real accomplishment for the day was talking to Barry to schedule Chromebook pickup, and even that took multiple emails after a face-to-face conversation because he didn’t actually know when his staff would be finished using their devices. Denice and I spent a bit of the afternoon venting about the different idiots we had to support.

I got my contract offer for barely any more than I made this year, so I immediately started looking for work again. I found a couple jobs that may interest me, so I think I’ll be challenging myself to apply to one a day for a while to see how it pans out.

I eventually made it home after getting stuck behind people driving well below the speed limit again. People either fly or crawl down that road. There’s no middle ground.

I got to the old house to feed the fish, and I brought a little bucket pond kit to the new house. Eaddie had Eli over, and Summer was making dinner. I went out back to fill my bucket and got the fountain working. It was pretty disappointing, but I can upgrade it later.

After dinner, we played Phase 10 before bed. The kids stayed up pretty late. I kept getting sidetracked myself, but eventually made it to bed.

Control P

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I DEMAND A REFUND

Kim was out today, and Denice wasn’t in the office for the first part of the morning, so I made myself some coffee and tried to concentrate on my Modern Driver Management in SCCM. Somehow, the server stopped responding to PXE requests, and then started working again after lunch, just as suddenly as it had quit.

The drive home was pretty fast, but that didn’t stop a jackass truck from passing me at over 70mph, and then end up parked in front of me once we got into Dardanelle. I’m sick to death of those idiots kicking road grit in my face and gaining nothing for it.

I was racing against the potential of rain, so I went straight home where the girls were just getting back with dinner. I went to my office and started working on taxes, determined to file on time. It took a trip back to the old house to find some paperwork, and then doing some math to make up for forms I didn’t have, but by the end of it all, I felt pretty confident in what I filed for both of us. Summer didn’t even add any of her interest accounts, so I was that far ahead already.

Sick of it.

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Taxing System

I tried not to sleep in too late today. Summer got up and wanted to talk, and then made me breakfast while Eaddie was still in her room. I eventually got started on my taxes, but it was a real struggle to get everything together. I just got more and more angry at the whole system because I kept having to do more and more research on something that should be click-to-pay.

Eaddie had band practice at some point, and Summer went to get stuff for dinner. I had a shower and did a load of laundry. Once we were all back together, we had dinner and then Summer had to host a meeting at work for a bit. Eaddie went to the park, so I went out for a quick jaunt on the Onewheel to see my parents.

I didn’t get to bed until a usually-late time, but I felt fairly confident in my tax work. I guess if they tell me I did it wrong, at least I’ll eat for free.

Deduct the taxes you paid? That’s a little meta, isn’t it?

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You Don’t Know Jack

I successfully took the Murano to work this morning. I did not successfully place an order for breakfast at the correct restaurant. The McDonald’s app switched locations on me while I was nearing the bridge to Dardanelle, and I refused to turn around and drive across town to retrieve my order. Fortunately it was refunded later in the afternoon, but it was infuriating that I was completely powerless to do absolutely anything until then. I just went to Burger King instead.

Work was relatively quiet, and some of my deployment issues were resolved. Others I had to keep opening new tabs to research. By the end of the day, I could barely see the icons of each site I had open. Johnny called while I was eating and asked for my reference as he applied for a Dover tech position. It was a little tempting to apply for it myself, but I just don’t think that’s the right move yet. Hopefully something else will present itself, but until then, I’m left daydreaming about what it would be like at the paper mill.

I stopped by Walmart in Dardanelle on the way home, because it was the only store that would offer free online pickup. Then I picked up the coffee table from the old house and headed home. Along the way, I called Jack out of the blue to try and catch up with him. All I could do was leave a voicemail. Summer was already home when I got there, but taking work calls and then heading to the bath after helping me unload the car. I went to my parents’ house briefly, came back to get my backpack and chargers before going back for dinner.

It was nice out, so after dinner I rode all around the neighborhood and the west side of town. Then I came home through the Waco Detention Basin Trail, which was actually dry. With both the Onewheel and the Murano depleated, I plugged in and drove across town to fill up the car. I didn’t realize how much I hated pumping gas until I didn’t have to any more. I still miss my car.

I chatted with Jack for quite a while. Eaddie got home super late, and Summer was in bed early.

Calm

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Cold Mornings Are for Suckers

Eaddie beat me to the shower unexpectedly this morning, which meant I finished mine in lukewarm water. Any colder outside, and it wouldn’t have lasted that long. I got out the door and realized she had taken the Murano to school, which was different than the plan we had set the night before, whereby Summer would drop her off so I could not ride the bike to work in the cold. I ran back inside and got a jacket, but failed to get my gloves, so my hands were ice cold when I got to work. I started with some coffee, but it took a while to get over the deep chill.

I spent most of the day fighting printer drivers, and still never really fixed the deployment, I guess I’ll dig into it some more tomorrow, and likely start from scratch. The ride home after work was a bit warmer, but the warmer weather has really brought out the asshole pickup truck drivers. Maybe I just didn’t notice them in the Model 3, but the Shadow doesn’t have quite the pep to keep at the head of traffic.

I fed the fish and then went home until Summer got there. She worked a short day after having a doctor’s appointment, but still came home looking like hell with no will to exist outside of the house. I left on the Onewheel and had some rice and sausage that I like with my parents. Then I rode around the neighborhood for a while before making it back home. It was a short, quiet night after that.

Direct Translation

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Asshole Pickups

I had a terrible time crawling out of bed this morning. I must have been in an incredibly deep sleep, because it took me nearly an hour to wake up. It was bad enough that I wonder if snoozing for a few more minutes might have helped. I made it to work, but Kim wasn’t there the entire morning. She showed up for duty and then was around in the afternoon, but she didn’t really have anything to say about where she was, other than looking for one of the boys’ lost backpack all over town.

It took me a little while to get focused, but eventually I hammered out a couple of software deployments. I should be able to try imaging one of the new computer lab machines by tomorrow morning. At least it’s quieter in the side room when the air handler above our office starts shaking and buffeting the air pressure against our heads.

It only took a couple miles to find my first asshole on the way home from work. Some guy in a big, red pickup ran up behind me at the end of our two-lane stretch of road and passed about eight of us, including a full logging truck, on a double-yellow on a blind curve/hill with oncoming traffic. It I had better signal out in the county, I would have called 911 to report it, but I didn’t trust my call would be comprehensible.

I fed the fish and grabbed a handful of stuff before going to the wash to see Summer. They were busy, so I just washed my car and went home to wait for her. On the way home, I saw another truck cut off two people downtown. Then he took a turn in front of oncoming traffic as the second light turned green. I’d have given anything to be a stealth cop today.

Once Summer got home, we went to my parents’ house for some bánh tôm chiên khoai lang, which is just a more difficult way to say and spell, “fried shrimp cake with sweet potato.” Eaddie came over to eat as well, once she was done with some band concert event.

We weren’t home for ten minutes after eating before Summer had to go back to work to help clean the lube. She said someone called in, and I just couldn’t comprehend why someone in her position would feel like she had to go in to cover it.

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