Clean Up, Settle Up

Autumn had to work today, and Eaddie was still with her father for the weekend, so Summer and I got up to a day to ourselves. We ate some leftovers for breakfast, and before too long I headed home to clean up. I spent the entire day in and out of the garage trying to clean things out so I can park in there again. There were plenty of big things I could move around, and there’s still plenty more to go.

Summer showed up after her workout and kept me company, but by that time I was feeling really tired and clammy as it got warmer outside. I started slowing down quite a bit and really just wanted a shower, so she went home while I cleaned up.

Just as I was getting ready for a shower, I remembered that Little Caesar’s had a promotional $5 ExtraMostBestest deal, so I ran across town to pick one of those up instead. The guy at the window was super nice and polite, and the pizza was one of the prettier I’ve had from there. The crust was overly thick in some places though, and it looked more like a regular sparsely-topped pepperoni than an ExtraMostBestest. It was good though, and fit my craving.

After my shower, I was feeling really sleepy, and it felt like it should have been about eight or nine o’clock. I kept picking up and started making some ice cream before my milk and cream could go bad. Unfortunately I warmed the milk up too much when mixing the dry ingredients, so it never quite got down to freezing as it spun. I just had to pour it into some cups to stick in the freezer instead.

To wrap up the night, I had to comb through my Discover Card transactions to pull out Autumn’s purchases again. You’d think there would be a way to easily separate authorized users from everyday transactions, but there’s just not without looking at the details of each transaction. Luckily I know that I almost never go to Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, Tropical Smoothie, Dollar General, or Dollar Tree.

I always play banker.

Around the House

Summer kept begging for some Ridgewood Brothers BBQ this morning, so I took a shower and we went downtown to pick up a bunch to bring back home to Eaddie. Autumn was at a Quiz Bowl event, so the three of us ate and then I went home to start some laundry while Summer went to the gym.

After a while, Summer dropped Eaddie off at the fair to hang out with some of her friends, and came to my house. She wasn’t there very long before Autumn called and wanted her to take them out to eat at Chili’s. There was some guise of wanting to talk, but I never heard anything more and assumed it was a con.

When they finished eating, I met Summer at Walmart for a walkabout. I didn’t find anything interesting, but Summer picked up a few things and we headed out. She went to get Eaddie while I took everything up to her house and waited for them to get back.

Autumn went to bed as soon as I got there. I made some leftover tacos, and then graded the newly written apology letters that Autumn left for me. She still had some errors, so I marked them up and left them on the table. When Summer got home with Eaddie, she brought out the ice cream cake we bought and sliced it up for us. No sooner had she put the rest of the cake back in the freezer than she screamed at me for taking her slice. Only I didn’t. She left it on the counter and blamed me for absolutely no reason at all. Now she owes an apology letter too.

We finished the night with a couple episodes of House, which put Summer in a funk about therapy, and made Eaddie sleepy enough to go on to bed. I was bored and restless, but couldn’t do much else. Eventually I made it to bed.

I need help. I want to get better.

What kind of overalls does Mario wear?

I took the car to work today on a whim, and out of nowhere we had a downpour in the afternoon. It wouldn’t have mattered though, since it only rained briefly while I was inside, and everything was basically dry by the time I left.

Jacob spent some time asking questions in my office first thing in the morning, which lasted for much longer than I expected. It went on for so long that my calendar alert went off and reminded me of the CPPC meeting I had completely forgotten about. I ran across the street not really knowing what to expect, but the meeting went pretty well. Judy was mostly running the show again, and had the second draft of the salary schedule ready for us to review. We went through all the columns, or at least by department, and discussed what changes were made and why. I got the impression that almost everyone felt like they were getting a good raise, but it surely won’t be that way. I just don’t know who all is being cut.

The meeting carried on until just before lunch time, and I took Gary and Zach to BFD where we all got the same Lizard Lunch. Evidently I was charged double for the addition of fajita vegetables, which highlights the glaring inconsistency we get there since I never see the owner any more.

The afternoon went by more slowly as I struggled with Autodesk some more. I hardly saw anyone else the rest of the day, except for a brief moment when Thomas came back to ask for help. I was excited to flex my knowledge for him until I realized he just wanted help moving furniture. Kelsea got a new desk delivered from Burris, which must have cost a fortune because we bought it from Burris.

I left a bit late to go home and change. I had to chase Bác Vân down to find a package that was delivered and then scooped up by her and Doug. Then I went to my parents’ house to help vacuum the pool. It was so humid that I was juste absolutely drenched in sweat through the whole process. Mom continued to direct my work while I did my best to ignore her through my earbuds. It was all just sediment that never got stirred up, so I think the new pump just needs to be turned up higher.

After I finished the pool, we went in to clean up some leftovers. Then I got the pump running again and added some shock to the water before heading home. I thought it was going to be a quick night to bed, but Old Navy had me trying on pants and shopping for more deals before I could sleep. The problem with buying all of your jeans at the same time is that they all wear out at the same time.

Denim denim denim!

Filed Under Completed

I made it in to work several minutes early today and just kind of eased into things. I knew I wanted to actually take action with a lot of work, but I still had a bit of trouble finding where to really chip into it all. I poked around a few different things at first, then went to Oakland to tend to Aimee and her fussy preschool cohorts. The girl that quit evidently stripped a bunch of stuff out when she left, and even took the USB cable for the touch panel.

I ended up leaving for lunch about 15 minutes late and met Gary and Zach at Arby’s. I tried their new Prime Rib Cheesesteak, which was loaded up a bit more than I expected, but was overly chewy and gooey. I actually found myself wishing it had less cheese on it. Summer had me drop some food off for her on the way back to work, and I continued to dig into the Print Nightmare exploit patch that we had to work around in order to resolve print issues for everyone.

Ultimately I fixed that issue and closed a whole bunch of work orders, so I felt pretty good by the end of the day. I left a little bit late and went to my parents’ house to deliver a patio table cover that I ordered for them. I ate a little turkey roll for dinner just to keep things really light, and then helped Dad move the oven out and into the trunk of his car so he could return it.

From there, I headed home to clean up a bit. The laundry room and kitchen had gotten a bit out of control, so I took care of that and then filed a bunch of paperwork. I even took the time to finally make folder labels with a proper label printer, so everything looks really nice now.

File the rest of that under “To Be Filed.”

The Brains of This Outfit

I barely got a wink last night, but that was probably also the only reason it wasn’t too hard to get out of bed when my alarm went off. I made it in to work a few minutes early and got settled in. Gary was out sick, so I kept up with things in the office. Greg came back after receiving a negative COVID test, but his daughter never actually tested. I decided to run to Oakland for a bit to close out some tickets before making it back for lunch.

Zach really wanted CJ’s, which nobody else was really excited for, except Thomas. At least we got Zach to drive the five of us up there. I got plenty full and stuck around the office for the rest of the afternoon. Things got really quiet downstairs after Thomas and Zach went to the middle school to do some training. Tammy and I left just after quitting time and I headed home for the night.

Still full from lunch, I didn’t even make it to my parents’ house for more rolls. I just cleaned up a bit, both online and in one of the bedrooms. I even listed a single item on eBay – a TV remote for which I’ve never owned the TV. This is a gruelling process. Josue chatted me up later in the evening, starting the conversation with a picture of an old HP Touchpad I got him years ago. I still have a brand new one sealed in the shipping box under my desk. Evidently they’re still going for quite a bit on eBay. Who knows why.

eBay: where everything has value for some reason

Floored

Summer left this morning, giving me the day to take care of my own things at home. The afternoon just raced by, but I got some stuff moved around in one of the bedrooms. If I can get enough stuff cleared out, we can bring one of Eaddie’s twin beds down here so the girls can each stay in a bed of their own and not have to share. I found a few things I’d been wanting to track down, as well as a bunch of old gaming console accessories.

I went to my parents’ house for just a few minutes and had some dinner with Dad, then came back home to continue what little work I had done for the day. I sought out some advice about my employment contract, but didn’t get much out of it. I don’t guess I really expected much – at least not directly.

The evening flew by just as quickly as the rest of the day, and I did my best to get into bed early for what is surely to be another trying week at work.

The hunt is on.

Donut Go Gentle Into That Good Night

I woke up early this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I went to Shipley’s to pick up some donuts for Summer after she mentioned them last night. She was roused when I left, and got up to eat once I returned. Then she took Autumn to work and went to the gym while I stayed behind and showered and cleaned up a bit.

Summer came back over after a little while and shopped for eyeglasses while I continued poking around the house. When Autumn was done with work, Summer took her to the gym for a bit. I eventually got out to Walmart to return one of the hairdryers I bought because it felt like a fat guy breathing on the back of my neck. It seriously had no heat or air movement at all. It was worse than the one you get in the Motel 6.

I wandered around looking at clearance a bit and eventually made it up to Summer’s for dinner. We just finished up some leftover salad before coming back to my house for the evening. Autumn went to the bedroom and worked on a puzzle while Summer sat on the couch with me watching YouTube. Then it was off to bed.

Bock!

Single File to the Cioppa!

I couldn’t sleep in much today, and got up to rummage for some leftovers for breakfast. We sat around for a bit before Summer went to the gym and I headed home to try and motivate myself back into cleaning. I got some piles of old paperwork sorted and trashed or filed, and did a few odds and ends here and there. Summer came over after the gym and put in some major work in the back yard. She stacked all of the firewood that was piled up in the back, and even consolidated the larger logs that will have to be split later.

Every time I went outside, my body started to just seep moisture from every surface. I don’t know how Summer does it, and I absolutely hate it. I’m just ready for winter to come along so we can burn some wood now. I couldn’t believe she finished the entire pile of wood, so I treated her to a steak dinner at Colton’s.

Nearing the end of our meal, Cole and Aimee were seated at a table next to us, and I hadn’t seen Cole in several years. We didn’t chat too long though, since they had other family there as well. When we left, we came back to my house for the evening. Summer watched some TV while I just barely poked around, not feeling super smurfy. It really feels like a switch was flipped, and I’m just completely drained all of the time now. Everything hurts, and is more difficult than it should be.

This just won’t do.

Shuffleopolis

We spent all day at the junior high, swapping touch panels for TVs and relocating displays to different rooms. I peeled off of that crew to make some more flash drives for RCVA laptops, and eventually started that imaging process as well. I hate to say it, but it was nice to be on a crew without Josh for once so I felt like I had a little bit of control over the herd. I had answers for their questions, and we got things done correctly and efficiently.

Thomas and I went to Taco Villa to pick up lunch for four of us and we ate in the break room, and then I went right back to the junior high until quitting time. Then I ran by the shop to see Summer before going home to change and then to my parents’ house for some fish soup.

I didn’t stick around long and came back home to try and be a little bit productive again. I’ve suffered from a complete lack of motivation lately, but the next couple days should be just a smidge cooler. Hopefully that helps. I did manage to sketch a 3D model of one of the bathrooms, so hopefully that helps, and I’m not just being extra.

Real sketchy.

Ooh, I Wanna Take Ya’

I slept in pretty late today while Summer got up and made pancakes for everyone. Then I laid around watching TV until she went to the gym. I headed home to clean up, and got into all kinds of stuff.

The shorts I wore to the bar Friday night got black tape residue or something all over them, so I spent all day trying to clean them up. I started with some rubbing alcohol that did absolutely nothing, and then worked my way through some Oops and then Goo Gone that I borrowed from work. While I was there, I finally loaded up the wheelbarrow that Ben gave me before he left.

When I got back home, I had to investigate a water leak from the roof of the Murano. Hopefully it was just leftover from a leaf that was caught in the hatch, but I’ll have to watch it carefully to make sure it doesn’t become a real problem.

Between picking up and doing and redoing a single load of laundry with only my one pair of shorts, I hooked up a couple new Aruba access points and played around with their configuration. Hopefully it fixes the intermittent trouble I’ve had with some of my IoT devices, but I’ll need to get serious about running some network cables for this to do me any real good.

By the end of the night, I had most of the stain out of my pants, but I didn’t want to run them through the dryer. I hung them up to dry, and will try some more manual cleaning later.

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