Tag: depression

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Clock Ticks

We got out of the cold, wet house early this morning, so I stopped by Hardee’s for breakfast. Once at work, I tried to pick a task and stay focused, but I still felt a little like I had imposter syndrome. We took our short McDonald’s break and finished out the afternoon with a bunch of reviews.

I grabbed a deal from Taco John’s when we got back home, then stopped at Superfast for some washer fluid while Summer was there for a late team meeting. When we got to the house, I ate my Taco Bravo and then made a ham sandwich while starting some laundry. It wasn’t until after it was nearly done that Dad texted about bánh tôm chiên khoai lang. Summer said she wanted those when she left work, so I started walking with Muad’Dib and she picked us up along the way.

I wasn’t very hungry by then, but I had a couple with Summer and then we headed back to the house to fight about laundry.

Twenty One a Day

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Dogtown

Summer and I happened to end up in traffic around the same time, as there had been a wreck and vehicle fire right outside of Morrilton. She continued on to Little Rock and I got to work right around eight. Janice brought a tiny little goblin dog to work, so Muad’Dib had fun running around with her. We were up and down the stairs several times and stayed really busy all day.

PetSmart called early in the morning and wanted to move Muad’Dib’s appointment up an hour, citing that they were really busy leading up to Thanksgiving, and that they wanted to make sure he had plenty of time away from other people and dogs. It didn’t make much sense to me, since I figured an appointment time was just for him, but from the sound of it, they do several dogs at once in batches, and then kennel them between steps. It didn’t make much sense to me, but luckily I remembered that Summer would be passing back through. I had her pick him up and take him home, and then Eaddie delivered him to PetSmart at three.

I grabbed a quick lunch at McDonald’s and then continued David’s quest to learn how to import documents. I got a call about an hour and a half earlier than I expected, telling me that Muad’Dib was about finished, so I headed back home to get him. They said he did well, but I was actually disappointed in how much I paid for such a short service. We probably won’t be doing that again.

Summer said something about going to the store when she got off work, so I thought I’d go with her. When I got home, the kids had eaten two of the three steaks and left me one, and Summer none. I took Muad’Dib on a quick run, and he absolutely flew down the street. When we got back, I learned that at some point, Summer thought to eat the rest of the squash, which left me with a slab of meat and literally nothing else. The kids went with her to the store, so Muad’Dib and I went to Taco Villa.

They had my taco salad made quickly, and I didn’t notice when he followed me in the door, but we got back outside and ate at a picnic table in the cold. It was nice to decompress. Afterward, we went by the old house to look for a few things. Dad had emptied the cabinets, but I was lucky enough to find one of the things I was looking for.

When we got back to the house, Eaddie told me that they weren’t going to see Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox with us because she just learned that they wanted to record for the Tech band album they’re releasing. I tried to talk to her about commitments, but that fell on deaf ears, and nobody around here is willing to put family over anything else.

Well I guess if you want to be alone, be alone

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Let’s Review

I didn’t sleep great, but we slept in just a little bit before getting up for coffee. The girls went outside and I sat down to write a bunch of reviews while continuing with laundry. The day went by really fast, and we were all aware that we felt a little moody. Maybe it was cycles, or maybe it was seasonal affectivity. Maybe it was the anxiety attack I had when I started laundry. Maybe it was a continuation of the melancholy and dissatisfaction that we all seem to have accepted.

Summer made it to the gym, and Eaddie left for a concert of some kind. I took Muad’Dib for a run a few minutes earlier than on work days, and then Summer and I went to Colton’s for a late dinner. We sat in the car for a while before going in, trying to work through some feelings. Then we ate too much and came home to go to bed.

stuff

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Signals Lost

I wasn’t at work for very long before I got a call from Calvin, who was at the warehouse in Conway. He was having trouble with the internet out there, and I didn’t know enough about the place to walk him through any kind of troubleshooting. I talked to Scott, and decided to head over there to check out the place.

By then, the sun was out of my way and I could let the car take over. It did really well, and got us right to the place we needed to go. Calvin had to let me in, and then he showed me the little box of an office in the middle of the big warehouse. From there, he walked me back to the core closet at the far end of the warehouse. He kept asking questions and trying to talk to me while I was trying to figure out what was going on, so I politely told him it was going to take me a little while to figure out what was going on, and asked where he would be if I needed to find him. That worked perfectly, and I spent the next few hours mapping cables and walking back and forth across the complex.

I don’t know how any of it worked before I got there, because it appeared to be plugged up wrong. I got their little Netgear router working again though, and then had to figure out lunch with Muad’Dib. The Rogue Roundabout turned in on bringfido.com, so I figured I would give them a try since they were just a little ways away. We found street parking and went in to inquire. Evidently they had a patio somewhere, but it wasn’t open at the time. The guy walked us back out the door to look for a table space, but then he changed his mind and just let us sit inside in a seat away from other patrons.

It was a fairly hip place, with long picnic table type seating. I would absolutely turn around and walk out if they were busy, but I wouldn’t mind to eat there again on a slow day. Of course I couldn’t try any beer, but Muad’Dib and I liked the beer cheese and pretzels. I didn’t care for the Wellington, and my Reuben was overtoasted, but otherwise good. I would have liked to see our server again sometime between ordering and paying, but otherwise it was fine.

We made it back to Morrilton, got some wine for Summer, and then it was pretty dull the rest of the afternoon. I did figure out an issue that Jessica was having, so hopefully that was visible enough after the call I had tiwth her and Shane. It seemed like everyone was ready to get out of there, and we made it home without any fuss. Again, I let the car do its thing, and it performed excellently.

I took Muad’Dib out for a quick run. My parents weren’t home, but we continued on around Inglewood and made it back to the house well after dark. Summer was still complaining of back pain after her bath, so she went on to bed. Eaddie was home and showered before going out again. I separated myself until it was time for bed.

pure tingles

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Tone the Line

Today was a long day of a mostly empty office. Johnny called me early, and we talked for a while on the phone. I kept fairly busy after that, but I was very tired. We were up and down the stairs quite a bit again, and between that and the running I let Muad’Dib do outside in the morning and before lunch, even he was reluctant to climb any more stairs.

I ate leftovers with Janice, Elizabeth, and Teisha again, and then we split up what was left to take home. I ended up with a bunch of rice, beans, and shredded lettuce, so I guess we’ll have tacos tomorrow. The afternoon seemed to drag on forever after that, and I never got any closer to finding the switch side of the line running from the lab.

The drive home was slow, stupid, and full of road-raging idiots. We got to the house alive though, and I immediately took Muad’Dib out for a pretty slow run. It was really dark, and he just didn’t really want to run. We visited my parents briefly, then got back to the house where I finally put away all the food I brought home. The kids were there, but left for a high school football game with friends.

I’m too tired for a weekend.

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Clownin’

I got five orders into McDonald’s today. We started with a coffee before leaving town, then stopped in Morrilton for a chicken biscuit. I spent all morning documenting printers, and then we went for a late lunch and redeemed points for a free Happy Meal. The six McNuggets didn’t quite satisfy me, so I redeemed a free Double Cheeseburger, which was quite a bit heftier than I remembered. I was actually quite pleased. I wrapped that up with a free Apple Pie for dessert.

As I was finishing up, a young, very McMethed-out girl approached and asked if I had a hot spot. I was polite and tried to learn what she really needed, and she said she was trying to get a ride to her uncle’s place that was “less than ten minutes away.” I had to decline her at that point, and she walked up to a kiosk to order something before walking over to talk to someone else, who I think was an employee.

The afternoon went by quickly, and then we made it home so I could eat some leftover chicken before taking Muad’Dib on a run. I originally thought I’d run him to the high school to meet Summer for the marching assessment, but she wanted me to run him first, and then go with her for the entire time she would be there.

Muad’Dib ran well, but I had to zap him a few times when he kept trying to chase cats, or generally wouldn’t listen. He was mostly good, but just wasn’t being as obedient as I needed him to be. Summer and I had a chat when we got back, and then we went to the high school to watch a couple bands play before Eaddie would go out with the Tech band.

We brought Muad’Dib along, and he was immediately wound up and alert for all the noise and goings-on. He didn’t even wait to get out of the car, and sprung out as soon as I opened the door, which was very unlike him. As we entered the stadium, there was no one to turn us away. He got more and more anxious as we entered the crowd of people. We got seated and watched one band, but then I decided to take him off to the side of the field to decompress in the grass. We walked around for a couple of bands, and then he finally felt okay to come back for Tech.

Summer was straight to bed as I tried to clean up some stuff in the garage and kitchen. I didn’t feel great, but I eventually made it to bed.

Makin’ my way downtown, walkin’ slow, faces pass, and I’m homebound.

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On Worth

Summer had to work today. I slept in for quite a while, nearly straight through the entire night, for the first time since I can remember. I eventually got up, ate the last leftover hamburger, showered, and met up with Mark to finish up networking his new computers. It started raining before we left, and Muad’Dib and I got back to the house just as Summer was finishing up her bath.

We sat outside with her on the porch for just a moment while it rained. The kids were at an away game all day. We spent a minimal amount of time together, and then I went back to my computer, frustrated on multiple fronts by failing functions. I eventually got some laundry going while Summer appeared to be falling asleep.

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Lesson Retention

I woke up surprisingly early today, but time dilated and I didn’t get the chicken onto the smoker until right at noon. I made lemon pepper wings and seasoned the thighs with an assortment of whatever spices felt right, and then when the smoking was done, I added some different sauces to some of both. We ended up having an early dinner with some steamed rice and some frozen veggies I threw into the chicken juice from yesterday.

The food was pretty good, but I always forget the little things I learn between cooks, and the barbecue sauce burned a bit. Dad stopped in to pick up some aging bananas, and I rested for a little while before finally starting to vacuum again. The vacuum cleaner was completely full after Eaddie used it, and then I also noticed the brush was completely covered in hair, so that was a chore to clean up as well. Cleaning that really helped extract more dirt from the carpet.

Too short.

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Enchiladas Good; Fire Bad!!!

I slept in kind of late whiel Summer ran a 10k in town. She came back and said she wanted to run another 5k this evening with Muad’Dib, which would be a glow run in the dark. Eaddie also wanted to have a fire with Eli, and I ended up responsible for dinner. After not much cleaning up, I went to the Neighborhood Market for stuff to make enchiladas.

The afternoon flew by as Summer helped me by making guacamole. I threw chicken into the Instant Pot and probably cooked it longer than I really needed. Summer helped me roll that into tortillas that we covered in sauce and cheese, and then broiled.

Everyone seemed to like dinner, and we had twice what we needed, so dinner will be ready for a day or two this next week. Summer took Muad’Dib for their run, and I tried to start a fire with the kids. Past Michael was a real bro and filled the fire pit with a bunch of dry starter, which went up super easily. Unfortunately, the wood I had been chopping didn’t want to take, so the fire turned into a smokey, smoldering pit that the kids didn’t want to sit around.

Dad came over for a little while, so I took the leaf blower out back to try and get some more flames, but they just wouldn’t last. The kids stayed inside after making pigs in a blanket, Dad lelft, and Summer went to bed.

I don’t remember.

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R.O.U.S.

I slept hard with vivid dreams last night, and had to drag myself out of bed in the morning. We got to work and Joel had brought Dexter, who didn’t take very kindly to Muad’Dib. It didn’t help that Muad’Dib just wanted to eat his food, so I had to shoo him up the stairs. I did pretty well in the morning, but after another Monopoly run, I found the afternoon to be pretty dull. I did discover that I could get hot tea to drink for an extra game piece, which was cool.

I remembered to call TCW to schedule another service call, and they somehow managed to make it out the same day. Luckily Summer was home early to cook dinner, so she was there for them to complete the job. It was rats again, and they threatened to charge the next time they had to come out. My response would have been for them to run rodent-proof cable if they’re going to leave bundles of it lying on the ground like that.

The kids were basically sitting at the table ready to eat when we got there, so we sat down for a quick dinner. Then Summer and I went out back to investigate the basement situation. Dad showed up to join the party, and the two of them wandered back farther than I could go. I actually had some spare PVC pipe sections from, I think the kids’ History Day project, so they ran the fiber through that, and I coiled the rest and hung it up in a place that hopefully a rat won’t find. While they were down there, they looked for a doorbell transformer without any luck. They did find a cat skeleton, but Summer said it looked like it had been down there longer than we have been here.

It was a short night after that. Just more frustration and bed.

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