Tag: boarding

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Mazel Tov Cocktails

I thought I was a little further behind today, but I still beat everyone but Gary to the office. I-40 was backed up from the McCain exit back to the I-30 split for much of the morning, and the slow traffic caused multiple other accidents because people love their jobs so much that they’re willing to risk it all. I had forgotten we were supposed to go to the annex to clean out the rest of the junk there, but everyone started at the office anyway, and they chatted about the school board passing the reorganization plan at the meeting the night before.

We eventually did head toward the annex, but Randy and Maggie had to go to central office and everyone else drove separately. I took the back roads and got there long before Gary, who left the office just after I did. Jim and Kyle were there first, then Jay, Brian, Jimmy, and Gary eventually showed up. Just before Gary got there, Randy called and needed me to get a virtual machine set up for remote HVAC access. I started back, but took JFK down to McCain rather than taking the Interstate.

As I got to my intersection, I was reminded that there existed a Hardee’s, so I stopped for breakfast. I had a deal for a sausage and egg biscuit, and I wanted to try their Nashville Hot chicken biscuit as well. The hash rounds were the best I’d ever had from a Hardee’s before, in spite of how much the employees appeared to be struggling. I ate those on the way back to the office.

It took me a while to get Hyper-V to do what I wanted, but I did get it done by the end of the day. People eventually filtered back into the office, and then Maggie and I met Randy and Kyle at Texas Roadhouse for lunch. The afternoon was pretty quiet, and Randy sent everyone home at three after he and I took pictures of the car accessories I got for him off of Amazon Vine.

I had no choice but to stop and charge on the way home, and Summer was on her way to Conway, so I charged up to my 80% limit and met her at the wash. They only had one working bay in the manual wash, but I eventually got in and washed. While I was there, a guy rode up to wash his motorcycle. I talked to him very briefly as I was working, and he complimented the Model 3 and asked if I’d seen all the stuff about the “mazel tov cocktails.”

The soap in the wash did an absolutely horrible job, but the paint looked better. I made it home through dumb, slow traffic, and tried to get the kids to ride bikes while I rode around with Muad’Dib. Eaddie fussed at first but said she’d text me after a bathroom break, so Muad’Dib and I set out to “find Stilgar.” I kept coaching him and let him lead, and he walked me straight to my parents’ house where Dad met us in the driveway.

We left there and went through the basin trail, and he took me down to Phoenix where we passed Mom on her way home. He walked me all the way to Ridgewood Brothers, so I tied him up and went inside for some pulled pork. Grant had his butcher hook me up with some scraps gratis, which was very touching since I’d been having a hard time with the nice weather and thinking about Stilgar. I absolutely love the new relationship I have with Muad’Dib, but I hate that this is how I got it. Our walks are a completely different experience now, and I miss Stilgar’s energy so much.

Muad’Dib went absolutely nuts when he smelled the food, so it was a struggle to get him calm enough to eat any. Then when we started to leave, he took off after some guests and I had to zap him a couple times before he’d leave with me. We lollygagged back toward my parents’ house, stopping for another dip in the creek. He did a lot of walking, a lot of marking, and a bit of running too. It was a good seven-mile trek in total.

I let Muad’Dib hang out inside while I unboxed my newest Vine haul. Summer got home from work late and ate before bed. Eaddie had left with Eli but came home a little earlier to go to bed. My legs and feet had been staying swollen for the past couple weeks even after sleeping all night, so I guess I should report that to someone, but I’m afraid of what it would cost to talk to someone again at the risk of receiving zero feedback.

What’s the point?

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Breakfast Kidnapping

I got out the door a little earlier again today, and considered stopping for breakfast. Things only got worse as Kyle and Randy came in and started talking about all kinds of food. Randy ended up wanting to go get breakfast, so I rode with him to #1 Donuts for some egg rolls, a kolache, and an apple fritter. Then he wanted to go to Dark Side Coffee across town. I did not expect it to be Star Wars themed, but I don’t really know what I was expecting. I was going to get the largest size of what he got, but the barista warned that it came with six shots of espresso and I downsized for safety.

We got back to the office and I stayed super busy all day. I kept juggling phone calls between Randy and Jim, but didn’t have great answers for either of them. I worked on into the afternoon trying to figure out our KMS situation for Windows authentication, and some things seem to authenticate, but not others. I ran to Arby’s for some chicken “nuggets” and potato cakes for a quick lunch that I ate at my desk.

I was excited to get home to run with Muad’Dib since the weather was still pretty nice. It was super windy again, and a great temperature for a hoodie. He did great off-leash again, and we never really got close enough to anyone for me to worry about stopping to hold him. We did spot some buzzards in the field at the basin trail, and I got worried for a moment that they had found Stilgar. I just wish I knew what happened to him, because I hate the idea that he crawled into a drainage ditch and died. I don’t know if that’s better or worse than being dumped in somebody’s garbage.

We visited Dad for a while and I brought his new brush over so he can get some grooming when he’s over there. Then we got home and the girls were out back waiting for us. We played for a while before I came in to get some food and look at some old Vine stuff from the other day. Then it was off to bed early.

The Candidate

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Inside Out Dog

I was exhausted on the way in this morning, but the car was a champ. Something misted all over me on the way in, so it was impossible to tell that I had just washed it. I got there reasonably early to no acclaim. Nobody seemed to be in a big rush to do anything, which was funny because Randy got fired up when the new coach made a comment to Jim about how we were so inefficient.

I spent most of the day tinkering with Mosyle and trying to clean up old work orders, but didn’t really accomplish anything of merit. I took lunch by myself and got a Big Mac, then made it back in time for a conference call with Fortinet about their cybersecurity training program for our staff.

I left just a couple minutes early and charged quite a bit, then made it home to an excited dog. Eaddie had played with Muad’Dib when she got home, so he was in a good mood after lying around all day. I ate first, with him by my feet, then took him on a good run through the neighborhood. The wind was howling and it got super cold, but we had a great time. We went to see my parents, then made it home to see Summer.

Muad’Dib spent a bunch of time inside with me while I unboxed some more Vine stuff, and then Eaddie played with him some more when he got back home. I built a little bookshelf I got for the game room, and then it was off to bed.

Six hours later….

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Vogon Culture

I got up early so I could try round two of getting my car registered and my driver’s license renewed. Summer was back to work and Eaddie was in bed, so I had an easy start with a bit of an upset stomach. I don’t know if it’s the iron having the opposite effect than expected, or if it’s been due to all the recent dairy or greasy “barbecue” leftovers. I eventually got out of the house though, and made it to the local health unit to get a copy of my birth certificate.

The office was about as governmental as it could appear inside, but at least the process for getting my certificate was easy, and there was only one other person ahead of me. I actually finished my paperwork before her, so I was in and out in a jiffy. I guess my parents lost my original, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. All Dad could find was the hospital certificate, which wouldn’t work for the DMV.

I called Dad as I left because I forgot to get a signed check from Summer for my sales tax on the car. He had to let the restoration guys into the old house to clean the carpet anyway, so I stopped by Splash for a quick vacuum before meeting him to get a blank check. When I got back to the DMV, they were absolutely slammed with nowhere to park, so I went online and scheduled the earliest appointment, then went to Walmart to kill some time.

I wandered around but didn’t find too much of interest. I made it all the way across the store and decided to get the dogs some more treats, and then made my way back to the DMV. I had only just sat down and checked in when I was called up, so I’ll have to remember to schedule an appointment every time now. I got the car registered with my old vanity plate, then had my picture taken. Overall it was pretty painless.

Eaddie had gone out shopping by the time I got home, so I changed clothes and went out on a super long run with the dogs. We made it around to the basin trail when I decided to divert us to the Ridgewood Brothers to see how they were doing on such an icy day. I forgot to start my Onewheel app, so I missed out on the first couple miles, but afterward I counted right at five miles. The restaurant was slow, so I tied them up outside and went in to buy some pulled pork for them. The guy on the butcher block gave me a ton of extra fat and skin for free, so it was way more than I could give the boys in one sitting. They had some to eat, and then we rolled around to the back of the building to talk to Kyler. Grant and Robert came out a little later to take a break and saw us, and then we headed to Dad’s. I couldn’t feel my toes by then, so we didn’t stay long.

Eaddie and Eli were at the house when I got there, and then Summer got home shortly after that. I cleaned up and eventually had a leftover hamburger. I got my license plate installed, then spent a couple hours organizing and cleaning up before heading to bed.

Not actually evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious, and callous.

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That’s an A

I wasn’t sure who would be at work today. Maggie stopped in briefly, but left. I eventually saw Charles and Gary separately at different times of the day. I sat in the dark for the entirety of it. Just before lunch, a girl knocked on the door and wanted to know if I could help after she locked herself out of her Prius. I told her I didn’t have any tools to try such a thing, and she said nobody else was capable of Googling a locksmith for her, so I called one for her and then waited with her until he showed up.

After that, I went to Arby’s for some cheap lunch. Then the afternoon dragged until I finally left a bit early. The car was reporting that I would have to charge to make it home, but I pressed on. I stopped to see Summer in Conway, then took the highway to Plumerville before getting back on the interstate. That got me home without any stress.

I felt like my blood pressure was super high, but it wasn’t when I checked it at home. I took the dogs out for a really long run over to Ridgewood Brothers. Robert took another spin on the Onewheel, and then I continued around Kroger and up the bike path to the middle school before heading to my parents’ house. Dad was flying the drone and following us around until we got there. By then I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes, so we headed home for treats.

I warmed up some leftover pizza and cleaned up as much as I could. Eli and the girls were watching some documentary series on Michael Jordan, so I went to my room and wrapped up my own stuff before bed. I should be safe with over 90% of my Vine orders reviewed, so I’m excited to see what the next tier unlocks.

Break couldn’t have come soon enough.

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Rollin ‘Round Town

Today was a good day to sleep in and have some time to myself. My appointment was in the early afternoon, so I had time to eat some food, take a shower, and open up some more Vine stuff before leaving the house. Summer wasn’t sure if she’d make it back in time to join me, but when she wasn’t home by the time to leave, I decided to take the Onewheel on my own. The sun was shining and it wasn’t too cold, so it was a great day for a ride. Monalisa and the other ladies in the office were fascinated by the Onewheel, but I didn’t wait in the lobby for very long before I got called back.

My blood pressure wasn’t bad, but we discussed my near-blackout events and a timeline of my pressure. Then Crystal came in and we talked about modifying my meds. She was good with me using up my old amlodipine since it wasn’t too far out of date. I’ll just continue to log my stats and share them with her through their clinic portal.

Summer got home shortly after I did, and started to wrap some more presents. I took the dogs out for an extended run since they were really good and we had quite a bit of daylight left, and we waved at a whole bunch of people along the way. As we got back to the house, they just kept on running, so we did another figure-eight around the block before getting back home.

Summer was still wrapping up her wrapping and watching some documentary series about a conspiracy theorist and some hot-to-trot kid from Mensa. I ate some leftover dumplings and then warmed up some for her when she got hungry. Then I laid down on the couch with her for a little while before wrapping up for the night.

Even with medicine, it’s a “best by” date!

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Chasing Goblins

I woke up to a rainstorm and practically had to push the car through the rain to get to work because Full Self Driving didn’t want to go over about 60. Traffic after Conway slowed down to the 40s, so I showed up plenty late. Randy was the only one there, and he only walked in just before me. A few others trickled in, but most didn’t stick around long.

I ended up sitting in on a quick call with Kyle and Maggie, but that was mostly just receiving a proposal from a vendor that Randy didn’t want to attend. I was just happy my microphone worked this time. Then I sat in with Maggie and Randy when the Acer rep came to talk to us in person. He tried name dropping Russellville as a client, but I confirmed with Gary that they hadn’t bought any Acer stuff. I don’t know if he was just lying or mistaken.

We didn’t get out for lunch because Robin cooked pork chops and baked potatoes for us. You really couldn’t beat it for five bucks. We’ve been eating great every couple of weeks out there. Then I poked around with the KMS server a bit more in the afternoon. I left work early so I could go home and vote, but I had to stop at the old house first. Then went and stood in line at the election headquarters. They were churning people through there pretty quickly, so I was in and out in no time. Then I headed straight home to see Summer before the trick-or-treaters started coming around.

We had some leftover burritos, and then as soon as we got our first group of kids, I took the dogs out for a run on the Onewheel. They must have smelled it in the air, because they took off running like crazy. There were people all down the road, and we flew by without too much trouble. They did want to sniff at people at first, but overall they did pretty great. We stopped by to see Dad, but their street was dark.

From there, we went around the block to Promenade Circle, and that place was packed. There were cars parked on both sides of the road around the whole block, and you couldn’t get farther than about ten feet away from people in any direction. We rolled on through and went around the main circle once before going out to the basin trail. There was nobody out there, so we continued around Vancouver and then came back up by my parents’ house for some water before taking the long way home.

Summer kept handing out candy for a little longer, but then we put everything away and got ready for bed. Eaddie was out all night with Eli at a Tech band concert. I saw her come in, and then went to bed.

It’s like a candy festival of light!

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Tear a Faucet

I planned to leave the second faucet alone for the time being, but having the rubber washer in the aerator break apart kind of bumped that up in priority. Luckily I was still prepared with the extra faucet, and it was a relatively easy install apart from the lack of space to get under the sink. I unearthed, for probably the fifth time in our relationship, a ton of vitamins that Summer had been hoarding under the sink, and set them out for consumption. I won’t be able to test the sink for leaks until the silicone dries, but I feel reasonably confident about it.

After I finished the sink, I made some burritos for lunch, and then Eaddie left for Eli’s for most of the day. I had a long shower and moved some more things around the house before deciding to take a break and get back on the Onewheel. Dad took one of the stray cats to the vet, but I got to their house just as Mom got home from work. I rode around the block a few times and practiced carving into some turns a bit, and Dad got home shortly after that. It got cold fast, so I rode on home in time to get dinner started for Summer.

I cooked some rice and warmed up some steak and veggies. Then we watched a Nate Bargatze special on Netflix. Eaddie got home late, but Summer and I had already wound down for bed. It didn’t seem like I did a ton today, but I was beat.

You know it when you see it. You know it when it’s there. Like Michael Jackson, “Thriller.” Like Farrah Fawcett hair.